Can we restrict availability of polls?

gazza975526570

They have brought many economic benefits to this country.

Im thinking along the lines of plumbing etc of which before the migration we would often struggle to get hold of.

Im all for them

ixwood

Have a poll and see then. It's only fair.

ixwood

Poll! Poll! Poll! Poll! Poll! Poll! Poll! Poll!
:-)

peter999

No poll yet, I'm disappointed.

peter999

MarkyMarkD

peter999 wrote: »

a good well written poll can quickly & simply get to the crux of the matter, measuring the opinion of a large number of people in a clear way.

That's my point. 99% of them are neither good nor well-written.

peter999

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

That's my point. 99% of them are neither good nor well-written.

You can put that right.

You can show us how it's done.

peter999

marleyboy

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

There aren't THAT many polls, but there are too many.

The results are meaningless.

People post polls like "should I have to pay this fee". Well, obviously they are going to get a positive result simply because of the sort of people who (a) read poll type threads and (b) vote in them. People who think about what they are doing and have a more rational view don't tend to vote because they know the polls are a waste of time.

@rob's comment - I don't want to stop newbies posting threads and I wouldn't suggest that. It's just that polls are hugely more mis-used than correctly used. I think they should be a privilege reserved for those who know what they are doing. Or that polls should be moderated before they are publicly viewable.

I cant imagine any poster refusing to pay a fee on the grounds of "I did a poll that said I shouldn't", so its pretty irrelevant what the poll is asking. If you dont like polls, don't enter them, its really that simple, Everybody has a right to add a poll to their thread, however meaningless it is, maybe posters should be free to write a post, on condition they dont ask any questions in the thread.

MarkyMarkD

You're missing the point (probably deliberately). Asking a question in a thread gets answers which are - generally - useful to others with the same question (or a similar one).

Posting a poll doesn't get useful answers.

The nature of MSE means that the results are biased. The nature of those who vote also means that the results are biased. In summary, every poll gets biased results and is therefore meaningless.

I asked earlier in the thread for someone to post a link to a useful poll. Conspicuously nobody has responded to that challenge!

peter999

We're wasting time, where is the Poll !!??

We would have a conclusive viewpoint of MSE users by now.

peter999

peter999

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Posting a poll doesn't get useful answers.

The nature of MSE means that the results are biased. The nature of those who vote also means that the results are biased. In summary, every poll gets biased results and is therefore meaningless.

I asked earlier in the thread for someone to post a link to a useful poll. Conspicuously nobody has responded to that challenge!

Here are 3 polls with interesting results, which you cannot deduce from discussion alone.

Poll: Now lock-in & force school pupils to eat "healthy" food
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=824235

30 Yes, 17 No.

Poll: Self-appointed dimwits -The ASA & Ryanair sexy ad
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=714319

21 No, 5 Yes.

Poll: Should the DNA of babies be taken at birth for the National DNA Database ??
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=560413

25 Yes, 25 No.

peter999