Most boards have more ideas than anyone could ever build. Some of those ideas will never happen, and everyone involved half knows it. The kind thing, and the thing that keeps a board healthy, is to say so.
People rarely leave a board because an idea was declined. They leave because nothing ever happens to the ideas they care about.
Declined is an answer#
Declined is one of the five statuses an idea can have, and it is public. Everyone who opens the idea sees it, with the explanation you write next to it. It is not a punishment and not a deletion: the idea, its votes and its comments stay readable.
When you decline an idea:
- Votes freeze. Nobody can add or withdraw a vote, so the count shows the support it had when you decided.
- Comments stay open. People can still ask questions or add context, and you can answer them.
- Followers find out. Everyone who follows the idea sees the change, and people who asked for decision emails get one email about it, once.
Write the explanation people will read#
The explanation is the part that matters. It replaces any earlier one, so write it for someone reading the idea for the first time. A good one is short and does three things:
- Says what you decided. "We are not going to add this."
- Says why, honestly. Cost, fit, a conflict with something else, a decision made elsewhere. A real reason, even an unglamorous one.
- Says what is still possible, if anything. A smaller version, an alternative, a time to look again.
For example, for a chess club's request to livestream the finals:
We are not going to livestream the finals this year. We would need cameras and a volunteer for the whole day, and we do not have either. If someone would like to run it next year, tell us in the comments.
Compare that with "Declined: not a priority". Both are no. Only one gives people a reason to keep posting.
Decline in good time#
An idea left open for a year with no answer is a no that nobody had the courage to write. Review old ideas on a schedule, decline the ones you will not do, and explain why. Your board gets shorter and more honest, and the votes left on open ideas mean more.
Declined or rejected?#
Would be nice has two different ways to say no, and they are for different things.
- Declined
- A status for a published idea. Public, with an explanation. Use it for real ideas you have decided not to do.
- Rejected
- A review decision on a reviewed board, before an idea is published. Only the author and your team see it, with a required reason such as duplicate, out of scope or against the guidelines.
Reject what should never have been public: a duplicate of an existing idea (link to it, so the author can vote there), a support request, something against your guidelines. Decline what deserved a public answer. If you are unsure, ask whether other people would want to know your reasoning. If they would, publish the idea and decline it.
See how a community keeps its members in the loop in Would be nice for community feedback.
