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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:47 am
by frankie_the_yankee
I fully agree with the above observations as to the wording of the poll question. But given the overwhelming response in our favor, why quibble over technicalities?

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:11 am
by jimlongley
frankie_the_yankee wrote:I fully agree with the above observations as to the wording of the poll question. But given the overwhelming response in our favor, why quibble over technicalities?
First of all, it's hardly a technicality, the wording of the question will most probably be used to drive and derive the news article announcing the results, ie:

NORTH TEXANS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT CANCELLATION OF CHL LAW (which might actually be true, if only in favor of Vermont Style Carry)

or:

NORTH TEXANS UNCONCERNED ABOUT RAMPANT WEAPONS POSSESSION AT STATE FAIR (which is probably not true)

Fox4's refusal to correct the obviously poor wording of the poll sounds to me like there is an agenda, particularly the response that people might not have known the law existed. Remember that they made a big deal, in their news article, about people being able to carry THIS year, and failed to mention that it has been the law since 2003.

I just can't really see the results as either valid, due to the number of people, if just on this forum, who have hit the site multiple times, or supportive of "our" POV due to the poor wording.

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:21 am
by whohears
agree with jimlongley here.

any interpretation of results from this survey would be invalid--either for or against CHL carry at the fair. but I'm sure someone will use the results to drive an antigun agenda.
jimlongley wrote:
frankie_the_yankee wrote:I fully agree with the above observations as to the wording of the poll question. But given the overwhelming response in our favor, why quibble over technicalities?
First of all, it's hardly a technicality, the wording of the question will most probably be used to drive and derive the news article announcing the results, ie:

NORTH TEXANS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT CANCELLATION OF CHL LAW (which might actually be true, if only in favor of Vermont Style Carry)

or:

NORTH TEXANS UNCONCERNED ABOUT RAMPANT WEAPONS POSSESSION AT STATE FAIR (which is probably not true)

Fox4's refusal to correct the obviously poor wording of the poll sounds to me like there is an agenda, particularly the response that people might not have known the law existed. Remember that they made a big deal, in their news article, about people being able to carry THIS year, and failed to mention that it has been the law since 2003.

I just can't really see the results as either valid, due to the number of people, if just on this forum, who have hit the site multiple times, or supportive of "our" POV due to the poor wording.

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:55 am
by frankie_the_yankee
whohears wrote:agree with jimlongley here.

any interpretation of results from this survey would be invalid--either for or against CHL carry at the fair. but I'm sure someone will use the results to drive an antigun agenda.
I doubt it. If the poll had showed 90% of the people AGAINST carrying at the Fair, they might have done a story about it. But given the way it ultimately turned out, I think they will just bury it.

Note also that to a committed anti-gun person, there is almost no difference or distinction between someone with a CHL and someone without one. It is people like us who are cognizant of these differences. To the antis, ALL non-LEO gun possession is bad.

And since the poll allowed multiple voting, the results can't really withstand any sort of scrutiny.

So I suspect that, in the words of Lincoln, this poll will be "little noted nor long remembered."

It's main value, as I see it, is simple entertainment. I sure got a few laughs out of it thinking about how the newsroom crew must have reacted to the tally as it came in. I'm sure it was not what they expected.

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:19 am
by ZARASTER
The poll is still going they seem to be keeping it going till it swings the other way. And right now it is down to 79% so tell your people to vote

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:58 am
by whohears
Here is the response I got from Fox. Looks like a semi-canned response. They are obviously not getting the issue.


"Thanks for your e-mail. We revised the poll moments
after posting it. The actual wording of the poll is
this:

Should people be restricted from carrying guns at the
State Fair, even with a concealed handgun license?
Yes
No

Thanks for visiting myfoxdfw.com."

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:01 am
by whohears
I agree, and this poll survey perpetuates that same anti-gun fuzzy thinking. which makes me also wonder if Fox has there own agenda.

frankie_the_yankee wrote:
whohears wrote:agree with jimlongley here.

any interpretation of results from this survey would be invalid--either for or against CHL carry at the fair. but I'm sure someone will use the results to drive an antigun agenda.
I doubt it. If the poll had showed 90% of the people AGAINST carrying at the Fair, they might have done a story about it. But given the way it ultimately turned out, I think they will just bury it.

Note also that to a committed anti-gun person, there is almost no difference or distinction between someone with a CHL and someone without one. It is people like us who are cognizant of these differences. To the antis, ALL non-LEO gun possession is bad.

And since the poll allowed multiple voting, the results can't really withstand any sort of scrutiny.

So I suspect that, in the words of Lincoln, this poll will be "little noted nor long remembered."

It's main value, as I see it, is simple entertainment. I sure got a few laughs out of it thinking about how the newsroom crew must have reacted to the tally as it came in. I'm sure it was not what they expected.

Poll just stoped

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:33 am
by ZARASTER
They took the poll down I guess it was not going there way
stoped at about 78% to 22%

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:13 pm
by jimlongley
frankie_the_yankee wrote:So I suspect that, in the words of Lincoln, this poll will be "little noted nor long remembered."
One has to hope that the poll will not be as "little noted nor long remembered" as the occasion Lincoln wrote those words for.

The invalid question, entertainment value notwithstanding, still results in meaningless answers, whether or not the answers are supposedly going our way. My point was, that it doesn't take a lot of spin to make the results appear any way the polsters want them to, including the very unlikely "Overwhelming support for CHL carry at the State Fair."