Removal of polls

[TheFlyingBastard]

In many of the communities I have been part of, polls were exclusively used by tools for who-knows-what-reason. (To look interesting?) With realisoph I can see this happening again.

Just throwing it out there, 's all.

 

[borrofburi]

Meh, they're rarely used for anything of great interest, but I think that makes sense, since they're internet polls and all. Besides, how else could we have proved that pie is superior to cake?

 

[Predanator]

There are already 4 Poll Topics claiming the same nonsense... three in Science and one in Philosophy.
This is spam. The Forum Rules should be more clear about multiple threads on the same or nearly the same topic.

 

[borrofburi]

There are already 4 Poll Topics claiming the same nonsense... three in Science and one in Philosophy.
This is spam. The Forum Rules should be more clear about multiple threads on the same or nearly the same topic.

Does that not have more to do with realisoph being a problem than the pols themselves?

Moreover, the two I have read (I have only seen 3, and wasn't aware of the third until a few moments ago), were, I think, sufficiently different (one was on why he thinks big bang is wrong, the other was his proposed guess that might explain the observed phenomena we explain with the big bang).

 

[TheFlyingBastard]

The point is not the subject of the polls - it's that the polls are positively useless, with the possible exception of making it look more interesting to slow people. They attract spam and people suffering from Tarditatis Sydrome, allows for false dichotomies and stupid questions (such as "how likely do you think it is the big bang happened in percentages?" to take a question from these forums).

 

[Predanator]

I don't agree they are substantively different. "what might explain the observed phenomena we explain with the big bang" would be reasoning for "why the big bang is wrong".
Every aspect of a single argument does not deserve its own thread. These new threads are more an attempt to control the conversation, repeating claims that have been refuted in previous topics, without addressing or considering the refutation.

Realisoph is a problem in that he is really claiming infallibility of belief via what he calls "premises"... which have no place in a forum for reason. However, instead of having one topic that can naturally die, there are more and more topics appearing which essentially bump his claims.

Repeatedly bumping threads, or perpetuating an argument by creating new threads, artificially shifts and controls the active content of the forum. This is inappropriate and spam.

 

[TheFlyingBastard]

So, ahhh...

How about removing the option for polls?

 

[Pulsar]

So, ahhh...

How about removing the option for polls?

You should make a poll about it
I don't mind polls on general topics, they can be fun. But they have no use in the science section.

 

[CosmicSpork]

I think there's a fair point regarding polls in the Reason forums. I've disabled poll creation for those forums for normal users. If somebody does have a legitimate reason to create poll in these areas, a Moderator or Admin can edit the thread to add the poll if absolutely necessary.

 

[TheFlyingBastard]

Thanks, Spork. This'll surely keep the forums cleaner.

 

[AndromedasWake]

Since this suggestion has been implemented, this thread is being locked. If you want polls brought back, please make your case in a separate thread.