# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 383
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7644 "2023-10-22T06:41:04Z")
It’s a little discouraging. I look at this thread as a bit of fun. We certainly aren’t doing any scientific surveys. I pick the best answer and move on. Or don’t pick any if it doesn’t pertain to me. Nitpicking over whether the answers fit perfectly drains all the fun out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7645 "2023-10-22T06:43:10Z")
We had Air Force JROTC as an elective. Despite the fact that I did eventually join the military I had no interest in taking that in high school. I think they had to be in uniform once a week. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7646 "2023-10-22T11:40:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s a little discouraging. I look at this thread as a bit of fun. We certainly aren’t doing any scientific surveys. I pick the best answer and move on. Or don’t pick any if it doesn’t pertain to me. Nitpicking over whether the answers fit perfectly drains all the fun out of it. Hear hear, huzzah, and bully! mmm ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7647 "2023-10-22T15:33:15Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Hear hear, huzzah, and bully! I didn’t get a “harrumph” outta that guy! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7648 "2023-10-22T15:54:05Z")
Harumph harumph! ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7649 "2023-10-22T17:11:46Z")
I just see it as them having their form of fun and ignore it Illegitimi non carborundum ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7650 "2023-10-22T17:24:03Z")
If I don’t find a poll “fun” (e.g. too political, too emotional, too hypothetical, requires too much pondering, etc.) I just skip it. I’ve been skipping a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7651 "2023-10-22T17:40:12Z")
Yeah, me too. But sometimes, for some people, nitpicking, clarifying, or explaining why the offered poll choices are incomplete _is_ part of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7652 "2023-10-22T17:52:52Z")
If I am curious about how one-legged Jehovah’s Witnesses feel about the new “Frasier” reboot, I will frame my poll in that context. If you are a one-legged _atheist_ who has strong feelings about the new “Frasier”, yours is not the opinion I am interested in hearing about. Your “_wahhhh, I can’t vote!!_” does not concern me. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7653 "2023-10-22T17:56:19Z")
But what about Jehovah’s Witnesses who had their leg amputated at the knee? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7654 "2023-10-22T18:07:15Z")
I hear they love the new Frasier. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7655 "2023-10-22T18:10:00Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I hear they love the new Frasier. > > mmm Prove it ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7656 "2023-10-22T19:57:42Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > If I don’t find a poll “fun” (e.g. too political, too emotional, too hypothetical, requires too much pondering, etc.) I just skip it. I’ve been skipping a lot of them. The ones I’m likely to nitpick are the ones where I do have an opinion, but it doesn’t fit in the poll. Pick a favorite among 27 shows some of which I’ve never seen and the others of which I’ve only seen bits of? Meh, no vote. Pick one of two, or even of 27, of something I really do have an opinion on but it’s not an option and neither is “other”? I’m gonna nitpick. Say straight out that you can’t think of an “other” when I can think of three in five seconds? I might opine on that one also. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > some people, nitpicking, clarifying, or explaining why the offered poll choices are incomplete _is_ part of the fun. Exactly. If you can expect me to ignore your poll, I can expect you to ignore my nitpick. – I think some of the question is, what’s the definition of “bigot”? If “bigot” means “someone who’s prejudiced against all members of a group because of something outside their control, such as skin color or what religion their ancestors were” (and I’ve seen people argue for that definition): then no, one can’t be a bigot for thinking poorly of a culture, as long as one recognizes that individuals born in it may not be following it and that children born in it probably don’t have a choice. If “bigotry” means “being prejudiced against all members of a culture because the culture does things differently than the one that you’re used to and you therefore think they must be Wrong”: yes, I’d call that bigotry. “I don’t like X because they eat food I think smells funny and they have different ideas about what’s polite in showing up on time/who looks who in the eyes for how long/etc” – yeah, I think that’s bigoted. But I don’t think it’s bigoted to say or think “There must be a lot of neat things about being X but they murder or force into hiding all their LGBTQ+ people and I think that’s wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7657 "2023-10-22T22:15:09Z")
I shave nothing. Fortunately I grow an epic skunk stripe beard. Went and bought a pumpkin earlier today. Drove out to a farm and picked one from the patch. Mine was even still attached to the vine, I had to cut it off. Nice tall one. I haven’t yet decided whether to carve it or not. I was never very good at it. I’ll definitely extract and roast the seeds from it at some point either way. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7658 "2023-10-22T22:54:23Z")
I grew a few pumpkins; which doesn’t seem to be an option. I expect to use both seeds and flesh from the naked-seeded pie type variety, and to use one of the regular pie pumpkins for a very small jack, unless I decide to buy a bigger one. These ought to be bigger, but I got them planted too late and let too many weeds get into them, and am mildly surprised that they ripened at all. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7659 "2023-10-22T23:26:16Z")
Van Dyke and a shaved head. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7660 "2023-10-23T00:33:51Z")
I’ve not grown a beard in a number of years (it’s too white for my taste), but when I did, I did not wear a neckbeard. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7661 "2023-10-23T01:33:12Z")
I buy pie pumpkins and give them to my dogs. They love to bat them around and carry them all over the yard. Once the gourds split open they make a tasty, fiber-filled snack. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7662 "2023-10-23T01:59:34Z")
My “inadvertent highlight reel,” is somewhat interesting I suppose, but I don’t _really_ care all that much, not nearly as much as my curiosity about what _else_ is going on here. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7663 "2023-10-23T02:08:52Z")
I don’t think I want the inadvertent highlight reel as much as the advertant one. People I smiled at who had a better day because of that, tidbits of advice I gave that helped people have a better life, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=382) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=384)