DropCash for Polling
Posted September 21st, 2004 @ 08:59am by Erik J. Barzeski
Six Apart has heard my request for MT-compatible polling and come up with a possible solution: setting up a DropCash campaign to raise money for polling. I'd like to do so, but first of course we'd need to agree on specifications. My list, off the top of my head, is as follows. The polling plugin should:
- integrate with the blog as a standard MovableType entry, allowing for comments and TrackBacks as normal.
- assume that MySQL and PHP are available (if necessary).
- restrict voting to one time per visitor (by IP or such).
- show color graphics (bar graphs and/or pie charts, user setting) with legend/key once a person has voted.
- make be reasonably easy to edit without "breaking" poll results, though understandably this may be quite difficult if poll choices are added, their order changed, etc.
What other features would you want to see? List them here, and then I'll create a list and start a DropCash campaign for this plugin. If you're interested in being on the "advisory board" (to help to determine whether a developer has met the criteria, I guess), leave a comment or email me as well. I'll spearhead the fundraising effort, but would like to remain a contributor and not a judge after that.
I envision that people can create a separate category called "Polls" or such to create "sticky" polls (i.e. show the last entry from the "Polls" category right here in the sidebar), meaning that trickery of another kind (changing the date of the entry until it expires, etc.) would be unnecessary.
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Posted 21 Sep 2004 at 10:20am #
This sounds like a great idea. There are a couple of things I'd like to see included:
Option to require a TypeKey login to participate in the poll.Poll expiration date (something like enter "0" for a never-ending poll, or enter a number of days from the creation date for the poll to remain active)
Posted 21 Sep 2004 at 10:45am #
I have to disagree with your first requirement. I think it would be best if the polling plugin (hopefully an updated MTVote might count for that) kept the polls seperate from the entries themselves. Of course, a particular poll (or polls even) could be associated with a particular entry via the KeyValues plugin.
As well, making the MySQL and PHP assumption is bad in my opinion. What about all of the non-MySQL MT users out there (myself included)? If the plugin is written to the MT API, that becomes a non-issue.
Posted 21 Sep 2004 at 12:21pm #
I would like to see and Approval Vote option ... IE, rather than choosing one option (via radio button or whatever), choose as many as you like (via checkbox).
Posted 21 Sep 2004 at 12:36pm #
I second the "optional Typekey requirement" feature. If you want idiot-proof one-person-one-vote polls you need some registration feature anyway, and Typekey is already there.
That would also make it possible to have "open" polls where you can change your vote whenever you want.
Posted 22 Sep 2004 at 2:41pm #
David - After 1.5 years with MT I actually don't know what KeyValues are so perhaps stupid question but - does your proposed way make it easier for average user to set up poll or does it make it more complicated? If this poll feature turns out well I imagine 6A would want to get it to their TypePad users as well and there it has to be supereasy to use.
Other than that - being an editor in a fairly large community website I'd say that what has been said so far pretty much covers it. We have login required, once per voting, comments polls and they work like charm. I can also define a webpage that is opened if user picks a certain answere but that was more designed for advertising purposes so don't think that this is needed. And answere options can be links anyway.
Cheers.
Posted 22 Sep 2004 at 4:02pm #
Teller,
My apologies for making that assumption. KeyValues is a plugin without which I would be lost. It allows you to add meta-data to MT entries (or pretty much any MT entity) fairly quickly and easiy. For example, when I write about a book I just finished, I add the following to the extended entry of my entry:
And in the templates that display that entry, I am able to pluck out that particular bit of information and pass it along to the MTAmazon plugin to provide a picture of the books cover and a link to it.
What I am proposed is to do something similar with the polls. To associate a poll with an entry, just add something like the following into the extended entry:
Then have KeyValues pluck that out and pass it to the poll plugin for processing. That way you can associate a poll with anything in MT that you'd like. Categories, blogs, comments, whatever you want.
Posted 22 Sep 2004 at 4:13pm #
MT-compatible polling!
People are working on it. What better to spurn it on? A contest! DropCash for Polling » Six Apart has heard my request for MT-compatible polling and come up with a possible solution: setting up a DropCash campaign to raise...
Posted 24 Sep 2004 at 10:24pm #
Polling for Dollars
This could be interesting… [via erik] What about a system where if someone sets up a dropcash account, the person...
Posted 24 Sep 2004 at 10:26pm #
Okay, let's see if we can't get this thing going: a DropCash campaign for a polling plugin for MovableType. Here are the specifics as discussed here. The polling plugin for MovableType should:integrate with the blog as a standard MovableType entry,...