Terminology update in Loomio

We’ve made a small but important change to our wording:

• Thread → Discussion
• Decision → Poll

Why “Decision” is now “Poll”

Previously, many new users clicked “Decisions” → “New decision” expecting to make a decision (fair enough, really!), but the button actually created a poll with no discussion. That often led to voting without context, no replies, and a confusing or unsatisfying experience.

Loomio works best when you start with a discussion, develop ideas together, and then move into proposals and voting. A poll is just one step in that process; it is not the decision itself. Decisions can happen in different ways: sometimes a conversation is enough, other times the decision is written in the Outcome after voting on a poll.

Why “Thread” is now “Discussion”

“Discussion” is clearer, more intuitive language, and makes it easier to explain how Loomio works without the awkwardness of the word “thread.” For example, without this change, the previous paragraph would have read: Loomio works best when you start with a thread.

Documentation updates

Loomio Help is still being updated to reflect these changes. We’ve recently begun a broader effort to refresh our documentation—pruning outdated content and adding coverage for all the new features we’ve introduced recently.

Thanks for understanding

It can be frustrating when software changes. We apologise if this causes you some mental jarring while you adjust.

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