Social Question

J0E's avatar

Isn't every question a poll?

Asked by J0E (13172points) September 15th, 2009

The question may be asking for advice, opinions, or just plain answers but aren’t they all just polls? Usually not as simple as “yes or no” but they’re still just polling the responses from the crowd. There is usually an answer or opinion that the majority agree on so wouldn’t that be the equivalent of people choosing that response in a poll?

Questions are just polls with a little more thought.

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25 Answers

Response moderated
MrItty's avatar

No. A poll seeks opinions. Questions that are asking for factual information is not a poll.

“What is the answer to 2 + 2?” is not a poll.

oratio's avatar

Well, you can also call a discussion among friends “Qualitative Research”, if you want. It doesn’t mean it’s an appropriate description.

J0E's avatar

@MrItty The only reason that isn’t a poll is because there is only one possible answer. But you could still ask it and see how many people get it correct, which would be a poll.

rebbel's avatar

@J0E It would be a poll if you asked Is the answer to 2 + 2 = 4? Yes or no?

marinelife's avatar

Problems seeking solutions are not polls. Discussions are not polls.

Polls are questions like “Do I approve of this questions attempting to link all wquestions to polls just so one loser user can have banned poll questions?” No!

J0E's avatar

@rebbel No, What is 2+2=? can be a poll. Just because everyone chooses the same answer doesn’t mean it’s not a poll.

J0E's avatar

@scamp There are a million different types of polls, not every one provides the answers for the reader, haven’t you ever heard of a “free poll”?

Harp's avatar

I just posted a similar answer to another Q, but the same applies here

Fluther’s guidelines don’t specifically prohibit polls per se. What will get removed are opinion questions that are asked in such a way that they can be answered in a couple of words and aren’t likely to stimulate any in-depth discussion. We call these “simple polls” to distinguish them from those that are likely to elicit more complex and thoughtful responses. A question can technically be a poll, in that it’s asking for subjective opinions, and still be crafted in a way that prompts people to give in-depth responses. Those questions usually stay. It often comes down to a judgment call by the mods. It’s not a science.

sandystrachan's avatar

2+2=65 no??
No questions are questions polls are polls , and sometimes they are poles :P

wundayatta's avatar

@Harp Thanks for that clarification.

rebbel's avatar

A poll is a poll is a poll…..

J0E's avatar

@sandystrachan See, someone would have put 65 as an answer so the results would show 99% of people chose 4 and 1% chose 65.

EmpressPixie's avatar

@Harp‘s response is also the reason that we do try to replace “poll” with “simple poll” when it gets asked about.

sandystrachan's avatar

@J0E Was i wronged ?
Me fail English that unpossible !!!

CMaz's avatar

2+2=1+1+1+1

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

A poll is something along the lines of “what’s your favorite yogurt flavor?”

J0E's avatar

@The_Compassionate_Heretic Another example of a poll is:

“How did “Who’s your daddy?” become something sexual?” or
“How would not owning a microwave oven affect your life?” or even
“What do you think really happened on the night that Tia Tequila claims she was choked by San Diego Charger Shawne Merriman?”

All of those are polls.

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

I would refer back to @Harps quip about simple polls.
So let’s get right to the heart of the issue then.

What’s up?

J0E's avatar

@The_Compassionate_Heretic No, no, no, this isn’t a “mad at Fluther” question at all. This is just what I think whenever someone says Fluther isn’t for polls.

mattbrowne's avatar

Is @J0E‘s question a poll?

O Yes
O No

Vote or see results

J0E's avatar

@mattbrowne Yes, just like every other question.

YARNLADY's avatar

Question: inquiry, inquisition, interrogation, interrogatory, investigation, discussion, cross examine, challenge, canvas, poll

Poll: census, tally of answers, ballot, canvass, referendum, slate, tally, ticket

Poll is a very limited subset of question, and not particularly condusive to thoughtful discussion on Fluther.

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