# 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:** 7
**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 25, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/121 "2022-10-25T00:10:59Z")
I think Kermie should release a song called WAP, or Wet Ass Piggy. ---
**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 25, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/122 "2022-10-25T09:32:05Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > …If most people vote for other, i’d suggest that the poll itself is at fault. I strongly disagree with this. Not all polls are designed to solicit every possible answer. The poll’s creator may wish to target only a specific “audience”. I may be interested in atheists’ preference of Butterfinger vs. Snickers. If you are a Hindu who likes Circus Peanuts, this poll ain’t for you, and you should not feel put out by the exclusion. mmm ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/123 "2022-10-25T13:47:44Z")
That was a response to the previous post which said : > “Other” is just too vague and, especially where more people vote for that than for any of the listed options, renders the poll meaningless. If “Other” is factored in, then that’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/124 "2022-10-25T14:32:33Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I may be interested in atheists’ preference of Butterfinger vs. Snickers. If you are a Hindu who likes Circus Peanuts, this poll ain’t for you, and you should not feel put out by the exclusion. just make an option for “I’m not an atheist” and another for “I’m an atheist but I’ve never tried Butterfinger or Snickers” ---
**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 25, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/125 "2022-10-25T14:55:40Z")
Why, though? In **mmm** ’s example, the pollster is equally uninterested in non-atheists and non-candy-eating atheists. So those options are not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/126 "2022-10-25T15:06:19Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Why, though? > In **mmm** ’s example, the pollster is equally uninterested in non-atheists and non-candy-eating atheists. So those options are not necessary . To let everyone have a vote. Also, it would be interesting to know how many atheists don’t eat those candies. ETA: This issue is much less important to me than those polls with several options and no question. Those are just rude. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/127 "2022-10-26T17:01:14Z")
[How do you pronounce “FAQ”?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2218) Shocked there wasn’t an option for “Facts” [_facs_ phonetically]. My assumption years ago when I first saw it as to the etymology of the acronym/abbrreviation/(whatever) is that it provides the bare bones “facts” for whatever product or concept is being discussed. [so chose other] Esp. since it often is spelled “FAQs” in point of fact. Quite likely that my etymological inference is incorrect, tho. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/128 "2022-10-26T19:37:00Z")
Re: the outhouse poll. My grandparents’ farmhouse had an old school outhouse during my lifetime. I was really young, probably like a preschooler, but I do have memories of using it. At that age I probably actually thought it was kind of neat that they had an outdoor toilet. They added a proper indoor bathroom to the house in the mid-1980s. I also used one at a campground in Alaska in 2010. I know, the poll said not at a campground, but this was an actual old school outhouse, not a pit toilet or port-a-potty. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/129 "2022-10-26T19:46:47Z")
Again re. the outhouse poll. Yes, just 5 years ago at a friend’s place up in “cottage country” [Cottage country - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_country) 3 hours northeast of Toronto. I hear that they’re working on installing indoor plumbing, but as of now their outhouse is still functional. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/130 "2022-10-26T20:53:16Z")
Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQ [pronounced fæk (like cat)]. These may have started out as truly frequently asked questions but it quickly became something a bit different. It became frequently anticipated questions, that the company writes before the time the questions have a chance to come up. And after that the FAQ is rarely, if ever, updated. I’ve had to create many of them at client requests, even before training starts. ---
**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 26, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/131 "2022-10-26T21:07:14Z")
When I was in high school in 1987 someone was going around writing FA-Q on the lockers. This was pronounced Fa Cue. It was dirty! They were rebels! When I started seeing FAQ being used online nearly 20 years later, of course I pronounced it the “dirty” way. I didn’t know those letters had any meaning beyond riling up Principal Meehan. Now that I’m all growed up I either say fack or f-a-q, depending on my whims. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/132 "2022-10-26T21:08:21Z")
That’s not in doubt (whenever I think something got coined due to a bit of sly cleverness, I am always disillusioned). How do you say it when the “s” is there, which it typically is? ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/133 "2022-10-26T21:45:32Z")
I don’t pronounce the s even if it is there. If someone is confused by that, I say the words to underline my meaning. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/134 "2022-10-26T22:08:43Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > That’s not in doubt (whenever I think something got coined due to a bit of sly cleverness, I am always disillusioned). How do you say it when the “s” is there, which it typically is? “Cues” is the obvious plural of “cue”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/135 "2022-10-26T22:12:30Z")
Ok fine redoing the poll with my option, and we’ll see if I am the lone lunatic in the wilderness… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/136 "2022-10-26T22:18:30Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I have a question about one of the recent polls on pronunciation, by @Elendil_s_Heir IIRC. It was “do you pronounce Mary and marry” the same way. > > I said yes because I can’t even imagine how they’d be pronounced differently. Is there somewhere with audio that I can go to try to hear the difference? Thusly: > [@https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language\_vowel\_changes\_before\_historic\_/r/#Mary%E2%80%93marry%E2%80%93merry\_merger](#): > > In accents without the merger, _Mary_ has the _a_ sound of _mare_ , _marry_ has the "short _a_ " sound of _mat_ , and merry has the "short _e_ " sound of _met_ . Here’s a sound file: [http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm\_rf.wav](http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_rf.wav) I have the full merger – I use the “Mary” vowel with all three words. And for me, hairy, Harry, Larry, Barry, berry, bury, ferry, fairy, dairy, &c, all rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/137 "2022-10-26T22:23:26Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > “Cues” is the obvious plural of “cue”. Yes, but you are dealing with an acronym that already has the plural s in it. Frequently asked question **s**. You could indicate the plural by typing FAQs. But not FAQS because the uppercase indicates a full word in an acronym. Saying or spelling FAQ already implies that there isn’t just a single question that is answered. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/138 "2022-10-26T22:32:11Z")
I interpreted the question as being about “FAQs” – the plural of “FAQ” – not “FAQS”. And I’m sure I’ve seen FAQ used to mean “Frequently Asked Question”. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/139 "2022-10-26T23:19:29Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Frequently Asked Question That either would have been a typo or the creator’s poor understanding of the term. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/140 "2022-10-26T23:37:56Z")
Why? I have no problem with using it for one question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=8)