Shaitan
der Besucher
There have been some problems with polls lately. Specifically, due to time constraints and occasional lack of discussion the Quick Poll option is being used and abused quite a bit. Some small changes can be made to make the polling procedure quite a bit more user friendly while maintaining the original intent of having Poll Procedures.
A little history lesson: Way back in DG1 we had a period where there were tons of black polls. These were polls that were put up late or even during a chat, had very little participation and were used to justify major policy decisions. This led to our adoption of quorums and minimum poll running times. These reforms solved the problems of underrepresented polls being used to run the game but have seemingly proven to be too restrictive for fair and general use. This has led to the misuse of the Quick Polls and having major decisions ratified by citizen polls in the chats.
The original intent of the Poll Procedures was to make sure that a fair number of citizens were involved in the decisions that were being made. We can accomplish this goal without the lengthy time requirements. As my proposed reform below will show, the quorum alone is enough guarantee of participation. Time requirements are not necessary to insure participation when the quorum is already forcing a certain level of participation.
Another major time factor of the current rules is a 24 hour mandatory discussion period followed by a 24 hour mandatory prepoll period. Although lengthy and involved discussion are healthy and desired, these arbitrary limits simply do not function well and are overly burdensome. My proposal removes these from the mandatory list and puts them in the preferred list.
The major point in my proposal that I expect to get bad feedback on is that I have moved "advertising" from preferred to mandatory. As the time requirements are being removed it becomes very important that people be advised when a poll is posted. The way to do that is to advertise the poll in the Poll Registry and related department thread(s).
Following is my suggestion for new poll procedures. Under that is the current section. Note that the reformed procedures are quite a bit simpler and remove the wishy-washy "should" type vocabulary that has caused problems in the past.
Suggested Poll Procedures
Current Poll Procedures
A little history lesson: Way back in DG1 we had a period where there were tons of black polls. These were polls that were put up late or even during a chat, had very little participation and were used to justify major policy decisions. This led to our adoption of quorums and minimum poll running times. These reforms solved the problems of underrepresented polls being used to run the game but have seemingly proven to be too restrictive for fair and general use. This has led to the misuse of the Quick Polls and having major decisions ratified by citizen polls in the chats.
The original intent of the Poll Procedures was to make sure that a fair number of citizens were involved in the decisions that were being made. We can accomplish this goal without the lengthy time requirements. As my proposed reform below will show, the quorum alone is enough guarantee of participation. Time requirements are not necessary to insure participation when the quorum is already forcing a certain level of participation.
Another major time factor of the current rules is a 24 hour mandatory discussion period followed by a 24 hour mandatory prepoll period. Although lengthy and involved discussion are healthy and desired, these arbitrary limits simply do not function well and are overly burdensome. My proposal removes these from the mandatory list and puts them in the preferred list.
The major point in my proposal that I expect to get bad feedback on is that I have moved "advertising" from preferred to mandatory. As the time requirements are being removed it becomes very important that people be advised when a poll is posted. The way to do that is to advertise the poll in the Poll Registry and related department thread(s).
Following is my suggestion for new poll procedures. Under that is the current section. Note that the reformed procedures are quite a bit simpler and remove the wishy-washy "should" type vocabulary that has caused problems in the past.
Suggested Poll Procedures
Code:
A. A quorum of participation is required for a poll to be binding.
1. Quorum for polls is 1/3 of the active census within the
first 24 hours or;
2. 1/2 of the active census after the first 24 hours.
B. The following criteria are required for a poll to be valid:
1. Poll type in the header and first post.
2. Poll end dates/times noted in the first post.
A. End dates/times can be conditional. (Example:
poll ends at the beginning of the next chat turn)
3. Participation requirement (quorum needed) noted in the
first post.
4. Link to relevant discussion threads in the first post.
5. Inclusion of an "Abstain" option.
6. Link to the poll in the Poll Registry and/or Department
Thread (if appropriate).
C. The following criteria are preferred for all polls:
1. Discussion thread, up for 24 hours minimum.
2. Proposed poll, up for 24 hours minimum.
3. Poll posted with link from discussion thread.
4. Poll duration minimum of 24 hours (48 hours plus is
preferred).
A. If the poll runs into the weekend it is advised
that the duration be extended by 24 hours for
each weekend day. Forum participation is much
lower on the weekends.
D. Information polls - Do not have restrictions and cannot be used
to justify policy, plans or actions.
1. All polls posted by Leaders are considered Official unless
specifically noted to be informational in the header and
first post.
Code:
1. A poll is not valid unless a quorum of participation has been reached.
2. All polls should have the following information:
A. Poll type in the header and first post.
B. Poll start and end dates/times in the first post.
1. End dates/times can be conditional. (Example: poll ends
at the beginning of the next chat turn)
C. Link to relevant discussion threads in the first post.
D. Inclusion of an "Abstain" option.
3. Official polls
A. Quorum level is 1/2 of the active census.
B. Poll should proceed as follows:
1. Discussion thread, up for 24 hours minimum (48 hours
plus is preferred). Then,
2. Proposed poll, up for 24 hours minimum. Then,
3. Poll posted with link from discussion thread.
4. Poll duration is a minimum of 24 hours (48 hours plus
is preferred).
a. If the poll runs into the weekend it is advised
that the duration be extended by 24 hours for
each weekend day. Forum participation is much
lower on the weekends.
5. Link to the poll in the Poll Registry and/or Department
Thread (if appropriate).
4. Quick polls - When topic discussion is unwarranted or poll procedures
cannot be maintained due to time constraints, a quick poll may be used.
A. Quick polls do not have to follow the time conditions of Official
Polls.
B. Quorum level is 1/3 of the active census.
C. Results may be used to make temporary changes or specific, one
time decisions. They may not be used to make permanent article or
law changes.
1. The specific action item must be noted.
2. The action item must be applicable to the upcoming turn
chat.
3. The action item should be instantaneous or
reversible/correctable.
a. Examples of items that meet the criteria are:
i. City name change
ii. Change of tiles worked in a city
iii. Tile development
iv. Purchasing a technology
v. Upgrading troops
vi. Changing a build queue
b. Examples of items that would not meet the criteria
are:
i. Deals with a duration (resources or
gold/turn involved)
ii. Declaration of war
iii. Disbanding troops
4. These actions may be reversed, changed or overruled by any
subsequent Official Poll.
5. Information polls - Do not have restrictions and cannot be
used to justify policy, plans or actions.
A. All polls posted by Leaders are considered Official
unless specifically noted to be informational in the
header and first post.
