Hi there,
Another aspect that could help is reemphasising that VFD is a discussion, not an election;
Wasn't that the reason for the switch from VfD-->AfD? The whole change struck me as somewhat odd, as if people want to pretend VfD is something it is not in order to keep sockpuppets away. Of course, the actual name change was welcome ("Votes for deletion" always gets a chuckle from me :)).
Thanks, RN