Suggestions

I think this might be a useful tool for the admins/staff if they could find a way to have this option without it stifling discussion on the the actual discussion thread. Perhaps instead of the poll option always being available, maybe it could be something the admins could activate on certain suggestions that they feel would most benefit from a poll? At least then, the poll would be under the admins directions. Maybe there could even be a points system in place, where you could only vote on a poll if you've replied to X amount of suggestion threads. Then it would force people to continue discussion on topics that still need to be discussed if they wanted to weigh their opinion on another suggestion anonymously.

No support.

Sure, it would help the userbase feel better by being able to put in their two cents. But it wouldn't help the staff at all. The staff has said time and time again that the Suggestions board is not a popularity contest and they implement ideas based on logic and reasoning, not on the number of "supports." Adding polls would only be more work for them without any tangible benefit.

That, and every time the staff does a poll, there is drama. (Paint/Piebald, Python/Morph, and the Holiday Bears are the ones that come to mind.) Even user-run polls, (like the retired items poll) give users the false impression that if they throw numbers around, the staff will change their mind.

On the one hand, I really think this could be nice for cut-and-dry topics or with something to say that hasn't already been said a hundred thousand times on the same thread (every time anyone posts a thread about renaming Unnamed exalts, for example, it's basically a hundred posts all saying the same exact thing). In that case, this would be really useful. It's kind of annoying to see a bunch of posts that say something like, "I like this because of what everyone above me said." That gets tiresome because it doesn't add anything to the conversation. Or, equally annoying, someone just saying "no/support."

But on the other hand, something like this could end up shutting down any conversation that might happen because everyone will probably just do their one click and be done. This isn't supposed to be a place where we cast votes or offer petitions. It's supposed to be a place of discussion. So, if people don't have anything to add... they shouldn't add anything.

But they will add those single-word things anyway, so maybe having the ability to just click if you feel like you have to express agreement with something even when you have nothing useful to add really would help keep the place a little neater.

If it was implemented, it would somehow have to be really, really, really clear that the number of up-votes (or whatever) has absolutely nothing to do with anything. It's just so that a user who has nothing further to say can passively communicate to other users only that they agree with or like the thing.

This would be so much more convenient, no more suggestion pages clogging with plain old "Support/No Support"

I think it would be good to have the option to put in a little 'vote' pop up that would reveal the percentages after you answer so people don't just go with the option that has more support.

[quote name="Ridara" date=2017-02-01 07:27:01] No support. Sure, it would help the userbase feel better by being able to put in their two cents. But it wouldn't help the staff at all. The staff has said time and time again that the Suggestions board is not a popularity contest and they implement ideas based on logic and reasoning, not on the number of "supports." Adding polls would only be more work for them without any tangible benefit. That, and every time the staff does a poll, there is drama. (Paint/Piebald, Python/Morph, and the Holiday Bears are the ones that come to mind.) Even user-run polls, (like the retired items poll) give users the false impression that if they throw numbers around, the staff will change their mind. [/quote] Pretty much this. The popularity of an idea doesn't mean it will be implemented and if the admins added a polling option it would suggest it does so from that point adding a poll makes no sense. In addition because they want the suggestion forum to be a discussion forum it's unlikely they'd implement polls as players are less likely to discuss or expand on their answer. Even when players quote with a comment that says they agree with that particular reasoning it gives the administration more of an idea why or why not than a simple yes or no vote In addition many suggestions can evolve so what happens when an unpopular idea evolves into something more acceptable in the thread itself? The vote would be an inaccurate representation of the final idea

[quote name="DragonSage" date=2017-02-01 16:43:52] [quote name="Ridara" date=2017-02-01 07:27:01] No support. Sure, it would help the userbase feel better by being able to put in their two cents. But it wouldn't help the staff at all. The staff has said time and time again that the Suggestions board is not a popularity contest and they implement ideas based on logic and reasoning, not on the number of "supports." Adding polls would only be more work for them without any tangible benefit. That, and every time the staff does a poll, there is drama. (Paint/Piebald, Python/Morph, and the Holiday Bears are the ones that come to mind.) Even user-run polls, (like the retired items poll) give users the false impression that if they throw numbers around, the staff will change their mind. [/quote] Pretty much this. The popularity of an idea doesn't mean it will be implemented and if the admins added a polling option it would suggest it does so from that point adding a poll makes no sense. In addition because they want the suggestion forum to be a discussion forum it's unlikely they'd implement polls as players are less likely to discuss or expand on their answer. Even when players quote with a comment that says they agree with that particular reasoning it gives the administration more of an idea why or why not than a simple yes or no vote In addition many suggestions can evolve so what happens when an unpopular idea evolves into something more acceptable in the thread itself? The vote would be an inaccurate representation of the final idea [/quote] Actually now that I think about it the way these two put it, I'm glad there's no polls because in the end this forum should be about expanding on ideas rather than simply throwing support or no support for certain suggestions. Besides, I can't really see a feasible way to have drama free polls that don't honestly stifle conversation. I think in this instance people just have to sit down and ask themselves whether they do or do not believe in a suggestion enough to write a short explanation as to why they do or do not. Even if its over suggestions that have been brought up a hundred times before. I think the staff really appreciate reading into the thinking behind players answers because they can get a better understanding of what people want. There's no good way they could get all that information from a simple poll. A poll would only show how popular a suggestion is and in the end, this is not what the staff is looking for. I'm switching my answer to no support on this topic.

[quote name="@Typhoom" date=2017-02-01 14:52:25] This would be so much more convenient, no more suggestion pages clogging with plain old "Support/No Support" [/quote] Begging your pardon, but I can't remember any examples of recent threads this happened to. Sure, you'll generally get one or two people who will just write "Support". But if things get out of hand, the staff is always there to delete the offending posts. Spamming a thread with "Support" or "No Support" is already [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=wiki&article=62]against the forum rules.[/url] Making a poll will not be a more effective deterrent than the regulations already are. (Instead you'll likely get people who vote in the poll and also write "Support.")