December 16, 2010

Do you appreciate my polls?

What do you think of the polls Althouse puts up?
A brilliant and thought-provoking collection of options.
A good focusing of attention on the array of opinion on a given subject.
A scattered collection of options. It's hit or miss, but it captures something about what's going on.
A skewed set of options that subtly pushes people to think the Althouse way.
A push poll designed to persuade you to think what Althouse thinks.
  
pollcode.com free polls

39 comments:

Allan said...

Sensible people realize that internet polls are worthless and don't waste their time responding to them.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Some Althouse polls are weaker than others..

But on the whole they are better than the lame MSM.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The answer is yes.

traditionalguy said...

I enjoy your polls.

traditionalguy said...

I think what I enjoy is the well written and succinct way of making the differences clear. No computer program will ever do that.

David said...

Polling is a science. You are an artist.

coketown said...

Are you going to have a separate poll to answer the question asked in the post's title? What we think of the polls and whether we appreciate them are very different things.

Beth said...

Could use a "none of the above"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Could use a "none of the above"

Althouse never uses "none of the above".. Something about laziness I think.

rhhardin said...

Jay Rosen is down on blondes.

via Tim Blair, who just thinks he's drunk.

ContraMan said...

Why was none of the options presented in this poll reflective of Allan's opinion, with which I agree. i.e. they are a worthless waste of time.

The very absence of a question of their utility proves their uselessness since the results of such polls depend entirely on what questions are posed and the extent that they are laden with nudges and winks to the poll respondent.

ricpic said...

Polling is a science.

The way the questions are posed will always skew the answers. So even a good faith poll will not result in a perfectly objective result. There will always be bias, at both ends. Sorry about over-explaining, but in the strict sense a poll can't be scientific.

Trooper York said...

The only two poles you have around here who are worth a shit are Hoosier Daddy and Michael H.

Bob Ellison said...

@Allan, Internet polls are worthless indicators of general opinion, but they can be useful indicators of specific opinion. The Professor's polls could provide insight into the types of readers she attracts-- or at least the subset of those readers who respond to polls.

However, I don't like these polls much more than you do. The steering committee that decides on possible answers has just one member, and I don't often see answers I'd give on the polls she takes. This particular one is a good example.

ricpic said...

A poll can be accurate, which ain't bad, just not scientific. Witness Rasmussen's recent track record.

Leave it to Troop to make a joke of this terribly serious subject, ahem, ahem.

DADvocate said...

Sigh, another poll without a choice I like. You need what we call a "specified other" in the business. An option where the respondent can type in whatever they want.

I'm actually more interested in poles. Brass poles that go from ceiling to floor with scantily clad women performing some sort of gymnastics on them.

MikeR said...

You left out:
> I never pay any attention to Althouse's polls.

Roux said...

We love you Ann and your somewhat silly polls.... and I usually cannot abide anyone who voted for the One.

jaed said...

Althouse's polls are annoying because:

o The option I want is never there.

o Specifically, there is no "None of the above" option.

o Specifically, there is no "Pie" option.

They split the comments between poll page and blogpost page, forcing me to read both

o They split the comments between poll page and blogpost page, forcing me to read both.

o Polls. Bah. Hate 'em. All polls.

o Everything Althouse annoys me! But I read her blog daily anyway!

o Everything annoys me! But I go on living anyway!

Unknown said...

It shows you want to keep the blog interesting.

Knock yourself out.

John Stodder said...

Sorry, Ann, I love you but had to vote for the last option. I almost always exhale an involuntary sigh of exasperation when I see you've put one up.

traditionalguy said...

Don't worry, Professor. The critics tonight would only find flaws everywhere in a Rembrandt painting or a Mozart symphony. Your Polls open minds to see the better questions...but applying a standard of poll perfection is inhuman.

Peano said...

Mindless and worthless.

Ann Althouse said...

"Why was none of the options presented in this poll reflective of Allan's opinion, with which I agree. i.e. they are a worthless waste of time."

That's a very silly question. Illogical.

Ann Althouse said...

@John Stodder You're having a subjective experience. I rarely have an idea which option I'd choose. I try to fully embody the feeling of believing each answer as I write it.

Ann Althouse said...

That would seem to make the last answer one that I didn't believe, ironically, but it isn't so. I'm only asking you what you think, not what is true.

I see the polls as a writing format. Like a sonnet or something.

tim maguire said...

In total, the options usually capture the breadth of the possible responses but, just as often, none of them capture the view I hold.

And so I post about how my choice isn't in there.

Phil 314 said...

I was going to click on

A skewed set of options that subtly pushes people to think the Althouse way

But then I thought
Wait, that's exactly what she wants me to do,

so I passed.

If the Professor lived in Nevada she'd have none of the above as an option.

But instead she lives in Wisconsin. So we're all getting a Bullet Train and we're going to like it!!!

Wince said...

Curious why Althouse did this post.

Literally, earlier today I was saying to myself how her poll questions are an interesting look into the mind of Althouse, and the analytical processes that lend depth to her posts.

Bob Ellison said...

The Professor seems to be preening. Enjoy it or ignore it.

Penny said...

Ha ha "Hit or miss" pretty well covers it, and appears to be the favorite response.

chuck b. said...

I can always correctly predict the outcome of an Althouse blog poll.

Probably everyone can.

Opus One Media said...

..about as much as I enjoy you pandering for money.

tim maguire said...

Yeah, HD, me too! I like my ice cream free, thank you very much. And if you don't have the flavors I like, then by golly you're going to hear about it!

AllenS said...

I don't partake in the polls. However, I'm always interested in the comments section about the poll. So, whatever it takes for a new thread is cool with me.

Crimso said...

I'm sorry, what was the question?

Seriously though, I have never have time to read them before I vote, so I always just vote so I can see what was in the poll.

TMink said...

One interesting thing about the polls is how they almost always with me voting in the majority. What a strange thing!

Trey

Ken B said...

Intended to generate click trhoughs and hence boost advertising rates.

Dave said...

The results are in the shape of a nice bell curve, so the poll must be valid.