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View Full Version : Closed or Resolved: Vote on poll 'bubbles' thread up when someone votes but doesn't post


Geoff Withnell
30th April 2008, 12:08 PM
The ever popular "Six Sigma - Statistical Tools - Valid or Hype? Value? Can a CQE do the same?" thread has a recent post, but I cannot get to it because I can't get past page 26, and the post is on a subsequent page.


Geoff Withnell

Jim Wynne
30th April 2008, 12:12 PM
The ever popular "Six Sigma - Statistical Tools - Valid or Hype? Value? Can a CQE do the same?" thread has a recent post, but I cannot get to it because I can't get past page 26, and the post is on a subsequent page.


Geoff Withnell

It appears that the most recent actual post is this one (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?p=231335&highlight=six+sigma+the+same#post231335). Threads that have polls attached will show new posts when someone votes in the poll but doesn't actually post anything (a "feature" I find irritating).

Geoff Withnell
30th April 2008, 12:15 PM
Thanks, I didn't realize that "feature" existed.

Geoff Withnell

Stijloor
1st May 2008, 08:52 AM
It appears that the most recent actual post is this one (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?p=231335&highlight=six+sigma+the+same#post231335). Threads that have polls attached will show new posts when someone votes in the poll but doesn't actually post anything (a "feature" I find irritating).

I agree. Marc is working on an update of the Cove software. Maybe that's one of the things that will get fixed.

Stijloor.

Marc
1st May 2008, 09:46 AM
This has come up a number of times and discussed over the years since this software was installed in 2001. If you look at the thread listing in a forum view, you may notice the date column header says: "Last Post or Poll Vote".

It's not a matter of a 'fix'. It is not a 'bug'. It's a setting I can turn on or off. The problem is if it is not set to bubble the thread up when someone adds a vote to a poll you have no way to know that a vote was added. There is no email sent to people who have 'subscribed' to the thread or anything like that. This 'switch' was set a number of years ago because of that.

So - The question becomes, do you want to know when someone adds a vote to a poll (many people 'vote' but don't post) or not. If the switch isn't set to 'bubble the thread up' in the listing when someone votes but doesn't post you will soon loose the thread to history. On a personal level, I want to see when someone votes on a poll but doesn't post. I don't want to have to hunt through a listing of threads I have subscribed to and check every thread with a poll to see if someone has added a vote.

This could be mitigated if we put a close date on every poll and limited the poll to a week or other short time period.

Jim Wynne
1st May 2008, 09:53 AM
It's not a matter of a 'fix'. It is not a 'bug'.
I think it is a "bug" in the sense that when someone votes but doesn't post, the software picks out the last post (which might have been months before) and shows it as a new post. I know it says "most recent post or vote," but there's no way of telling whether it's an actual new post or not without opening the post.

This could be mitigated if we put a close date on every poll and limited the poll to a week or other short time period.
I think it makes good sense to put time limits on polls. I don't see what's gained by leaving a poll open for years.

Jim Wynne
1st May 2008, 10:01 AM
There's a good example here (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=4962). It's a poll that was intiated six years ago, and when someone recently voted, it brought up this post (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?p=161376#post161376) which is two years old.

Stijloor
1st May 2008, 10:08 AM
I think it is a "bug" in the sense that when someone votes but doesn't post, the software picks out the last post (which might have been months before) and shows it as a new post. I know it says "most recent post or vote," but there's no way of telling whether it's an actual new post or not without opening the post.


I think it makes good sense to put time limits on polls. I don't see what's gained by leaving a poll open for years.

I agree. Polls usually deal with an issue that is very relevant at the time it is initiated. I would suggest to keep a poll open for 2 weeks and then available for viewing, but not for voting anymore. What do my Fellow Covers think?

Stijloor.

Jim Wynne
1st May 2008, 10:12 AM
I agree. Polls usually deal with an issue that is very relevant at the time it is initiated. I would suggest to keep a poll open for 2 weeks and then available for viewing, but not for voting anymore. What do my Fellow Covers think?

Stijloor.

As far as closing old polls is concerned, it should probably be done on a case-by-case basis--when a moldy one "bubbles up" a moderator should take the opportunity to close it. That, combined with a time limit, should take care of the issue.

BradM
1st May 2008, 11:30 AM
I do agree that it is confusing when you see a current post and open it up, it's a poll someone voted on that is an old thread.

I do feel these polls should stay open as long as the OP desires, or there is some higher order reasoning among Marc and his posse.

For new folks still figuring things out, Polls are a good way to get people involved. Too, it's not too bad when an old subject comes up. The more people vote in polls, the more interesting the results.

I would say if you see a poll poorly worded, obsolete phrases, etc., report the post and fix it (to the extent possible without changing the intent).

Jim Wynne
1st May 2008, 12:35 PM
I do feel these polls should stay open as long as the OP desires, or there is some higher order reasoning among Marc and his posse.
What if the OP hasn't been here for five years?

For new folks still figuring things out, Polls are a good way to get people involved. Too, it's not too bad when an old subject comes up. The more people vote in polls, the more interesting the results.
I agree about old threads resurfacing being interesting, but as far as polls being more interestin with more votes, there comes a point when the proportion of votes for different options doesn't change significantly anymore--there's no longer anything gained by keeping them open.

I would say if you see a poll poorly worded, obsolete phrases, etc., report the post and fix it (to the extent possible without changing the intent).

It's really pretty simple. There are a couple of polls open now with recent votes that really need to be closed. Nothing is gained by having them open. Anyone who wants to add comments to those threads is still free to do so.

Marc
1st May 2008, 01:02 PM
If someone here has a hair up their butt because an old poll is still open and they want it closed, just use the Report This Post button and request that it be closed.

This is making a mountain out of a ant hill...

Jim Wynne
1st May 2008, 01:42 PM
If someone here has a hair up their butt because an old poll is still open and they want it closed, just use the Report This Post button and request that it be closed.

This is making a mountain out of a ant hill...

The Voice of the Customer is now a hair up someone's butt. If you don't want suggestions for improvement, don't ask for them.

Marc
1st May 2008, 01:54 PM
Jim, I'll be blunt... As many times as you've degraded and attacked me I don't really care about your opinions.