Upgrade request votes - hidden until it's over?

Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
I'd like to ask the community what its thoughts are on this issue: The upgrade request polls are public, and we all get to see who is voting for whom as they are doing it. I like that they are public. When I look at a voting poll, however, and I'm not the first (or one of the first) people to vote, there is sometimes a general impression I get of who is going to get in. For instance, if two of the five people listed have 5+ votes but the other three have none, it stands out. Now, when I vote I read reviews and vote based on whether I think those reviews are good enough to qualify as "advanced reviews." I have voted for people with no votes even near the end of the voting time, because I feel like they deserve my vote. I've also voted on people who already have many more than the needed 5 votes.

My suggestion is this: What if the votes were hidden until the voting was over? The names would appear, but no numbers of votes and no names of voters would appear. This way, no one would be "behind" or "ahead" or "only need one more vote" -- they would all be even from start to finish.

I am not suggesting that I or anyone else votes "with the crowd" or "against the crowd," or any other way not based solely on review quality. I will admit, however, that if I see a poll in which all five reviewers are already voted in (i.e. have 5+ votes each), I am less inclined to go through and read the reviews of all of them and vote. If the vote tally were hidden, I would be more motivated to read their reviews and vote, no matter when I got the chance to vote, and sometimes that isn't on the first day.

I don't want to stress out the people up for voting, and if not knowing if they "got in" until the last day was a bad thing, please tell me. I do think it would increase the suspense, especially for the voters and the "watchers" of the polls.

I don't know how difficult this would be to set up, and I'm not trying to ask for anything complicated here, so if this seems like something unreasonable, do tell me. I'd love to hear from everyone -- voters, watchers, new reviewers, advanced reviewers. What do you think of this idea?
05/01/2009
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Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
I'd like to ask the community what its thoughts are on this issue: The upgrade request polls are public, and we all get to see who is voting for whom as they are doing it. I like that they are public. When I look at a voting poll, however, and ... more
I think it's a fan-freaking-tastic idea!

I'd definitely like it much better that way.
05/01/2009
Contributor: Backseat Boohoo Backseat Boohoo
At the risk of sounding awful, why do we have people's names show up, anyway? It just makes me feel guilty when I don't vote for anybody. Is it so the admins can make sure we don't double-vote?
05/02/2009
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Backseat Boohoo
At the risk of sounding awful, why do we have people's names show up, anyway? It just makes me feel guilty when I don't vote for anybody. Is it so the admins can make sure we don't double-vote?
You know, I was going to add something in my original post about making voting "more like how do elections in the U.S." where no one knows who voted which way. I don't feel guilty if I don't vote for someone. If they don't earn my vote, oh well. I think it's good to see people's names up because it shows who is participating in the voting. I wouldn't be opposed to a private vote, though.

Thanks also to Carrie Ann for her support, that means a lot. ^_^
05/02/2009
Contributor: Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady
Quote:
Originally posted by Backseat Boohoo
At the risk of sounding awful, why do we have people's names show up, anyway? It just makes me feel guilty when I don't vote for anybody. Is it so the admins can make sure we don't double-vote?
I think the voters' names have to be included in the final results so as to show the community as a whole the voting process was legit.

I also agree that the voters' names / voting tally should be hidden until the poll closes.

As far as the potential candidate "stress" over not knowing whether or not they were approved until the last day: When I applied for the program I sent an email and just had to wait. I don't think there is anything wrong with people having to wait to find out if they will be approved.

I also think having a private poll *without the voting tally* would discourage the one-line "please vote for me" posts. I realize the candidates are instructed to leave a comment on the appropriate voting forum...but I see it is rapidly becoming less about why votes should be cast and more about a popularity contest.

Finally, I would personally be more likely to participate in the voting with the private votes. I try to read as many reviews as I can and vote/comment on individual reviews. I don't see the need to vote for candidates if I open the poll and see they have already received no votes or tons of votes. When I see someone has received no votes in a poll where the someone else has received 10 votes, I don't see the point in me reading either person's review work.
05/02/2009
Contributor: Sammi Sammi
I think it would be a good idea as well.
05/02/2009
Contributor: Miss Cinnamon Miss Cinnamon
I like hiding the names, but not the numbers of votes. I've had extremely busy weeks and when I can find a few minutes to vote on reviewers, it helps to see which reviewers haven't met the 5 vote requirement yet. That way, I know where my vote would, for the lack of a better word, matter. Any vote after the 5th is a great ego boost, but meaningless otherwise in terms of the upgrade to Advanced. For those who are only one vote away or have no votes at all, I want to check them out in case they were skipped over because other voters ran out of time, etc. In their cases, my vote, should I choose to give it, is more useful.
05/02/2009
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
@ Happy Lady - I agree with you that the private poll would discourage "please vote for me" posts. I could do with less of them. I really don't even care if someone puts a blurb in the poll; I just read their reviews and vote based on that (and if they've answered their reviews' questions). Thank you for your opinions and support.

@ Sammi - I'm glad you agree! ^_^

@Miss Cinnamon - I wouldn't feel bad about missing a poll or two or even a full round of polls. With candidates getting 15+ votes, the 5 vote limit seems low sometimes. I don't know if it's fair or not to vote on only some of the polls (but as it stands now, I've done what you've said -- voting mainly on polls where not everyone has 5+ votes). Even if you don't get through all the polls, you're still voting for some people, which will help them. I get what you mean about your vote mattering, though. Thanks for your thoughts!
05/02/2009
Contributor: Perish Perish
Yep i think that would be a good idea really. I think also think the names should be hidden as well. Unless, all the names were put into one summary of who voted in the poll and not on the actual contributor(s)themselv es.
05/02/2009
Contributor: Mamastoys Mamastoys
I think this has become a popularity contest too and I am less likely to vote for someone who yells "vote for me" or who votes for themselves.

I try to read at least one review from each person up for voting. If the first one I read doesn't cut it with me, I try to read another one to give them a fair shot. If, after reading more than one review, I still don't feel good about the writer, I don't vote for them and I don't feel guilty. Some people just need more practice before becoming advanced reviewers.

I also look to see if the reviewer has answered any questions posted on their reviews. This plays a big part in my votes.. If there are questions and not answered, how involved do they really want to be anyway??

When I started with EF, I too had to submit a writing via email and just wait. A few days on the polls doesn't seem too bad to me.

I wonder if some of the writers who don't get votes are the ones giving "not useful at all" votes on our reviews?? I have noticed an increase in these votes on some of my reviews, and not newly posted ones. I would hate to think this was the case, but makes me wonder!! :-/

Hope this doesn't sound too ill..I'm just grouchy today!! Nothing mean meant to anyone!
05/02/2009