Until we’re able to get the original post edited, here are the updated instructions for polls on the new board:
RULES
No rule changes here - I’m just updating the instructions so they work with the new (June 2020) board software. You are free to use polls anywhere you like in IMHO, just as before.
A poll is a now a feature built into a regular post. They’re not restricted just to the OP anymore. There is no need to post to the thread in order to vote, although you can still discuss the results using normal posts.
CREATING A POLL
To create a poll, start a new topic (thread) or a reply in an existing topic. Along the top of your edit area, you’ll see a toolbar that includes bold, italic, and so forth. At the far right of the toolbar is a gear icon. Click on that, and you’ll get a drop-down menu that includes the option “Build Poll.”
Unlike the old board, your poll can be inserted anywhere in the post, so you can have text both above and below it. Check where your cursor is when you start the poll builder.
When you select Build Poll , you’ll see options for Single Choice (which produces radio buttons), Number Rating (just numbers), and Multiple Choice (checkboxes).
The next option is when you can see results:
- Always Visible: Everyone viewing the thread will see a “Show results” button
- On Vote: The button doesn’t appear until you’ve voted
- When Closed: The button doesn’t appear until the poll is closed
We’d prefer it if you leave “Allowed Groups” blank. We’re a pretty inclusive bunch here, so let’s not restrict voting unnecessarily.
At the bottom of the poll builder, you’ll see a checkbox for “Automatically close poll.” If you check that, you can set a date and time when voting will no longer be allowed. If you don’t check it, voting will be allowed forever, and your poll will be immortal, just like Cecil.
Above the closing option, you’ll see a checkbox for “Show who voted.” If that is checked, you get what our old board software called a “public poll,” meaning everyone will be able to see who voted how. If it isn’t checked, voting is anonymous.
SINGLE CHOICE AND MULTIPLE CHOICE POLLS
There is an option for Chart Type that you can set to either Bar or [insert in-joke here] Pie . This sets how the results will be displayed. If you set it to Pie , the option to show who voted will disappear. You can only see who voted if you’re using a bar chart.
There’s a box labeled “Enter one poll option per line.” Hopefully, I don’t have to explain that one.
If you’re making a multiple choice poll, you’ll be able to enter min and max values. If you’re doing a poll like “Which fruits do you like” with 20 different fruits, you’d set min to 1 and max to 20 and people could pick as many as they please. If you’re doing “Pick your three favorite hummingbird species,” you’d set min and max both to 3 to force everyone to pick exactly three.
(continued in Part 2 because of post length limit)