The idea
See what people think—and what they know
A normal poll counts every response equally. This site adds a second piece of information: how well each participant answers sourced factual questions relevant to that particular topic.
The public result gives more weight to opinions backed by more correct answers. It does not tell you what the right opinion is, and it does not assume that well-informed people must agree.
Browsing
Reading the results
Each topic sets out its exact wording and has a result running from No, through neutral, to Yes. The marker shows the direction and strength of the current result, weighted by factual knowledge.
The number of participants matters. A result based on only a few people—or only a few opinions carrying weight—should be treated cautiously. You can search, browse categories and tags, and order questions by popularity, controversy, title or featured position.
Taking part
Give your view
- Create an account or sign in. This keeps your views and progress private to your account.
- Choose a topic. Read its exact wording before selecting the response closest to your current view.
- Answer the fact questions. Each offers four choices and appears separately.
- Read the feedback. You will see the correct answer, an explanation and a link to its source.
- Stop or revise whenever you choose. Your opinions page keeps your place, and your opinion itself can be changed later.
The calculation
How your opinion gains weight
Your opinion begins at zero weight. Fact questions have an importance rating of Supporting (1), Significant (2), or Foundational (3). Correct answers earn that question's importance; incorrect answers do not.
Only your latest answer to each fact counts. Weight belongs to one topic only: knowing the facts behind one question does not increase the weight of an unrelated opinion.
For the public result, the five opinion positions are valued from +1 to −1. Each value is multiplied by that participant's topic weight, then combined with the other weighted responses.
The evidence
How fact questions are chosen
Facts should be relevant to the opinion, have a clear, verifiable answer, be supported by an accessible source and be likely to matter to somebody deciding where they stand. The three wrong answers should be plausible enough that the question distinguishes knowledge from test-taking technique.
Questions tend to begin with evidence that supports a participant's current view, before gradually introducing context and evidence that may challenge it. This changes only the sequence—not the facts available, their answers or their scores.
If a fact appears inaccurate, irrelevant or unclear, a signed-in participant can report it for editorial review.
Contributing
Suggest a new question
Signed-in participants can suggest opinion questions. A suitable proposal states one clear, genuinely disputed proposition that factual evidence could help people assess. Moderators may edit the wording before approval.
An approved question is not published immediately. It remains in preparation until moderators are satisfied with its set of fact questions and decide that it is ready to publish. Participants who complete an existing set of fact questions and score at least 90% may also propose a fact for that topic.
Reading with care
What the result can—and cannot—show
This is not automatically a representative opinion poll. People choose whether to participate, so they may differ from the wider public.
A high weight means somebody answered this site's selected facts correctly. It does not prove general expertise, sound judgement, sincerity or moral authority. Selecting facts and rating their importance still involves editorial judgement.
The result is best read as an account of the people who took part, based on the published set of questions—not as proof that one position is correct.