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A poll about polls!

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  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: New Zealand
A poll about polls!
Posted by nzgunnie on Saturday, June 14, 2003 6:50 PM
Who here would like to see a seperate forum catagory for polls?

Now this is just my personal opinion of course, but I would rather see all these polls in an area of their own, that way those people who like taking part can do so, and those of us that wish to discuss modeling can do that without having to wade through all the 'mines better than yours' polls. Unfortuntaley these polls often seem to encourage what turn into a certain kind of contest that can't be mentioned on this forum but which uses certain body fluids.

Now don't get me wrong, I will usually add my 2 cents worth to a poll, but they are starting to get a little prolific.

In The aircraft MODELING forum, we have:
'Greatest Fighter Pilot Poll'.

'Spitfire Versus Mustang: which was better' Better in what
terms? To model, or 1v1, or to work on?

'Greatest figher pilot' again....

'Bomber'.

And the one that really takes the cake for question with the least thought applied: 'Old planes versus New Planes: which is better' . Again - better to model, fly, work on, fight in? After all there would be no need to develop new AIRCRAFT, if the old ones were as 'good'.

'Which plane would you choose' Based on what? what you've read about them? As probably 90% of us aren't combat pilots.

'Everyone look a Poll' Which at least isn't a'mines better than your's..' variety and asks an interesting question about how many of us share an interest in Flightsims to go along with our hobby of modeling.

Now these are the polls that appear on the first 3 pages of this forum, I didn't go any further back, but I expect there will be others.

Polls are a valid type of discussion, but many of the polls posted on this forum are of the rather vague and rather pointless variety (the Spit v. Stang for instance, and the Modern v. Old).

So are there others out there who would like to see a polls section on this site, and to keep the modeling areas free for modeling discussions rather than pseudo-historical comparisons?


  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: UK
Posted by gregers on Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:22 PM
Hi Nzgunnie. I agree about there being a seperate furum for poles. some poles do have a use though. I posted a poll on "The ugliest aircraft "Most, if not all of us can appreciate an aestheticaly pleasing airframe but i wanted Mainly to find out what other people think of as the quassimodo of the aviation world. Realy to get ideas on what to build because i like oddball subjects and i was stuck for ideas at the time i got plenty of feedback and have decided to build a fairey rotodyne as this years "wierd" one .....Gregers
Why torture yourself when life will do it for you?
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: New Zealand
Posted by nzgunnie on Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:35 PM
I agree that many polls are usefull and intersting, I usually post in them, but it is just that there seems to be a growing trend for the more pointless discussions about what/who is best, perhaps if these polls were worded in relation to modeling, rather than simply about types/people than they would be more worthwhile.
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: UK
Posted by gregers on Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:47 PM
yea totaly agree. the only one that i thought was a bit of a strange subject though was the greatest pilot one. Iets face it how can you choose? and plus what about the stuff he history books dont tell you, I read of one fairly well known pilot admitting that he "pissed with fright "during combat. not a comment on his (undoubted ) bravery just on what it was realy like for all of them ...Gregers
Why torture yourself when life will do it for you?
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: New Zealand
Posted by nzgunnie on Saturday, June 14, 2003 7:52 PM
Yes, that is exactly the thoughts I had, all 'the what is best' type polls are asking you to make a judgement based merely on what you have heard or read, and not on any first hand experiance. And after all, one persons opinion about the best fighter pilot, or the best Plane (sic) has little bearing on what might have actually been the best, especially as there are so many variables.

If someone were to ask, 'what is your favourite aircraft?' That might be a more valid topic for discussion than asking 'Which is better, old planes or new planes'!
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: UK
Posted by gregers on Saturday, June 14, 2003 8:05 PM
like if someone asked what is the best aircraft that you have flown in.that would be fairly interesting even though it isn't kit related and the answers may suprise some folks , like for me its the humble DH Chipmunk . ok you would still get the my d**ks bigger than yours type answers but as long as they are not being a bit shall we say elastic with the truth then what the heck....Greg
Why torture yourself when life will do it for you?
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 14, 2003 8:07 PM
There have been some discussions which could be considered polls but were still relevant to modeling of a certain subject. Who makes the decision what is a poll and what is not a poll? The Poll Police? Wink [;)]

For example, Ever ride in a warbird? Or fly? -- in some respects, that could be considered a poll. Aside from that, technically it's not even a "modeling discussion", so does it belong in the Aircraft forum? Personally, it didn't bother me to see it there. It actually seems to be a good forum for it.

I think you have a valid point, but perhaps what is needed is for people to put some thought into what they're posting before they hit that button. Sometimes it's good to go back and review what was posted and make edits if needed. The recent post regarding Forum Etiquette is certainly relevant here.

Anyways, here are my thoughts regarding some of the threads you pointed out.

"Greatest Fighter Pilot Poll" -- should have been kept in the same topic. Aside from that I thought it was an interesting discussion.

"Bomber" -- didn't realize that was a "poll" until you pointed it out. The title was vague so I never bothered to click on it. It's become somewhat popular, it's already up to 3 pages. If someone learns something about different bombers and people are enjoying it, then no harm done.

"Old planes versus New Planes" -- Perhaps not a really well thought out topic. Maybe had it been along the lines, "What is your modeling preference, old planes or new planes?" then it may have started out better. Would it be acceptable for the Aircraft forum at that point? Smile [:)]

"EVERYONE LOOK A POLL!!!" -- Would have been nice to see a better title for this one. People who are into flight simulators may have never bothered to click on that and missed it. I'll agree that something like this would have been better in the General Modeling Discussion forum.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 14, 2003 8:15 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by gregers

yea totaly agree. the only one that i thought was a bit of a strange subject though was the greatest pilot one. Iets face it how can you choose? and plus what about the stuff he history books dont tell you, I read of one fairly well known pilot admitting that he "pissed with fright "during combat. not a comment on his (undoubted ) bravery just on what it was realy like for all of them ...Gregers


I think that's what is good about discussions like that. There's a lot of information out there that we don't find in history books. When everyone takes part in discussions like that, we all benefit and learn a little bit more about the past.
  • Member since
    June 2003
Posted by M1abramsRules on Sunday, June 15, 2003 12:33 AM
I think there should be a seperate category for polls, then if someone has a probelm with if they are relevant to modeling, they don't have go through that category. I wonder if David and Lawrence have thought about it yet. I'll bet they have.
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: United Kingdom / Belgium
Posted by djmodels1999 on Sunday, June 15, 2003 2:49 AM
Putting polls into separate category might kill them, simply. I think there are fine as they are. Hey, I created a few (sexiest airplane, for instance), and I do participate in most, but not all. It's a matter of interest, that's all. Don't want to answer, no big deal. I find most of them interesting, because you get to know interesting facts and it get you to know the people out here. Remember when we started, there were tons of them polls, then they simply vanished for a while. New members have the right to start new ones, what's the big deal about that.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, June 16, 2003 4:22 PM
While some of what DJModels says is certainly true the fact exists that this is becoming an increasingly popular forum. As the number of users increases so should the number of categories, the subjects should diversify so that information can be best viewed by those who need it. Honestly, if you don't log on every day, or a few times a day, all of the threads on the first two pages are pink (new posts). It is becoming hard to wade through all the pages to get to useful info.

But how many "subjects" are too many? Should a/c be split into prop and jet? I remember when helicopters resided with aircraft posts only a few months ago.

Hey I don't have the answers, just the questions.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, June 16, 2003 11:24 PM
Hello from the author of "Which plane would you choose?"

I Guess you didn't bother to read the question I posed in the begining of that post, other wise you would have read all the specifics of the question. the only thing I made a mistake on that post was accidentaly submitting it twice because my dsl went down for a min. If you count it up between the 2 posts it has had 43 replys from what seems to be alot of regulars on this side of FSM. I like the posts right where they are because while its nice to get tech info here its also nice to see what inspires others. The last time I read what FSM was trying to accomplish with this forum I found it wasn't just about tech or polls...It was about the modeling community. Both play a big part in modeling.

It seems to me what you refer to as P!$$ing contests are really a chance for people to show whats their favorite planes. I have never once read where one member typed to another saying your plane sucks mine is better. I have read positive replies about what they love about the plane. To be honest yours is the first post I have read that I find to be negative. When you ask whats the point of another post in the future make sure you read the post first before commenting so your feet stay on the groud and not in your mouth.

happy modeling
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