The Arizona Republic wants to know. It's the latest trend. Dozens of newspaper Web sites now offer online polls on subjects ranging from the silly to the serious. Polling experts would prefer to vote these unscientific surveys not just off the island but off the planet.
People start to think that surveys are games that can be manipulated, or that they're entertainment.
Some papers, such as The Arizona Republic , may have nearly a dozen polls running at once. Many of the surveys are anything but frivolous. The Indianapolis Star recently asked readers how they would unclog gridlock in the city's northeastern sector. At the Republic , online editors and producers create the questions based on what's happening in the news, says Senior Producer John Ames. And you have to ask simple questions.