After much reading

[Cathleen]

I wish you well Lady G.

 

[ReadyOne]

Can we (slightly) expand the Forum title?

Perhaps we might broaden the definition used for this forum slightly to "How To and Information Exchange".

There a several postings here which communicate information, not in a Question and Answer format, but in a News and Discussion format.

 

[ReadyOne]

Are polls really "how to"?

I can't think of a case where a poll is directly related to a "how to" question, yet there have been several good ones that have broadened our understanding of what people believe or practice.

Now, I may be bringing something to the moderator's attention which has been here-to-fore ignore and which will result in more threads being moved, but strictly speaking the poll feature should be disabled for this board and/or poll threads moved as not being in "How To" format.

The above is not my personal opinion; I want polls to stay. However, policy should be consistent -- no loop holes -- so I'm noting the subject for discussion.

 

[LadyG]

Good point, but, if you're asking for advice, sometimes a poll can be used for different options/opinions, no?

 

[ReadyOne]

Good point, but, if you're asking for advice, sometimes a poll can be used for different options/opinions, no?

I assume (from this response ) you going to do this on a case by case basis, and polls per se are not forbidden.

As for your question, I think it depends on how well you adhere to the definition of "how to".

One problem is that asking a "how to" question implies you don't know the answer (else why ask?) But poll responses are proposed answers, which suggest you do have a good handle on the question.

This turns the question from "how to" into "am I right" or "what's your opinion" -- neither of which are strictly "please tell me the procedure for doing..."

 

[LadyG]

Ah, I see you're splitting hairs because of what I said. That's cool.

Let's look at this way then.

Poll Question:

Green Walls with Purple Furniture?

I have purple furniture and light blue carpet. I was thinking of painting the walls green, but someone told me that wouldn't look right. What would you suggest out of these colours?

1. Beige
2. Yellow
3. Blue
4 Ditch the purple furniture you dumb bitch and buy new stuff


Chat Question:

Hi all ! I just bought this really nice green paint, I think it will look incredible with my blue carpet and purple couch!

How's your day, what's new? Who got laid last night.


See the diff?

In this instance, the poll questions works, because it actually asks for an opinion of other choices. Course, I'd vote for 4..but that's just me.

 

[gman23]

You guys are really in for it now