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The Marco Poll was created in 1981 by Mark Larzalere. It ran for three years and was revived in 1989 by Pete Gaughan. In 1994 Bob Acheson took over and for the year 2000, it was handed over to me. The Marco Poll was not the first hobby poll. At the time of its inception the Runestone Poll had been running for a number of years. The Marco Poll was not so much a reaction to the Runestone as an attempt to accomplish the same goal using a different methodology. What distinguishes the Marco Poll is the fact that there is no ‘negative voting’. There is no opportunity to dispense a low vote because you disagree with someone’s politics. Voters are simply asked to list their top five favourites in each category - no nominations, no suggestions from me. It’s all voter-driven. Votes are tallied awarding five points for first place down to one point for fifth place. In the Runestone, voters were asked to rate ‘zines, sub-zines and GMs on a scale of 1 to 10. The top 10% high and low votes were tossed out and then the subjects were rated as to how they fared head to head when they appeared on the same ballot in order to come up with a composite score. It was a complicated procedure. Results were further analyzed to compare things like whether publishers had different favourites than non-publishers, etc. The Marco Poll does not lend itself to the same sort of statistical analysis that the Runestone did, though it should be noted the work this involved was cited as one of the reasons for its retirement in 1997. Additionally, the Runestone was frequently used as a battleground for the participants in the feuds that did so much damage to the Hobby in the 1980s. My publishing endeavours began after the feuds had wound down but still I managed to receive more votes than I ought to have expected from reading the voters list. Perhaps this is why the Runestone does not seem to have been particularly missed. There are no prizes per se, but bragging rights are enormous. The results are published in Northern Flame, the Diplomatic Corps, and the Diplomatic Pouch Zine (thanks to Edward Hawthorne!) as well. In addition, I send the results out to voters who aren't on my mailing list; just ask and I'll send it. The Marco Poll’s biggest flaw is the perception that large-circulation ‘zines, or those that are good at getting the vote out, appear to be at an advantage. For this reason, I do not count votes for myself or for my ‘zine (mind you, flattery is always appreciated). Over the years the categories have changed with the hobby and to suit the tastes of the pollster. At one time there were awards for best new ‘zine and best sub-zine. Recently, as a way of getting to know hobby members better, Bob Acheson asked for favorite movies and books. My tenure as pollster coincided with a bad patch for both myself and my ‘zine hence the delay in reporting the results, but now that things are back in order I am collecting votes for the 2001 Poll and in mid-2003, I will be soliciting ballots for the 2002 Poll. One of the more amusing aspects of running the Poll was reading letters in other peoples’ ‘zines from hobby old-timers saying how good it was to have that old Poll back and then never actually hearing from any of them. For the next poll there will be no changes in the categories from those you see here. Send your 2001 Marco Poll votes to marcopoll@yahoo.com
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