At some point between yesterday afternoon and this morning (1:48-1:58 a.m., to be exact), my 4th of July poll got spammed. Within that period, almost 70 votes were cast from the same IP address, all voting for the Lake Louise location. Maybe it was a computer or maybe it was a person who just voted over and over again. In either case, it was a suspicious voting pattern, so I chose to take out what I considered to be spam voting and changed the code so it would allow only one vote per IP address.

Within an hour, I received several emails, and it looks like they went out to many others in the community, saying I was manipulating the poll to suit my own agenda. I promise you I am not. Personally, I did like having the fireworks at Lake Louise, but this site is not about what I think, nor do I have the intention of using it to promote what I think.

Nonetheless, perception means a lot, so the poll’s coming down.

Will I do another poll in the future?  Maybe, but probably not for a little while.  In the meantime, if you want to make your thoughts about the festival location known, I suggest contacting our town officials.  They are truly the only ones who have a say about where the 4th celebration will be held.

By the way, I was told some have called the Weaverville Tribune to complain about “their” poll.  This website, however, is not run by or affliated with the Weaverville Tribune in any way, so please don’t call them.  Thanks.

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