# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 175
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3481 "2026-10-15T11:25:06Z")
Legions of the finest citizens in America spend election day knocking on doors asking friends and strangers alike if they have voted. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3482 "2026-10-15T11:47:03Z")
And if they show up here they will be asked firmly and politely to leave. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3483 "2026-10-15T11:48:26Z")
This time I voted “none are rude at all,” but that’s putting it too strongly for me. I’d be happier voting for this without the “…at all” intensifier. In particular, asking someone if they have voted is context-dependent. I would only ask it of family, friends, and co-workers (including rather distant acquaintances). If it’s an important election - i.e., even-number-year general (November) elections, plus certain special ones - I KNOW they’re all voting, so the question means “have you voted YET (e.g., absentee), or else are you going to on Election Day?\*” If it’s a less important election (many primaries, and certain odd-numbered November ones), my question to the same friend or family member would mean “are you bothering to vote in this election?” \*I never get to ask this question ON Election Day, because I am a poll worker. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3484 "2026-10-15T12:17:26Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > And if they show up here they will be asked firmly and politely to leave. If they call me and i pick up the phone, i tell them that yes, I’ve voted, and thank them. Takes 20 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3485 "2026-10-15T12:25:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > If they call me If they call me they will be automatically forwarded to voicemail where they will need to sit through a 2 minute greeting to weed out loan scammers. If they have the patience to leave me a message it will be deleted next time I check my phone. Takes less than 2 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3486 "2026-10-15T12:39:24Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’d be happier voting for this without the “…at all” intensifier. Same. I agree that the “have you voted?” question is context dependant. And it would be nice if the guy you held the door for didn’t then conduct an extremely slow transaction before you get your turn. But i voted “none”. I think it’s irrelevant who puts down the plastic rod at the supermarket. It’s an easy, minor task without a tight time limit. I used to carefully write thank you notes. Until my cousin expressed discomfort at getting one, because she doesn’t write them. Now i just make sure to let the giver know that i got the present, and to say thank you. That former is really important when someone sends a gift by mail. Most of my “thank you notes” are email, and i don’t write at all to people who handed me the gift. Related: a friend gave me a book recently, “for no reason, i just thought of you when i saw it”. And it’s a topic of mutual interest, and was a thoughtful gift. But i started it and it’s not well written. In fact, i find the author annoying. What should I say to the friend? ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3487 "2026-10-15T13:16:31Z")
Had the friend read it before giving it to you? Do you mean it was poorly written as in poorly researched / perpetuating falsehoods about the subject? Or that it was poorly written as in bad grammar / awkward phrasing / poor organization / bad vocabulary? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderMagnolia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@LavenderMagnolia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderMagnolia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3488 "2026-10-15T13:26:36Z")
This is not guaranteed. My husband’s great-grandmother was doing all sorts of things after age 90. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderMagnolia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@LavenderMagnolia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderMagnolia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3489 "2026-10-15T13:58:07Z")
_Occasionally_ I don’t like someone asking me if I voted - if they use a condescending tone, like a parent making sure that a child did their homework. I was once in an elevator with other female co-workers, and one asked us “Now, have you ladies voted?!” in that way. Someone has also wanted to know when and where I voted, again, in the tone of a parent monitoring a child. Yes, I am a woman and we did not always have the right to vote, but I am also old enough to drive, be married, own a home, and pay bills - it’s not another woman’s job to make sure that I voted. But usually, when someone asks, it just seems to be an opening for them to rant about the candidates who they don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3490 "2026-10-15T14:00:44Z")
I don’t believe he had read it. Mostly, i found the author condescending to his readers. He made a number of untrue assumptions about me. (Of course you wouldn’t eat a well prepared dish of insects! ) And assumed i didn’t know things that i know. I just found him annoying, despite the topic being theoretically interesting. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3491 "2026-10-15T14:05:07Z")
“Thank you for thinking of me.” ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3492 "2026-10-15T14:05:55Z")
> [@LavenderMagnolia](#): > > But usually, when someone asks, it just seems to be an opening for them to rant about the candidates who they don’t like. This right here is why it bothers me. I was raised to believe that voting and the secret ballot are semi-sacred. The right to vote carries with it the right not to vote. How and whether or not I voted is absolutely no one’s business except my own. When asked, my response is somewhere between a polite “I don’t discuss that information” or “mind your own business”, depending upon the tone of the question. In the situation you describe it would have been more toward the latter. ---
**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 15, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3493 "2026-10-15T14:27:50Z")
I was certain that the aliens playing sports poll was heading in the direction of whether they should be allowed to compete in human sports (and allowed in human locker rooms). mmm ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3494 "2026-10-15T14:30:22Z")
If I reach a door at the cafe/restaurant before someone, I’m technically ahead of them in line. If I do the polite thing and hold the door open for them, the polite thing for them to do is let me resume what would have been my place in line. I’d probably refuse unless I was in a rush, but it’s a little rude if they don’t even offer. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3495 "2026-10-15T14:31:17Z")
Didn’t vote in the alien sports poll because if I’m interested in the sport I’ll watch both - exactly as I do with women’s competition in sports I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3496 "2026-10-15T14:42:01Z")
Exactly. A tiny bit rude, but a very minor transgression as such things go. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3497 "2026-10-15T14:54:21Z")
I said that when he handed the wrapped book to me, in person. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3498 "2026-10-15T14:56:17Z")
Then I wouldn’t think you need to say anything else. ---
**Author:** ![RollOutTheBarrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rolloutthebarrel/32/1649_2.png) [@RollOutTheBarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RollOutTheBarrel)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3499 "2026-10-15T15:36:42Z")
I selected that I think it’s rude when the person ahead of me doesn’t put down the divider in the checkout lane, but my answer is a little more nuanced than that. It only bothers me when I can’t reach the divider. If the cashier places the divider next to them, the person ahead of me can reach it and I can’t. That means there will be space to place my groceries on the conveyor belt as the other person’s groceries move forward, but I can’t put them down because the divider is not in place. On the other hand, if the cashier slides the divider down to my end so I can reach it, I’m happy to put it in place myself and wouldn’t expect the other person to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/3500 "2026-10-15T15:50:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I don’t understand the string poll. Or is it trying to make a point about options? The question “How long is a piece of string?” is a rhetorical question used to indicate that the answer to something is indeterminate. I’ve only heard it used in the UK, but the entire point is that there’s no intrinsic “right answer” to it. Although I do think the correct answer ought to be “[three inch lengths](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNj-QFZbew)”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=174) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=176)