How about adding a new way of handling polls besides 'regular' or 'CW'?
Please give answers that give ideas on how this could be implemented (actually it's design work, but you know what I mean).
EDIT: See this post for more ideas.
asked Aug 13, 2009 at 18:31
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3It seems like those who hate polls, are those who only value their own opinion. I've had to work with people like that, and it's a sad scenario.– Lance RobertsCommented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:14
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2You might want to seek some help for that talking to yourself issue you have there. It is a sign of insanity you know; I only have your best interests in mind. Perhaps you could also wait for at least one person to agree with you before you say it's us who value our own opinion, sport.– Ian ElliottCommented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:18
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2WTF? Internet polls are idle amusement, nothing more.– Shog9Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:29
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1We're not talking about idle polls, we're talking about technical ones. No one wants any 'pet name' polls.– Lance RobertsCommented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:46
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For instance...?– Shog9Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:52
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Here's one that looks useful for somebody (not my area): stackoverflow.com/questions/1174543/…, also most of the hidden feature/hidden danger type polls have alot of useful technical information.– Lance RobertsCommented Aug 13, 2009 at 20:01
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2Lance, why make that a poll? It's just fine as a question (except for the misleading title, which i fixed)! As for the "hidden dangers in" - those could be useful in so far as they provide helpful information to new users, but the "poll" aspect is largely just a way for experienced users to commiserate on their pet peeves...– Shog9Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 20:22
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1Polls are definitely misused a lot, and I have no problem with the closing/deleting of 'pet names' polls (and voted to close one just the other day). We just shouldn't throw out the baby with the bath water.– Lance RobertsCommented Aug 13, 2009 at 20:32
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1A few entertaining polls are fine, especially if they can generate helpful technical information as a side-effect. But i don't see the need to encourage more of them, or emphasize the "poll" aspect over the system's native "answer" focus. The common practice - CW everything and delete old, unpopular polls - should suffice, if we can avoid getting into bitter flame-wars every time someone's feelings get hurt 'cause they wanted easy rep. They may not be sexy or generate massive page-views, but the "long tail" of ordinary Q&A stands to do far more good... SO should stick to what it does best.– Shog9Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 22:19
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7 Answers
I would also like some way of integrating a poll in a question. Many questions are subjective; this does not make them meaningless.
For example, sometimes I'd like to know peoples' opinion on which design is easier to understand/implement (recently for instance on C# interface method hiding). These are valid best-practice questions that don't always have an easy answer. The normal Stack Overflow answer mechanic works OK for that, but it also conflates quality of an answer with the answer itself. So the discussion and voting thereupon are fine, but they don't really solve the problem at hand; being "which of this options should I choose?".
I could imagine something altogether different might be even better, for instance something like the Yes/No/Maybe gadget in Google Wave.
A structured way to share and aggregate opinions would be valuable.
No. Poll questions should be discouraged.
answered Aug 13, 2009 at 19:02
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8Short, pat answers without explanation should be discouraged.– SynetechCommented Feb 22, 2011 at 2:35
Polls should be done away with. Not given their own special status (unless that special status is automatically closed). There are plenty of ways to ask a question and get an answer or get decent feedback on a topic without having to resort to mind-numbing polls.
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3I'm amazed that you don't see the utility in technical polls (which is all I care about). Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:08
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If a question needs a poll, it's subjective, and should be done away with. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:09
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4Subjective answers are very often useful, there are huge areas of programming that are subjective. That's why we have to make decisions. If it was all deterministic then computers would only program themselves. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:11
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1Subjective questions are specifically targeted and warned against when posting on SO. I assume you believe this is a slight glitch in the subjectively programmed site? Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:14
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1I find that if I listen to others, I actually learn things that help my programming. I'll never understand people who think they've reached the pinnacle of programming know-how and don't need the opinions of others. That's why I frequent SO. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:19
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Well then you're frequenting the wrong site. I never claimed to have reached the pinnacle of programming knowledge (but then again learning isn't a subjective process so I have no idea what you're referring to, perhaps you learn programming from studying books of polls and info-graphics?). SO is a definitive resource, and should remain that way for obvious reasons. I prefer correct answers, not I personally believe this is an answer. I'll make my own decisions in that regard. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:24
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2I'm sure as you grow older, you'll learn the wisdom of listening to others. I had to learn it the hard way also. Good luck. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 19:45
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Life has taught me humility. I'm amazed at all those who haven't got to that lesson yet. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 20:03
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Oh wow ... I just got the red warning box for upvoting comments within 5 seconds. Well played, Rich B. Commented Aug 13, 2009 at 21:39
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@TheTXI your opinion would be better received if you gave some practical examples so that users who feel the need to use a poll can use the example as a guide for formatting their question.– SynetechCommented Feb 22, 2011 at 2:34
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1This response is highly disagreeable because I have found a lot of useful ideas and solutions from poll-type questions. I'm only waiting for SO to accommodate them better. Commented Apr 26, 2013 at 16:40
Why do we need to add complexity to the system?
Poll questions should just be Community Wiki. Then we don't have a problem.
Polls belong on surveymonkey.com, not Stack Overflow.
'Listen to the wisdom of others' is both condescending and irrelevant - Stack Overflow is for technical programming questions that have actual (even testable) answers.
answered Aug 14, 2009 at 5:40
You will be able to run quick polls in the third place (chat). Use stars to vote.
- Questioner puts up poll question with 'Poll' status. (Ex: Which conditionals should I put in my new language?)
- Answerers answer with 1-line 'answer states' in one Edit Box. (Ex: If-Then-Else)
- Answerers answer with supporting text in 2nd Edit Box. (Ex: If's are necessary because of blah, blah, blah)
- People up and downvote the answers. Either with no rep changes, or a one-time rep for answers that get any upvotes.
Overlayed on this would be the ability for those of Editing rep or the Questioner to edit the 1-line Edit Box, and for all CW users (100+ rep) to edit the supporting text.
answered Aug 13, 2009 at 18:31