Posted 12/13/2014 09:24 am
If you're unsure about how to set up a poll, post a test poll in the Testing forum.
Some basic notes:
There's a maximum of 15 options. So don't ask a question like "What's your favourite country to collect" and then try to give all 193 UN member countries as options; it's not going to work.
You don't have to say "Poll:" in your subject line; the forum automatically puts that there.
Lurkers (people who aren't logged on as forum members) can vote in polls; it's the default option to allow them. If you want to exclude lurkers and only want members to vote, change the "Who Votes" box. Be aware that hackers and other people with way too much time on their hands can find ways to vote multiple times in Internet polls if lurkers are allowed to vote.
You can't limit voting by geographic region, or block certain members from voting - everyone in the world is allowed to vote in any poll. Sure, if you post a poll in the Canadian section and don't want non-Canadians to vote, you can nicely ask them not to vote, please - but there's no way of policing that and no way of stopping them.
If you decide you want to add another option or two after the poll is submitted, you can edit the poll and add them - but you only have the usual 24 hour window to make edits; after that, any edits need to be made by a moderator or admin. People who've already voted can't change their mind and vote for the new options, either, so if you forget to include an option you really wanted to include and don't notice for a few days, it might be fairer all round if you get the admins to lock that defective poll and start a new one.
You can't see who voted in your poll. Moderators and admins can, but even we can't see which option they voted for. If members don't make a post in the poll thread saying what they voted for, the option they voted for will remain secret.
Perhaps the most important "undocumented feature" in polls is this: if someone hasn't voted and they post a reply to a poll, they lose the right to vote in that poll. Clicking on the "View Results" button has the same effect. The theory being that if you want to participate in a poll thread, you should vote first - then enter the discussion or look at the results.
Some basic notes:
There's a maximum of 15 options. So don't ask a question like "What's your favourite country to collect" and then try to give all 193 UN member countries as options; it's not going to work.
You don't have to say "Poll:" in your subject line; the forum automatically puts that there.
Lurkers (people who aren't logged on as forum members) can vote in polls; it's the default option to allow them. If you want to exclude lurkers and only want members to vote, change the "Who Votes" box. Be aware that hackers and other people with way too much time on their hands can find ways to vote multiple times in Internet polls if lurkers are allowed to vote.
You can't limit voting by geographic region, or block certain members from voting - everyone in the world is allowed to vote in any poll. Sure, if you post a poll in the Canadian section and don't want non-Canadians to vote, you can nicely ask them not to vote, please - but there's no way of policing that and no way of stopping them.
If you decide you want to add another option or two after the poll is submitted, you can edit the poll and add them - but you only have the usual 24 hour window to make edits; after that, any edits need to be made by a moderator or admin. People who've already voted can't change their mind and vote for the new options, either, so if you forget to include an option you really wanted to include and don't notice for a few days, it might be fairer all round if you get the admins to lock that defective poll and start a new one.
You can't see who voted in your poll. Moderators and admins can, but even we can't see which option they voted for. If members don't make a post in the poll thread saying what they voted for, the option they voted for will remain secret.
Perhaps the most important "undocumented feature" in polls is this: if someone hasn't voted and they post a reply to a poll, they lose the right to vote in that poll. Clicking on the "View Results" button has the same effect. The theory being that if you want to participate in a poll thread, you should vote first - then enter the discussion or look at the results.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
