We designed our commenting structure so that respondents can comment anonymously or opt in, which shows their name to others. The commenting structure allows someone to provide a single comment but not to respond to another comment (thread comments), creating a constructive, civil environment. Respondents can see all of the comments that have been posted and “like” those that align with their position.
Sometimes, nuance is lost in discrete or quantitative survey questions. On Polco, individual questions in a poll each have a dedicated comment structure that allows respondents to add a qualitative note along with their response. This can be used to understand "why" respondents responded the way they did. Additionally, by viewing the comments that were most popular, you can gain an understanding of which reasons or arguments are most powerful.
Admins are often surprised to find that the Polco commenting structure leads to a positive, constructive and civil environment. Although admins often have concerns based on past experiences with comments on social media platforms, since Polco’s inception, there have been only a few cases when comments have had to be removed. In the unlikely event that a comment violates standards, we will work with you to appropriately respond to the situation.
To comment on a question, the respondent will first need to respond to the question. Then they can enter a comment, which is categorized with other like responses to the same question (e.g., all responses to Option B are displayed together).
In the comment section, you filter comments by geographic area and demographic category. For example, you can filter the comments to see only those from people in their 40s in Ward 2. Because Polco is a real-time tool, you can see any comments as they are posted.