FAQ

Should I use pollbot for my poll?

Do you need private votes?

Consider using pollbot.

You don't need private votes and you need a yes/no answer?

Don't use pollbot. Use a simple yes/no reaction or another bot to do a strawpoll.

Do you need single response multiple-choice questions?

(e.g. "strongly disagree"/"disagree"/"no preference"/"agree"/"strongly agree")

Don't use pollbot. This is not a "ranked choice" question. Consider using Google Forms to collect this sort of qualitative data.

Are you conducting an election?

Consider using pollbot.

Do you need consensus rankings of various options?

Consider using pollbot.

How do I make a new poll?

Use the /poll create command. It will prompt you for a topic and options. You need to submit more than one option. Options must be comma-separated values.

Here's an example - /poll create topic:"What flavor of ice cream is best?" options:"vanilla, chocolate, mint"

How can I change when a poll closes?

Use the /poll update command. /poll update poll_id:<id> closes_at:<ISO-format date time> is what you're looking for.

ISO-format is just a standard format for dates. it's more catered to programs and programmers, but it's a standard way to handle timezones and other stuff. You can use a tool like this to help find an ISO-format date string to use. If you want to put in a simple date, without a timezone. The time will default to midnight of the previous day. For example, 2022-05-20 would close on May 19th at midnight UTC. ISO formatted dates are generally in UTC timezone, so be sure to adjust the time for your timezone.

How can I restrict user permissions to pollbot commands?

Use Discord settings to set up pollbot on your server effectively. Make sure pollbot is added to any channels it's needed in. Then set up which users, roles, or channels that can use pollbot commands.

How can I reopen a poll that has already closed?

Use the /poll update command. Just change the time that the poll closes to a new time in the future.

How do I read the Pairwise Comparison Matrix when I audit polls?

Honestly, unless you are familiar with matrices, graphs, or some formal mathematics education, this matrix is probably not what you're looking for. You probably just want to inspect the .csv file that is DM'ed to you when you audit a poll. If you have an analytical background and are using this matrix to validate pollbot results, then please reach out to the support Discord server for more information and discussion.

The matrix is currently used by the pollbot dev to debug polls and identify errors when updating pollbot.