# Usability Findings — 2026-02-06

- Finalizing votes does not require a complete ballot: `Finalize votes` flips the flag even when some games are unrated, hides the “missing votes” warning, and the admin dashboard treats the player as ready. Users can unknowingly skip games and skew results.
- Vote sliders default to the mid-point (5) and hide the warning as soon as the thumb moves, before the API call succeeds. If the save fails, the UI still looks “set”, so people may think their score stuck when it didn’t.
- Suggest form lacks client-side rules for player counts. Backend demands both min/max between 1–32 with min ≤ max; users only learn this after submitting and getting a server error.
- Screenshot URL requirements (public http/https image, no redirects, ≤5 MB) aren’t surfaced. The UI only checks the file extension, so common share links (Steam, Imgur short links) fail after submission with a generic toast.
- The “Suggest (up to 5)” limit isn’t enforced in the UI. After five entries the “Suggest a game” button stays active and the user fills the modal only to hit a server rejection.
- Admin “Link & clear votes” executes immediately even though it wipes votes and unfinalizes players. Unlike unlinking, there’s no confirmation step, making it easy to erase ballots accidentally.
- When results are re-locked, the server silently drops everyone back to Vote and clears their finalized status; players just see phases jump with no toast or guidance.
- The 4 s auto-refresh re-renders the entire vote list whenever suggestions change (e.g., new game, linking). On long lists this resets scroll/focus while someone is mid-vote, breaking flow.