Poll board rules - EVERYONE MUST READ THIS! (last updated April 3, 2018)

[The Nemesis]

There are some things to keep in mind when posting polls here. If you don't know how to post a poll, check out Aerolanche's thread that will be right below this one (the only other stuck thread). But when you make your thread, please adhere to the following:

1) Provide some instructions, background or rationale for your poll: If you want to start a poll, give the 1st post more content than just "X vs Y" Ask the specific question you want addressed. You may think it's obvious how you want them compared, but if you put "Gretzky vs Lemieux" it could mean any number of things: who was the better player in their prime, who had the better career, who was your favorite player, who was a better goalscorer/skater/defender, etc. No one expects an essay, but at least a simple sentence that says specifically what you want people to vote on will make sure that there's no confusion. Polls that violate this rule will be considered spam and deleted as such.

2) No ridiculously lopsided polls: Do not make a poll with the intention of having only one right answer. Every option included should have a reasonable chance of being picked by someone. The only exceptions are ranking polls where you want every possible option that fills the criteria of the poll even if some of them likely won't receive votes. But in those cases, there still must be enough reasonable potential voting options to make the poll valid

3) No silly fad/copycat polls: Polls that follow a trend or a theme are fine as long as they can stand on their own merit, as if the theme originator never existed. But if the copycat poll is silly or makes no sense unless people get the theme or fad it's referencing, it may be deleted.

4) No revenge polls: If you don't like someone's poll, you have two options. 1) if it's violating some of the site rules, report it. 2) if it's just a case of you don't like the options, move on. Don't purposely make a poll to antagonize that other OP or create a reversed comparison in your favor just to prod at them or teach them a lesson or something. That only leads to trouble.

5) All rules applying to regular posts apply to polls. Trolling is still trolling here even if it's cloaked in a poll. Do not make negative polls about fanbases. Negative polls about teams or players are fine if they are tactful and considerate of not offending people. Asking what the worst aspect of Sidney Crosby's game is would be a fine poll if you do it diplomatically. "How does Crosby suck?" is not diplomatic.

6) Vote honestly: Don't pity vote, joke vote, vote just to break up shutouts, vote against someone just because you don't like them, vote to prod a team's fans or the original poster, etc. If someone else doesn't like your honest vote and attacks you for it, they're in the wrong. If you purposely vote to antagonize someone else and then they attack you for it, you're both in the wrong.

7) When writing a comment: People are allowed to vote however they want to. Comments like "Everyone who votes for ___________ are idiots." or "how stupid is it that __________ has X votes?" are not OK. They're flaming

8) Report bad polls: The proper and judicious use of the report system is the best way to deal with a poll you think doesn't belong. This makes sure the mods see it and know to deal with it, and that they will take appropriate action. The mods cannot and do not read every single post in every single thread. Don't assume that we'll see something just because you did. If you think it warrants our attention, file a report by hitting hte little red/white triangle button that looks like an upside down Yield sign found in the bottom left of every post. Don't assume that someone else will report it either. We'd rather 10 reports on the same issue than no reports because everyone thinks "someone else will do it"

9) If you think you won't like a legit poll: Stay out of it. There will be polls that don't satisfy you. Maybe they're missing an option you feel should be there. Maybe they hold a view of something that you don't share. Whatever the reason, if you cannot conduct yourself in a civil manner within the poll thread, just stay away. If someone asks "who is the worst of these players" and someone from your team is on there, you can make your case as to why that player shouldn't be on the list or isn't the worst player. But if you think you're just going to post "OMG you stupid idiot, how can you have ___________ on a list with __________, ____________, and _____________! Those last 3 are way worse!" maybe it's just best to walk away.



Mods reserve the right to close/delete any polls they feel violate the above rules. They also reserve the right, as always, to issue warnings or infractions for any polls that violate general HF conduct rules.

If you post a poll in this forum, it will be assumed that you have read and understand the above.

If everyone exercises some good judgment and a little tact, this can be a great place to debate issues or answer questions.

Thanks,
HF Mods.

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[The Nemesis]

On the main board, Chainshot has posted a reminder of the rules as they apply to discussion of the KHL. That applies here too.

Polls involving the KHL will be monitored strictly and inflammatory comments from KHL supporters or detractors will not be tolerated at all.

The KHL vs AHL poll has a similar warning posted in it. However, aside from in that thread, there will be no more warnings except here.

Once again, it is expected that everyone who posts in this forum will understand the rules posted here and will abide by them.

 

[The Nemesis]

New wrinkle: Deleting threads has been disabled for rookies and regular users on the polls board. This is due to an unfortunate habit of people creating polls then killing them when the result does not go the way they expected/wanted (ie Team X fan creates poll "Team X player vs Team Y player" hoping to prove the X guy's superiority. The vote ends up 66/33 in favor of the Y player. Not wanting to admit defeat, the poll is deleted and treated as if it never existed)

People that vote in a poll have a right to see how it turned out. If you have a legitimate reason to close or delete a poll (you screwed up the creation process, it's gotten inappropriate or out of hand, that sort of thing) file a report and a capable moderator will come around to take action if deemed necessary.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Don't bump threads (which people have been doing lately for the purpose of taking potshots at opinions that are no longer reasonable). It's considered flaming or SPAM (potentially both) and it confuses people.

The last thing you want to do is to confuse a moderator right before they're making a decision about a possible infraction.

 

[The Nemesis]

I've had multiple people ask me this, so it's probably time to put it down in writing here:

Rookie users are not capable of creating polls. The first 45 days after you sign up for an HF account is your rookie "probation" period. During that time, there are a few restrictions on your account, including the ability to create polls in this or any other forum.

Once you have been on the site for 45 days, your account graduates to that of a full user and you will be able to make polls wherever you choose.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

This has gotten worse over the past few months, so I'm posting here about it now.

There are a fair number of people on these boards who only want to read two types of things on the NHL Talk board: (1) good news about their team and players, and (2) bad news about their rivals' teams and players. And when they feel that there's "too much" of talk that isn't in one of those two buckets, they like to openly discuss whether or not the threads belong here.

Let the staff do our jobs. General pointers: if enough people skip threads, they disappear on their own. If a thread is breaking a rule, you can report the thread. If two threads genuinely need to be merged, you can also report that. The thread titles generally have what's intended to be talked about in them, which you should be able to find handy when determining whether or not to read a thread.

Beyond that, you *will* receive warning points if you insist on flaming another poster in this fashion.