Wikipedia:Current surveys
In order to get more input from the Wikipedia community on important questions, it is sometimes useful to conduct a survey of community opinion. This page lists surveys that are currently being held on various talk pages. It also contains links to debates, discussions and straw polls. It is preferable to hold discussion first.
See also Category:Wikipedia proposals.
If issues remain unresolved after discussion and straw polling, they can go to Wikipedia:Requests for comment.
Instructions for listing surveys
Please add new opinion surveys to the list under the appropriate heading. Link directly to the relevant section on the Talk page. Add a short description of what the survey is about. Note the starting date of the survey and the date the survey will end, if applicable.
After a survey period ends, it may be removed from the list (however, it should remain for at least a short time after the survey ends, to allow anyone interested to view the results). If no closing date is indicated, the survey may be removed from the list when it appears the question is no longer being actively considered. Survey lists are not archived here; to find older surveys and polls, consult this page's history.
Purpose of surveys
Surveys may be used as part of dispute resolution, or to solicit opinions before making significant changes. They can be useful in developing consensus when community opinion is not immediately obvious in normal discussion. For example, a survey may bring in opinions from people who agree with one position, but don't join the discussion because they don't feel they have anything original to add.
For ideas on designing a survey, see Wikipedia:Straw polls. The results of a survey are not binding, and may be subject to interpretation. A survey may sometimes be called a poll, and it may involve voting for different options, but it is not the same thing as an election. For information on elections related to Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Elections.
Opinion surveys should be used to determine whether a consensus exists, not to decide which side "wins". Successful surveys and polls can never generate consensus, they can only show an existing consensus, if any. Using a survey may be useful because some people who disagree will nevertheless recognize and accept the consensus opinion of the community.
List of current surveys
Articles
- Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (settlements) - Survey on proposal to make U.S. city naming guidelines consistent with others countries, in particular Canada. --Serge 14:40, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
- This proposal would allow for articles on American cities to be located at pages titled Los Angeles or Boston rather than Los Angeles, California or Boston, Massachusetts, bringing American cities into line with cities such as Toronto or Paris.--DaveOinSF 16:27, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
- It's disputed as to whether this proposal was properly opened, because, among other reasons, there was another proposal on that page that was still under discussion. Please see Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (settlements)#Yet another idea. Please also see the closed discussions on that page and in the archives for previous ideas and proposals. — Arthur Rubin | (talk) 18:03, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
- Talk:Cold fusion#Survey -- Should those unhappy with the current state of the Cold fusion article work incrementally from the present-day version which they believe is too long and has other unspecified problems, or should they revert to a two-year-old version which was once a Featured Article, deleting over 70 peer-reviewed references and the work of dozens of editors? 00:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
- Proposed move of South African Farmer Murders. -- Jeandré, 2006-09-26t20:04z
Deletions
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Article Improvement
Comments but no voting
Other ongoing surveys
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