Monday, May 19, 2014

The Monday Poll in Review

Before I get started with the review I want to remind you slackers that you're not helping your cause--whatever it is--when you choose not to vote in The Monday Poll. The more peeps who vote the more impact the results have. Does The Monday Poll change outcomes? That's probably expecting too much but it can influence the thinking of those making decisions. And it requires so little from you that it seems like a no-brainer to me. Anyway ...
Last week's The Monday Poll wanted to know what you thought of the PSP's RaceTo MAXX scheduling formula. In reviewing the options it seems in retrospect I was less balanced and more negative in providing optional answers. So much for unbiased but I still think the results are interesting. Of the 5 choices provided only one was "positive" and even that one was less than a real endorsement. On the other hand it's a tough call for anyone who hasn't actually played MAXX or something similar. So, in part the results are less hard opinions than a reflection of what y'all are thinking given what you know about MAXX and the results at MAO. And on that score I think the results speak mostly to the voters uncertainty.
20% flatly preferred regular RaceTo format. That means only one in five opted for what they know over a change that didn't work as planned--at least initially--the first time out.
5% thought continuing to push MAXX would drive teams out of the PSP. All things considered that's almost nobody but may be an unspoken acknowledgement that there's really no where else to go for serious national level competition.
20% think MAXX is the future and hope the league gets it right in the future. I don't know if that's fatalism at work or a head nod to reality as the voters see it. Maybe a bit of both. (If it's any consolation should MAXX return every effort will be made to get it as close to perfect as possible as there continues to be an ongoing effort to evaluate and fix what failed to work as intended at MAO. The league is prepared to hire more staff and spend more money if that's what's needed.)
20% say they might not play if MAXX is their only option. In this category that's a fairly significant number--if it proved to be accurate. I understand the sentiment but I doubt the likelihood in part because of the sample size and in part because it's easy to level the threat but a lot harder to follow through if you are like most of us and hooked on this stupid game.
And finally 35% think MAXX is worth pursuing and putting up with if it allows more teams to participate in PSP events. That's a pretty significant number too, seems to me. It's a borderline endorsement from fully one third of the voters.
So what did we learn? Depends on how broadly you wish to define "learn" I suppose. In truth probably nothing other than confirming what we might have guessed in the first place. The jury is still out with the voters split over MAXX but considering how inauspicious a debut MAXX made it's receiving more (grudging?) support than I would have guessed likely.

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