Glad you folks added this feature. It’s really useful when you want better results as a lot of people prefer to be anonymous in certain polls. Keeps things a little more organized as well.
I have noticed that a lot of OPs include a line at the end like, “Poll coming soon” as though the OP gets posted without the poll until the poll is added.
That’s not really how it works, is it?
The new thread shows when you create it and the poll doesn’t until you add it. People can open the new thread before the poll is in the thread. The time between the two depends on how long it takes you to enter the question and all the choices. It’s nothing that really needs a notice the the poll will follow.
Pet peeve of mine. Quit putting an "I just want to see the results " option people!!
That would be my vote, if it were still open to casting one.
This does not work. Please give new instructions.
And I shall charge a poll tax.
I had an email notification for this thread. Was the guy a spammer?
I’ve just posted my first poll.
Note: although it may not be clear from the content of posts 22 and 24, you need to include the word “Poll:” in the thread title (if you want it there). Finalizing the creation of the poll does NOT populate the thread title field with the word.
This is not true. As you can see from the title of your own poll thread, it now says “Poll: [Poll]” because you added “[Poll]” unnecessarily. Creating a poll automatically adds “Poll:” to the title.
Well, NOW I do…
:smack:
One kink is that the Poll tag (and the poll itself) doesn’t show up in Tapatalk. It’s useful to see Poll in the title so I know to switch to a browser if I want to read the Poll and/or vote.
So while it is redundant using a browser, there are some advantages to adding it to the title.
I think this pinned thread may have to be revised. 
Are we getting polls? Do we have them?
The little gear shaped icon above the edit window lets you build a poll. It is not just an option in the original post.
Will polls be enabled?
- Yes
- No
- Maybe
0 voters
How we manage that is maybe something to look at since it is now a poll free for all.
I’m on it, Leaper. Check back in a day or so.
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)
(part 2)
NUMBER RATING POLLS
A number rating poll would be something like “Rate the movie Casablanca.” You can set the min, max, and step to show what numbers appear.
- Min=1, Max=5, Step=1 would give options 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Min=3, Max=12, Step=2 would give options 3, 5, 7, 9, 11.
You get the idea.
I’m sure some of you curious technophiles will want to go deeper. Visit Create a poll that others can vote on - users - Discourse Meta for instructions on hand-coding polls. You break it, you buy it!
VOTING IN A POLL AND READING THE RESULTS
It’s really quite straightforward: When you see a poll, there will be some options. Pick one (or more, if allowed). If there’s a Show Results button you can see all of the results. Again, you don’t have to post to the thread (err … topic) to vote.
You can only vote once, of course, but you can go back and change your vote if you like.