for those polls which are not time sensitive, so that those who had voted need not vote again. for example - “are you male or female?”
Quick explanation for new posters: see Guidelines, Post #4. In some forums, such as General Questions, Cafe Society, Comments on Cecil’s Column/Staff Reports, we really don’t care about reviving old threads. In other forums, such as the Pit, Great Debates, MPSIMS, IMHO, we dislike the practice because new posters respond to something posted years ago, and the original posters may no longer be around; and often the issues are long dead, and don’t need to be brought up again (like picking at a scab.)
Polls are new, so the question is an interesting one, shijinn. Polls are only permitted in a few forums, so certainly, in Cafe Society, it doesn’t matter if an old poll is revived… although, we do say that threads should only be revived if there’s something new to add. Just saying, “I agree with so-and-so” doesn’t add anything new, and so shouldn’t be a reason for reviving an old thread, even in CS. And isn’t reviving a poll just adding a vote?
Anyhow, it’s an interesting new question. Thanks for raising it. We’ll discuss this amongst the mods, and let you know. Give us a day or two.
In a year I may respond differently to the same poll question. Polls are only a relevant for the time it was given. Gather data over too long a period and it’s not good poll. I wouldn’t count the data to be representative of current feelings or facts. This is why I will use the end function for all polls I give. Collecting data over a a longer period of time requires distinct samplings at intervals for analysis. You need separate polls to track changes over time.
Male or female will be wrong when the first Doper sex change occurs between answering the poll the first time and it making it’s second rounds. Not that this will happen often, but it shows how any poll could lose accuracy over time if they stay open.
I’m not sure accuracy should be taken seriously as a meaningful factor in most of these polls.
The mods have discussed, and the decision is: well, it depends.
Basically, resurrecting an old poll just to vote is pretty much the same as resurrecting an old thread just to say, “Yes, I agree.” It’s not adding anything valuable to just chalk up another vote. Thus, we’d discourage it. Having said that, it wouldn’t be a horrendous offense; it’s a guideline, not a rule, and there’s no particular big deal about voting in an ancient poll.
I do 1867 polls a week, as you may have noticed, and I’m sure. It should NOT be taken seriously. 
The purpose of the poll, to me, is just to prompt conversation.
okie thanks!