SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group discussion

I just figured out that I can use the 'poll' fun function in our group to create some fun quizzes and other merriment/deviltry. Keep an eye on the poll page!

Wait by your door for our Prize Patrol! --they may be visiting your residence some day soon!!

(=_=)

Seriously--gang, what statistics *do* we wish to know from our members (now that we have a little bit more activity)?

What are some things we would like to poll people on? Let's make a poll to ..uhh...find out what we..want to poll?

These are what I've set up for voting on, so far (nevermind the Lee Marvin poll, that was just a test)

1) How often do you visit this Group
2) What are your top 5 fave thriller novels
3) How often per year do you buy a thriller novel?
4) How often do you re-read a thriller?
5) What is the ratio of new thrillers you-read-per-year, to classic thrillers?
6) How many thrillers do you keep--as in, own permanently?
7) What other Goodreads groups are you a member of?
8) What other book websites are you a member of?

p.s. here is the link to the Polls page

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/2...

How about:
Age
Military / Veteran
Reader and/or Author
Sex (yes, please)...sorry.

Ha, that last one. Its true, the only answer to sex is 'yes'. :D

As for the other three suggestions..no, I can't see that they're really vital.

First two definitely not.
Reader vs author, yes --but this is made clear by the authors thread. Every author in the group is listed there.

Oh well. At least you put some thought into our poll design, thank ya! Y'know, I'm thinking there really could be some useful things new authors (like yourself) might gain from it.

There's also a thread devoted to this. 'Readers speak out' or something.

good to know, why d'yuh suppose that is?

Feliks wrote: "Ha, that last one. Its true, the only answer to sex is 'yes'. :D

As for the other three suggestions..no, I can't see that they're really vital.

First two definitely not.
Reader vs author, yes --b..."

That's a pretty strong denial, 'definitely not.' As most spy/spec ops types are male military or vets, that would be relative to this group. At least interesting and possibly revealing as to who populates it.

Personally, I suppose that it is because a guy with brains will tend to treat a woman nicer and with more consideration than a guy with only brawns. Would the average woman prefer a James Bond type or a Conan the Barbarian type?

James wrote: "That's a pretty strong denial, 'definitely not.' As most spy/spec ops types are male military or vets, that would be relative to this group. At least interesting and possibly revealing as to who populates it...."

The relevancy of the questions is a matter for each of us to speculate on. If it really invokes curiousity, any one of us can look at the member roster (+700) to skim the profiles of fellow members.

Me, I rejected the idea of asking either of those two questions for other reasons which might not be readily apparent, but yes, leave little room for debating the point. My concerns here extend well beyond the notion itself (polling for this data).

I just don't think its ever wise for people to offer up personal info over the internet. If we're asking people about their reading habits, fine. But I wouldn't feel comfortable asking anyone something as personal as their age, their background, their career, their education, military service, or anything like that. The web already commoditizes us. No need to assist it.

If we want to know the sex of the poll participants all I'd have to do is turn off the 'anonymous' toggle to the polls so far. But I don't intend to. Again, I just think there's a 'line' here somewhere which I have no urge to cross. To me, 'readers' are neuter and ageless. We're here for... 'mental' affinities.

Creative suggestions such as James has made are very welcome, by the way.

Feliks wrote: "James wrote: "That's a pretty strong denial, 'definitely not.' As most spy/spec ops types are male military or vets, that would be relative to this group. At least interesting and possibly revealin..."

I'm a male Veteran.
Track me down if you dare, internet.

Gentle reconaissance, though. No cavity searches.