Why are CTers obsessed with forums polls?

[Anti-sophist]

I think this is such an important question for anyone who is interested in the overall psychology of this...

Small print:
This poll is not scientific and might be slightly biased.

 

[Oliver]

Don´t know - let´s start a poll about it.


ETA: They need confirmation to continiue to believe in crap?

 

[jhunter1163]

I think they're just looking for affirmation of their beliefs. They don't want to think that they're the ONLY one who holds a particular belief, so they put up a poll to see who else subscribes to their silly theory.

If they can get some affirmation of their belief on a skeptical site such as this one, it just makes them feel that much better.

 

[delphi_ote]

It seems to have something to do with their need to feel like a part of a movement of the people.

 

[Wowbagger]

I chose the Ad Populum option (#2).

But, I also think it has to do with the fact that they can manipulate the options, so that people are "forced" to pick the one they agree with.

Or, maybe it's the extra space we give them on the home page.

 

[Oliver]

The fourth option seems to be unrealistic upon my experiences with them. They tend to use pro-CT polls but mostly from "NWO"-Massmedia-Sources.

 

[Horatius]

I think it's so they can force you to support their "pet" theories, by making all the other poll options even more ridiculous. "Choose one option: 1. WTC brought down by CD. 2. I like to masturbate while thinking of dead kittens."

Or, the internet version of "Have you stopped beating your wife?"

 

[DarkMagician]

I object to the lack of a Planet X poll option.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

Argument by popularity is a favorite one of the 'fringe' crowd. We used to have a homeopath here whose favorite argument was "10,000 European M.D.s can't be wrong!" ie, 10,000 European doctors use homeopathy, therefore it must work. I've seen it with the newage sorts and occasionally with the religious folk too.

 

[Brainache]

So newage, is that like sewage? If so I think it's a very good word for it.

 

[SwissSkeptic]

No Planet X option?

I chose the last option. CTers are a fringe group, so if they believed that the popularity of an opinion made it true, they wouldn't believe in their "theories" in the first place. That's of course making the big assumption that logic enters their thought process at some point.

 

[Oliver]

No Planet X option?

I hear this from time to time but i have no idea what it means.
Sounds funny nevertheless.

 

[SwissSkeptic]

I hear this from time to time but i have no idea what it means.
Sounds funny nevertheless.

From skepticwiki:

It is a JREF Forum tradition that the last option in any poll refer to Planet X. This is taken to mean "other" or "don't care". The tradition was initiated by forum user "Shemp".

 

[Oliver]

From skepticwiki:
It is a JREF Forum tradition that the last option in any poll refer to Planet X. This is taken to mean "other" or "don't care". The tradition was initiated by forum user "Shemp".

*LOL* - okay, this explains a lot...