Topic: How to use Polls & How to Vote.

[Ken]

A few FamilyForum members have said the they have never used, or voted in a 'poll' so this article will give you a few tips on how to vote in one.
Please note... you must login before the poll above will be visable on your screen, it's also the same for the picture below.

Polls are a great way to allow members to give their opinions on the question of the moment in an online environment like our FamilyForum, here is how to use one.
In the test poll above, ?What weekday do you like best?? there are seven choices listed and you may select two of the choices.
To pick one, or two of them you simply place a check mark (click) in the box of your choice.

The poll will then let you do a 'Submit Vote', then you will see a screen where you can 'Remove Vote' and start over, the test poll is set that way so that you can play around with it a little and get used to the idea.   
In the picture at the bottom of this post you can see that Saturday & Sunday were checked, if I were satisfied with those two selections I would then click on Submit Vote.

Here is how a poll is normally set up:

*The poll will have several choices, usually 3-12? but sometimes only 2 if it is a yes/no vote.
The title (name) of each choice is dictated by just what the poll is about?in the case of our upcoming Essay Contest the title of each choice will be the contestant?s name.

*In most polls you will only be allowed to vote one time and once you hit the ?Submit Vote? radio button you are finished and cannot  do anything to change your vote and you cannot vote in that same poll again. In most cases you will no longer be able to see the voting screen, instead you will see the voting results as they stand at that moment.
In some polls the result is hidden until the poll has been closed, but in our Essay Contest you will see the standings when you have completed you vote.

That is pretty much it, the main thing to keep in mind is that once your vote has been cast there is no going back, so be sure to check carefully before hitting the Submit Vote button.

Two other points:

*It is usually considered good form to post a reply after you cast your vote telling what you liked about your choice.
You don?t have to do so of course, but in our upcoming vote on the Essay Contest I?ll bet that the contestants would love to hear what you think of their entry!

*And, in the case of our Essay Contest, there will actually be three separate polls, one for each group, and you will be able to vote once in each poll.

If you have any questions be sure to post them in the Contest Questions & Answers thread.
You can also click on the reply button below and ask a question if you wish to.