Sheep voting

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This image is from w:en:User:SebastianHelm/Sheep vote. It had previously been moved off the Wikipedia: namespace. It is suspected to be POV, but it is hoped that it will be useful and appropriate here.
A flock of sheep.

Sheep vote is a vote on Wikipedia which seems to be cast just to go along with the flow. E.g., on RFA, this can typically be a vote such as "Support because x, y, and z are supporting."

Speculated reasons for sheep voting include:

  • Agreeing with the previous voters' reasoning.
  • Because everyone else has.
  • Being nice.
  • Making friends.
  • Fear of retribution.
  • Being a sock puppet.
  • For the sake of trying to further an attempt to break a record (see this page and this page on the English Wikipedia)

Sheep voting may also be tangentially related to or mistaken for editcountitis.

Wolf vote[edit]

The opposite of sheep vote is wolf vote. These votes are much rarer.

Speculated reasons for wolf voting include:

  • Eating sheep (neutralizing their votes).
  • Grumpiness.
  • A desire for fame (also known as Herostratus vote).
  • Eccentricity.
  • The genuine belief that a candidate supported by support voter(s) X cannot possibly be worthy (Guilt by association)

Wikipedia policy[edit]

There is no policy preventing sheep or wolf voting, except by sockpuppets, although it is discouraged.