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Message board > Members' Opinion Polls > Members' poll: Is the web poll getting stale?

Is the web poll getting stale?

This week's original poll was a repeat of an earlier poll. Is the poll getting stale? Turn out rates suggest that voter apathy is not a problem. Have the old coffin dodgers who used to contribute run out of ideas? Or have they retired, leaving a void yet to be filled by those still in statu pupillare? The main question again: is the web poll getting stale? Vote and discuss.

Yes		13%

No		87%

Total: 23 members' votes

by jpd - Mon 1st Aug 2005, 11:22am

JPD said: This week's original poll was a repeat of an earlier poll. Is the poll getting stale? Turn out rates suggest that voter apathy is not a problem. Have the old coffin dodgers who used to contribute run out of ideas? Or have they retired, leaving a void yet to be filled by those still in statu pupillare? The main question again: is the web poll getting stale? Vote and discuss.
Yes: 17%
No: 83%

Oops - mean't to remove this poll (was going to post it when the dupe came up last week but we decided Chris' "Greatest Rower Ever" poll was better so entered that instead).

by Martin - Mon 1st Aug 2005, 5:06pm

I think it is on the stale side, but that it is pretty remarkable that there has been a new poll every week for something like 90 weeks.

When polls were initially set up, don't know about anyone else but I fully expected it to go for weeks at a time without new polls over the long summer months. Surely hardly surprising that even the 'coffin dodgers' are struggling for ideas!

by RTT - Mon 1st Aug 2005, 5:57pm

Martin said: even the 'coffin dodgers' are struggling for ideas!

I'm not struggling for ideas, it just seems stupid to put polls that are actually interesting online in summer, when few people read / respond to them. Inane polls and repeats of older polls (where opinion may have changed slightly) are the sort of thing we want between now and the end of September!

by Amelia - Tue 2nd Aug 2005, 5:24pm

I agree interesting polls are better during term time, and that inane polls or repeats of classic polls are tolerable over the long vacation. I don't think repeating inane polls (like Daddy or chips) is much fun though.

by Andy - Wed 3rd Aug 2005, 3:13pm

Is the poll actually anonymous, or can someone with superhuman server powers see who voted what?

by Martin - Wed 3rd Aug 2005, 5:40pm

Andy said: Is the poll actually anonymous, or can someone with superhuman server powers see who voted what?

Member id of the poster is embedded in an html comment with each poll. You can see this by looking at the page source.

Also it is a simple matter for me to report the number of polls created by the leading contributors, have done this on request in the past.

by dw229 - Wed 3rd Aug 2005, 7:42pm

Also it is a simple matter for me to report the number of polls created by the leading contributors, have done this on request in the past.

Please can you report the number of polls created by the leading contributors, Martin? Thanks.

by Martin - Thu 4th Aug 2005, 8:47am

dw229 said: Please can you report the number of polls created by the leading contributors, Martin? Thanks.

Can do so tomorrow - don't have the internet access I need to do anything before then.

by jpd - Thu 4th Aug 2005, 10:53am

Martin said: Member id of the poster is embedded in an html comment with each poll. You can see this by looking at the page source...

I don't think that was quite what Andy meant; the database does not reveal who voted for what, only whether or not a member has voted and the number of votes for each option. Therefore, the admins can't tell you who has already voted for what, but they could, if they really wanted to, create a list of who has already voted and the number of votes for each option, then when the next vote comes through they could do the same again and see who's voted flag has changed and which option(s) has(have) been incremented.

by Dubya - Tue 9th Aug 2005, 10:13pm

Or if they really really wanted to they could just add a line of code to record what you voted... but they won't they're nice like that, and also because there haven't been any suicide scullers on the Cam yet.

by database query - Sun 21st Aug 2005, 10:26am

dw229 said: Please can you report the number of polls created by the leading contributors, Martin? Thanks.

+-----------+-----------+--------+
| firstname | surname   | number |
+-----------+-----------+--------+
| Simon     | Blackburn |     23 |
| Tom       | Rose      |     19 |
| Daniel    | Walker    |     12 |
| Chris     | Ingram    |      9 |
| Matthew   | Byrne     |      7 |
| Dan       | Newton    |      5 |
| Jonathan  | Glass     |      3 |
| Martin    | Peck      |      3 |
| Jon       | Davies    |      2 |
| Amelia    | Russell   |      2 |
| John      | Earl      |      2 |
| Andrew    | Lea-Cox   |      1 |
| S. M.     | Knight    |      1 |
| Chris     | Mycroft   |      1 |
| Esther    | Hobson    |      1 |
| Bryn      | Garrod    |      1 |
| Pia       | Schaefer  |      1 |
| M. J.     | Goodson   |      1 |
+-----------+-----------+--------+

by jmg - Mon 22nd Aug 2005, 11:27am

database query said:

So Blackburn is responsible for almost half a year of polls...?

Impressive

by Simon, in Wyoming - Mon 22nd Aug 2005, 8:38pm

jmg said: Impressive

Thank you; probably explains why I have ended up repeating myself.

Anyone know any decent ways to prevent insects attacking me? Am really suffering out here...

by Rich - Tue 23rd Aug 2005, 8:37am

Simon, in Wyoming said: Anyone know any decent ways to prevent insects attacking me? Am really suffering out here...

Be in Siberia? Too cold for insects there.

by dw229 - Tue 23rd Aug 2005, 10:35pm

database query said:

+-----------+-----------+--------+
| firstname | surname   | number |
+-----------+-----------+--------+
| Simon     | Blackburn |     23 |
| Tom       | Rose      |     19 |
| Daniel    | Walker    |     12 |
| Chris     | Ingram    |      9 |
| Matthew   | Byrne     |      7 |
| Dan       | Newton    |      5 |
| Jonathan  | Glass     |      3 |
| Martin    | Peck      |      3 |
| Jon       | Davies    |      2 |
| Amelia    | Russell   |      2 |
| John      | Earl      |      2 |
| Andrew    | Lea-Cox   |      1 |
| S. M.     | Knight    |      1 |
| Chris     | Mycroft   |      1 |
| Esther    | Hobson    |      1 |
| Bryn      | Garrod    |      1 |
| Pia       | Schaefer  |      1 |
| M. J.     | Goodson   |      1 |
+-----------+-----------+--------+

Ta Martin - that is very informative.

by Martin - Wed 24th Aug 2005, 9:18am

dw229 said: Ta Martin - that is very informative.

That's ok, you did ask for it! Things do happen eventually!

I will add, I think there's loads more that can be done with all the information we now have on here... great potential for data mining. This is one example, but more interesting would be e.g. in depth analysis of the crew lists - such as novice drop out rates, charts of success of crews vs. the experience in the boat etc. - should all be possible from the data we are building up. I'm pretty determined to make this happen one day.

by RTT - Wed 24th Aug 2005, 9:41am

Martin said: novice drop out rates, charts of success of crews vs. the experience in the boat etc.

Just get a training log online and we can have the website pick crews for us! How long before it becomes self aware and tries to DDoS lmbc.net ?

by Dami, in Nigeria - Wed 24th Aug 2005, 12:57pm

Simon, in Wyoming said:
Anyone know any decent ways to prevent insects attacking me? Am really suffering out here...

trousers. nuff said.

by James - Wed 24th Aug 2005, 1:33pm

Anyone know any decent ways to prevent insects attacking me? Am really suffering out here...

These are the only things that have worked for me against the mosquitos:

1) DEET. Usually branded as "Off!" in the U.S. The lotion kind is much nicer (like sunblock) than the aerosol kind.

2) Moving air, assuming these insects are the flying kind. Even a small battery-powered fan will help immensely.

3) Fire, or specifically citronella candles. You should be able to get big ones that look like tiki torches in a DIY store like Home Depot or Lowe's, if these touches of civilization exist in Wyoming.

Another piece of advice: if you're camping (or even indoors anywhere near the wilderness), shake out your shoes every morning for scorpions. A charming creature of the American west.

by jpd - Thu 25th Aug 2005, 9:04am

RTT said: How long before it becomes self aware and tries to DDoS lmbc.net ?

How would one server carry out a DDoS attack?

by RTT - Thu 25th Aug 2005, 2:43pm

jpd said: How would one server carry out a DDoS attack?

It would post a link and persuade Ingers that there's a prize for whoever clicks it the most times in a week. How long do you think it would be before all the Perse School PCs had a little script running.....?

by Dubya - Mon 29th Aug 2005, 3:22pm

jpd said: How would one server carry out a DDoS attack?

It can only be attributable to human error.

by dw229 - Mon 29th Aug 2005, 9:23pm

I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.

by Simon, home, but my bag is still in Atlanta - Tue 30th Aug 2005, 1:11pm

Rich said: Be in Siberia? Too cold for insects there.

Thanks. The mosies weren't getting us when we were out and about but creeping up on us at night instead. Solved by the simple solution of using a night light which gave them something else of interest rather than me, and then by swatting the little gits when they landed by it.