When ILX – or rather Steve M on ILX – came up with the now all-conquering poll format (nominations then votes then drawn-out interactive countdown) I will admit my thought was “too much fannydangle”. But it works, and works well – yesterday I briefly skimmed the gargantuan ILM ’90s poll’ thread and thought how lively it seemed. The nominations system means that the terms of engagement are well-defined before the poll starts, and gives people a stake in it (“how well will my picks do?”). But it’s the countdown where things really get going – a community deciding what it has in common and thrashing out what it doesn’t, and individuals forced to talk about the stuff they value in direct competition with the stuff they don’t. I can’t imagine it working away from a messageboard format but on a messageboard it’s the second most fun I’ve seen Top X Lists generate.
(The MOST fun being a bunch of people shouting in a pub, obviously.)
All of which is to remind interested parties that voting in the I Love Comics poll closes at lunchtime GMT tomorrow – the full nominations list and the voting procedures can be found on that board. It’s not so much that I think you should vote – though if you’ve ever posted on ILC, you should! – but to give you a heads-up that the countdown will be starting at the weekend, and that should be worth looking out for.