I am still a "noob" so to speak...

[KC_25]

but what is the purpose of "DUing" a poll? Or even for the freepers to do the same thing?
I mean they are unscientific samplings at best, and I found DU originally from a post on a game board, that suggested we counter the "DU" effect on a poll.
So just curious, what is the point?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. May I ask what game board?

It's sort of unusual that we would "DU" a poll about gaming...

[KC_25]

2. LOL sorry...

the poll wasn't about gaming. it is the game's off topic forum..
random pics, politics stupidity...whatever...
Game is WWIIOL

[YOY]

3. If it's Gamespy I'm gonna laugh...

I can think of some sick-ass freepers there.

[genieroze]

4. We aren't mindless bots like the freepers and the ditto heads are.

When I'm asked to DU a poll I don't agree with it, I don't participate. I feel most of us don't unless it's something we feel strong about. I like it when I'm informed of polls that I may not have known about. These polls tend to be slanted to the right by the MSM anyway. Liberal media my ass, not in over twenty years.

[napi21]

5. It's mind games. Although all those polls are unscientific,

some people see them. When a poll result is heavily in favor one way, anyone looking at the results gets the impression that it's the feeling of the majority.

Look at the polls on Lou Dobbs show each night! As far as I kow, I don't remember any postings requesting that we DU them, but they are Always very heavily slanted in the Dem direction. I know Lou always says this is not scientific, but even I watch and wonder if all his viewers are Dems!

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

6. True. Internet polls are unscientific.

But Free Republic usually posts tips on how to clear your cookies. Some of them even write scripts to vote, clear their computer, and then re-vote. We (well, the majority of us on DU) do not encourage cheating on internet polls.

Interestingly enough: although internet polls are unscientific, they are quoted way too often on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. (I once noticed that in a month's time of me occasionally watching CNN, Wolf Blitzer kept mentioning that the polls were unscientific...unless the results favored the Republican point-of-view. Then there was no mention of it's possible invalidity.)

As for some poll on a gaming site, who the heck cares? The "DU" effect? Sounds like Freepers are projecting their own deeds onto us again.

[KC_25]

11. The poll was a cnn poll

I do not remember which. It had something to do with Iraq.
THe poll was originally evenly split... cue the "DU" Unfreep this poll thread...

anti war takes 15-16% leap within an hour (thousands of votes)
cue the thread in the game's off topic forum... (and others I am sure elsewhere) with the link to DU thread, and the poll goes back to even...ends with a slight "pro-*/war edge"

[Jacobin]

7. There is no purpose

But it gives some of us some silly satisfaction. Me included.

[William769]

8. Because my vote needs to be counted someplace!

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Hear, hear!

[K-W]

9. It is a small reward action, but also involves little time investment.

They do, to some small extent, influence peoples perception of public opinion, they appear on frequently read sites, or get broadcast in the media, so it is arguably worth the 20 seconds it takes to vote.

[Canuckistanian]

10. We do it for moral support, I think...

It's natural to think that we have power in a group and when coordinated actions have an effect, it's encouraging. And we do turn polls around.

That said, you're right, it is manipulation and the results are not in any way resembling a scientific poll. We say "hey, that poll is beign freeped, we should DU it" just to try and even out the (as we see it) lopsided results.

Favorite targets are Lou Dobb's polls, Yahoo news ratings and CNN.

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

13. The only pragmatic goal of the polls themselves ...

... is to assess the opinions of the viewers or readers of some media outlet ... or at least the most active of those who also have the Internet handy. To the degree they have such a goal, and serve it, the polls would be used by the editorial and production people to guide their choices of content. Clearly, those polls don't necessarily reflect the views of the overall population - being "unscientific" (i.e. self-selected) just like General Election polls.

Thus, the sole impact that somewhere around 500-1,000 DUers would have is to slightly skew the results. It's doubtful that it'd materially alter the editorial/production approach of any but the smallest media outlet.

[marbuc]

14. For the time invested I think it is a useful exercise

Since the sheeple are often influenced by these this type of thing (the majority believes X, so it must be true), it's good to vote, if only to register one's opinion with the small universe that reads them.

[ieoeja]

15. Needed to be here five years ago.

That is when Freepers initiated the concept of "Freeping" an online poll. After awhile it occurred to DUers that we should un-Freep those polls when that occurs. For the first couple of years, the call would go out to DUers only after a posting was seen on the Uberright Freep site.

The reason is that your average Dick and Jane really do believe these polls are reasonably accurate. And people are often swayed by the majority on issues that don't mean that much to them personally.

Please post the above information on your off-topic gaming forum to let them know how this all got started.

[trekbiker]

16. I just like to Smack'em !!!!