Poll Options

[Akillian Talleyrand]

Hello,

When creating a poll, you have three options on when people can see the results.

Always
After voting
After poll expires

On my forum, we do elections and the first two options are not useful, as once people have voted, they can continue to change their vote until the election is finished. At least, we believe this to be the case, at a minimum its staff who can change their votes. 

Because of the nature of our votes, it's not really ideal for votes to continue to change while the election is ongoing (change as in people changing votes). So the third option is the best for us. However, it means people can't see the results until the end and staff can still see and change their votes.

I'm wondering about a plugin that allows for:

(a) Choosing whether results are public or not (for the same to apply to everyone)
(b) To not allow people to change their vote after making it.

I'm really not familiar with plugin creation, if this has been asked before, or if is even possible, but just putting the idea out there based on our experience. Happy to discuss further with anyone.

Thanks.

[regack]

What a crazy coincidence, you just posted this, and I was just searching for something very similar, except looking for a 'write-in' option as well. I'm still looking around, I'll report back in here if I find something.

[Akillian Talleyrand]

Jul 11, 2020 9:46:58 GMT -8 regack said:

What a crazy coincidence, you just posted this, and I was just searching for something very similar, except looking for a 'write-in' option as well. I'm still looking around, I'll report back in here if I find something.

That would be great, thanks! Hoping there is something out there or someone can assist! 

[Kami]

Disclaimer: I am not a plugin developer so I cannot fill this.

If I recall correctly, there isn't a way to manipulate poll results since that data is sent to the servers and recorded/tallied based on the information stored; I don't know if that also extends to manipulating poll options, but I am hazarding a guess that this is likely since in the last seven years since v5 was launched there are 0 poll plugins.

Just stating this so that you can be prepared for that possibility.

Additionally, plugins do not currently work on the mobile version of the software so a plugin of this nature (if you are intending to prevent poll bias / fraud) will not be helpful. Moreover, plugins are easily circumvented in general by disabling javascript, so this wouldn't really be a deterrent for most people as they'll fall into either the "mobile user" or "knows how to get around plugins" or "doesn't have javascript enabled" camp. If you are concerned about limiting polls so people do not mess up the results, I don't personally think that plugins are the best solution.

Obviously, if this can be filled and you accept the above issue then by all means, but I wanted to provide some food for thought.

[Akillian Talleyrand]

Kami, that's helpful for not getting my hopes up. And actually, if it won't work on the mobile version (which I wasn't really thinking about), then it's not going to have the desired effect - at least for my desire!

Thanks for clarifying

Maybe Proboards will amend the poll options one day in the future  - I can hope!

[Kami]

Jul 11, 2020 14:49:33 GMT -8 Akillian Talleyrand said:

Kami, that's helpful for not getting my hopes up. And actually, if it won't work on the mobile version (which I wasn't really thinking about), then it's not going to have the desired effect - at least for my desire!

Thanks for clarifying

Maybe Proboards will amend the poll options one day in the future  - I can hope!

I do believe that the polls -- which are part of the post creator functionality -- are being modified in v6. We don't have an ETA on release, but there'll be an 18 month transition period after release with which to test and such. As far as amending the poll options, the best way to shed light on this desire is to make a feature request in the support board (where you were previously).

It is also worth noting that v6 will be fully mobile responsive, meaning that there will no longer be a different version for mobile versus desktop -- this will also allow plugins to work whilst on mobile (you can actually already enable a forced desktop view for mobile users, but if your theme isn't mobile responsive it will not have a great effect). As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around.

[Akillian Talleyrand]

Jul 11, 2020 16:42:46 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jul 11, 2020 14:49:33 GMT -8 Akillian Talleyrand said:

Kami, that's helpful for not getting my hopes up. And actually, if it won't work on the mobile version (which I wasn't really thinking about), then it's not going to have the desired effect - at least for my desire!

Thanks for clarifying

Maybe Proboards will amend the poll options one day in the future  - I can hope!

I do believe that the polls -- which are part of the post creator functionality -- are being modified in v6. We don't have an ETA on release, but there'll be an 18 month transition period after release with which to test and such. As far as amending the poll options, the best way to shed light on this desire is to make a feature request in the support board (where you were previously).

It is also worth noting that v6 will be fully mobile responsive, meaning that there will no longer be a different version for mobile versus desktop -- this will also allow plugins to work whilst on mobile (you can actually already enable a forced desktop view for mobile users, but if your theme isn't mobile responsive it will not have a great effect). As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around.

Hi Kami,

Making that request, forcing desktop view - both great suggestions for me, thanks!



"As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around"



Would you mind explaining this a bit further, I'm not quite sure what you mean?

[Kami]

Jul 13, 2020 8:47:16 GMT -8 Akillian Talleyrand said:

Jul 11, 2020 16:42:46 GMT -8 Kami said:

I do believe that the polls -- which are part of the post creator functionality -- are being modified in v6. We don't have an ETA on release, but there'll be an 18 month transition period after release with which to test and such. As far as amending the poll options, the best way to shed light on this desire is to make a feature request in the support board (where you were previously).

It is also worth noting that v6 will be fully mobile responsive, meaning that there will no longer be a different version for mobile versus desktop -- this will also allow plugins to work whilst on mobile (you can actually already enable a forced desktop view for mobile users, but if your theme isn't mobile responsive it will not have a great effect). As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around.

Hi Kami,

Making that request, forcing desktop view - both great suggestions for me, thanks!



"As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around"



Would you mind explaining this a bit further, I'm not quite sure what you mean?

Of course!

What I mean by that is that all plugins are written in Javascript. If someone knows how to disable Javascript, or visits in a browser with Javascript disabled by default (eg: some computers in a school or workplace may have this setting, as do some phones), then the plugin will not affect them.

Basically, no plugin is 100% circumvention free. You can make it more difficult to access your forum without Javascript enabled, but at the end of the day tying a critical function, such as locking content / preventing users from interacting with forum functionality, cannot be reliably left to a plugin—if you're OK with that limitation then go for it! But be prepared for the possibility that folks may try to get around the measures you have in place.

[Akillian Talleyrand]

Jul 13, 2020 8:51:21 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jul 13, 2020 8:47:16 GMT -8 Akillian Talleyrand said:

Hi Kami,

Making that request, forcing desktop view - both great suggestions for me, thanks!



"As a caveat, plugins are still limited by javascript being enabled, so there's still that ability to work around"



Would you mind explaining this a bit further, I'm not quite sure what you mean?

Of course!

What I mean by that is that all plugins are written in Javascript. If someone knows how to disable Javascript, or visits in a browser with Javascript disabled by default (eg: some computers in a school or workplace may have this setting, as do some phones), then the plugin will not affect them.

Basically, no plugin is 100% circumvention free. You can make it more difficult to access your forum without Javascript enabled, but at the end of the day tying a critical function, such as locking content / preventing users from interacting with forum functionality, cannot be reliably left to a plugin—if you're OK with that limitation then go for it! But be prepared for the possibility that folks may try to get around the measures you have in place.

Ahh....I understand now. That's also good to know, definitely seems my best bet is seeing a proboards change, rather than a plugin given these issues. Not that it's a major issue for our forum, just a little improvement we feel.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

[Kami]

Jul 13, 2020 9:01:43 GMT -8 Akillian Talleyrand said:

Jul 13, 2020 8:51:21 GMT -8 Kami said:

Of course!

What I mean by that is that all plugins are written in Javascript. If someone knows how to disable Javascript, or visits in a browser with Javascript disabled by default (eg: some computers in a school or workplace may have this setting, as do some phones), then the plugin will not affect them.

Basically, no plugin is 100% circumvention free. You can make it more difficult to access your forum without Javascript enabled, but at the end of the day tying a critical function, such as locking content / preventing users from interacting with forum functionality, cannot be reliably left to a plugin—if you're OK with that limitation then go for it! But be prepared for the possibility that folks may try to get around the measures you have in place.

Ahh....I understand now. That's also good to know, definitely seems my best bet is seeing a proboards change, rather than a plugin given these issues. Not that it's a major issue for our forum, just a little improvement we feel.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

of course, any time! :)