[Fists] Why was the Hope for 2004 Poll removed?

[Fred Adsit]

Am not sure where you have been but your call is very familiar from the =
reflectors.

Go to the ARRL.org website main page.=20
What was front and top news on the 6th is now down the page.
Go to the black and gold logo and click on more for the full story the =
presented.=20
It is self-explanatory. What you think of the mess is for you to decide. =

None of the polls mean much at all and are typical of such things.=20
They are not SUPPOSED to be there to influence ARRL policy based on poll =
results.

If you cannot figure this out, here is what the article said, verbatim:

"ARRLWeb Survey Solely For Entertainment
"NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 6, 2004--As an interactive feature of the ARRL Web =
site, each week a multiple-choice question is posted as an "ARRLWeb =
Survey." Typically some 2000 to 3000 site visitors record their =
responses in these completely unscientific surveys. These individuals =
represent only themselves, not a larger population as in the case of a =
random sample survey. The ARRL uses only rudimentary and easily =
circumvented means to limit votes to one per participant. Normally =
that's not a problem; there isn't much incentive to "stuff the ballot =
box," since the tally is intended purely for the entertainment of =
participants.=20

"The ARRLWeb Survey question posted on January 2 seemed a reasonable one =
for the New Year: "Which is your greatest hope for Amateur Radio in =
2004?" The survey offered these choices, representing things that may or =
may not happen during the year:=20

  a.. That BPL (Broadband over Power Line) will be stopped before it =
spreads=20

  b.. That the FCC will drop Morse code testing=20

  c.. That the FCC will retain Morse code testing=20

  d.. That more antenna restrictions will be overturned=20

  e.. That more people will become hams=20

  f.. None of the above=20

"After a few hours of responses following the normal pattern, =
participation degenerated into a contest between small numbers of people =
favoring either the second or the third response to see who could stuff =
the ballot box faster. As a consequence, more than 29,000 responses were =
recorded by the morning of January 6, and the overwhelming majority of =
these resulted from ballot stuffing. Allowing that to continue served no =
useful purpose, so the question was replaced.=20

"Any results tallied while the "greatest hope" question was still active =
are completely meaningless. The ARRL staff regrets any inconvenience =
that may have resulted.=20

"The question of what position the ARRL should take on Morse code =
testing is part of the broader issue of World Radiocommunication =
Conference 2003 (WRC-03) implementation that the ARRL Board of Directors =
will consider later this month. ARRL members are welcome to convey their =
thoughts and opinions to their League directors.=20

"The ARRLWeb Survey is an entertaining interactive feature of the ARRL =
Web site, but these surveys should not be taken too seriously. Like the =
on-line polls found on many Web sites, the ARRLWeb Survey is =
unscientific and is not intended to be--and should not be--used as a =
basis for making decisions.=20

The results of these informal polls reflect only the opinions of those =
ARRLWeb visitors who happen to notice the survey and choose to =
participate, and they can easily be manipulated. The results of such =
surveys cannot be assumed to reflect the opinions of the Amateur Radio =
community as a whole. "


73
Fred Adsit, NY2V
FISTS 1293

----- Original Message -----=20
From: nz7c@cox.net=20
To: newsmedia@arrl.org=20
Cc: fists@mailman.qth.net=20
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 11:10 AM
Subject: [Fists] Why was the Hope for 2004 Poll removed?


Hi folks -
I'm not sure who to direct this to, so I've chosen ARRL Media Relations =
- hope that's the right spot. My name is Tim Logan, NZ7C and I am a Life =
Time ARRL member. It appears as if the "Hope for 2004 Poll" was removed =
from the ARRL web site and I cannot find it in the list of previous =
polls. Did I miss it or has it been removed? If it has been removed =
could you tell me why? I'd really appreciate yur help. Many cw ops like =
myself were quite interested in the results of that poll. Could you copy =
your reply to the Fists CW Club? I suspect many fellow club members =
might be curious as well. The Fists Club email address is above. Thanks =
in advance for your help and hope everyone at the ARRL has a happy and =
healthy new year!
Regards, Tim Logan