Some Comments From Enthusiasts About The Poll

Some quotes from the rec.roller-coaster newsgroup:

Matt Crowther:

The cream rises to the top in this type of scientific poll, it is a much
more accurate look at the best coasters, rather than polls like in IT
where the coasters ridden are not taken into account, or the individual
lists that are occasionally published in the press...

Joe Schwartz: (www.joyrides.com)

Every year since 1994, Mitch Hawker has conducted a poll on 
rec.roller-coaster to determine our favorite wooden coasters. His 
sophisticated ranking method prevents this poll from being a mere popularity 
contest -- a great but rarely ridden coaster will beat a mediocre coaster 
that everyone has ridden.

Dave Althoff:

...I generally prefer to not rank coasters except for Mitch's poll...

Tim Melago: (Amusement Park and Roller Coaster Links users.sgi.net/~rollocst)    

IMHO, this is the best and fairest coaster poll anywhere. Let your opinion 
be known and vote! I found it interesting to compare and rate all of the 
woodies I've ridden. I recommend taking the time to rate the woodies you've
ridden and vote. 

Jim Westland:  (www.americanmidway.com)

IMO, the innovative way in which Mitch's poll is conducted still returns the 
most accurate results.  It allows for great rides that may not have been 
ridden by very many people to still do well, which is its best attribute.

...It is generally considered to be the best, and most respected, coaster
poll on the 'net. His unique voting system, and tabluation algorithm, allows the votes of
who have ridden just a few coasters to be JUST AS IMPORTANT as those who are
more travelled. 

Shawn Mamros:

Personally, I'm waiting for Mitch Hawker's annual Internet Wooden Tracked
Roller Coaster Poll (assuming he's still going to hold it, and I hope he
is).  His head-to-head algorithm is far and away the best way to conduct
such a poll, IMO. ...

Disclaimer: I have no vested interest in Mitch's poll or the results
of same.  I just happen to think it's cool... :-)

Ted Ansley **Rollercoaster Fan(atic)**:

IMHO, the best coater poll is Mitch Hawker's Internet Wood Coaster
poll which has the most accurate ratings of the best coasters.  Most of
the really good ones are at least in the top 30.  He uses a great system
of weighting which insures each coaster receives a fair ranking.  

Todd Long:

I feel this poll is the most accurate and fair way of rating coasters and look
forward to the year end vote.

Cindy Stout:

I don't normally post messages like this, but I firmly believe that Mitch has
the best, most accurate polls out there, and we should do everything we can to
support him. Please participate!

RunawayMT:

Mitch, thank you VERY much for sponsoring your Internet Wooden Tracked (LOVE
that definition!) Roller Coaster Poll.  This was my first poll and really the
first time I ever sat down and actually ranked every woodie I've ridden.   What
a gloriously difficult task it was to put one favorite over another!  But I
managed to get through it and had a wonderful time, so thank you.

David Bowers:  (Coasterville)

...the reputed MOST accurate wooden coaster poll on the 'net...

Dave Sandborg:

I agree.  I don't generally paricipate in most RRC surveys of favorite
coasters, because I've posted mine so many times before.  Most of these
surveys, well-intentioned as they are, don't really add anything to the
newsgroup, as people wind up just posting the same things over and over.  I
try to participate only in ones that are different, creative, or
interesting (such as the one about how you'd design a park on a limited
budget; I'll probably wind up posting in the time machine one, though even
that question has already been asked here before).  But Mitch's (isn't it
Hawker?) survey is an exception because it's so well-conducted.  I regard
it as the *official* RRC wood coaster survey.

...If you want proof of this in polls, look at Mitch Hawker's Internet Wooden
Tracked Roller Coaster Poll, which I have found to be *very* representative 
of the climate of opinion on RRC.

David Hamburger:

I'd STRONGLY urge everyone in RRC to participate, whether you've ridden
2 woodies or 100.  The beauty of Mitch's poll is that it compares people
who've ridden the same pair of coasters.  That way your vote DOES count,
without taking away from great coasters you haven't ridden.

Wes Lagattolla:

It's very accurate, and *gasp* makes sense.
 
Stephen Fox:

The quick summary:  You had 1100 voters each voting their favorite coaster.
So you have 1100 data points.

Mitch had at least 100 people submitting their complete rankings.  His
algorithm then tallied the votes by comparing pairings of coasters.  If the
average person rode 50 coasters, then each person submitted 1225 data points
[50*(49)/2].  I'm not going to dig out the other post right now, but I
definately remember that Mitch's poll had a few hundred thousand data points
to your 1100.  So, the number of pollsters, especially when you use it as a
pro for your poll, is statistically misleading because it is the number of
data points and the relationships between those data points that generally
(assuming no other significant biases) defines the better study.

While I like the fun of the popularity polls, I firmly believe that Mitch's
poll is far and above anything else out there for statistical credibilty.
...
>Mitch's system eliminates that bias as well.  As I said above, if you
>haven't ridden TZ, then you don't get a vote in any of TZ's pairings.
>Hence, you don't help or hurt TZ, and TZ's ranking will be ultimately be
>determined by the people who have ridden it, as it should be.
>
.
  Everyone I know
who really understands this poll believes in it 100%.  If anybody is reading
this and is not convinced that Mitch's poll is the best one out there,
please take the time to reread some of Dave's posts, my posts, or Mitch's
site.  Once you fully understand the system, I think you will be convinced.
If you have put the effort in and still don't quite see it, keep asking
questions, because it can get a bit tricky in there.  There is no harm in
that and we will try to help you out, but posts like "This poll is a crock"
shows a total lack of effort to understand the poll and is really just a
negative reflection on the poster.

Eric Gieszl: (from ultimaterollercoaster message board)

 I want to encourage everyone to participate in this outstanding poll on
wooden coasters. It is really well done.

Kyle A.: (from coasters.virtualave.net)

By far the most accurate coaster poll ever conducted. I will plan vacations 
based on its results! 

Duane Marden: (from www.rcdb.com)

...Mitch Hawker's poll stands above the rest and is considered the most 
accurate by enthusiasts. Mitch's poll ranks roller coasters based on their 
standing with other roller coasters. This prevents the poll from becoming 
a popularity contest like so many others.

Robb Alvey: (from ThemeParkReview.com)

I stress the importance of filling out this ballot as this is seems to be the most accurate ranking system of any 'coaster polls'.
If you want to get your opinion heard on what your favorite coasters are, this is THE BEST way to do it!



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