Question of the Day - 10 April 2019

I don't participate in the polls nor do I view the results. I find the QoD to be extremely valuable.

Q of the Day is more interesting

I agree with David and Don the Dentist. I'm much more interested in the QofD and have pretty much stopped participating in the polls. Most of late aren't relevant to me.

 I agree. Please skip the polls.There's very little of interest.

1. It does not seem like polls dominate QOD.  
2. There is value in the poll previews, and I would not prefer that those be discontinued.  I appreciate the opportunity to have input into how the poll questions are developed.

Having said all that, here is a related question (don't I always have one?): 

The span of time between posting of the actual poll and posting of the results seems long.  Is there a point where the voting customarily dries up?  Perhaps it takes that long to give everyone a chance to vote, and/or for the time it takes for votes and comments to be tallied.  Is there a surge of voting right before the date results are to be posted?  Not a deal breaker; just curious. I enjoy both.  JMHO.

I think polls for buffets and restaurants are meaningless because who goes to all these eateries to give an accurate opinion? I'm sure most average people only go to a small percent of these places.

OK, i will take the other side of the stream of comments!  I have no issue with the polls.  Some have more interest to me than others, and I do like the preview.  My biggest interest is in the QoD, but the humble editor of QoD DOES deserve a break now and then!  I can only imagine how Anthony C. must crack the whip on Mr D's computer.  So, a suggestion - keep the polls, but put the previews at the end of a QoD so the preview does not take up a QoD question. Now everyone will be happy (??) and we all learn FAR more about LV than we can ever imagine!   Keep up the excellent work, Deke!

 No more previews - if you want to have them then maybe make it a side-bar to a real QOD.  The polls are ok but frankly as a seasoned Vegas vet,  some of the polls are just not interesting.

I do love the QOD’s - please keep em’ going!

A poll results in one unanswered question. Folks can comment on the QofD and we can read them for more info.

I like the polls, and I usually learn something from them, even if they're on topics that don't interest me. I enjoy seeing how other people vacation and their viewpoints on all things Vegas.  I also like the previews, because other readers usually give good feedback about how to stratify the questions to get more meaningful responses.  (I rarely put that much energy into my thoughts on these topics.)I also like the QoDs, but I go by the subject line, and if it doesn't seem like something of interest to me, I delete it without opening.   Heresy, I know.  I know I can always go back and search the archives if I want.  We're preparing for our trip next week, and I've got several activities planned from info I extracted from the QoDs.  Keep up the good work! 

Have you considered a separate poll section for online poll surveys? This would free up the QoD section for only answering questions. Additionally, the results of the surveys can remain readily available without having to search the QoD archives if you happened to miss the poll question and/or results.

Lots of good comments so far and I can see both sides of the arguments. I like both the polls and the QOD, but prefer the latter. As a visitor from the UK both are sometimes not relevant to me, but it's still interesting to see how others holiday in Vegas. 
I agree that it may be a good idea to try the preview as a supplement to a 'normal' QOD so as to regain two more QODs per month.
I wouldn't want to be in your shoes in making the decision as whatever the result you're bound to come under fire from someone.

Some polls provide interesting info but I would rather see the Q of the Day.  A separate poll page may be the best option.  The polls that I find most interesting are those that provide specific information such as best restaurants for steak, buffets, etc... since that helps when planning your time in LAS! 

NO PREVIEWS --- ASK - AND GET A RESPONSE . NO EXTRA THINKING , people MAY CHANGE  their  MIND  TOO OFTEN. Watch JEOPARDY tonite , ty, tyvm 

Polls are good but have sporadic limited value to me.  QODs are far more informative and useful.  I agree with Clark Kent.  Set up a separate section for polls which would free up the QOD space.  

I don't mind the polls and usually participate. However, even though I often have something to add to the pre-poll, I would rather have a question of the day -- or maybe you could have both? 

I enjoy both even though some polls don't pertain to me they give me some ideas on how other members feel/think.  Of course, QOD also is very valuable.  To me, if it were a one or the other only deal, QOD is more important.

If so,limit them.It may take away valuable staff time to conduct these polls.
  I think that a lot more information is to be had in the QOD's than the polls.
  As always,the comments are very helpful.
Polls are just OK.

I look forward to your QoDs.  Usually skip over the polls which seem redundant, or immaterial.  Suggest cutting the polls in half, or adding 50 or more days to the calendar year.

... you could do a poll to find out what people think about polls. 

I too don't participate in the polls nor view the results.  They just take up wasted space for me.

I agree with Candy Wright and Dan McGlasson

I think you’re perfect just the way you are, as they say in the song!  And I thank you!

I love the polls and the previews make a great contribution to the actual poll. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Keep doing what you're doing. As a "once a year" visitor many of the polls are not relevant to me but are to many people. Let's face it, many of the QoD's seem pretty stupid to me, i.e Why do traffic lights take so long to change?....um TRAFFIC, or Why security check at the Stratosphere?...did you walk here or go through the airport, or ever attended a sporting event? Society dictates it. You're doing fine by me. What I don't care for I don't read....simple. Thank you,

Polls especially, but also QOD information, aid in the offers presented in the coupon book and thus make them of value to you the buyer and as a powerful tool to encourage casinos (and any other appropriate business) to offer coupons of real value. It's Vegas.

I'm not really interested in the polls but for the most part like the QofD's when they pertain to Las Vegas gambling and rooms.  If you have too many questions maybe you could run two or three questions each day with less details in the answers.  One thing I'd like to get rid of are the "smart ass" comments that we seem to get daily from one or two respondents.

...before the other side he see. So:
1. I don't think that the polls "dominate" the QoD, since it seems to me that many of the questions are stretches anyway, suggesting that there aren't all that many actually good questions in the queue. The polls serve as filler.
2. The poll previews generate a goodly amount of entertaining feedback, fully 40% of which is from people who actually read the question and 3% of which is useful suggestions. So keep the previews coming, I say!
3. If the number of days in the year was increased to 1,500, the government would find a way to increase our taxes proportionately as well. So, let's keep it at 365.25.

Any more might be too much, but right now I think it's just fine and I enjoy the process.

I participate in most polls but the reason I absolutely visit the site each day is the QOD. I understand that it takes a lot of work but the poll preview is simply....boring. Even if you ran an old QOD I would be happier.

I greatly prefer the QODs over the polls.  The real problem is that while it's only 6 days a month, it ends up being 3 days in one week, so for the poll weeks we only get 4 QODs.

I realize others may really like the polls.  Here's a thought.  Would it be possible to do a poll preview AND a QOD on the same day?  Maybe also the day of the actual poll.  That way the only days without a QOD would be the days when you give the poll results - just twice a month and no more than one day in a week.

I miss her perspective. Perhaps a female in the office could help tone the subject matter down a bit?

I actually have some Polish blood myself.  Or did I misread the question?

Agree with the preponderance of comments. Fewer (or no) polls, more QoD. LVA is a great resource. 

I like everything you do. You are the experts, I'll roll with your choices. Thanks

It seems that those who don't like the polls are saying "screw the people who like them", but the QoD's can be a bit narrow in the targeted audience too. 
Personally I think the best thing you have done was to add the  preview. I think it makes the poll more meaningful, and also gives people more time to think of the response, so maybe the suggestion of not having 10 days between answer and question is good. My issue with the previews is that many of the comments are not suggestions, but actual answers before the poll really comes out. I think the statistics are kind of skewed, especially when multiple answers can (and should) be given. But favoritism, such as steakhouses, buffets, etc. can also be taken with a grain of salt because, for example, my favorite won't include yours, because I have never been to your favorite place.
Oh, one other thing, whether it's a poll or a QoD, some people just use this forum as an excuse to bash everything. Why do they even come? Why not stay home?

..and this is America.  Why can't we have BOTH Maximum QOD AND Polls?  Just put a little clcky button somewhere on the page.  (Just sayin...)

(1) I also think that, in total, the polls are less informative and less desirable than the QoD's. So, instead of deciding that a poll is going to be run (and its results are going to be posted), let us vote on what topics we would like to see polled, and only run polls on the topics that get good results. Most of us want INFO, and don't really care that much about others' travel details (such as how big a bankroll others bring to Vegas) or others' opinions (except for their reviews of specific places or items, based on experience).  (2) As for running a solicitation poll before running the actual poll, I consider myself as much a pusher for this as XY is; without offending the poll writers, let me say: many times I thought the proposed list of possible responses was sorely lacking, and so I wrote in to provide missing answers. So the pre-poll is necessary. I would recommend that polls (and pre-polls) come via their own emails instead of taking up QoD email contents.

Don't fix it.  Everything is fine and should be left the way it is.

I haven't noticed any predominance of polls. Polls or QoDs, I click IF something is interesting enough to tear me away from my mountain of emails. And since I find comments entertaining in themselves, I've enjoyed the preview input. In fact, it finally motivated me to sign on, after many years. The previews have definitely been helpful; keep'em!

Doesn't seem like polls dominate, they "balance" the QoD's.   I think that most polls you run are interesting, i.e. "when do you come to Vegas?" and give me information that I could never get elsewhere.

Are they always applicable to my specific situation, no, but they are usually interesting.  

I'd suggest keep the polls going.  

Just as all polls aren't of particular interest to me, neither are all of the QODs. I enjoy the variety and don't mind that "one day" happens to be a preview. I don't feel I'm "missing" something by not having a QOD on "poll preview" days or "poll question" or "poll results" days. I always find something interesting somewhere on the site.