Thursday, August 09, 2007

Public Opinion?

There's a great big banner splash headline on the BBC's web site asking who is the greatest British monarch, Victoria, Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. When you vote you get this come up.

King Henry VIII
13.20%
Queen Elizabeth I
46.85%
Queen Victoria
20.44%
Someone else
19.52%
13931 Votes Cast
Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion


So what is the vote indicative of - Martian opinion? Of course it's this obsession with absolute correctness and not wishing to be sued. But that's not what it says. Are the BBC worried they'll get in trouble again?

4 comments:

ThunderDragon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ThunderDragon said...

That same disclaimer has been at the bottom of all the BBC polls for ages. I think its more to do with the potential for hacking than anything else.

Richard Havers said...

TD, I'm sure you're right about hacking....but it's still a daft statement. It should read

Results are indicative and may not reflect the opinion of the entire British public!

r morris said...

I think it's because a true poll has to accurately reflect the demographic of the area being polled. This is more of an informal 'straw poll'.

Still, it is kind of funny.

I vote for Good Queen Bess!