So I'm not just collecting the votes in this survey poll; I am also listening to (and tracking) the comments and other "added nuance" in the comments. Like the votes, it has produced some rather interesting trends...
For example, here in the 3rd Edition survey, folks have posted 189 comments...well, 190, counting this one. Compared to another, ah, more recent survey, there has been a lot less arguing and moderation intervention than I expected. Grouping the comments into broad (very broad) categories, we find that this edition has sparked a lot more talk about the Days Gone By than any before it. Here's how they break down:
"I remember when..." = 124 comments (65.6%)
Questions or speculation about the survey itself = 23 comments (12.2%)
"The rules in this edition were..." = 13 comments (6.9%)
"Let's talk about this other edition..." = 12 comments (6.3%)
Unrelated posts = 11 comments (5.8%)
"You're wrong, I'm right, let's argue, etc." = 2 comments (1.1%)
Links to other pages = 2 comments (1.1%)
Moderator warnings = 1 comment (0.5%)
The introduction post = 1 comment (0.5%)
I expected a lot more edition-warring and hurt feelings. I'm proud of us.
Sure, this data is far less scientific than the poll (and that poll is already far less scientific than most want to admit.) In fact, I hesitate to call it "data" at all; it's more like an editorial. I read each post, and made a judgment call about its intent, then decided which of about a dozen categories to file it under. So take this with a grain of salt, and understand that it has been filtered and adjusted. By me, a noted moogle and BECMI fan.