From: Anarch666-AT-aol.com
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 20:10:24 EDT
Subject: Re: WHAT????????


In a message dated 7/6/99 9:54:42 AM Central Daylight Time, 
d.y.coull-AT-dundee.ac.uk writes:

> Okay, so you enjoyed it. But Is this so-called 
>  "survey" supposed to prove anything ?

No, but some people had fun with it.
 
>  In considering whether some survey means anything,
>  there are a number of questions to ask yourself :
>     -   how representative is the survey ? What percentage 
>  of those who were invited to take part actually did so ?  
>  Are the people who did  _not_  take part likely to be
>  very different from the ones who did ?  And so on.

I wasn't going for hard data, I just felt like asking some random questions 
and getting some random answers.
  
>  The anarchy-list includes some of the most stubborn,
>  suspicious, and downright awkward people on this planet.
>  These anarchists are precisely the kind of people who
>  are less likely to answer surveys. For this reason, any
>  attempt to get them to go against their natural instincts
>  has to be very carefully worded indeed. The wording
>  of this particular survey was downright sloppy.

Because it was 1:30 in the morning and I had to rush it because of the 
parental figure screaming at me to go to bed.
  
>  The number of subscribers to the anarchy-list 
>  is, I think, around 500. So far, only a tiny proportion
>  of them have taken part in this survey. Those 
>  who have been around the anarchy-list for a while
>  list will already have noted many of the names 
>  that are missing from the responses. And looking 
>  at the replies, it seems pretty clear to me that 
>  what you've got is an un-representative sample.
>  This may sound almost self-evident, but what 
>  you have got is the small minority of anarchy-list 
>  subscribers who are likely to respond 
>  to such a survey.
>  
>  
>  Dave
>  
Those who did respond so far were mostly newer people or lurkers. Maybe it 
did serve a purpose.
Chris