I had in mind for a little while now, about the polls on this site, and how simple and boring they seem, not to mention complaints about it.
Complaint About Polls: -Selecting one of the options in a poll requires you tap on a little tiny circle at the far right.
-If there are zero votes in the general poll, the options are all smooshed together when you view them.
-The blue-fade-into-white bar when viewing poll results is very unattractive (as you can see, the way something looks in a site is something I pay attention to—if this site wants more attention, then it should look better... no offense at all)
-The number of votes per option is right next to each option... not a very smart place to put it
-All votes are anonymous (not a big deal)
So here's what I had in mind:
Ever heard of the app called Wishbone? If not, it's basically an app where you can create polls of whatever you want and you can vote of polls that other people make. It's pretty fun.
I want the polls here to look like Wishbone, with a minor tweak or two.
First thing: Redesign the entire poll. It should be a column chart (where the bars go vertical) instead of a bar graph (where the bars go horizontal). The columns should vary in size depending on how many options there are to choose from and to accommodate screen size. For example, if there are two options, the bars are wider; if there are five options, the bars are more narrow.
Where does the question go? Put it above the chart. The options? Below each column.
Addressing my first complaint: Instead of that tiny circle, tap on the column itself, or the written option, to vote for that option.
Addressing my second complaint: If there are zero votes so far, make the column very short, but still visible. But don't make the options smoosh together.
Addressing my third complaint: Why use that blue? I think the columns' colors should be according to light mode and dark mode. In light mode, the columns can be black; in dark mode, the columns can be white. Simple and easy and far better than the blue.
Addressing my fourth complaint: Instead of the "View" option... just terminate that option. The numbers next to the options? Get rid of 'em (Rid of the "Vote" button, too) When you tap on the desired column, the page will automatically reload to show current results. And no numbers... use percentages. I know that's boring and math-y, but it'll look better and more professional.
Addressing my fifth complaint: I think the person who made the poll should be able to see who voted for what, or at least those who voted in general. This isn't that big of a deal, and I do know that seeing who voted for what could spark controversy, especially if it's political, or one of those "What do you think of me?" polls. So maybe just being able to see those who voted in the poll, but not what option they picked.
Last Things: -A little toolbar! The owners of the poll should have a toolbar under the column chart, buttons going in a straight line. Buttons we should have are (and I can design buttons, too):
•Delete (delete poll)
•Edit (edit poll, then have it reviewed)
•Voters (view list of users who voted)
•Switch (temporary switch between dark and light mode)
•View (look at results of poll)
•Lock (lock the poll so it can't be voted on again)
-Time limit on voting: Set a duration of time to vote in the poll (i.e. 24 hours), then poll would be locked afterward.
-When poll is locked, owner can still view it
-When poll is locked, hide it from the "Recent Polls" list
I think that's it... one more thing: We need a place in My Zone to view ALL of our polls (including the ones that were denied), just like how our Blogs lists are set up.
I've implemented a few of these changes while doing other updates to the polls:
* Replaced blue gradient with solid gray bar
* Able to view polls from member profile pages
* Able to view unfeatured (alongside featured) polls by adding query string "featured=false" (featured one have a star icon)
Why remove numbers? It seems rather arbritary to remove that, I like knowing exactly how many people voted and for what. I'd also prefer the View button stay, so you don't have to vote in the poll (unless you meant, you can already see the results during the vote process/when you go to the poll)
The time limit would be optional, right?
No need to apologize, nothing wrong with being verbose in places like this
These are quite the nice suggestions! I like the idea behind most of these.
I don't like the idea of having the option to edit the poll. I feel like once it's submitted, it should just be set in stone. Also, I feel like voting in polls should stay perfectly anonymous. That way, we can steer clear of any possible implication of voting. The view button as it is also does have some functionality since you can't see the results until after you've voted otherwise. Of course, it can be altered such that results are visible by default if you've voted. Not sure what would be best if you haven't voted, yet, though.
By the way, it's that blue since it's the gradient used for pretty much the entire site. It's an image that's repeated horizontally in order to create that gradient effect.
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