Poll stress on server...

[Kamakazy]

I just wanted to know how much stress does adding a poll leave on the server? i recall reading about it once before, but didnt know the effect...

does it increase the size of the db? increase the bandwidth used?

i would really like to know since my site host different games that rely on polls...

thanks

[Steve Machol]

I've never heard of polls causing any of those problems.

[Kamakazy]

its not that it causes a problem, i recall polls were set by default to off and only mods were able to set polls... and the explaination given to me was that polls strain the server...

i dont know if this is only for old versions of vbulletin...

[EcKo^uK]

cant see how a poll would stress the server

[Icheb]

does it increase the size of the db? increase the bandwidth used?

The data has to be stored somewhere, so yes, it increases the size of the database. And if you have a really big poll, it might even require a few kilobytes .
By bandwidth you probably mean traffic, so that's again a yes. The data has to be sent to the client somehow. And if you have a really big poll, every pageview would require an additional 1 kilobyte of data to be sent .

So stop optimizing graphics and the HTML code for less traffic usage, removing polls is the way to go!

(Any sarcasm in this post is unintentional.)

its not that it causes a problem, i recall polls were set by default to off and only mods were able to set polls... and the explaination given to me was that polls strain the server...

i dont know if this is only for old versions of vbulletin...

Many forums deactivate polls because often times members just create polls that are stupid and don't make sense (I have first hand experience). There the only option is to ask a moderator to create a poll.