Board Taken Over By Rigged/Inaccurate Surveys

No, we don't look at every single post or survey before it goes live. That would be impossible.

 

When someone posts a survey, that person and only that person, sets the parameters. These are not scientific surveys, but just what one person is wanting to collect information about from our members. They are not "rigged." Most people are not experienced in creating useful surveys. Yes, often there are not enough choices offered when "none of the above" should be a choice. 

 

If you do not want to be "overrun" with polls, please change your notification settings regarding surveys in your settings. Also, don't answer surveys that you cannot complete. 

 

Perhaps we should just dispense with the survey option, since it seems to cause more grief than anything else? What does everyone think?

 

Jan

Jan, my first thought after reading your question about whether the group would like to get rid of the survey option was "let's set up a survey to find out!" 

Jan, first I just want to say that overall you have done a great job as poster and moderator and your contributions are beyond reproach.

 

That being said- my concern with surveys is that they consistently convey misleading information that newer people to the board are likely to be improperly influenced by.  I realize it's probably impossible for you to go back and fix all of the many inaccurate and rigged surveys that have been posted.

 

I do believe "rigged" is an entirely accurate description of the recent cipro/flagyl side effects poll.  The survey starter had an agenda that overlooked that many or most users of cipro and flagyl do not have side effects yet the poll does not allow for that at all.  You can only participate if you have suffered side effects.  That, frankly, is a nonsense poll which is not based on reality.  Either we on this board want to live in reality, or not.  I choose to live in reality and I get annoyed by these polls that seek the non-reality analysis.  And the one I singled out is not the only one by any means.

Wow. I'm the one who started the Cipro/Flagyl survey. I set it up to get opinions and support from others, and to get a sense of how prevalent side effects might be. It did all that and more. I found survey results and answers very helpful.

Hockadoo,

 

How helpful can that poll be when a 20 year user of cipro and flagyl (me) wasn't able to participate?  I have probably taken more cipro and flagyl than anyone on this board and I was shut out of this supposedly helpful poll.  My truthful answers could not be recorded.  Sorry, but with all due respect, the poll and its results were nonsense if the absolute most experienced person with these drugs cannot have his responses recorded.

CT, let's not make this personal. It appears to me that you are assuming you know what a poster is thinking or intends when creating a survey. I could be wrong, but that is the sense I get by what you state and the general tone.

 

I still disagree with your description of "rigged" surveys, because that implies an intent to exclude people from a survey or to skew results. It is not rigging the survey to unintentionally leave out an option to cover every circumstance. The fact that a survey annoys you is not a reason to insult the original poster. Create your own survey if you want a more scientific or balanced result. 

 

The point is that participation is voluntary, and I fail to see how the surveys are taking over the board.

 

Scott, you made a good suggestion. I think I will create a survey about what people think of this option on this board. Then I can get back to Bill J with the results.

 

Jan

 

 

Jan,

 

I in no way made this personal.  Hockadoo may be a great guy but he put up a nonsense poll.  People who have had no side effects on cipro and flagyl cannot participate.  The poll results are misleading to anyone who reads them.  None of this can be disputed.   Go try completing Hockadoo's poll and try to vote no.  You can't!!!!!!!! Because you MUST respond to all choices to vote "no" - even if they don't apply and to do so is a lie.  How can that be anything other nonsense and rigged to shut out "no" votes? Please explain?  It may be unintentional but that doesn't change both the poll and the poll results from nonsense to sensible.

 

In any event I do not have a problem with putting up surveys and polls so long as they are not seriously misleading and do not contain assumptions that are either unscientific or unsupported by science.  I have seen a lot of this- polls that contain suppositions which are not accurate or omit pertinent information. If there are too many polls to moderate then at least allow users the option to point out the flaws in the poll.  There is no such option, so if the poll isn't moderated, the board is stuck with whatever nonsense the pollster wishes to foist on the board.

CT, I agree that that survey was not well constructed to show all aspects of the query. It may be nonsense to you, but the OP found it useful to him. Perhaps he was not interested in the percentage of those who did or did not have side effects, but was more interested in those who did and how long they took to resolve. I don't know because it is not my survey, and that is my point. These surveys are not for scientific journals, but for the information of the OP. If it helps others too, great. 

 

As for being able to provide commentary specific to the survey, that one in particular, Cipro/Flagyl Side Effects, has 37 comments attached. So, you CAN reply and add commentary to explain your inability to complete it accurately, and add narrative about your own experience. All you have to do is click on the results and the replies pop up and you can reply too.

 

Personally, I have never gotten much from the surveys, neither this format or the old site. But, that is just me. I have set up a survey to see what the consensus is. I made it anonymous too.

 

Jan

 

Okay thanks.  After my vote being shut out I didn't really look at that poll again and didn't know I could comment on the poll.  That was actually all I really wanted to do.

Jan- on cipro/flagyl side effects poll, when I click on "show results", I am denied access due to not having voted in the survey.  As noted previously, I couldn't vote in the survey unless I lied in response to choices 2 and 3, which were not applicable.  I was shut out of the poll and shut out of the comments.

 

Therefore the 37 commenters must have voted yes.  Unless they voted no and then fibbed their responses to 2 and 3 to get the no vote recorded.  It is not well constructed to say the least.  And the above tells you all you need to know about the commentary.

CT- I did not know you were blocked from comments. I guess I could view them as moderator. I did edit the survey so you can view the results and comments without completing the survey.

 

The way the survey feature is set up, the poster has a lot of options to choose in formatting.

 

Jan

It's easy to be completely misled by a survey that isn't well constructed, so I understand CT's concerns. That being said, it's straightforward enough to simply turn off notifications and not look at them. I don't read the "Rant and Rave" forum either. Find the value that suits you here. Skip the stuff that doesn't.

Scott, I completely agree. I don't think newbies can become misled, because once they try to complete a survey and find it does not fit their situation, they will know it is limited and not scientific.

 

Plus, while this is a great place to share experiences and information, it s not a substitute for medical care and verified sources.

 

While I do moderate for content in general (particularly reported content), I do not and will not be editing content that is simply opinion or personal experience. That is not my role here. Plus, I do have a life away from here. It looks like that so far, most people want surveys to stay. So, whatever floats your boat!

 

Jan

Not being an expert on surveys and statistics, and yet still being a person of some intelligence, maybe I didn't post the greatest scientific survey ever. I'll do better next time. To reiterate, the survey gave me the feedback I wanted and needed. It helped me.

Jan,

 

Thank you for unlocking Hockadoo's poll so I could comment.  That is all I really wanted to do.  Obviously from the other survey about board polls generally, people here want to have surveys. I would just urge posters to be careful and thoughtful in how they construct their polls.

 

I was very concerned in particular by the yes votes so overwhelmingly outpointing the no votes in that cipro/flagyl poll.  First, I don't actually understand how ANY "no" votes were recorded without the person also answering the second and third questions in a fashion that totally contradicts the "no" vote. Yet 34 "no" votes managed to get recorded- so I assume people answered incorrectly on purpose to the second and third questions to get their "no" vote recorded.  I refused to do this.

 

If those poll numbers were the reality, cipro and flagyl wouldn't be on the market.

 

My comment is all I wanted to post anyway so thanks for editing the poll.

 

I was concerned people would look at those poll results and say "no way" to cipro and flagyl.  That is what makes the poll dangerous.  I hope nobody takes those results and runs with them.  These drugs are effective if they are used carefully and rotated with the non systemically absorbed xifaxin.  This is something that took me 20 years of taking them to learn.  I wouldn't have my Pouch still without them.

 

 

 

 

"so I assume people answered incorrectly on purpose to the second and third questions to get their "no" vote recorded.  I refused to do this."

 

CT - I think you are putting a bit too much credence into these.  As the original poster said, the poll seemed to help them.   To assume that anyone actually did something purposely to mislead, or spent the time worrying about how to trick the system to register the vote is a stretch.   I think you should treat this, more or less, as a "fun" forum tool and nothing more.  If it's not "fun" for you to use and it annoys you to a large degree, I'd turn them off.   I saw your post several days ago, frankly, was hoping it would disappear to the second and third page because you were pretty bold in alleging there's some sort of conspiracy against the data you wanted to input. 

 

The GREAT news is that we all know now that you have done very well on Cipro and Flagyl!

How did the 34 "no" votes get registered?  My "no" vote would not be registered unless I responded to the other two choices which required contradictory responses to the "no" vote. If you look at the poll you will see what I am talking about. Can you or anyone else explain this?

 

The point of this is not me doing well or, more accurately, surviving by taking cipro and flagyl, but what others who might consider taking these drugs are thinking. You may not care, but I do.  I do not want to see people lose their J Pouches when they don't have to.

It isn't rocket science. I just took the survey and answered no to the first question. I then just answered the next two questions as best I could. With the first answer as no, the other two answers were meaningless. 

 

Still, if people want scientific evidence, they can read the many medical journal links that are posted here and elsewhere on the internet. Most of what is posted here, even outside of the surveys is purely anecdotal. This is OK because people want to share experiences and not feel alone. That is a big part of a support group.

 

Jan

Thank you, Jan. Well-stated. Maybe some people just need to add a chill pill to their list of meds. 

I probably should have posted this thread in the "Rave and Rant" forum but otherwise everything I posted is completely fair and accurate criticism. If none of you believe there should be any minimal standards of fairness or accuracy in posting surveys, then there isn't going to be. I get that it's all anecdotal but to me anecdotal information should also make some sense.

The one response here that is well taken is Scott F's point that if it's annoying I should just ignore it. That is advice I will take from here on in.

CT- I was not going to respond again, but felt that I needed to.

 

Yes, this would be better suited to the Rant and Rave forum. But, that really isn't the point. While you may think your criticisms were completely fair and accurate, there were so many over-the-top descriptive adjectives that it came off as insulting and completely unfair. Your valid points were lost in hyperbole. This isn't a court room, just a friendly forum. 

 

I am sure your intent was not to insult or come off as superior, but that was the impression I took away from your arguments. Maybe tone it down next time. I am more concerned about newbies shying away because of conflicts than any inaccurate information.

 

Jan