Here are the vote totals that I've gathered from the spoiler thread. Keep in mind that I may have missed somebody or put the vote in the wrong category, so please check my totals. Also feel free to cast a vote in this thread if you haven't already or change your vote if you wish.

Difficulty level
Emperor - 5 (DaveShack, WarDance, Bootstoots, Zorn, zyxy)
Monarch - 1 (Kiech)

Map Size
Small - 5 (DaveShack, WarDance, zyxy, Bootstoots, Kiech)
Huge - 1 (Zorn [assuming this is what he intended by his post])

Climate, Temperature
Temperate/Normal - 6 (DaveShack, WarDance, zyxy, Bootstoots, Zorn, Kiech)
no other votes

Age
4 billion - 5 (DaveShack, WarDance, zyxy, Bootstoots, Zorn)
5 billion - 1 (Kiech)

Barbarians
None - 2 (Bootstoots, zyxy)
Raging - 2 (Zorn, Kiech)
Ambiguous votes - 2 (DaveShack for roaming or restless, WarDance for raging or none)

Map Type
Continents - 4 (WarDance, Bootstoots, zyxy, Kiech)
Archipelago - 1 (Zorn)
Ambiguous votes - 1 (DaveShack for continents or archipelago)

Water Coverage
70% - 4 (Bootstoots, WarDance, zyxy, Kiech)
Ambiguous votes - 1 (DaveShack for 60% or 70%)
Voted, but no vote on water coverage - 1 (Zorn)

SoZ
yes - 2 (Zorn, Kiech)
subcategory: ivory: no - 1 (Zorn)
subcategory: AC: yes - 1 (Zorn)
no - 3 (WarDance, Bootstoots, zyxy)
indecisive - 1 (DaveShack)

SGL's
yes - 2 (Bootstoots, Kiech)
no - 3 (WarDance, zyxy, Zorn)
indecisive - 1 (DaveShack)


As for ambiguous and indecisive votes, please state a position if you have one. I'm not quite sure how to count them otherwise (perhaps a full vote for each position supported, use them as a tie-breaker, or disregard them).

And if you haven't voted, vote now! :)

Filling in the gaps:
emperor difficulty, 70% water.

I'm going to impose a deadline of 19:00 GMT (15:00 EDT) on Saturday, 23 July, or 12 hours before the official deadline of 7:00 GMT Sunday. After that point, I will cast our team's votes. If you have not voted yet, please vote now.

Another thing to consider: though I don't see any tied votes now, how should I handle the situation if a poll does end tied? Should I randomize the selection, cast an abstention, or what?

In the order you stated:

Monarch, just because I hate the damn corruption, in fact if the dificulty level can be spilt I say Emperor level with Chieftan corruption. Happiness matters not to me.

Small

Temperate/normal/5 billion

Raging

Continents

70%

Yes

Yes

Okay, these polls are closed. I'll be casting our votes shortly.

Edit: Votes cast, except for the barbarian poll, which is tied 2-2 for none and raging. WarDance voted for both none and raging, and DaveShack voted for roaming and restless, so neither vote can be used to break the tie. How should this be broken?

Actually, now that I look at the poll, it doesn't matter how we vote, as none is ahead with 2 votes and roaming has 1. Either none or raging would result in a decision of none, by 3-1 and 2-1-1 margins respectively. I will therefore break this tie by using a calculator random number generator, assigning a value of 0 to none and 1 to raging.

The result is:

1 - Raging

edit: Looks like I was wrong. RegentMan decided to "compromise" by selecting roaming. I was thinking it would be decided by a plurality system, not this. Oh well.

That's always the fun thing -- they first let you vote, and then decide how to interprete it.... :lol:

At least we have goody huts to pop, the none setting would surely be our doom!

edit: Looks like I was wrong. RegentMan decided to "compromise" by selecting roaming. I was thinking it would be decided by a plurality system, not this. Oh well.
Mere curiousity: how would you have made the decision with a "plurality system?"