When suggesting a new idea, large or small, should a poll be created, to establish percentages?

Halcyon

Halcyon

Member
When I browse a xenforo suggestion thread, its difficult to see the for & against ratio, I'm frustrated with not being able to tell what is & what isn't considered to be a good idea. :confused:

I feel the use of a poll on each new suggestion thread to be 'useful 'to both users & 'developers' alike.

Please let me know your thoughts, for me it'd help massively to establish if I want to invest now, later or not at all. I like quick, reliable data...

Cheers, Halcyon ;)

Agree to disagree?
 
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Halcyon said:
But how do you record the ones that don't like?
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You read their comments in the threads.

As I said, it's a way of gauging how much a requested feature is liked relative to the other suggestions.

It stands to reason that the ones with the most likes are the ones which more people want.
 
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Surely, as a human you have the right to say, you don't like something?

I like information

I don't like wasting 5 hours finding that information.

Time really is money in business... I don't have enough time now as it is.
 
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Brogan said:
You read their comments in the threads.

As I said, it's a way of gauging how much a requested feature is liked relative to the other suggestions.

It stands to reason that the ones with the most likes are the ones which more people want.
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But what if you don't like that suggestion? You only get one like, then thats ya lot...
 
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I've explained why the Like system is used to gauge the relative worth of a suggested feature.

I've also explained that you are free to post your comments in any thread explaining why you don't like, or do like any proposed feature.

I'm not sure what else I can say.
 
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Brogan said:
With a poll you can't sort the thread view as you can with first post likes.

This is a way of gauging relatively how much each suggestion is desired by the members in general.
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If they're only going by Likes then what's the point of adding a comment/feedback, as you suggested. ("You click on the Reply button and explain why you don't like something. That way you're registering your view and providing feedback which may ultimately improve the feature.")

Which was my original objection to the "Like the suggestion" system -- I was posting feedback to one, and somebody kept nagging me to Like the post, even after I explained that I wasn't entirely sure I liked it as-is, hence the feedback. At which point they told me that the developers only go by who Liked the suggestion. And fair enough, I'm sure they don't want to have to read a 30-page thread for the details of who liked/disliked something and why, but in that case a poll accomplishes the same thing .
 
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With this system, if I say I'm going to 'put your cat in a bin' your only recorded response can be 'like'... or post a worded comment in a 1000 post thread & it be lost forever. Its flawed & biased.

I understand the 'like' system, its cute & quaint... what about real life? It makes everyone on this forum a 'yes man'. Errrmmmm.... NO!

When you use the ATM to draw money out, do you use your recored number, the one you remember, the one the bank sent to you, or do you keep hitting the keypad until you finally get the right combination? Nope, what happens is the bank locks your account & you are stuffed. There are reasons for systems that utilise data and that is to make things work effectively.

The system here is not effective. All these ideas are great but they are lost in the ether, sort of negates the purpose of the beta version being online now doesn't it?

lol... thanks anotheralias... its so obvious but hey, I'll have to go elsewhere I think. Love the software, dis-love the info drain.
 
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For the most part, I don't see the relevance of disliking a feature. (The edge case being when the feature potentially compromises various elements, but that's not usually the case.) To isolate the argument a bit, assuming 2 requests are posted on the same day, A is liked by 100 and disliked by 100; B is liked by 25 and disliked by none. Now, I'm going to mostly assume that "dislike" really indicates "I don't need this". If we implement A, 100 benefit; B, 25 benefit. The dislikers get no value from either anyway, so the net benefit is greater if it helps more people. (Obviously, a feature can be disliked for other reasons, but those have to be handled on a case-by-case basis.)

I've seen the comment that likes seem to pigeon-hole you into a specific meaning, but any qualitative assessment would do that. The binary (well, unary) value actually distills it down and it makes basic analysis far easier. (As an aside, when dealing with averages, a +/- system and a 1-5 system converge; most people vote at the poles anyway.) Unless a standardized poll was used (with yes/no?), then the results aren't comparable. (See studies that show that the average answer for a 0-6 question differs from a 1-7 question by more than expected amount.)

If anyone said that the like count was the only thing considered, they're plainly mistaken. We keep our eye on all sorts of things. We certainly wouldn't go "oh, lots of likes" and do it; the comments are very important. As people have said, the like counts allow a simple relative comparison across threads.
 
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Thanks Mike, a comprehensive answer, much appreciated - So, you agree a 'poll' at the top of each suggestion thread helps you & visitors gain a 'snap-shot' view of what users think?

Simply, it would help visitors to the site, who are considering buying xen, get a feel of what you are trying to achieve - in a systematic fashion.

Businesses want their info on the meeting table, ready to be discussed, not spread all over the office & site. I'd think it'd help me decide & other potential buyers whether I should wait for you guys or if I should purchase from another PHP-forum supplier now.
 
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I don't have a problem with polls, but really they don't necessarily provide more information than a like. They certainly provide no way to compare across thousands of items easily because they're unstructured. Being able to sort threads by likes allows that comparison.

Halcyon said:
imply, it would help visitors to the site, who are considering buying xen, get a feel of what you are trying to achieve - in a systematic fashion.
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I'm a bit confused. Suggestions don't reflect what we want - they reflect what the customers want. I don't think you can look at (unvetted) suggestions for the underlying design philosophies.
 
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Halcyon said:
It is confusing isn't it... its because its a one sided argument. Are you designing for you or the customers?
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I am not sure if you are talking about designing in general or if this references your original question. But, polls are already built in and if people want to use them, they can. I suppose you could "enforce" this feature by moderating posts and rejecting those without polls. It is probably not too hard to modify the software to require a poll automatically or else it goes to moderation.

I think part of the question likely has to do with what sort of community you are running. If you are running one with a "captive audience" (i.e., your or your companies workers) you can enforce this and make it work. But, I am not sure how well making this a "requirement" would work with customers. I know that I would not be likely to post as often (or perhaps at all) if I am made to respond to a poll before participating...For some, maybe it does not matter, you don't care about casting a wide net (or perhaps would want to only hear from folks who are "invested" enough to actually answer a poll before responding). But I think many folks would want to encourage as much participation as possible (especially if they are working on an ad-revenue model). Again, it probably depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the forum in the first place.
 
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jadmperry said:
I am not sure if you are talking about designing in general or if this references your original question. But, polls are already built in and if people want to use them, they can. I suppose you could "enforce" this feature by moderating posts and rejecting those without polls. It is probably not too hard to modify the software to require a poll automatically or else it goes to moderation.

I think part of the question likely has to do with what sort of community you are running. If you are running one with a "captive audience" (i.e., your or your companies workers) you can enforce this and make it work. But, I am not sure how well making this a "requirement" would work with customers. I know that I would not be likely to post as often (or perhaps at all) if I am made to respond to a poll before participating...For some, maybe it does not matter, you don't care about casting a wide net (or perhaps would want to only hear from folks who are "invested" enough to actually answer a poll before responding). But I think many folks would want to encourage as much participation as possible (especially if they are working on an ad-revenue model). Again, it probably depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the forum in the first place.
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I'd like a web-forum to replicate real life conversations. To like, to be indifferent & dislike. Its what makes us human.

Get this - if you click 'Like', it pops up beneath your post saying - You like this. - Then you are given the option to 'Unlike'... take back the fact that you liked the comment in the first place. Does this mean you now dislike or you just don't know why you liked in the fist place? I you like, then decide to unlike, shows indecision... or no dislike option. Madness!
 
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Halcyon said:
I'd like a web-forum to replicate real life conversations.
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That's why there is the ability to post your comments.

As far as I am aware, real life conversations don't consist of one word statements such as "Like", "Dislike", "Disagree", instead it is a discourse using quite a few more words than that.
 
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That has already been answered several times.

In addition, it promotes a feeling of community, cuts down on one word answers such as LOL, +1, expresses appreciation, thanks, agreement, etc.
It can mean pretty much what you want it to mean.

Except dislike.
 
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