Polls and their overuse

[WesScog]

Word of advice...

Every thread you make DOES NOT need a poll.

Polls are way overused, for requests that absolutely gain nothing from having a poll.

Please stop using them unless you're actually taking a poll, instead of tossing them up every time you want to request something.

[Vaughn Whynot]

THANK YOU SO DAMN MUCH
they are increasing like wildfire

[SyxxGage]

There should be a poll in this thread to figure out if polls are overused or not.

[pinnaclestudioking]

yes syxxgage

great idea

[nickm54]

seriously just talk about it on the thread nobody really votes that much anyways
i mean i think ive voted on one poll...ever

[Jcg64]

I think polls are great when used right.

[nickm54]

yeah but when they are over used for things like should i get this camera yes or no, its just stupid if you ask it in the thread people will respond with a reply you dont need a poll

[KingNikan]

Hmm i dont see a problem tbh. They dont seem to hurt or cost IM thye are annoying yes but

[stikyfingas]

Totally agree... way too much overused.

[WesScog]

Hmm i dont see a problem tbh. They dont seem to hurt or cost IM thye are annoying yes but

Actually, they hurt the forums and they do cost us.

Posts with polls are a lot of data for a thread to hold and keep track of, especially when they have dozens (or sometimes hundreds) of votes. It's not a problem for an occasional poll, but when EVERYONE is making requests with polls, that is stress on the system that is just totally unnecessary. (It doesn't matter if it's not a lot of stress, any small amount of stress that we can avoid SHOULD be avoided.)

Not to mention that threads that are months old only take a single vote for the thread to get pushed to the top of the forum.

So whenever a thread gets voted on, it get's pushed to the top of the forum, and pushes out threads that might not have gotten any good responses yet.

So threads with polls oftentimes get pushed to the top of the forum when people arbitrarily vote on them, even though they might have 10 pages worth of responses, while threads without polls might get pushed out, without even getting a quarter of those responses.

Also, even YOU admit they are annoying. The forums being an annoying environment means that posters who are valuable contributors might choose to visit the forum less, meaning that polls by being annoying could actually make the forum DUMBER.

[Vaughn Whynot]

i think it should be only mods and admins can post them
serious the polls help answer nothing
i find a full text response can answer more then a vote

[Todd]

I think polls are great when used right.


So is nuclear power.

[Fplus]

I also think that polls are overused. My opinion is that it is enough to have a vote for important things (things admins and moderators post and the poll is to figure out what they should next build on BFX, but i don't like that anybody can post a poll to ask what should be next on BFX. JUST ADMINS AND MODERATORS)
:gary:
And yeah, it is a good idea to start a poll for this threat to figure out if polls are overused or not.;)

[BinBinProductions]

You should be limited to post a certain amount of polls a month. That way the people that always make random threads and stuff are limited.
Just my dumbass idea...

[KingNikan]

Actually, they hurt the forums and they do cost us.

Posts with polls are a lot of data for a thread to hold and keep track of, especially when they have dozens (or sometimes hundreds) of votes. It's not a problem for an occasional poll, but when EVERYONE is making requests with polls, that is stress on the system that is just totally unnecessary. (It doesn't matter if it's not a lot of stress, any small amount of stress that we can avoid SHOULD be avoided.)

Not to mention that threads that are months old only take a single vote for the thread to get pushed to the top of the forum.

So whenever a thread gets voted on, it get's pushed to the top of the forum, and pushes out threads that might not have gotten any good responses yet.

So threads with polls oftentimes get pushed to the top of the forum when people arbitrarily vote on them, even though they might have 10 pages worth of responses, while threads without polls might get pushed out, without even getting a quarter of those responses.

Also, even YOU admit they are annoying. The forums being an annoying environment means that posters who are valuable contributors might choose to visit the forum less, meaning that polls by being annoying could actually make the forum DUMBER.

How do you come up with this.

Its a fact none is superior to the the might Wes

[WesScog]

I wouldn't go that far. But thanks.

[potentialenergy]

Yes the poles are very over used, we need to start using the sweedes!

[Steelersk36]

Lol!! But seriously, stick this into the "Forum Guidelines" thread so all new members can see.

[FilmwannabeGoldenjabba]

I agree with you Wescog. People should only use polls when they want to collect a range of data. Thanks for bringing it up!

[cardboard_samurai]

If I make a thread, I'll be sure not to include a poll unless it is really and truly needed.

Thanks for the article guys!