I have seen many polls posted on WHT. I wanted to know if polls are helpfull.. I find them very annoying. So this is a poll about polls.

The problem with polling (surveys in general) is that the question has to be worded correctly, and the poll well thought out, in order for you to use the information effectively. Often forum polls are not well thought out, the question is flawed, the question is too broad, etc., etc., etc., in order for the results to have any meaning at all.

Control panel polls are very popular, however, I can't recall one that has ever been posted that has been useful. Often the question is, "Which is better? <inster list of cps>"

For the poll to be useful to you, you must state what your needs are. Do you really give a rat's donkey what other people like (especially without knowing why they like it)?

Also, these types of polls assume that the person voting has had extensive experience with all of the cps asked about (which is often hardly the case). Instead, what you get is people voting for the cp they use which isn't helpful in determining which one you should use to satisify your needs. Poll was flawed, results are cannot be used for anything.

Just one example...

The skeptic in tends to think some polls are designed with little more in mind than to keep people's signature at the top of the forum. Some are fairly handy though, if as Chicken mentioned, they're worded correctly and have some relevance. Hell, even some of the fun meaningless ones are enjoyable to read.

I do think there are way too many of them of course but I think that'll always happen on a forum this large.

Greg Moore