While I cannot argue the point that people were being stupid about the whole thing and that you were just inches away from having to moderate a ton of people for joining a lynching mob, that sounds too much like preemptive moderation to my tastes.
Not that I really care one way or another (you guys can have 15 threads for all I care), but this is why I think a third thread was unnecessary. Did we really need one that simply tallied votes?
If someone wants to start a thread for tallying votes or to get a quick snapshot of where people stand on the issue, then let 'em and moderate the thread to conform to the rules of the forum. Though, I’m not suggesting a simple tally should govern mod action around here.
As long as the thread is not truly redundant, I don’t see a problem leaving it open. The poll thread did not seem truly redundant with the other threads, as it served a different function.
I agree that the poll wasn’t duplicative. I think the poll was closed prematurely, as no inflammatory posts had been made to the poll thread at the time it was closed.
Yes.
Some people want to be counted but don’t want to write an essay (or just say “fuck you” and get a free warning).
And this was the problem with that poll. It was made public so people could see who voted for what. If I were the malicious kind, I would think it was designed to make a list of “people we can hate once Cesario is gone”.
If you just want to count hands, then you make a secret poll.
I have noticed that a poll isn’t really necessary for that. Plenty of people already just post to threads adding nothing more than “this”, “+1”, or “me too”.
I do agree with the rest of your post, however.
I am the author of that poll and I gave a great deal of thought to whether it should be a public or private poll.
The public/private thing cuts both ways. I wanted the board administration to know clearly what they’re constituents think about this.
As someone else noted, it was set up with gradations so the board would know not just know the “tally”, but if the board felt strongly about it. (or to what extent they felt strongly or not)
Believe it or not, I wanted to be fair to the pedophile. My sentiments are clear. But I offered no comment, and allowed for those who felt strongly *in his favor *and even those who were indifferent. (and you’ll notice every sentiment was represented in the poll)
It was my thought that a private poll may give people a [slightly] greater incentive to “pile on”, and I didn’t want that. I wanted people’s honest opinion, including how strongly they felt about it. I wanted to be fair to him, and I didn’t want anyone to participate who wasn’t willing to “sign their name.”
I had no desire to simply “count hands”, and I’m hard pressed to believe that this poll (or any poll) would be used as a list of who “hated Cesario.” The fact is, he is not well liked or received (which he has earned) and those people are well represented in their own names in their Pit posts.
After much thought, I wanted it public. If you were ambivalent, vote accordingly. If you didn’t want to sign on to a public poll, don’t vote. (but you’ve been here long enough to know that shyness is not a board quality)
Lastly, anyone could have walked into the 2 existing threads and gotten a feel for the general attitude. The poll, OTOH, gave clear, concise, specific feedback. It was not unnecessary, and was used exactly like it was supposed to be used.
My thoughts exactly, and its why I opened it.
It was the only thread I chose to post on specifically because it wasn’t like the others.
I’m still confused as to whether this is a witch hunt or a lynch mob.