Ability to Edit Poll and Comments Capsules Without Wiping Out Data

1. 73

   Lionrhodposted 10 years ago

   This may have been asked for before, but I couldn't find it in search.
   
   Sometimes after writing a poll, or setting up the title of a comment capsule, I'd notice a typo or think of a change I wanted to make or a poll option I should have added. But once the hub goes live, and a single person adds a comment or picks a poll option, we don't have any way to fix that poll/comment area with out losing all the data/comments.
   
   Even changing the poll color background is impossible. (Which I'd like to be able to do, because it looks cleaner.
   
   I know we were able to fix this sort of thing on Squidoo. I do realize it might be challenging for HP, but I'd really love if they'd consider changing the way the polls/comments hold data so that title/poll options and background color can be edited.

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      makingamarkposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Me too - thumbs up to that one!

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   2. 74

      Valerie P Davisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's an excellent suggestion.

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   3. 0

      sheilamyersposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I just ran into that problem this morning while updating an older hub. My problem was a typo in one of the poll answers and I couldn't change it without losing a dozen responses. I also have a few I'd like to change by adding an choice or two because people have left comments saying they didn't answer because none of the choices fit. That could easily be fixed if we could edit without losing results. Hopefully, HP can find a way to give us the option to edit polls without losing the data already collected.

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      1. 73

         Lionrhodposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Exactly what I'm hoping for.
         
         Engagement in our polls shows engagement in our hubs, so we don't want to mess with that.
         
         We still need to be able to edit.

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   4. 0

      Christy Kirwanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Lionrhod,
      
      The reason behind this is that we don't want Hubbers manipulating the Poll's data or misrepresenting the results after the fact. If we allowed data to remain, Hubbers could change the answers so that it looked like the poll favored whichever answer they wanted it to. Of course, most Hubbers would never do this intentionally, but making it impossible allows Hubbers and readers to have full confidence in Poll results on HubPages.

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         sheilamyersposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Christy. I can see the logic behind that reasoning.

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      2. 95

         PegCole17posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Christy for supporting the stand to allow no editing of polls after they're published and data has been gathered. Of course, we'd like to assume that everyone is honest, yet, the basic concept of statistical data collection is at stake when you allow the results (or choices) to be manipulated after data collection in a survey or poll.
         If you add other alternatives afterward, you may have proven a point that doesn't match the intent of the respondent had they been given these choices up front. The scientific method is key to valid data collection.

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2. 66

   sockiiposted 10 years ago

   I third, fourth or whatever we're up to for having the option to edit polls. Not just because of typos but because I would like to fix how some of my polls look after being imported from Squidoo but I can't do that without losing all of the data in them. As I have some polls with hundreds if not thousands of responses at this time, I certainly don't want to lose all of that data!

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3. 83

   newbizmauposted 10 years ago

   I just made  HOTD on a newly written lens. Of course there may be a typo or badly written phrase but this happen to be right on one of my polls. Now I don't want to wipe out the stats on the polls just to fix the typo. Its not that bad, I just could have written the question differently that made more sense. Really wish there was a fix for this in the future. Good luck tech team.

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4. 66

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   Just a note, you only lose your data when you fix/change anything other than the capsule title.

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5. 70

   makingamarkposted 10 years ago

   I guess the other option would be to allow us to use external software for polls like Polldaddy on HubPages?

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6. 61

   Mark Ewbieposted 10 years ago

   It sure would be fun to change the poll AFTER voting has taken place.

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7. 71

   Shades-of-truthposted 10 years ago

   I was surprised to hear that one of the reasons, was that Hubbers might change the answers or otherwise manipulate the results. That would never have crossed my mind.
   
   However, I wanted to add a few more items to one of my hubs, and realized that if I did, the poll would no longer be all-inclusive of the individual subjects of the capsules.
   
   For instance, if I had a poll that asked which one of my animals someone liked the most, and the answers were:
   
   Your orangutan
   Your hamster
   Your squirrel
   Your dog
   
   ...and I wished to add "Your guinea pig" and "Your rabbit", I cannot do that.
   
   Perhaps I only spoke about the first four, and then edited the hub to include two more of my animals.
   
   The way the poll capsules are now, I would lose all previous poll results if I added two more animals.
   
   I would also like to see the ability to edit polls.

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   1. 73

      Lionrhodposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This and typos (not to mention just simple background colors to make the page look better, because we didn't have a choice when our pages were migrated) is exactly what I had in mind.
      
      Back at Squidoo, we had the option to ask "something else?" and then allow the viewer to add their something else.
      
      Author fraud never even vaguely occurred to me. Nor do I feel it's a terribly valid concern unless we're conducting a strict statistical poll and those numbers are being used to collect scientific data. (And who exactly would be using that data without doing their own much more controlled studies?)
      
      IMO the idea of including a poll is 1) To provide a fun, interactive experience for the viewer. 2) For the authors themselves to get a better idea of what their viewers might be interested in them writing about.
      
      For instance, if Shades found out that everyone was interested in her hamster, then she might want to write more hubs about her hamster. raising hamsters, creating habitats for hamsters, BBQ hamster recipes (well maybe not) and so forth.
      
      It also never occurred to me that the data on HP polls might be considered "trusted." Trusted by whom? And why? Because a random collection of folks who happened to find that particular hub happened to believe something or other? Not scientific enough for me to base my livelihood on.
      
      As an example, I'm working on my first new hub here which happens to be focused on an (ethical) love spell. On one of the polls I asked if the viewer had ever done a love spell. One of the options I allowed was, "No, I don't believe in doing spells." I think it's a fair and valid option for several reasons. First, it gives those who are anti-spell a chance to vent. (Since I for darn sure might be denying comments if anyone sets up a rant against my religion without making a valid point.) Nor will I be using that particular data part of the data base any further articles on.I'm more interested in the folks who are "not yet," "maybe" and "absolutely" types. The "no ways" aren't my audience, after all.
      
      Yep, it's entirely possible that I'll be sorry I included that option and that I'll get slammed with 10,000 folks who hate Wicca. So be it. I still have no intent of removing the data or changing the options around so that it looks like I fudged things. That'd be more than silly. Nor do I expect that the viewers who actually come to my page will be worried by huge numbers of that choice. After all, they're most likely going to find my hub if they're LOOKING for a spell. If anything it might give them a good laugh.

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         Shades-of-truthposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Good points, Lionrhod. I often vote in polls, and like it when the author gives an option such as "I don't believe in love spells", or "I would never eat an oyster", or things like that. Sometimes, controversy is great, and the polls can encourage interaction with the public.
         
         Like you, I would never think of altering the results to suit my fancy!

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