FAQ: So You Want to Make an IMDb Poll? Here's How...

FAQ:Key Threads - IMDb Poll FAQs Index
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How to suggest an IMDb Poll

IMDb Polls are built on IMDb Lists. Poll administrators can create polls from these lists.

You will need an IMDb account to create a list. You can also use Amazon, Google or Apple to sign in, but it's best to stick with one so you don't accidentally end up with multiple accounts.

To post your poll suggestion, you  will also need an account on the IMDb Community on Sprinklr, which is where you are reading this post.

Create your list

1. Create an IMDb List by going to http://www.imdb.com/list/create. You can always access your lists from your profile or your list page.

2. You can choose from titles, people or images, depending on your subject. Each type of list works in slightly different ways, but any of them can become a poll.

3. Name your list. Keep your poll title short and punchy. Future proof your poll by using a title that works days, months, years ahead. Don't include the words "Poll Suggestion" here.

4. In the description field, include a clear poll question. You can also include an introduction. Check your spelling, grammar etc.

5. Add a link from the list description to your suggestion post so voters can discuss the poll. You'll have to post your suggestion (see below), then get the permalink to the thread and re-edit the description. Example:

[link=https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdb-poll/...]Discuss this poll here[/link]

6. Add poll options as entries in the list. There can be any number of options from 2 to 35. You can include descriptive text for each option.

7. Make sure your list is public so other people may review it. If it is not public, the link to your list will produce a 404 (page not found) error for everyone but the author.

Post your suggestion

1. Start a new post here in the IMDb Poll community.

2. You can use the search field to check if your poll subject has already been suggested by someone else. Click "Ask a question" to continue posting.

3. Choose the type 'Idea'.

4. Under 'Subject', use "Poll Suggestion:" followed by the name of your list.

5. Under "Description", include the question and description from your list and insert the URL of your list.

6. Under 'Category', select IMDb. Under 'Topic', select IMDb Poll.

7. Post your suggestion.

8. Now wait and see if your poll is selected as a new IMDb Poll. Even if your poll is not selected, your post will remain on the board and other users may vote on it with their comments.

Additional advice

1. Be original and creative. We already have a way to rank a name (director, actor, etc), so polls like What's your favorite of these films of Director X are largely redundant. Look for less obvious, more imaginative and creative options. In particular, characters do not have these rankings today, so polls involving characters are always novel.

2. Be inclusive. We are generally avoiding running polls of the form Choose among my personal favorites of ... A poll entitled Great Organized Crime Films of the 1970s should include The Godfather (1972) even if you are not personally fond of it. As a poll author you are balancing objective completeness/entertainment value/succinctness.

3. Do your research! Try googling for site:imdb.com/poll your poll title here to see if someone has already done your poll.

There is also a list of polls here:

https://imdbstats.com/
http://mypollwatch.blogspot.com/2014/03/imdb-polls-alphabetical.html

4. Incorporate advice! You may get feedback on omissions and corrections. Incorporate as you see fit (we suggest you take this advice seriously). Advice from staff or poll admins is probably not optional, depending on its nature - there are certain structures that simply cannot work as polls. If you get no feedback - probably not an interesting poll! If you ignore reasonable feedback, then it's unlikely we'll run your poll. While we are able to make minor edits and additions to live polls, you should not depend on this and strive for a complete, accurate poll from the start.

5. Preferred style. In poll titles, use initial caps for all words except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, or) and short prepositions (as, at, by, for, in, of, on, to). Use "double quotes" around TV show titles and 'single quotes' around movie titles. Use a question mark if your title is a question, but avoid exclamation points.

In general, IMDb goes by the AP Style Guide and prefers American English, for instance "favorite" rather than "favourite". Decades can be abbreviated as '10s, '20s, ... '80s, '90s. 

6. Link your poll. When you mention names or titles in descriptive text, consider using links to their IMDb pages. This also lets your poll be featured on those pages. Examples: [link=nm0000151] in [link=tt0111161].

Also see the IMDb Help Center.

7. Order of options and images. Names and titles with images obviously make more appealing options. In particular, the first five options should have images in case the poll is featured on the IMDb home page. Similarly, it can be a good idea to start your list with some of the most recognizable options to make the poll more appealing if it is featured.

8. Face-Off Polls. Face-Offs are simple polls with usually two or three options which pit related movies, people or characters against each other. They are usually posted on the poll page on Fridays, but can be suggested any time. Please include "Face-Off:" in your list title and in the title of your suggestion post, followed by the subject of the poll. Titles also often include the expression "vs."

9. Avoid spoilers. If your poll may spoil movies for other users, include a spoiler warning in the description and/or hide text in the options with [spoiler] tags.

10. If your poll has too many viable items. This is a common problem, and large polls aren't better. A tightly worded, coherent poll is more appealing than sorting through an exhaustive list. But sometimes there are just too many items. Here's some options:

1) Sort by popularity and remove ones that are unlikely to get any/many votes.
2) Restrict the options by a time-frame. By year? By decade?
3) Restrict the options by geography. USA? UK?
4) Find another reasonable filtering mechanism: Male/female star? Teen/adult? Genre?
5) Look for opportunities to combine items - is a choice item really a "group"?
6) If all else fails, consider making a second part of the poll. If it's a popular poll, we may run both.

11. Corrections for live polls. If you discover an error in your published poll, you may be able to make a correction and have the poll "re-pushed". Please see the request thread.

Please ask if you have further questions. Thanks for contributing to IMDb!