Polly Slack and the other ways to run a vote in Slack
Polly Slack is a polling app that runs inside Slack: by default its polls are not anonymous, each user gets one vote, and results are shared live in Slack. A creator can open a web-voting link for people without a Slack account and set a voting period from a few hours to a few weeks. The pages checked say nothing about Polly's pricing or what a free tier includes.
Written by BuyPollVotes editorial desk | Last checked
The Polly app: one vote per person and live results by default
Slack's own help page names Polly and Simple Poll as apps for gathering real-time sentiment in a channel. The Polly Slack defaults sit on Polly's own pages: its polls are not anonymous, each user gets one vote, and results are shared with users in real time directly in Slack.
A creator sets the timing. Polly's pages say a voting period can run from a few hours to a few weeks. What the pages checked do not say is how to edit or delete a question once it is running, or what a free tier allows.
Polly Slack also reaches outside the workspace. Its web voting lets a creator collect responses from anyone, with no Slack account needed, while a protected link makes respondents inside the workspace log in with their Slack credentials. Web respondents do not see the results in real time; in-app users do.
- Anonymity: not anonymous by default.
- Votes per user: one by default.
- Results: shared in real time in Slack, but not in real time for web respondents.
- Timing: from a few hours to a few weeks.
- Web access: a public link needs no Slack account, and a protected link needs a Slack login.
Simple Poll: the /poll command and a limit of N votes per person
The slack poll command is /poll. Simple Poll's Slack Marketplace page says to type the command in Slack to get started, and the Just Polls page says to type it in any conversation to start one. The pages checked give the command name but not the full syntax for adding options.
Simple Poll's own site describes a configurable cap: limit 1, or limit N votes per person. Its help page adds a rule for results: when they are set to show after closing, only the total cast so far is displayed until it closes.
- Command: /poll, typed in Slack or in any conversation.
- Limit: 1, or N per person.
- Results after closing: only the total cast so far shows until then.
Survey apps: private messages, channels and more than one question
Some questions need more than a yes or a no, and the Slack Marketplace has apps for that. It lists a Surveys app that sends surveys by private message or shares them in channels, and its Simple Poll listing says to create a quick survey directly in Slack to ask more than one question.
Slack's own help page describes a single message with emoji options. Anything longer than that reaches a survey tool, and the pages checked describe those tools only through Marketplace listings.
- Surveys app: sends surveys by private message or shares them in channels.
- Longer questions: a quick survey directly in Slack, per a Marketplace listing.
- Message method: one message, emoji options, reactions as answers.
Multiple choice and multiple votes: what the pages state
The pages checked name no slack poll multiple choice setting for Polly or for the message method, so this page names none either. Multiple votes are a different matter, and here the pages do say something.
For slack poll multiple votes, Simple Poll's own site describes limit 1, or limit N votes per person, while Polly's pages say each user gets one vote by default. In the message method every option is its own emoji reaction, and Slack says one reaction for each option makes it simpler for others to add their vote.
Set side by side in the table, the routes differ on limits: two of them state one and the message method states none.
- Polly: one per user by default.
- Simple Poll: limit 1, or limit N per person.
- Message method: one emoji reaction for each option.
Recurring polls: what Marketplace listings say and what stays open
A Slack recurring poll depends on the app. Slack Marketplace listings say some apps can schedule recurring polls, and the pages checked do not say whether Polly Slack is one of them or whether a schedule sits behind a free tier.
Polly's pages describe how long one question stays open, from a few hours to a few weeks, and say nothing about how often a question repeats. The message method in Slack's help page has no scheduling step at all.
- Recurring: some Marketplace apps can schedule it.
- Polly: the pages checked do not say.
- Message method: no scheduling step.
Who sees it: channels, private channels and group chats
For a slack poll in channel use, Slack's help page names Polly and Simple Poll, which it says can gather real-time sentiment from a channel. Private channels change who can answer: Slack's help page says a private channel can only be searched, viewed and joined if an existing member invites you, and that all members can create private channels by default, although workspace owners can change that setting.
For a slack poll in group chat, none of the pages checked describes a group direct message. The Just Polls listing is the only statement that reaches that far: it says to type the command in any conversation. The Surveys app adds one more route, private message.
- Private channels: joined by invitation, and owners can change who creates them.
- Any conversation: the Just Polls listing says to type the command there.
- Private message: the Surveys app sends surveys this way.
The message method: Compose, emoji reactions and blockquote formatting
Slack's own help page describes one method step by step, and it needs no app: a quick and informal poll in a message. The same page also says to survey teammates with a polling app from the Slack Marketplace. The pages checked show no separate slack poll feature beyond those two routes.
The message starts with the Compose button. The options are emojis, one for each voting option, added in blockquote formatting so they are easier to read. Teammates then vote with their emoji reactions. Slack's tip: if you add one emoji reaction for each option, it is simpler for others to add their vote.
Nothing in the pages checked says how to delete, edit or reset a running message, so this page does not either. A slack poll not working is a gap of the same kind: no troubleshooting steps are given in the pages checked.
- Start: click the Compose button.
- Options: an emoji for each option, in blockquote formatting.
- Reactions: teammates add their emoji reactions.
What Slack and four organisers say about fake votes and disqualification
Slack's API terms, as quoted in the pages checked, prohibit API use that exceeds rate limits or amounts to excessive or abusive usage. The pages checked show no Slack rule that names incentivised or automated votes, so what happens to a contest entry is left to the organiser.
Disqualification comes from organisers, and each writes its own rule. Baltimore Homecoming states that entries and votes generated by a script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified. Outschool states that bot or other automated votes are not counted if discovered, and that it bans the individual and the associated IP address when it detects this kind of fraudulent activity. American City Business Journals prohibits giving voters a tangible reward or incentive.
Detection sits on the organiser's side as well. Verduyn Tarps reserves the right to review vote activity and audit the data if it detects irregular patterns. What Slack or Polly detect is not described in the pages checked.
These are four organisers' own contest rules. None is a Slack rule or a Polly Slack rule, and none says how a Slack vote is judged.
- Slack API terms: rate limits and excessive or abusive usage.
- Baltimore Homecoming: votes generated by a script, macro or other automated means are disqualified.
- Outschool: automated votes are not counted if discovered, and the individual and IP address are banned.
- Verduyn Tarps: a review of vote activity and an audit of the data if irregular patterns are detected.
| Method | How it starts | What the pages state |
|---|---|---|
| Message method | Compose button, then emoji options | One emoji reaction per option; teammates vote by reacting |
| Polly | A Marketplace app used in a channel | Not anonymous, one vote by default, results live in Slack |
| Simple Poll | The slash command in Slack | Configurable limit of N per person |
| Just Polls | The slash command in any conversation | Only the command is named in the pages checked |
| Surveys app | Sends surveys by private message or in channels | Not detailed in the pages checked |
How to do it
-
Click the Compose button
Click the Compose button to start a message that sets up the poll. Slack's help page treats this as the first step of the message method.
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Add an emoji for each voting option
Choose emojis for each voting option and add them to the message using blockquote formatting so that the options are easier to read.
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Send the message and add reactions
Send the message, then add one emoji reaction for each option yourself. Slack says this makes it simpler for others to add their vote.
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Wait for teammates to react
Teammates vote with their emoji reactions, so the only job left is to wait. Slack's help page ends the method there and describes no closing step.
Common questions
How to do a Slack poll in a message: which steps does Slack list?
Slack's help page lists numbered steps that start with the Compose button, add an emoji for each option in blockquote formatting, and end with teammates voting by emoji reaction. Slack also says that adding one emoji reaction for each option makes it simpler for others to add their vote, and the method needs no app.
Can you do a poll in Slack, and does Slack have a poll feature of its own?
A poll in Slack works in two ways: a quick message with emoji reactions, or a polling app from the Slack Marketplace. The pages checked show no separate built-in feature beyond those two routes.
Simple poll Slack how to: what does the /poll command do?
Simple Poll starts from a single slash command: its Slack Marketplace page says to type the /poll command in Slack to get started. Its own site describes a configurable limit of 1, or N, votes per person.
Can you send a poll in Slack to a channel or a group chat?
A poll goes to a channel as a message with emoji reactions or through a Marketplace app such as Polly or Simple Poll. For a group chat, only the Just Polls listing reaches that far, saying to type the command in any conversation, and the Surveys app can send surveys by private message.
Can I make a poll on Slack that people without a Slack account can answer?
Polly Slack's web voting lets a creator collect responses from anyone, regardless of a Slack account, through a public link. A protected link works differently: respondents inside the workspace log in with their Slack credentials.
Are Polly Slack polls anonymous, and how many votes does each person get?
By default Polly Slack polls are not anonymous and allow each user one vote, according to Polly's pages. Simple Poll's own site describes a configurable limit of 1, or N, votes per person, and the message method states no limit.
What do Slack and contest organisers say about excessive or automated voting?
Slack's API terms prohibit API use that exceeds rate limits or amounts to excessive or abusive usage, and the pages checked show no Slack rule that names incentivised or automated votes. Organisers write their own: Baltimore Homecoming disqualifies votes generated by a script, macro or other automated means, and Outschool does not count bot or other automated votes if discovered.
Where these facts come from
- polly.ai. polly.ai/help/slack/advanced-options.
- polly.ai. polly.ai/help/slack/polly-link-sharing-and-web-voting.
- polly.ai. polly.ai/help/slack/creating-pollys-through-the-web-app.
- slack.com. slack.com/help/articles/229002507-Conversations--Create-a-poll-in-Slack.
- slack.com. slack.com/marketplace/A0HFW7MR6-polly.
This page cannot say what Polly Slack costs or what a free tier includes, how to edit, delete or reset a running question, or why a poll fails to load, because the pages checked are silent on all of them. Polly and the other apps decide how many votes a person gets, and each organiser decides whether a vote counts. No part of this page teaches ways to distort a poll, and no count from Slack settles a contest by itself.
X prohibits coordinating with or compensating others to inflate engagement metrics, and it names Polls among the features covered. The Pet Industry Business Awards name the consequence in their own contest: a business may be investigated, lose votes or be disqualified on reasonable evidence of purchased votes. No seller can stop an organiser from doing that.
Slido says it is alerted when an event gets an unusually high number of votes in a very short time, and Crowdsignal says its built-in measures detect patterns of potentially abusive voting. Ordinary participation arrives spread across the voting window, from different people at different moments. Nothing on this site is a method for getting a vote past a check, and a vote that a tool blocks does not count.
Organiser rules differ: the RSPCA Pet of the Year Awards allow extra votes through donations on their official mechanism, while OpenTable Australia treats a vote cast in exchange for money or a reward as null and void. Both are contest rules, not statutes, and whether payment is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. Orders are refused for any contest whose rules ban paid votes, and for political ballots.
Votes ordered for a poll that never appear on its count are refunded after the poll closes. A refund never covers an organiser's decision: Localsearch may void all votes for a disqualified nominee, and Mentimeter says a user whose access it cancels under its Acceptable Use Policy is owed no refund or compensation. No result is promised.