Schind's 2016 Coaster Poll

[SchindHaughton]

Hey guys!

I've decided to create a new coaster poll that can perhaps act as a successor to the Mitch Hawker poll.

For the first stage, I'm going to accept nominations. You may nominate up to 15 steel coasters, as well as 10 wooden ones. I will use this data to create a ballot, likely containing anywhere from 50 to 100 coasters (depending on what the data looks like, ultimately). The aim is not to shut out awesome coasters at smaller parks, while also having a more manageable ballot than the Mitch Hawker poll had.

For the second stage, each respondent will be tasked with ranking each of the coasters on the ballot that he/she has ridden. If he/she has not ridden the coaster, its space on the ballot is to be left blank.

When the results are tallied, each respondent's ranking for the coaster will be converted into a score out of 100, based upon the following function: 100 * (n - x)/(n - 1), where n is the number of coasters on the ballot ridden, and x is the coaster's ranking. Each respondent's top coaster will be assigned a score of 100, and his/her bottom coaster will be assigned a score of 0.

A weighted average score for each coaster will then be computed. Each respondent's vote will count more if he/she has ridden more of the coasters on the ballot.

From this, I will compile a list of the highest scoring coasters from each category once the polls have closed.

I'm currently accepting nominations at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcVrFbuKJXqu-szICSq3ZQue9LZl7fJtZ3ZiQfRdvg5JcnNQ/viewform

 

[Ian]

I wish you luck with this! I miss the Mitch Hawker polls.

Why only 10 woodies but 15 steels?

 

[gavin]

I don't want to piss on this, but it's seriously flawed in its lack of scope.

You'll end up with a bunch of commonly ridden coasters, with loads of amazing rides being ignored because of location and lack of ridership.

 

[Ian]

Why have I never heard the word "ridership" used in respect to coasters before? Excellent. My new favourite term.

 

[jayjay]

I'll do this because I like polls. Some questions though:

- Where am I putting RMCs?
- Is the nominations stage in order?
- Will you be able to release data (anonymous or otherwise) afterwards? My gut reaction says that the post-nomination stage will favour the best coasters in isolated regions, but I'd like to see how the numbers play out before passing complete judgement.

 

[SchindHaughton]

I wish you luck with this! I miss the Mitch Hawker polls.

Why only 10 woodies but 15 steels?

Thank you! There are less wooden coasters in the world, hence the lower number of nominees you're allowed.

I don't want to piss on this, but it's seriously flawed in its lack of scope.

You'll end up with a bunch of commonly ridden coasters, with loads of amazing rides being ignored because of location and lack of ridership.

You make a decent point. The idea behind the nomination process is to narrow it down a bit, so we don't have something win because the one and only rider put it as #1, but I definitely don't want to narrow it down so much that we're going to end up with a list of very common credits. However, after the nomination process, a coaster's ridership will not matter; it's all about average ranking. At the very least, this should produce better results than GT.

I'll do this because I like polls. Some questions though:

- Where am I putting RMCs?
- Is the nominations stage in order?
- Will you be able to release data (anonymous or otherwise) afterwards? My gut reaction says that the post-nomination stage will favour the best coasters in isolated regions, but I'd like to see how the numbers play out before passing complete judgement.

1. RMC hybrids are steel coasters, because they are steel-tracked. RMC wooden coasters are considered wooden.
2. No, order does not matter.
3. I probably will release the raw data- I don't see any reason not to at this point. A part of the idea behind the nomination process is to weed out coasters that practically nobody has ridden, so we don't have something win because the one and only rider I found listed it as his/her #1 (to name an extreme example).

 

[gavin]

^ But your nomination process will absolutely have the effect of leaving a "most ridden" list to go through for voting. Essentially, all it can achieve is an ordering of the most ridden coasters.

 

[SchindHaughton]

^ But your nomination process will absolutely have the effect of leaving a "most ridden" list to go through for voting. Essentially, all it can achieve is an ordering of the most ridden coasters.

Yeah, I do recognize that issue. Unfortunately, it does come with the territory of trying to narrow the ballot down to a manageable number- but I think it's a necessary step to ensure that this poll isn't too difficult to participate in, nor is it too difficult to administer. However, I assure you that I will try my best to include every deserving coaster while also maintaining fairness. I do highly appreciate your feedback, however- this is my first time administering the poll, and I want to ensure that this can be as successful as it can be.

With that being said, the data and results will be better with more responses- so I encourage everyone to share this. I want this poll to get as much exposure as possible.