What are polls all about?

Ejaculating endlessly. 

David, the OP, is a very nice guy. I think he is not as seasoned as us in the forum world. He is very understanding too, as I deduced from our PM's.

And theres an entity here who learns NOTHING. Who will learn nothing. Better to ignore...

Logan wrote: Polls come in different forms, cover different topics, ask different questions and have different reasons for being. At this board we have polls on music and non-music. We have polls asking for favourites, asking for least favourites, asking for best, second best and more. It's a way of gauging opinions and collecting data. It's a record of opinion. I have enjoyed making polls as a way of list making, sharing my favourites, as a kind of a creative exercise even if not that creative, a way of passing the time, and very often as an accessory to discussion. I usually haven't cared much about the results themselves. Often I have done it in the hopes of exposing people to music I like and in turn being exposed to music, and in the hopes of connecting with others who have similar appreciations (a communal exercise). I have done polls of contrast and similarities. Sometime I have covered music I don't much like for diversity sake and to hopefully bring different audience together in the same thread. I like posting in people's polls as a way of sharing what I like, my thoughts, and hopefully to connect with others and gain new perspective. It is the conversation that goes with the poll that often is more interesting to me, but I do find seeing people's lists interesting and helps me to get a feel for others tastes and interests. Some people like the contest/ games types of polls most, but I don't treat mine as contests. I fid having a poll as an accessory to discussion can help to better focus a topic and add another element or layer to it. Not really sure what the issue is, or quite what you are looking for.

Edited by David_D - February 10 2022 at 03:41

Logan wrote: Not really sure what the issue is, or quite what you are looking for.

Archisorcerus wrote: David, the OP, is a very nice guy. I think he is not as seasoned as us in the forum world. He is very understanding too, as I deduced from our PM's.

Saperlipopette! wrote: ... Do you have like... any friends?

David_D wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: I know they have polls in Denmark. About Denmark, I can tell that we're used to discuss things and accept different opinions.

Edited by David_D - February 10 2022 at 08:08

David_D wrote: Thank you very mych, Logan, for this serious, and very extensive and informative answer.

You're welcome -- serious but also with some absurd stabs at humour thrown in because that's typical me and what I enjoy. Humour can be a great icebreaker as well as alienating.

I did think of something that I forgot to get into in that post. Quite often polls I have made are a journey of discovery or re-discovery to me, and I have gained much deeper appreciation for music and artists thanks to the process of making them and heard the music in a new context, and seen the music from a new perspective, and explored more music. The poll is the result of a journey I've taken, and then I can only hop that the journey that the discussion takes is rewarding. Unlike some, I like to cover music I have heard in polls, but choosing the music often takes some thought and listening (even if the choices seem imbecilic and impulsive or senseless to some, but there is an associative process that got me there).

While I prefer listening to full albums commonly, I often like to highlight individual tracks so that they can be more easily listened to by the participants, and I like to compare/ contrast that way. When thinking about which tracks to choose, I will often explore more deeply and gain new appreciation and sometimes discover new music. Sometimes it has got me exploring new artists as I've found some point of comparison with one I know and like. Sometimes I'm looking for really similar tracks, and it takes a while to remember back on music and re-check it, and that's an experience. It's even got me listening to and appreciating artists that I might not have otherwise because of some methodology in the selection process or the associative journey which may require research. And the embeds of tracks I might place act as records of music that has been important to me commonly. As I said before, however, sometimes I have covered music that I was not into for more diversity and because I value a certain originality. I wouldn't want to do quite the same poll that I would think others have, so the poll might be seen as odder.

There is no one reason for polls, other than recording opinions and statistical research, but it is done for different ends and in different ways. I like making them as it gets me more deeply exploring acts and thinking about music in different ways, and I enjoy participating as I learn about more music and it gets me comparing music and gaining appreciation for me to music as well as gaining a new appreciation for old to me music. I definitely enjoy that act of comparing music (looking for commonalities and differences as well as just thinking about my preferences), and the pattern-seeking animal in me loves the process or thinking about the process behind the choices often.

Sorry, too long post, quite redundant, keep getting interrupted and losing my trains of thought.

David_D wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: What is it about polls you don't understand?  If you haven't seen my progger poll yet, I'd like you to do it as I find it quite relevant and informative.