Polls

Ask the community a quick question. Polls show opinion; they change nothing by themselves.

Poll or Decision?

A Poll asks what people think: "Market on Sunday or Saturday?". It changes nothing by itself. For something binding, propose a Decision.

On the global community each poll says An informal poll; it decides nothing. Anyone can join it, with 12 words or a sign-in, so one person with several accounts could tip the count, and there are no Decisions there. Under it, "🏘️ In a local community a Decision binds ›" says why a vote binds only in a local community.

When an anonymous poll there has closed, it also says how many of its votes came from new or 12-word accounts, for example "5 of 12 votes came from new or 12-word accounts". Each vote counts as the account was when it voted: a new account is one that still had the new-account limits, and a 12-word account is one made with 12 words that had not added a sign-in. When at least 3 votes came from new or 12-word accounts, and the other votes are either none or at least 3, each answer also says how many of its own did. Every vote still counts, and nothing shows who voted.

While a poll is open it says nothing about this. If it did, someone checking the poll after each vote could tell what kind of account each vote came from, and how it chose. An open vote never says it, open or closed: it shows who voted, so the count would say which kind of account each voter has. A group's poll doesn't say it either, and nor does a poll on a local community.

Starting a poll

On Commons, tap Start something (on the phone, the round + button) and pick Poll. Or tap + ADD POST on the Market tab or the Map, and choose Community Poll.
Write the Question.
Add Context / Notes if it helps. This is optional.
Write 2 to 4 Options. Tap + Add Option for more.
Choose how long it runs: 3 Days, 7 Days or 14 Days.
Choose whether it is an Open vote before you tap Create. Leave it off and the poll is anonymous. Tick it and members can see who chose what. You can't change it after the poll is posted.
Tap Create.

In the web app the type is 🗳️ Poll, the notes are Background / Context, the option button is + Add option and the last button is 🗳️ Create Poll. On the web Map, tap the round +.

You can have one poll open at a time, and a community can have 5 open at once. You need credit that is not frozen to start or answer a poll.

Finding and answering polls

Polls are in the Market. Tap Polls in the top row to see only polls.

Tap an answer to choose it. Tap another to change your mind, until the poll closes.
The card shows how many chose each answer.

Who can see how you voted

Each poll says which kind it is, above the turnout:

Anonymous (the usual kind): everyone sees only how many chose each answer. Nobody sees who chose what, the person who started it included.
Open vote: the person who started it chose to show the voters. Members can tap View voters (Show Voters in the web app) to see who chose what. A member who is suspended sees only the totals, until the suspension ends.

The owners and admins who run your community's server can still see every vote stored there.

Closing a poll early

If you started it, tap Close Poll, then Close Poll again to confirm (OK in the web app).