Poll Crazy

adam Oct 22, 2013 19 Comments

I think you folks are getting a little too poll crazy.

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Polls

19 Comments

Special K

about 11 years ago 

I disagree.  Perhaps we should have a poll to determine if we are poll crazy.

Paul Lundgren

about 11 years ago 

As explained last week, we are indeed going poll crazy right now, with the intent to stop hopefully by Halloween and take a break.

Paul Lundgren

about 11 years ago 

[poll id="51"]

This poll is now closed. The results were:

No - 62.8 percent
Yes - 37.2 percent

Joel

about 11 years ago 

Some of us LIKE crazy!

heysme

about 11 years ago 

I was going to post something in the area of poll crazy but thought it would be looked at as a poll or an attempt of sympathy poll.

wskyline

about 11 years ago 

I just think we're getting too poll crazy about restaurants, I'm a bit sick of it. I'd love to vote on the best of something else of Duluth, such as brewery, park, beach, independent retailers, etc.

Rae

about 11 years ago 

We have the rest of our PDD lives to vote our little hearts out concerning every aspect of living in this area.  I'm sure we will see many non-food related polls in 2014 and beyond.

I enjoy the polls because it opens a dialogue about establishments that I haven't had the opportunity to visit yet.  Apparently I really need to visit Pak's and Sara's Table.

Ramos

about 11 years ago 

I think we're a little too poll crazy about things that are the best. Let's start taking nominations for, like, the ugliest tree or something.

Endion

about 11 years ago 

It would be nice to know how many people are voting and how many people have multiple accounts? 

What is to stop a restaurant from creating a bunch of accounts to win? If Pak's wins best Asian then I know the fix is in. Ate their twice and was unimpressed as far as Asian food goes. Sala Thai is very close to what I ate at the best rated Thai place in NY. We are very lucky to have it!

Endion

about 11 years ago 

How about best Duluth based band ever? Best guitarist? Or even top three? Best bluegrass?

vicarious

about 11 years ago 

When all the polls are finished, let's decide which was the best poll.

Emerickson

about 11 years ago 

I really enjoy all the polls and find them valuable referral sources as to where to eat and new places to try. However, I also would like to know how many people participate in each poll. If only 31 people vote then the results don't really mean too much.

TimK

about 11 years ago 

Crap. Are we under oath here? I mean, I thought this was the fucking internet ...

Endion

about 11 years ago 

jeez TimK, how do you really feel?

I just think that someone could create a bunch of accounts and skew voting results. These things end up on commercials and hung up at the restaurants. It is surprising when you look up Duluth that this blog pops up first for many searches. I went to Lake Avenue after reading it on here and was less than impressed. Although the top three for that category were kind of sheeshee for me me...

Paul Lundgren

about 11 years ago 

It would make more sense if people who think Perfect Duluth Day does too much polling didn't at the same time offer suggestions of other polls that should be done.

PDD has run a total of 49 polls over the past 57 months. Eleven polls regarding restaurants have happened so far -- all in the past three months. Whether that is excessive, of course, is a matter of opinion.

There has been a three-fold process for each restaurant award category: nominations, an elimination round and final voting. We could shorten the process if some focus group picked the top contenders, but that would clearly generate controversy. So in the interest of greater openness and accuracy we have chosen a process that is admittedly a bit more arduous.

In the end, these awards are not statements of fact or even the collective opinion of the average Duluthian. They are the PDD Awards. They reflect the opinions of people who read and contribute to this website. If a restaurant you like doesn't win, it doesn't necessarily mean the poll is rigged, it probably just means you have a different opinion. 

Is cheating possible? Sure, but you'd have to work pretty hard to get away with it. Each vote has a trail. It's much easier to spot shenanigans than it would be with paper ballots.

How many people vote? It's different in every poll, obviously, but it tends to end up around 100, which is a little less than 5 percent of the people who have registered accounts on PDD and a little more than 5 percent of the people who visit the site on a daily basis. So it's not a large percentage, but it's the people who care about the subject enough to log in and click on an answer, and that counts for something.

Personally, while I'm not tired of polling yet, I find myself tired of writing about the subject of polling in just seven paragraphs.

B-man

about 11 years ago 

How long is the optimal written response to a topic on PDD?
1) one paragraph
2) less than 3 paragraphs
3) up to 7 paragraphs
4) what ever it takes!

Rae

about 11 years ago 

Paul -

Your efforts and well thought out responses to non-issues are appreciated.  My feeling is, if you don't like the polls, don't waste your time voting.  I don't read 50% of the posts because they aren't relevant to my interests.

However, I do like Ramos' suggestion.  Ugliest tree?  Biggest pothole?  Best community garden?

Barrett Chase

about 11 years ago 

PDD commenters need to start implementing TL;DR.

pats

about 11 years ago 

I think the polls are great!  They're quick, easy and give anyone interested a chance to learn what people think of various things around the area.  I really like the restaurant polls in particular - it gives me ideas of new places to try, since I tend to get in a rut!  Thank, PDD - you are the best area site (and I don't need a poll to tell me that!).

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