SDMB Polls: What makes one "successful"?

In My Humble Opinion
1

To start what I hope will be a fun discussion, here are a couple of ways of identifying “Top Ten” polls:

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“Poll” in title, last 5 years, descending number of replies

Poll about taking the lord’s name in vain ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)
Nobody 06-24-2009 08:06 PM
by costa 381 5,340 Great Debates

Poll: Can you drive a stick? ( 1 2 3 4 5 6)
Kilvert’s Pagan 01-16-2009 07:26 PM
by Throatwarbler Mangrove 294 3,894 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: Is It Okay To Wear Sweatpants In Public? ( 1 2 3 4 5 6)
Alice The Goon 02-13-2009 01:14 PM
by NinetyWt 260 5,744 In My Humble Opinion

Poll Please. Topic not given in title to better sample people. ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Harmonious Discord 07-06-2009 08:22 AM
by Rico 223 2,881 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: A poll and general discussion about interracial relationships ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Asimovian 08-10-2010 12:00 PM
by Dangerosa 207 5,468 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: Have you had a homosexual experience? ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Polerius 06-13-2006 10:19 PM
by Sleel 201 5,799 In My Humble Opinion

I weep for Americans (Global warming poll). ( 1 2 3 4)
L. G. Butts, Ph.D. 11-06-2009 05:03 PM
by foolsguinea 188 4,824 The BBQ Pit

Poll: Do you eat steak with ketchup? ( 1 2 3 4)
bundykala 07-09-2007 01:10 PM
by mangeorge 184 3,257 In My Humble Opinion

simple poll: Is ivan astikov full of sh*t? ( 1 2 3 4)
Cyningablod 06-14-2010 02:05 PM
by ivan astikov 183 4,713 The BBQ Pit

New poll: Majority of Americans support legalising gay marriage ( 1 2 3 4)
leander Today 03:26 AM
by CitizenPained 182 4,484 Great Debates

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“Poll” in title, last 5 years, descending number of views

Poll: Poll: The Beatles’ Worst Song ( 1 2 3 4)
Mean Mr. Mustard 03-26-2010 12:48 AM
by Hilarity N. Suze 160 10,968 Cafe Society

Best drink name ever (poll) ( 1 2)
Harbinger of Courteous Debate 08-15-2006 08:07 PM
by Achren 91 6,866 Cafe Society

Watermelon: A Poll ( 1 2 3)
Hockey Monkey 12-13-2009 09:11 AM
by PapSett 116 6,864 Cafe Society

Poll: Poll: Have you ever masturbated at work? ( 1 2 3)
elfkin477 05-29-2010 10:56 PM
by Sternvogel 125 6,314 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: Betty, Joan, or Peggy? (a special superficial poll for MAD MEN fans) ( 1 2)
Skald the Rhymer 02-19-2010 09:45 AM
by Stranger On A Train 65 5,900 Cafe Society

Poll: Have you had a homosexual experience? ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Polerius 06-13-2006 10:19 PM
by Sleel 201 5,799 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: Your Top Five Most Preferred TV Shows (Final Poll) ( 1 2)
Zeldar 07-15-2010 02:17 PM
by NoClueBoy 51 5,784 Cafe Society

Poll: Is It Okay To Wear Sweatpants In Public? ( 1 2 3 4 5 6)
Alice The Goon 02-13-2009 01:14 PM
by NinetyWt 260 5,744 In My Humble Opinion

Poll: Poll: Soft Drinks ( 1 2)
DMark 06-03-2010 09:11 AM
by Oredigger77 87 5,689 Cafe Society

Poll: A poll and general discussion about interracial relationships ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Asimovian 08-10-2010 12:00 PM
by Dangerosa 207 5,468 In My Humble Opinion

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Does anybody know how to do a search on “number of voters”?

Roughly how many polls have you voted in?

Do you have a favorite poll of all you’ve participated in?

What else do you have to say about polls?

2

It seems that searching on “voter” doesn’t include the line from polls where the voter counts are shown.

Using those two Top Ten lists in the OP, here are the ones where votes were counted and identified as such:

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“Poll” in title, last 5 years, descending number of replies

Poll: A poll and general discussion about interracial relationships ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Asimovian 08-10-2010 12:00 PM
by Dangerosa 207 5,468 In My Humble Opinion
Voters: 408

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“Poll” in title, last 5 years, descending number of views

Poll: Poll: The Beatles’ Worst Song ( 1 2 3 4)
Mean Mr. Mustard 03-26-2010 12:48 AM
by Hilarity N. Suze 160 10,968 Cafe Society
Voters: 191

Poll: Poll: Have you ever masturbated at work? ( 1 2 3)
elfkin477 05-29-2010 10:56 PM
by Sternvogel 125 6,314 In My Humble Opinion
Voters: 343

Poll: Betty, Joan, or Peggy? (a special superficial poll for MAD MEN fans) ( 1 2)
Skald the Rhymer 02-19-2010 09:45 AM
by Stranger On A Train 65 5,900 Cafe Society
Voters: 141

Poll: Your Top Five Most Preferred TV Shows (Final Poll) ( 1 2)
Zeldar 07-15-2010 02:17 PM
by NoClueBoy 51 5,784 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 280

Poll: Poll: Soft Drinks ( 1 2)
DMark 06-03-2010 09:11 AM
by Oredigger77 87 5,689 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 315

Poll: A poll and general discussion about interracial relationships ( 1 2 3 4 5)
Asimovian 08-10-2010 12:00 PM
by Dangerosa 207 5,468 In My Humble Opinion
Voters: 408

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If there’s any correlation between “number of voters” and “number of replies” or “number of views” then I’m not seeing it.

3

Using “poll” in the title in Cafe Society here are the ten most recent polls that have counts:

Poll: The Theatah…A Poll in Three Acts
Stoid 05-28-2011 02:26 PM
by Chronos 40 679 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 74

Poll: Pizza poll: perfect personal pie ( 1 2)
spark240 05-27-2011 03:10 PM
by Chronos 50 1,007 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 156

Poll: The Official Doper Simpsons Poll: Are you pro/no to Nedna
Sir T-Cups 05-24-2011 10:51 AM
by Arkcon 21 1,206 Cafe Society
Voters: 43

Poll: Coffee/Tea Poll: US/Canada Edition ( 1 2)
HeyHomie 05-23-2011 05:43 PM
by SeaDragonTattoo 62 1,484 Cafe Society
Voters: 229

Poll: A Poll: How often do to go to a theater to see a movie?
Boyo Jim 05-14-2011 08:03 AM
by gotpasswords 36 763 Cafe Society
Voters: 131

Poll: Poll: have you seen the movies? ( 1 2)
RealityChuck 04-27-2011 06:57 PM
by Chronos 54 1,466 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 245

Poll: Poll: E-book readers - e-ink vs. back-lit color ( 1 2)
Roderick Femm 04-21-2011 02:55 PM
by Caffeine.addict 64 2,688 Cafe Society
Voters: 113

Poll: A question about the movie Se7en (spoilers in poll question & thread). ( 1 2)
Skald the Rhymer 04-21-2011 02:11 PM
by Irishman 74 2,391 Cafe Society
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 145

Poll: Poll: Stephen King Fans - Favorite story from Skeleton Crew ( 1 2)
cmyk 04-10-2011 08:05 PM
by Cat Fight 54 1,664 Cafe Society
Voters: 111

Poll: Poll: Non U.S. Dopers- which of these figures do you know (check all that apply)
Sampiro 04-08-2011 03:25 PM
by Max the Immortal 32 908 Cafe Society
Voters: 50

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There are over eight pages of Cafe Society polls with “poll” in the title. Manually checking them may take a while, not to mention the other fora!

4

I’d make a wild guess that polls that request (or simply incite) people to reply with more detail are more successful than those that just require clicking the choice. People replying push the thread up and keep it in front of peoples’ eyes longer, resulting in a longer lifetime and more votes. No data, no cite.

5

I do agree that the presence of replies keeps the thread itself in view long enough for voters to have a second (or more) opportunity to participate, but the flip side of that is that if the OP is vague or of such a nature as to require follow-up posts for clarification, there’s a good chance the results summary (at the top of the thread) may not be as convincing as it could have been.

Another questionable feature of a poll’s probable lack of success is the situation where way more than 75% of the votes are for the same choice. That often signals a trivial question. Whether a poll was really needed becomes a key point.

6

I’m wondering if those searches require “poll” to be in the thread title. This poll of mine, How old are you?, got 600 votes – more than any of the vote numbers cited above. Note, however, that “poll” is not in the thread title, even though it was a poll.

7

The search for “poll” in the title can be wonky as well. For example, all those “THE WIRE” polls from last year failed to show up on that Cafe Society search.

Another peculiar aspect of polls is that just because you vote in one doesn’t cause that thread to appear in your own vanity search on your username. You have to have posted in the thread to have that happen.

Doing any meaningful survey on polls is a lot of manual work.

8

Voting in a poll doesn’t push up the thread? I never knew that.

9

That’s how it has appeared to me. Only Replies (not even Views) move the thread back into view at the top of the stack. And if all you did was vote in one, it won’t show up in a “vanity search” under your Username!