[WikiEN-l] Today's silly straw poll

[Oskar Sigvardsson]

On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 5:38 PM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree. The mistake was starting a straw poll (the wording suggests
> it's intended to be a final decision, rather than used to aid
> discussion as straw polls should be), people making their decision
> based on their perception of consensus is entirely appropriate.

Exactly. Straw polls can be wonderful tools when used correctly, to
get an idea about where everyone stands. If you do hold a straw poll,
and 95% of the people says that they fundamentally agree with a
position, then you can go on with the process. But they shouldn't be
like the deciding test whether to enact a policy or not.

--Oskar