Why not make public polls the defalt option?

Discussion in 'Site Feedback' started by madanthonywayne, Jan 29, 2007.

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  1. madanthonywayne

    madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    When I take a poll, I'm often curious as to who voted which way. Most of the time, however, I can't because most polls are not "open". I believe this is because the defalt option is closed.

    Since we are all pretty much anonymous here, I'm pretty sure that if the defalt option were open, most polls would be open and that this would rarely defer anyone from taking the poll. If the thread starter thought it would, he could still choose "closed".
     
    madanthonywayne, Jan 29, 2007
    #1

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  3. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    There are some issues where I don't want my opinion public, so if it's a public poll I don't vote. Public polls can be good, but as long as people are willing to have their votes known. It's a trade off. The extra anonymity probably encourages honesty.

    I don't see any problem with the current system. The thread starter gets to choose whether the poll is public or not, and I see no problem with the default being an anonymous poll.
     
    James R, Jan 30, 2007
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  5. madanthonywayne

    madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    People are lazy. They tend to leave things on the default. And why should you be embarassed about your answers? Anyone on this forum could be my neighbor or Osama bin Ladin for all I know.
     
    madanthonywayne, Jan 30, 2007
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  7. leopold

    leopold Valued Senior Member

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    it should be left as is.
    frankly i feel that the public polls can be dispensed with altogether, if a person wants to reveal how they voted they can in their post.
     
    leopold, Jan 30, 2007
    #4
  8. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    I'm not embarassed. There are just some opinions I prefer to keep private.

    Incidentally, whenever I create a poll, public or private, I usually try to include a "Don't want to vote" option of some sort.
     
    James R, Jan 30, 2007
    #5
  9. Sauna

    Sauna Banned Banned

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    In which case why not automatically include such an option with every poll?

    This would be easy enough to achieve, technically.
     
    Sauna, Jan 30, 2007
    #6
  10. Absane

    Absane Rocket Surgeon Valued Senior Member

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    Why must we do away with privacy?

    No.
     
    Absane, Jan 30, 2007
    #7
  11. The Devil Inside

    The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    i never understood a "dont care/dont want to vote" option.

    kind of self defeating, if you ask me.

    just dont vote.
     
    The Devil Inside, Jan 30, 2007
    #8
  12. zenbabelfish

    zenbabelfish autonomous hyperreal sophist Registered Senior Member

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    The problem is that the wording of the poll question and answers has culturally-specific basis...it is not an accurate means of determining actualities.
     
    zenbabelfish, Jan 30, 2007
    #9
  13. draqon

    draqon Banned Banned

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    like maybe you like...like someone on this forum...and maybe by saying you like did suicides in past from poll and you dont like pikachu's (whereas everyone around you likes them)...well these sort of things get to change peoples perspective about you...so when participating in a conversation...they would be like

    "oh that time you did the suicide"

    or

    "..oh the way you dont like pikachus!"....
     
    draqon, Jan 30, 2007
    #10
  14. Nickelodeon

    Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    As long as the results are promptly sent to the FBI, I dont see a problem with the current system.
     
    Nickelodeon, Jan 30, 2007
    #11
  15. Nickelodeon

    Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    Seems strange. "I vote that I dont want to vote."
     
    Nickelodeon, Jan 30, 2007
    #12
  16. Sauna

    Sauna Banned Banned

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    "Don't want to vote" is the polite way to say "bad question".
     
    Sauna, Jan 30, 2007
    #13
  17. redarmy11

    redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Or 'interested but undecided'. Does everyone have to have an opinion on everything?
     
    redarmy11, Jan 30, 2007
    #14
  18. Nickelodeon

    Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    No opinion = dont vote.
     
    Nickelodeon, Jan 30, 2007
    #15
  19. redarmy11

    redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Maybe I shouldn't have added the last sentence. Often you have conflicting thoughts on an issue that prevent you from coming down on one side or the other.
     
    redarmy11, Jan 30, 2007
    #16
  20. leopold

    leopold Valued Senior Member

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    i've wondered the same thing, but after thinking about it the answer is so you would know the poster seen the poll.
     
    leopold, Jan 31, 2007
    #17
  21. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Every professional poll (by Gallup, for example) includes a "Don't know" or "Don't care" or "Rather not say" option. One reason is that it prevents people who would rather not respond having to lie or take a position on something they may not have a definite position on, which would skew the results. But it maintains a true accounting of the number of people polled in total. For example, if you have a poll with 3 options "Yes, No, Don't know" and 50% of people vote "Don't know", 30% vote "Yes" and 20% vote "No", then eliminating the "Don't know" option makes the poll look as if 60% of people are in the "Yes" category and 40% "No", which is misleading.

    There's another good reason to include a "Don't want to vote" option on sciforums: To view the poll results, you need to click on a separate link - unless you've registered a response to the poll. Therefore, including a "Don't want to vote" option lets people see the results without clicking every time on a separate link.
     
    James R, Jan 31, 2007
    #18
  22. Roman

    Roman Banned Banned

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    Oh?
    The idea of a poll is to understand the demographics of a population. If 100 people view the poll, but only presented with two polarized options (Yes/No, +1/-1), then only those who are polarized will answer. So you could get something like 34 people for, 16 against. Your conclusion that the population is strongly in favor, which would be wrong. Half the population doesn't care (or is moderate, or whatever).

    It's bad statistics.

    [edit]
    I see James got that before I did.
     
    Roman, Jan 31, 2007
    #19
  23. spuriousmonkey

    spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    Ironically in our modern democracies the no-voters do not count.
     
    spuriousmonkey, Jan 31, 2007
    #20
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