Hey, guys, could you help me out with something?
We’re trying to build up the “polls” section of this online. It’s been there and a few people participate, but we haven’t really done much with it up to this point.
It is my view that this section could be something that contributes heavily to your enjoyment of this site, in this way. I am very uncomfortable writing my opinions, without research to back them up. It’s just not my nature to do this. Sports columnists, radio talk show hosts. .. .many of them have opinions on everything in the world of sports, and are happy to share them with you.
There is nothing wrong with this, but it’s not me. I always feel that, to comment on something, I have to do research first—not always, of course, but generally. The problem is that this cuts out of our field of view probably 90% of the things that we could be discussing.
The “polls” section is intended to get us past that roadblock, in two ways. First, by gathering people’s opinions on various issues, we are creating knowledge about the issue, albeit a low-level knowledge. 76% of BJOL users responding to the poll would prefer to have on their team a poor defensive shortstop who hits, rather than a light-hitting glove man; this is a fact. Knowing what a group of opinions actually are is actual knowledge, at a certain level.
Second, it provides a place for us to discuss issues in which I am interested and which I would guess many of you are interested, but about which I really don’t have any research or insight to offer.
OK, the architecture of that area is a awkward—sorry about that—and OK, we haven’t done a good job, up to now, of keeping the section new or fresh. But from now on, beginning June 20, we’re going to have a new poll question there every day. If it’s not your thing, OK, but if you can, I’d really appreciate it if you would go over there and answer a few of the recent questions, maybe post a comment or two, and try to get some blood pumping through that section.
Thanks.