# How do you fill out the Washington Post splash poll? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932 "2003-11-12T23:53:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/1 "2003-11-12T23:53:48Z")
Y’know how when you go to an article on the Washington Post website, it interpolates a demographic-poll screen before you can read the article? It asks for sex, age, and zip code, and it won’t let you continue if you fill in the blanks. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m blocking their cookies or whatever, but it asks me for this information _every time_ I click a link to read one of their articles. Highly annoying, needless to say. So of course, I don’t give it real information. I do, however, give it the same wrong information every time. For sex, I put female. For year of birth, I put “1902.” (It refuses to accept silly values like “2001” or “1874.”) And for zip code, it says “e.g. 20171,” so I put… wait for it… 20171. So how do _you_ fill it out? (Do they honestly think they’re getting useful information out of this survey? I mean, really.) ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/2 "2003-11-13T00:58:42Z")
I usually put “19xx” (with random numbers) and the zip code 20001 or something like that. I’d hate to work in the office that has to break the numbers down from these polls. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/3 "2003-11-13T17:27:42Z")
The thing that gets me about these Internet have-to-fill-in polls is that _everybody_ knows the data is bogus. The most famous observation is one guy who noted that over half the visitors to their site were CEOs making over $500k a year. Not only are they still being done, but more and more sites are adding them. The PHBs are everywhere. I tried to find the zipcode for the very small town I lived in as a kid but the USPS just tells me the zip code for a different place. Thanks a lot. So I use 12345 or the nearest such bogus # they’ll take. For age, like the OP I use whatever is the limit of what they’ll let me put in. For gender, that’s tricky. Don’t want to use the same wrong value _all_ the time. So I randomize with a good incorrect skew. When asked in person for my phone number, e.g., by a checkout clerk, I say I don’t have one. Ditto zip. But online, there is no place for “no phone number”. What if you’re an Internet savy Amish person? ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/4 "2003-11-13T18:12:18Z")
I fill it out truthfully. I live in the DC Metro area, and I feel I, uh, gotta represent, yo. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/5 "2003-11-13T20:38:52Z")
You wanna represent, come down to the DC Lunch Bunch sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/6 "2003-11-13T20:51:28Z")
I don’t have cookies either, so I get asked every time too and it bugs me. I used to just fill in random stuff, but sometimes it pops you back, like if the zip you put in is not a valid one. So now I just use the zip code and DOB that it lists in the example. And I mark it “male.” ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/7 "2003-11-13T20:53:37Z")
I put in 1901 for birth year and 90210 for zip code…unoriginal, I know, but I can never remember the zip for the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/8 "2003-11-14T15:43:57Z")
1. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fill-out-the-washington-post-splash-poll/212932/9 "2003-11-14T17:32:49Z")
I am a 57 year old male from New Hampshire! Live Free or Die! I just use the zip from a hotel we stayed in on vacation, 'cause for some reason it sticks in my head.