Every community eventually needs to count hands. Which topic should next week's contest use? Should the community change its posting rules? Team A or Team B? The usual way this happens is a comment thread where opinions pile up, nobody tallies them and the loudest reply wins. Polls exist so the question gets a real answer.
On Ecency, a poll is not a bolt-on widget from some third-party service. It is part of the post itself, published to the Hive blockchain along with your words and every vote on it is a signed action from a real account. That changes what a poll is good for, so let us walk through where they work, what you can configure and where they shine.
You can attach a poll to a regular blog post from the editor and to a wave, the short-form posts at ecency.com/waves. Both places have a poll button in the composer toolbar. Polls work on the web and in the Ecency mobile apps and posts that carry a poll get a small poll icon in feeds so readers can spot them before clicking.
Because the poll lives in the post's on-chain data, it travels with the post. Readers vote right where they find it, whether that is your blog, a community feed, or the Waves timeline.
Hit the poll button in the editor and you get a small form: your question, two or more choices and an end date and time. Choices must be filled in and unique and you can add as many as the question needs. The default end time is a week out, but you can set anything from hours to months.
Then come the options and they are worth ten seconds of thought each:
Minimum account age. Only accounts older than the number of days you set can vote, up to 200 days. This is your main defense against someone spinning up fresh accounts to tilt the result. For a casual poll, set it low. For a decision that matters, raise it.
Max choices per voter. One by default, which makes it a pick-one poll. Raise it and voters can select several options, up to all of them, which suits "vote for your top three" style questions.
Interpretation: by votes or by tokens. This is the interesting one. Counted by number of votes, every account is one voice. Counted by tokens, votes are weighted by Hive Power, so the result reflects stake. Neither is universally right. A fun poll wants one account, one voice. A decision about a community's direction may reasonably weigh long-term stakeholders more. You choose per poll.
Allow vote changes. If on, voters can revise their choice while the poll is running. Good default for most polls.
Hide votes. Keeps the running tally out of sight so early results do not herd later voters. Useful when you want independent opinions rather than a bandwagon.
One thing to know before you hit publish: the poll locks once the post is out. You can edit the post text afterward like any Hive post, but the poll itself cannot be changed. Read your choices twice.
Voting is one tap and a signature with whatever login you already use, Keychain, HiveSigner, Ecency Keeper, MetaMask with the Hive snap, or your posting key. A poll vote is a lightweight signed action and it is separate from upvoting the post. Choosing an option in the poll does not spend your post vote, so readers can happily do both.
While the poll runs, voters see how many choices they may pick, results appear as percentage bars once they have voted or when they peek at the standings and there is a votes list showing who voted for what. That transparency is the honest trade of doing this on a public blockchain: poll votes are signed and public, which means results are auditable by anyone and also means polls on Ecency are not secret ballots. Say so upfront if your question is sensitive.
When the end time passes, voting closes and the result stands, permanently readable, right there in the post.
Community decisions. Rule changes, contest themes, choosing a spotlight topic. Post the poll in your community, set a sensible account age and let subscribers decide. The votes list means nobody has to trust the moderator's arithmetic and the closed poll remains as a public record of what was decided and by whom.
Feedback. Ask your readers what they want more of. Which series should continue, what length they prefer, which of three thumbnails works. A poll gets answers from the silent majority who read but rarely comment and it costs them one tap.
Fun. Predictions before a match, this-or-that debates, weekly would-you-rather posts on Waves. Short-form polls are conversation starters and a wave with a poll gives people a reason to stop scrolling and participate.
A practical tip that applies to all three: put the poll near a post that argues for nothing. If you make the case for option A for six paragraphs and then attach a poll, you will learn what your persuasion did, not what your readers think.
Ask a real question, give it real options and let the chain count the hands. Try it on your next post at ecency.com.
