A Poll on Responding to Polls in IMHO

Assume that there is a poll, either here in IMHO or elsewhere where your involvement is strictly voluntary. There will be no reward for responding, no punishment for failure to respond. Anonymity will be limited–maybe nobody knows who “Eureka” is in real life, but if you later regret your response you can’t go back and change it.

Assume that your honest answer to a question has the potential to be embarassing or disbelieved. Maybe you aren’t even sure that you want your user name anywhere near the poll, never mind the answer, just responding shows more interest in the subject than you want to admit to–especially if there are people who know you in real life, as well as on this message board.

How do you respond?

A. I don’t. I may read the thread, but I don’t post in it.
B. I post honestly despite the potential embarassment factor. It’s fun to talk about things which are too embarassing to discuss in person.
C. I post honestly because nothing embarasses me.
D. I lie. I post the response I think I should post.
E. If I respond at all, I crack jokes and snigger at the other posters.
F. Some other answer (please explain)

Optional: Describe for me types of threads to which you respond in these various ways.

My answer: A–I don’t respond to a lot of polls, and especially not those where my answers make me feel defensive. If I do respond, I respond honestly.

B. I post honestly despite the potential embarassment factor. It’s fun to talk about things which are too embarassing to discuss in person.

I can only think of three people who peruse this board who know me in real life. Two of them would likely not be shocked by anything I had to say, and the third, while potentially being surprised, is a very open-minded individual and is not the sort who would judge me for being honest about something.

I stay out of opinion polls only if I have nothing useful to contribute, or if someone else has already expressed my opinion so eloquently that all I can add is a “ditto.”