Saturday, April 02, 2005
Polls
I am not a fan of online polls. Firstly, they are open to abuse (ballot stuffing) and secondly, they are often used for no other reason than to draw traffic to your site. For example, if a major newspaper ran a divisive poll on nearly anything to do with the Middle East, both 'sides' would start circulating emails advising people to go to the site and register their vote. Newspapers and websites of course know this and keep running polls concerning anything to do with Iraq, Israel, Palestinians, Bush and anything else guaranteed to get people polarized and their hit-rates high.
Additionally, these polls are frequently written by amateurs who ask leading or loaded questions and it's often the case that the results would differ were the questions written more suitably. The bottom line is, online polls are seldom an indicator of anything substantial.
Nevertheless, there is a poll on previously mentioned BC Indymedia which may interest some. For no other reason than it is hosted on the Indymedia site and not a site (such as mine) which may be considered negative towards Indymedia. The poll is here and asks:
As well, I've created my own little poll below. As always, poll results are non-scientific and feel free to get upset by it and demand hundreds of your friends visit this site...
Additionally, these polls are frequently written by amateurs who ask leading or loaded questions and it's often the case that the results would differ were the questions written more suitably. The bottom line is, online polls are seldom an indicator of anything substantial.
Nevertheless, there is a poll on previously mentioned BC Indymedia which may interest some. For no other reason than it is hosted on the Indymedia site and not a site (such as mine) which may be considered negative towards Indymedia. The poll is here and asks:
Indymedia is...It's worth noting at the time of writing the poll has only had 35 votes so no conclusions can be fairly drawn. Indeed the option of "a place to vent my sexual frustration" suggests the poll was never expected to be taken seriously. I'll keep an eye on it though.
a wonderful free for all! (2.9%)
an important activist resource (71.4%)
a place to vent my sexual frustration (2.9%)
a waste of bandwidth... why am I here? (20.0%)
a nice place to visit, but a better place to rob (2.9%)
As well, I've created my own little poll below. As always, poll results are non-scientific and feel free to get upset by it and demand hundreds of your friends visit this site...
