 DoobyPremium
join:2001-05-08
The Boonies
kudos:2 | Should there be a Poll's Forum?? It seems to me that there are a number of people interested in making polls.
I think it is an excellent way to review ISP's.. Programs.. and whatever else DSLR members can think up.
The problem lies in the fact that polls in general forums aren't getting the participation they need. Polls are pointless unless they get a large audience because then they aren't reflecting the true feelings of the pollers, only the opinions of the minority.
The best solution would be to start a Poll Forum. The benefits of this would greatly outweigh any cons.
Some benefits would be:
1) Voting would be easy.. just go through all the polls in one single forum and vote. All the voting would be completed in minutes.
2) The members who placed the polls would get maximum attention to their polls and could use the information gathered to aid them.. be it their own project or survey.. whatever. Others would benefit too.
3) A fact sheet could be produced with all the top votes on them. e.g. WinMX was voted best File sharing program.. The new HP printer was voted the best in its class.. 'This' ISP was voted the worst etc.
4) Once a month(or quarter), DSLR could post the fact sheet to manufacturers, who would be extremely happy to know their product was voted best (or worst..lol). DSLR would be getting excellent publicity.
5) Everyone can benefit from the polls as to what is good or bad. Other forums can expand on those votes and any questions that may arise.
Some of the cons might be:
1) Someone would have to setup the forum.
2) Someone would have to make a monthly (or quarterly)total poll fact sheet. If wanted.
3) And most importantly... rules and guidelines would need to be made. For example.. there is no point making a poll about ISP's asking the question 'who is your favorite ISP?'. This is pointless as not everyone gets all the ISP's. So specifics are needed and people need to think about their polls carefully.
4) Apart from above I can't really see anything else.
What do you think? Should it be done.. or isnt there enough demand?
Should there be a Poll's Forum?
Doobs  |
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DoobyPremium
join:2001-05-08
The Boonies
kudos:2 | Oh.. by the way.
Another benefit would be that it would stop polls popping up everywhere.
As AllAlone0 mentioned here.. there should be an ignore polls option..LMAO! He could then blissfully ignore the polls forum without having to click an ignore button
Too funny |
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 eSteveYoiks and AwayPremium
join:1999-11-08
Alexandria, VA | reply to Dooby
IMO, keep it how it is.
I like having the option for Polls in all Forums. For instance, there was a Poll in the Security Forum about what Firewall/Router combinations people are using. That was very informative, and really is appropriate for the Security Forum. Just as people like to start "silly" threads in many Forums, there will be "silly" polls as well. Hopefully, the silliness is contained in the appropriate place, and the useful polls will outweigh the silly ones, just as the useful threads tend to outweigh the silly one. Polls are new, and somewhat of a novelty now, but I have a feeling the use of them will slow down over time.
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Steve
"Isn't it conceivable to you that an intelligent person could harbor two opposing ideas in his mind?"
-- Adlai Stevenson |
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DoobyPremium
join:2001-05-08
The Boonies
kudos:2 | quote:
Polls are new, and somewhat of a novelty now, but I have a feeling the use of them will slow down over time.
I know exactly what you mean and the 'silly' factor will always be there.
Polls may be new.. but they are incredibly useful.
The use of them shouldn't slow down. They are an excellent tool and should be exploited.
The problem is that they can also be a pain.. when you are in a specific forum you dont need to wade through a list of polls to get to someone who really needs the help.
As for a poll being located in the right forum group.. well its easy enough to create a link to the poll you want.
I feel that they are underestimated.
Doobs |
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| reply to Dooby
I agree with ReddWyng. Polls are a great idea and really enhance this site but I don't think they've reached a point where they deserve a forum entirely their own. For one, it's more work for Justin and another forum the moderators would have to patrol to make sure every thread and every user is following the stated guidelines. Also, how many polls could you possibly come up with? I would imagine after a few months that the number of things to discuss, that also are valid, would dramatically decrease.
In addition, since forum polls are still a relatively new option here at DSLR, there's a lot of them spurting up. Like ReddWyng stated... "the use of them will slow down over time."
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"Big deal... death comes with the territory. See you in Disneyland!" - Richard Ramirez |
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| reply to Dooby
For the most part, I think the Poll Creators (myself included) have been adamant about using a "Poll:" tag of some sort in the "Catchy Title" so people would know it is a poll and can avoid the post if necessary. This seems to be sufficient, IMHO.
I am surprised that polls have not popped up all over, since many posts seem to be "opinion-based"; ex. What router/firewall/ISP is best? Should I use a hub/switch/router/ICS? Should I setup an Ethernet/Home PNA/Wireless network? (You can see which forums I frequent, eh?;))
However, I do not totally discount a Poll forum, as it would have many benefits. The major con, IMHO, would be wading through Polls that are not geared toward the forums you frequent.
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The only value an Opinion has is the one You give it. |
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 shakaSwimming With SharksPremium
join:2000-12-13
AtTheBeach | reply to Dooby
I say leave it because you want a poll in that specific forum. Like I put two in EL forum which pertained to earthlink people. You know what I mean? Plus also one in hardware forum which only pertained to them. I think we should leave it. That's my opinion.
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How do you like my signature, is it cool? |
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