Polls for Our Souls discussion

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Discussion > Sending Poll Invites

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message 1: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another user commented saying they had blocked me because it was impolite and disrespectful to send out poll invites to non-friends.

I wanted to address the issue because I honestly didn't know this was something that people felt. I just wanted to apologize for inconveniencing you by inviting you and anyone else who is uncomfortable with it. I really didn't mean any harm by it.

The only reason I send my poll invites out to members of this group is because I want to get a variety of perspectives. For me, having a diverse community of people with different reading tastes, not just my friends, is helpful when picking the next book to read. However, I can see how it would be annoying to others, and am sorry I made others feel that way. It was not my intention to spam others.

The user also said that these type of "what book should I read next?" was a form of spam, which I understand. As a disclaimer, at least for me, if you haven't read any of the books or are not comfortable giving your opinion, you are under no obligation to respond! This is a "polls" group, so I guess I assumed people wanted notifications about polls; I once again apologize for the annoyance I've caused, and I realize that I should not assume like that again.

What do you guys think? Should we only send poll invites to those on our friend lists, or not send invites at all? I'd love to get your opinions.


message 2: by HeatherH (new)

HeatherH (bkwrm85) | 0 comments I personally have no problem getting invited to answer polls and if I've read any of the books, I enjoy giving feedback and discussing the options! I've removed/blocked people for repeatedly inviting me to groups - usually because they aren't really book related just hang out groups and they send them multiple times after I decline joining - but never for invites on polls.. it's so easy to scroll past the invite if you don't want to answer, way easier than actually going to the person's page to block them honestly..

It's a polls group. And diversity and input from fellow readers is great. This just seems like a petty complaint for someone to have but to each their own!


message 3: by Audrey (new)

Audrey (niceyackerman) | 342 comments I find it puzzling because this is a group that features polls and it's expected you receive poll invites as a member. I don't know why someone would join such a group if they didn't want to participate in polls, yet they do.

Long story short, I don't think you did anything wrong with that type of poll or with inviting group members.


message 4: by Michael (new)

Michael | 70 comments Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another user commented saying they had b..."

Sam, I don't see why anyone would be upset to be asked for their opinion on a poll whether they are asked by a friend or not. The vast majority of people on GR have never actually met each other, so I don't really get the problem with it. I am happy to answer polls whoever asks, though I only really read fantasy so my scope is reletively narrow. You did nothing wrong, IMO.


Melanie (aka DarkBeauty73) (darkbeauty73) I am with the others, you did nothing wrong. This is a group for polls, in asking for opinions. Here on good reads you can set how little or how much you get notification from groups you are part off. You also have the option to just ignore the post and not answer. It is your choice. I know I skip posts or don't answer those that I am not interest in or don't know what to say.


message 6: by Paige (new)

Paige Friske | 789 comments I don't think that that is a problem at all.


message 7: by MissBecka (last edited Nov 19, 2019 04:13AM) (new)

MissBecka Gee (missbeckagee) | 113 comments I personally love getting polls about books from people I don't know. I usually end up finding a new book that way! 😍


message 8: by Matthew (new)

Matthew (funkygman007) | 14 comments Wow! As a leader of a group where things are voted on, I send out invites to the members all the time - friends or not. My thought - if you joined a group, you get everything that goes with it. Don't be a member of a group if you don't like the membership benefits!

Keep sending those invites! Ignore the grumps! 😁


message 9: by Elyse (new)

Elyse (winesaboutbooks) It's not you, it's them. This is literally a poll group. It's in the group name. If they don't like that, they should leave the group or change their notifications (not sure if you can change to not receive polls though).


˙⋆✮ Anny ✮⋆˙ (annithebookprincess) I love getting poll invites! and btw, this is a community for books and reading so I think it's totally ok to make "what should I read next" polls. Don't feel bad!


message 11: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments HeatherH wrote: "I personally have no problem getting invited to answer polls and if I've read any of the books, I enjoy giving feedback and discussing the options! I've removed/blocked people for repeatedly inviti..."

That's how I felt, but I wasn't sure if I was in the minority. And agreed, getting lots of group invites is annoying.


message 12: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments Audrey wrote: "I find it puzzling because this is a group that features polls and it's expected you receive poll invites as a member. I don't know why someone would join such a group if they didn't want to partic..."

Thanks for the support, that's how I felt. Getting poll invites is one of the things I love about this group!


message 13: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments Catherine wrote: "I find this puzzling too. When you sign up for this group it literally says that if you aren't okay with receiving invites then don't join.

I'd be perfectly okay with answering polls, and do go t..."


That's what I figured. I was mostly surprised by how strongly they felt about the issue.


message 14: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments Michael wrote: "Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another user commented sayi..."

Thanks for the support! That's how I felt as well, but I wasn't sure if I was in the minority, and wanted to get other opinions in case I was doing something wrong.


A.Roma 🇵🇸 (man-u4kb) | 18 comments I actually enjoy voting on Polls, so thank you for including me in your invites.


message 16: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments M (aka DarkBeauty73) wrote: "I am with the others, you did nothing wrong. This is a group for polls, in asking for opinions. Here on good reads you can set how little or how much you get notification from groups you are part o..."

That's my philosophy as well! I was surprised that the person felt so strongly about the issue.


message 17: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments MissBecka wrote: "I personally love getting polls about books from people I don't know. I usually end up finding a new book that way! 😍"

So true!


message 18: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments Matthew wrote: "Wow! As a leader of a group where things are voted on, I send out invites to the members all the time - friends or not. My thought - if you joined a group, you get everything that goes with it. Don..."

Thanks for the support :)


message 19: by Sam (new)

Sam Chase (hernameisam) | 175 comments ⭐Anni⭐ (Book Princess) wrote: "I love getting poll invites! and btw, this is a community for books and reading so I think it's totally ok to make "what should I read next" polls. Don't feel bad!"

Thanks! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the one in the minority.


message 20: by Wayward Skyril (new)

Wayward Skyril I am totally at ease accepting poll invites of all kinds and, in fact, expect it, not only in other groups, but ESPECIALLY in this, poll group.

I think the person you came across who blocked you, Sam, was a strange case who doesn't understand how Goodreads works. Most everyone who joins groups expects polls and isn't bothered by them. No one is required to answer the poll if they don't wish to. And, in fact, they can leave the group or change their notification settings if they don't want to be invited. I, personally, wouldn't worry about sending invites.


message 21: by ElmoVsBibo2.0 (new)

ElmoVsBibo2.0 (nicoleloe) | 5 comments Don't apologize, you did absolutly nothing wrong. Even if this wouldn't be a poll group, what's wrong with connecting with people and asking for their opinion? Isn't that part why we all are on goodreads?
And even if not and you don't want to vote on something, because you didn't read any of the books or some other reason, just ignore the invite.
To complain about this in a group especially made for these things is just weird.


message 22: by Catherine (last edited Nov 19, 2019 12:38PM) (new)

Catherine | 392 comments I honestly don't understand that reaction. This isn't a private group with only your goodreads friends. It's a public group with a lot of members we're not goodreads friends with, a group that's literally called "polls for our souls". If you don't want to get a poll invite from someone who isn't one of your goodreads friends, if you think it's spam, then this isn't the right group for you. People should look at what the group they're a member of is used for before telling someone they shouldn't have done what everyone else creating polls here also do.

Basically, you haven't been rude, but that person has been. I'm sorry it happened to you, but don't let it bother you anymore. It's not worth it, so keep making polls and sending invites to get as many diverse opinions as possible. You don't have to justify yourself.


message 23: by Tahera (new)

Tahera | 11 comments I actually enjoy answering and voting on the poll requests sent to me so feel free to send as many my way ☺️!


message 24: by Tahera (new)

Tahera | 11 comments I actually enjoy answering and voting on the poll requests sent to me so feel free to send as many my way ☺️!


message 25: by Caroline (new)

Caroline  (caro7) Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another user commented saying they had b..."

It says right at the top of this group's page to not join the group if you're not willing to receive LOTS of poll invitations. I guess this person didn't pay attention to that. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry that happened to you.

I also send out poll invitations. I expect those uninterested in voting to simply ignore them and carry on with their day.


message 26: by Parvati Patil (new)

Parvati Patil  | 27 comments It's not the fact that you're sending the invitations, it's the fact that you're doing it to promote new releases. You included 4 titles released this year. Obviously nobody has read those, can't you please be polite and send the invitation only to people who are your friends or include only titles that are generally known?

And There's a discussion about it. I'll search for the link but many people are sick of polls that start with "what should i read next" because we obviusly don't know your book taste.

Be polite and be creative when creating polls and you'll find no trouble.


message 27: by Parvati Patil (new)

Parvati Patil  | 27 comments Matthew wrote: "Wow! As a leader of a group where things are voted on, I send out invites to the members all the time - friends or not. My thought - if you joined a group, you get everything that goes with it. Don..."

The problem is the overused "What should I read next" when they include new releases.


message 28: by Parvati Patil (last edited Nov 23, 2019 01:31PM) (new)

Parvati Patil  | 27 comments Also, the people who are fine with these polls aren't the majority of the group, and I notice the ones who are seem to read mostly new releases by famous publishers (perhaps they're plants?), I can't see a wide range of genres and authors in their polls and shelves, of course they will be okay with voting based solely on cover, but you ought to think about everyone, or send your "what should i read next" invites solely to them. The majority of us read ebooks and aren't into new releases and obviously we don't know you or your book taste.


message 29: by Parvati Patil (last edited Nov 23, 2019 01:40PM) (new)

Parvati Patil  | 27 comments I created this poll, it's still going on and I don't have many votes, but notice that one of the options is about how sick people are about the "what should I read next" polls.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

you can keep trying to promote books nobody is interested in and the moderators will support you, but don't expect everyone will like it and please expect some people will snap at you because this is done too many times. No, I won't leave this group I've been longer than many of you just because many people are trying to promote books using the polls feature. Even if they expel me I'll keep talking about it because I've been in goodreads for a while now and it's sad that now it's used for nothing but book promotion.


message 30: by Parvati Patil (last edited Nov 23, 2019 01:38PM) (new)

Parvati Patil  | 27 comments Michael wrote: "Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another user commented sayi..."

The problem is that many people ask "what should I read next" and don't include general known titles, but new releases, the person who is asking this included 4 titles that were released this year and 3 or four titles that are less than 2 years old. It should be obvious that most of us haven't read those titles and this is done so frequently that I'm suspecting a hidden agenda. You may not have noticed that this is spam, and you may not care, but many people are sick of the spam.


message 31: by Catherine (last edited Nov 24, 2019 08:37AM) (new)

Catherine | 392 comments You didn't need to post five comments, you know?

If I don't agree with the rules of the moderators, I don't join a group. If I used to like a group but don't anymore, it's still not my group no matter how long I've been a member, so instead of being unhappy in this group and being rude to others by making accusations against the moderators and the others group members, I would leave.

It's my last answer to you. Stop trying to make everyone here look like bad guys like you already did here. The people you're talking to here are real people, not just names on a computer screen, not just bookshelves. No one is forcing you to leave this group, but if you can't not be rude to people here, then you should probably leave anyway and create your own group with your own rules, where you and others who share your opinion would be happy with how things are.


message 32: by Tyler (new)

Tyler Gray (wickedjr89) Audrey wrote: "I find it puzzling because this is a group that features polls and it's expected you receive poll invites as a member. I don't know why someone would join such a group if they didn't want to partic..."

This. If I don't know what to click on a poll i'll just ignore it, I don't see any reason to angry over it. If I was annoyed by poll invites I wouldn't be here in this group.


message 33: by Carrie (new)

Carrie  (icanhasbooks) | 19 comments I have no problem with answering polls for people about book. This a group for doing such. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it.


message 34: by Carrie (new)

Carrie  (icanhasbooks) | 19 comments Parvati Patil wrote: "Michael wrote: "Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another use..."

Who care's when they have been released? These are books that the asker must have to read and is having a hard time figuring out what to pick first.

It doesn't matter when the book was released, who known or unknown the book. Read or unread by those who are being asked. You say that the people in this thread don't represent the majority of people in this group but it seems that you are the only person so far to have any issue commenting.

Who are you to say what some asks or doesn't ask. This is a BOOK site so people will ask "What should I read next" "Help me pick my next read" questions.


message 35: by mysticofworlds (new)

mysticofworlds | 668 comments I personally have no problem with it, and I don't see why anyone else would... I certainly wouldn't say the majority of this group would blow up over a simple poll invite. And as for this poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

I don't see why that poll has anything to show that people don't like those polls or where there's anything saying that the people that create those polls are trying to promote new releases. I would've voted on the above poll, but I don't want that opinion being twisted into disliking getting poll invites.


message 36: by Corinne (new)

Corinne Carrie wrote: "Who care's when they have been released?
."


Me. and you should, too, but to each their own. What's the point of asking about a book that nobody has read? I hate it, it's my opinion, you're entitled to yours I'm entitled to mine.
I hate polls that are about helping people to decide what to read next. Read reviews!


message 37: by Corinne (last edited Nov 24, 2019 05:24PM) (new)

Corinne Parvati Patil wrote: "Michael wrote: "Sam! wrote: "Hey everyone! I recently posted a poll asking for advice on what to read next in this group, and sent out invites to respond to random members of the group. Another use..."

I'm with you Parvati. You're entitled to block anyone you don't like. We didn't sign in to be spammed and we joined this group when the rules didn't support spam.


message 38: by Corinne (last edited Nov 24, 2019 05:25PM) (new)

Corinne Catherine wrote: "You didn't need to post five comments, you know?

If I don't agree with the rules of the moderators, I don't join a group. If I used to like a group but don't anymore, it's still not my group no ma..."

I said this before and I'll say this again. Leave Parvati alone. She didn't join when this group supported spam, she joined when this group wasn't like this. She's not alone, many share her feelings, they're just as vocal and they're entitled to voice their opinion.

Good thing these polls aren't for book promotion, so then nobody would mind if every time I received an invitation to a Help me to decide what I should read next poll that includes books that are so recently released that the majority of polls for our souls members hasn't read I downloaded the amazon sample and rate it 1 star?


message 39: by Corinne (new)

Corinne Tyler J [They/He] wrote: "I don't see any reason to angry over it. If I was annoyed by poll invites I wouldn't be here in this group."

Well if Parvati gets angry over it, that's her opinion and she's entitled to it just as you're entitled to yours. I'm with her, it's annoying, and we signed up tho this group when the polls weren't as repetitive. If she leaves or doesn't leave the group that's on her. She's entitled to stay and to voice her opinion that many of us share.


message 40: by Caroline (new)

Caroline  (caro7) Hello, all. Please keep threads you post in on track. Ignore entirely the ones that annoy you. This thread is no longer productive, and I'm closing it.


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