Do you like polls on a forum like Psychlinks?

[David Baxter PhD]

As we end 2006, I'm looking forward to 2007 and wondering about what features members might like to see implemented.

Most forums have polls enabled so that members can start a thread with a question and have other members respond by "voting" for their choice of answer or multiple answers.

I've had them mostly disabled at Psychlinks, primarily as a reaction to my experiences on other forums where I found them mostly annoying.

How do you feel about this issue? Vote in the poll above.

 

[ThatLady]

Personally, I don't feel polls fit well on a site like this one. Most questions that are asked here require more than a superficial "yes" or "no" answer. In many cases, the person answering a poll will post (as I have) to clarify their answer, so what purpose did the poll actually serve other than to define a consensus? It's my feeling that people who bring questions here aren't looking for consensus, but for concrete answers and assistance.

 

[foghlaim]

Most forums have polls enabled so that members can start a thread with a question and have other members respond by "voting" for their choice of answer or multiple answers.

this method of answering a question is taking the whole concept of a caring community out of the equation, is it not? it'd be like an automated service of some kind.. (the proper name of this escapes me at the min, sorry). And it could also bring this forum into a similar category of the other sites that were alluded to in the article i read earlier on this forum. Those with lots of posts but lacking in quality.. Nope!! not for this forum i hope!.

 

[Daniel E.]

Yeah, I agree with everyone, though I voted "I don't care" since I think polls are fun, at least for the general chat area, and polling can help bring in responses from people who normally don't reply to posts.

 

[momof5]

Yeah, I agree with everyone, though I voted "I don't care" since I think polls are fun, at least for the general chat area, and polling can help bring in responses from people who normally don't reply to posts.

I agree with this point. I think polls can be fun. For the rest of the forum, I'm not sure it would fit.

I have thought about removing it from my forum.

Not something that is a big deal, though could be fun depending on how you do them.

 

[Serenity]

I don't mind polls although I wouldn't want one upon each login. The benefit is to see a quick summary of people's general opinions in a nutshelll which is nice at times. I don't always have time to read each and every post but am interested overall in the members views. So, I say yep..sure. Why not. Every now and again is good.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Okay. I don't think this is a burning issue and, like others, I don't think I want to see polls cropping up everywhere but there seems to be enough interest to enable them.

If it gets out of hand, we have moderators who can delete them or the feature can be disabled again.

Let's give it a try.

 

[groovygreen]

ok, well, my opinion is that polls are a good idea BUT in moderation and as David was saying that they don't pop up everywhere, the reason i think polls are good is that sometimes it's a good way to find out things and people can say what they feel/the truth and no-one know's it was them, like if they check a box to say for example, "what's the best thing for you about this forum?" or "have you ever been diagnosed with the following?" i don't know what other people think, but like lets just say that you came on this forum, but were unsure if many people are going thru what you are going thru? etc then you could look at the polls for some stats...just an idea, i do think it for that reason is a great idea to have polls, like another thing is i have insomnia and i have often wondered how many other people on here get that, it be nice to see how many % other people have it too? i don't know if any of this has made any sense, but if i've confused anyone/everyone let me know and i'll happily try reword/rephrase.
Have a great day everyone :grouphug:

 

[jacky121]

I agree with you all but up to some extent.. and i didn't find anything fun with the polls. Polls should be there in the forum because its the only way to rate the thread. We are allowing the members of the forum to rate it so that the rest of the people have a chance to know whether it is worth reading or not...........!!!

am i right David??

Jack

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I agree with you all but up to some extent.. and i didn't find anything fun with the polls. Polls should be there in the forum because its the only way to rate the thread. We are allowing the members of the forum to rate it so that the rest of the people have a chance to know whether it is worth reading or not...........!!!

The "rate thread" function is not the same as a poll. Anyone can rate a thread - just click on the "Rate Thread" link at the top right of any thread and choose from 1 to 5 stars. That feature isn't often used on a forum like Psychlinks.

Polls are different. They allow the thread starter to set up a question with a series of options for answers - readers get to vote on their choice for the option. See top of this thread for an example.

 

[AVC]

There is nothing wrong with polls, I think it encourages member activity, if they are done in bad taste or are offensive management can take them down, so I would enable them here.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

They are actually enabled. This is a rather old thread that Jack revived.

 

[Peanut]

Polls are awesome! I haven't come across any yet (that I remember) but when I do I will vote wholeheartedly (over and over again like on American Idol)...

 

[Misha]

hypothetical Poll: Do you like polls?
hypothetical Poll #2: Do you like polls about polls?
hypothetical Poll #3: Do you....

Do you like hypothetical polls????

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Speaking purely hypothetically, I'd say, yes, I think so.

But I'm not sure I'd like them in the real world.

 

[Peanut]

How do you set up a poll anyway? I'm not planning one, but I'm just curious if we can if we ever wanted to.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

You have the option of creating a poll only when you start a new thread.

Scroll down below the main edit box after typing in your post. You'll see options for a poll there.