? How to use Pol.is

Pilot: pol.is Integration for Community Input

We’re adding pol.is to run structured, large-group discussions alongside Discourse. It’s fast: you vote Agree / Disagree / Pass on short statements, and you can add your own. pol.is then maps opinion groups and highlights consensus statements that most people support—without endless back-and-forth.

Join the current conversation: POLIS_LINK
Opens: OPEN_DATE • Closes: CLOSE_DATE
Focus topic: TOPIC_TITLE_OR_GOAL


How to participate (2 minutes)

  1. Click the link → POLIS_LINK
  2. You’ll see one statement at a time. Click Agree, Disagree, or Pass.
  3. Add your own statements (optional). One idea per statement.
  4. Keep voting—new statements appear as others contribute.

Good statements are:

  • Specific and testable (“Publish a quarterly roadmap with dates”),
  • Single-idea (no “and/or”),
  • Action-oriented (suggest what to do, not just what’s wrong).

Avoid: multi-part claims, questions, sarcasm, personal attacks.


What you’ll see

  • Opinion groups (clusters): pol.is groups people with similar voting patterns.
  • Consensus statements: widely supported across groups.
  • Divisive statements: supported by some groups, rejected by others.

We’ll post a summary in Discourse after CLOSE_DATE with:

  • Top consensus items (and what we’ll do about them),
  • Points of disagreement worth further exploration,
  • Any quick wins we can ship immediately.

Why pol.is (vs. a long thread)?

  • Scales to many participants without flame wars,
  • Surfaces areas of agreement early,
  • Lets quieter voices influence outcomes,
  • Gives us a defensible, transparent basis for decisions.

Privacy & moderation

  • No account required on pol.is. Your votes are anonymous to other participants.
  • Admins see aggregated data and may export anonymized results for analysis.
  • Statements violating our Code of Conduct will be removed. Repeated abuse → ban.

Ground rules

  • Be concise. One idea per statement.
  • Critique ideas, not people.
  • Use evidence when possible.
  • English preferred (for now); short, clear phrasing helps everyone.
  • Accessibility: pol.is works well on mobile; screen readers are supported. If you hit issues, tell us.

Timeline

  • Discussion window: OPEN_DATE → CLOSE_DATE
  • Preliminary results posted: RESULTS_DATE
  • Actions/next steps announced: DECISIONS_DATE

FAQ

Do I need a Discourse account?
No. pol.is runs separately. We’ll publish results here.

Can I debate inside pol.is?
No—by design. Use Discourse replies here for commentary; keep pol.is for voting and adding statements only.

Can I edit or delete my pol.is statement?
You can delete your own statement while the conversation is open. Mods may remove statements that break rules.

What if I strongly disagree with how results are interpreted?
Reply in this thread with specifics. We’ll link interpretations to the underlying pol.is data.


Jump in: POLIS_LINK
Questions? Mention @dementad or message MOD_CONTACT.