Should Guests Be Allowed To Participate In ATS Surveys?

I'm going to be short and sweet here, and not belabor the point.
You've most likely seen the Occupy Wall Street Survey numbers.
If not, the link is right here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm not going to regurgitate the numbers here, the survey results are obvious for those who care to take a look. Past surveys also show a defined difference in responses between ATS members and guests as well. Some members have suggested the possibility of the numbers being skewed by The Powers That Be, or other nefarious players for political/cultural purposes. I don't have a real opinion about that suggestion without some sort of proof, but I'm also not willing to discount the possibility outright. I do believe that guests do not have as much of an investment in this community intellectually and emotionally. They may think it's fun to submit answers that will jack-up the results.
In that light, I'm starting to think that perhaps guests should not be allowed to participate in ATS surveys.
I'm open to hearing good, sound reasons why they should be allowed to participate, however. My mind is not set on this issue. That's part of why I'm asking all of you for your input.
So I'm improvising a simple survey of my own here now.
What do YOU, a regular ATS member think? I want to hear what you think and feel about this issue, and I'll bet other people do as well. So, let's hear it....Should guests be allowed to participate in ATS surveys?
Give us, your fellow ATS members, your answers and reasoning.
Thank you!

reply to post by moonzoo7


surveys are always going to have problems no matter how they are carried out
i dont see the problem when they are seperating the two
the results dont seem altered or swayed by tptb because they look very naturally dispursed answers

reply to post by moonzoo7


Yes I do think Guests should be allowed to vote. There is a possibility that we ATS members are more alike than we think and that we do not represent a reasonable cross section of the community. I am quite happy to accept any result, so long as I have confidence in the legitimacy of the votes.

Whether or not the Guest numbers in any survey are "real" is open to speculation. Remember though that many ATS members may have taken the survey without logging in.

Cheers

reply to post by moonzoo7


If member and guest results are listed separately, how are the numbers skewed?
The difference between the views of ATS members and guests is interesting to me.

Also, if TPTB intend to troll the polls, what prevents them from becomming registered members?

reply to post by myselfaswell


I can see the value in having a contrast in order to compare the data on a scientific level if this were a scientific endeavor, but these surveys seem to be more of a "social perk" here, unless the data is being utilized in some way that I'm not aware of.

reply to post by moonzoo7


I often vote in some of the surveys as a guest. Depends on what computer I happen to be using at the time. Not always able to sign in because I don't have my password memorized and may not have it handy at the time I'm browsing and reading ATS.

I think it's only fair to allow anyone to have a say in what's really happening out there.

In this way, you can have a wider perspective from a distributed audience rather than a special tin foil group... me included.

We are known to the masses as the crazies, because we tend to question authority and think outside of the box...

Balance is necessary.

Peace

It doesn't really matter to me because I only read the member's data anyways.

I don't see the harm in it. You can see the results for members alone, or guests alone.. or the combined total of all participants. If it bothers you then just refer to the statistics taken from the members only. I personally like looking for inconsistencies between the members and guests.. Makes for more conspiracies!

I think guests should be allowed to participate. Why not? In the time I've been here, I've seen a great many people make their intro messages and mention they've been lurking for a very long time before venturing out to join the active participants. So, it stands to reason that there are a large number of people who are guests only by virtue of not having anything to say, or wanting to directly join in.

I'd say the guests vs. member data needs to be strictly and completely segregated in the display of results, as this recent survey worked very hard to do. It actually adds to the value of what the survey is saying about the topic when viewed that way, in my opinion.

reply to post by WishForWings

I understand your point. But honestly, I have a hard time believing that guests really think violence is a necessary part of social change, for instance. That number was so high and disparate. Do you really think the "general public" is that much different ( and violence-prone - or pessimistic- ) than ATS members?
I don't really know the answer to that. With such a divergent outcome on that one question alone, is there any real value to us as a community in seeing guest answers? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing the contrast if the answers are honest ( in theory ), or represent a slice of "the real" general public (mainstream media consumers), but those crazy numbers suggest that the guests are wasting time and resources by giving extreme, dishonest answers. That, or ATS members are just so much more intellectually evolved that they are operating on higher moral plane. ( yes, that was humor )

Perhaps I could frame my point this way; Guest answers may be entertaining, but do they have any actual value for us?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I agree that the presentation is done well. The separation between members and guests is very clear.

Originally posted by moonzoo7
Perhaps I could frame my point this way; Guest answers may be entertaining, but do they have any actual value for us?

It's hard to say, who says the majority of ATS participants aren't lying on purpose to make their beliefs appear to be the most popular by exaggerating their answers. I guess the end result is believe what you want, I go on ATS for the entertainment value (and reliable alternative news) and I sure get it, that's why I keep coming back'

reply to post by moonzoo7


If the Guest and Member answers are separated, why would you want to do away with the Guest answers? Of course there's value in seeing their answers. Since when is turning a blind eye to information a good thing? That would be like putting Guests on "Ignore"... Or not allowing a certain segment to vote in an election... Not a wise choice, IMO.

Guests are as likely to lie as ATS members. Surveys and polls aren't 100%, but they do show trends, so yes, I say keep as many participants as possible.

By the way, the most recent surveys are much improved!

The polls have no material effect on anything. It's just a snapshot of opinion. I for one find it interesting to see the differences between guest responses and member responses, now that it's a metric we're capturing.

Sure, absolutely 100% guests should be able to respond. Who knows? Maybe some of them will be spurred to register as members to be able to comment on the Results thread.

Above all else, ATS is a business. Having non-members participate, especially when there are distinct differences between member and non-member responses, is a good vehicle for adding new members, necessary for keeping ATS profitable and available.

I would guess, but don't know, that new member accounts spike whenever surveys are made available. I would imagine that people interested enough to take the survey would begin to question why member responses tend to breakaway from the non-member responses in a lot of areas. Aka, "what do they know that I don't" OR "I have to try and show these people the light". Both of which will likely lead to a decent percentage of respondents becoming new members. Especially if a non-member feels very strongly about the topic. Now couple that with the fact that most of the surveys involve really hot, controversial topics and you have the perfect marketing formula for increasing traffic and membership.

reply to post by lpowell0627


Actually, there hasn't been any particular spike in membership enrollment coincident with the polls. The polls themselves were in response to a significant number of member requests to do some polling. The polls weren't some marketing plot hatched to drive revenue, although it seems no matter what we do, a set percentage sees it that way.

'The Powers That Should Have Never Been' and their drones can also set up profiles on this site and vote. Maybe if only one vote per IP was allowed? But there's computer programs to get around that, I think.

While there will always be a percentage of responses from people "goofing" the poll by virtue of the fact this is the internet, there is no denying you can spot trends and get a decent feel for the general consensus of the people who respond.

Based on that fact. my take away from this poll is the general public, as represented by "guests", is REALLY mad and believes violence is what it's going to take to change things. I would qualify that statement with another fact however, it's easy to indicate you would use violence in an online poll, it's quite another thing to step out on the street and start swinging.

Hopefully cool heads will prevail as has happened so far, I also sincerely hope these "protests" don't get hijacked by the very people who created the mess folks are protesting over.

Springer...