We have a new member - @NotaDuck (welcome!) - who has been making polls in GD, P&E, and the Game Room. I believe on vBulletin the forums were set up so that polling was only enabled in IMHO. Discourse lets you make them in any thread, even in replies rather than the original post. So to clarify, are we allowed to make polls outside of IMHO?
~Max
They were also enabled in ATMB at some point on the old site.
People have been making polls outside IMHO and not been modded, and there’s no specific rule against polls in other forums that I can find. If you’ve seen such a specific rule, do link to it.
Well, the very first line in the very first post in the very first thread in IMHO says] “What’s your favorite …?” For frank exchanges of views on less-than-cosmic topics. This is also the place for polling.
Perhaps the meaning could be clarified when TPTB do one of their periodic cleanups.
I’ve used polls outside of IMHO, but with the point that they were for gauging (to the extend people are participating) opinions on the subject of the thread. Polls that themselves are the point of the thread seems to be what the quoted rule about ‘polling’ is. This is of course, my opinion as a poster, as IANAM.
So to use an example, if I have a thread on a topic, we’re 30ish posts in, and I see we’ve had 30 posts but 900 views, I toss in a poll so that people who don’t want to do a low-content “I agree” or “Disagree” or “I came to post blah, but poster BigBrain did it better” can toss in their judgement as well.
Discourse allows polls in all forums. We had a discussion about this when we first moved to Discourse and decided to allow it as long as folks don’t create problems using polls.
Most polls will belong in IMHO since that is the proper forum to ask for other’s opinions on a particular topic. That doesn’t mean that all polls are required to be placed in IMHO. For example, a poll about a particular politician would probably be better in P&E as that is purely a political topic.
I think the forum descriptions are fine as-is, but if anyone has a suggestion for improving them feel free to post it here.
-looks at own post and sees ‘extend’ rather than ‘extent’ and wishes for the FSM to put him out of his sloppy typing based misery-
Ahem.
Came -back- to the thread to say one thing about polls in other threads: adding it occasionally, or as a tool is useful. But considering our goals of supporting intelligent discussion on a wide range of topics, it shouldn’t be the only participation.
I know the poster mentioned in the OP has done quite a few polls, but at least it isn’t the only way they’ve communicated. I still think a well argued point in favor of/against is more helpful in most topics than a poll, but YMMV.
@NotaDuck , you may wish to join the fun bunch in this thread: Polls only: No discussion
Polls outside of IMHO
0 voters
Perhaps something like Thread Games where “The poll is the thread.”
@NotaDuck Does your name have anything to do with College Football?
Hey, I was enjoying that Orwell thread!
Ok. I dragged it back out of the cornfield.
I guess NotADuck WasASock?
There have been Oscars polls in CS and all sorts of polls in the Game Room for years and years prior to Discourse.