How to win or cheat ANY online voting contest – Whole Whale
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of voting competitions, especially ones that are built irresponsibly. That’s why I’ve set out to create the definitive guide on breaking (/cheating) poorly designed nonprofit voting problem with voting competitions is that they pit nonprofits against each other for a prize that usually doesn’t come close to the true cost of the votes that these organizations push to get. What’s more, they run the risk of burning out the supporters of these great organizations.
In the worst case scenario, one organization decides to cheat because the system is designed with flaws by some marketing firm and they see a way to easily game the system to win money for their great cause. I am not justifying or endorsing cheating – I actually believe the only way to win these contests is by not playing. However, in an effort to scare the pants off of people creating these contests I decided to create this Whole Whale does not cheat on behalf of our clients. It is not a service WW offers nor will ever! @WholeWhale just wrote the guide on how to beat most nonprofit online voting contests. Click To Tweet
Step 1: Figure out how it is built
Online voting competitions will use a variety of ways to track votes through a website. Here are the most common building technical:
A Web Form Built with the GET method
This method (low security) means that the form will push the data into the URL and you will see it. e. g. to break: Find that URL and go ham on the refresh button. Hide the cookies and IP address if they are tracking. Post that link anywhere you can and every click will equal a vote. Honestly, no reputable contest will be built this way because it isn’t 2006, but hey, you never know…
A Web Form Built with the POST method
This method (medium security) means that the form will push the data through the body of the request and will not show in the to break: you may be able to use the back button if cookies aren’t being set. If they are being set you can hide cookies with a browser like Chrome with cookies disabled. If they built it correctly you will need a more advanced human assisted tech approach (see step 2 below).
Cookies – contests that don’t require a sign in and allow anonymous votes depend on cookies that may have timers in some cases. To break: clear your cookies, vote, repeat. Use Chrome and a cookie remover to block the cookies of the site, if it still lets you vote you’re all set to click away. The browser has very good privacy protection that will block this type of tracking. Cookie and IP on mobile – if you are using a mobile device you can try switching to airplane mode and using a wifi network to confuse the IP tracking. IP – Some use the IP to determine location voting. You can use a proxy server or a local VPN like Hotspot Account – This will require multiple accounts and a more advanced approach to get enough votes. Depending on how the account is authenticated, it may be not be possible to automate mass confirmation – This is the most common system I see, it requires an email to be confirmed from the inbox with the link to record the vote.
Step 2: Human assisted automation
The following are various tactics which can be combined to break most voting systems with a little help from third party tools. In order to not look suspicious it is important not to show suspiciously large voting counts – I can immediately tell if a distribution of votes is unnatural and violating an expected power law (20% of the contestants getting 80% of the total votes). In one case we spotted this in a contest one of our clients were considering and we advised them not to participate – later we found several articles on the cheating that had Whole Whale does not cheat on behalf of our clients. It is not a service WW offers nor will ever offer.
Computer Macros
A macro is a program that you can setup on a computer that goes through a series of clicks and keyboard strokes on a timed interval. If a voting system doesn’t require a captcha or other human test, a macro can be created to go through a voting cycle unabated. Combine these tools with a hotspot shield and cookies disabled on a computer can break most non-email verification process. Some tools:
Macro Express – downloadable software that will let you turn your computer into a bot that is timed to click and enter information as toHotkey – downloadable software that will let you click the heck out of buttons or load pages.
Email Generators
For secure voting systems that don’t have strict email confirmations, there are ways to generate emails quickly. These email hacks can also be used to create accounts for systems the require logins.
Any single Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or normal domain email address can be made into thousands of emails by adding a “+” or “. ” after the name and before the “@” sign. For example, can be and the email will still be delivered to your you own your own domain, you can create a bunch of aliases for one email ilinator – this is a site that will generate emails for you on demand and give you a quick inbox that the confirmation link will be sent to. Using a variety of email domains can help make this look less spammy. This is a list of temporary email domains hosted via mailinator:
Outsourced Voting
For a nominal amount of money, an organization can purchase votes or emails through ‘Vote Brokers’. These groups will do your bidding in the same way they translate audio to text or do other simple outsource tasks for companies. Technically it is against the Amazon Turk policy to pay workers to vote – which is great. However you can still hire someone on a site like UpWork to build a script that could use the above tactics.
Proxy Voting
A proxy vote traditionally means that a voter transfers their right to vote to a third party. Massive lists of proxy accounts can be managed by a single person simply logging in one by one and voting. Imagine if political staffers could collect permission to vote on behalf of voters in a district in perpetuity — not really the will or action of a crowd, but highly best way to win a nonprofit voting competition is by not entering. Click To Tweet
Finally, for the contest creators
This post is meant to ruin poorly designed voting competitions and to scare anyone thinking about building a nonprofit voting competition. I hate the idea of cheating nonprofits and I think that starts when a contest doesn’t use responsible design.
Responsible Contest Design Questions
Can your online system be quickly gamed by the exploits above? (I beg you not to use GET requests or anonymous voting)Can you use a third party authentication to stop the email hack? Is the prize pool large enough to make an expected value equation make sense for all participants?
Expected Value for Voting Contest = Prize amount * (total # winners / total # charities)
Do the nonprofits involved get to keep the voter data that relates to their org? In the case of emails, do they get them? Is there a way to build this so that every participant wins in some way? Is the time frame limited so there is only a small window of nonsense voting requests? Is there a clever way to design the voting process so that it actually produces some positive impact for the nonprofit? e. g. voters have to submit photos they take of the cause that the nonprofit can have access to later for their photo database. Or they must submit 1 idea that they think would improve their work. you use a threshold voting, where nonprofits need to get to X votes to be considered by a panel? This caps the voting nonsense while still getting a bit of the network effect you are hoping for your brand. This pairs well with a social integration.
I hope these questions will spur some more creative approaches to contest design and will add more value to the nonprofits who Whole Whale does not cheat on behalf of our clients. It is not a service WW offers nor will ever offer. Also, please don’t reach out to us to vote for your contest.
So there you have it – our guide to breaking online voting contests so your nonprofit can win. And more importantly, to bring transparency to this one-sided marketing tactic.
Even more awesome resources
To truly leverage the power of Facebook Fundraisers, you and your team need a clear and easy-to-read view of the data. Sound like a lot of work? Thankfully, Whole Whale’s already done the work for you with this Facebook Google Data Studio dashboard! Check it out!
Template
Facebook Fundraiser Dashboard Template
Plus, download this free, simple checklist to make sure you’re covering all your bases when you set up your next nonprofit campaign!
How to Make a Poll on Discord: A Step-by-Step Guide – Followchain
Discord has a ton of features in their app, and one of them allows you to invite bots such as the poll bot to your server.
However, inviting bots to your Discord server cannot be done within the app itself.
You need to do so via, a website with an extensive list of Discord bots.
This is because the poll command isn’t an internal feature in of the app.
In this article, you’ll learn how to make a poll on discord in 2 easy steps (step #1 and step #2) along with 5 additional steps (step #3 to step #7).
By the end of it, you should be able to easily create polls on your Discord server.
How to Make a Poll on Discord
To make a poll on Discord, you need to invite the simple poll bot to your server via and use /poll to make a poll.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to make a poll via your server, you need to create a Webhook and paste its URL in Discohook.
However, in order to invite bots to your server, you need to have the “manage server” permission.
If you don’t have that permission, you won’t be able to invite bots to it.
If you’re an owner of the server, you’ll automatically have the permission.
On the other hand, if you’re a member of a server, you need to ask the administrator of it to give you that permission.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can make a poll on Discord.
If you’re looking to make a poll via a single command, you can follow step #1 and step #2.
Step #3 to step #7 are just additional steps if you’re looking to make a poll via your server (without typing a command).
Invite the Simple Poll BotUse /poll to make a pollCreate a Webhook and copy its URLGo to and paste the URLClick on “Clear All” > “Add Embed” > Fill up the poll > SendAdd emojis for people to reactEdit your channel permissions
1. Invite the Simple Poll bot
The first step is to invite the Simple Poll bot to your server.
The bot will enable the command, “/poll” in your server, which can be used to create polls.
Discord does not have that command, so you need to invite the bot if you want to use it.
Here’s how you can invite the Simple Poll bot to your server:
Go to the Simple Poll bot on on “invite” to invite the bot to your Discord all the permissions and click on “Authorize”. Complete the “I’m not a robot” CAPTCHA.
After you’ve invited the Simple Poll bot to your server, you’ll be able to see this welcome message, “Everyone welcome Simple Poll! ”.
You can only invite bots to your server if you have the “manage server” permission.
So, if you don’t have that permission, you need to ask the owner of the server to do it.
2. Use /poll to make a poll
After you’ve invited the Simple Poll bot to your server, you can now make polls using a simple command.
Polls can now be made using the command, “/poll”.
Here’s an example of a command line you can use:
/poll “Your question” “Option 1” “Option 2” “Option 3”
Firstly, you need to start of the command by using /poll.
Then, type the question of the poll right after the command with quotation marks.
Finally, type the options that you want set for your poll in quotation marks.
Here’s an example of a completed command line:
/poll “What is your favorite fruit? ” “Apple” “Orange” “Pear”
The query inside the first quotation mark needs to be the question of the poll.
Any words in quotation marks after it will be the options for the poll.
Once you’ve sent the command line, the poll will be sent, and people will be able to react via the alphabet emojis.
For instance, “Apple” will be the “A” emoji, “Orange” is the “B” emoji, and “Pear” is the “C” emoji respectively.
Congrats—you’ve successfully made a poll on Discord!
Unfortunately, if you’re using this command line, you won’t be able to edit the reaction emojis of the poll.
If you want to edit the reaction emojis of the poll, you need to follow step #3 to step #7.
3. Create a Webhook and copy its URL
Step #3 to #7 are optional steps.
Use steps #3 to #7 if you want to create a poll via a third-party website and to edit reaction emojis.
Step #3 to #7 guides you on how you can make polls via your server.
If you want to edit the reaction emojis for your poll, this guide is for you.
However, if you’re not looking to edit the reaction emojis, you can skip these steps and use step #1 and #2 to make your polls.
In order to create a poll externally, you need to create a Webhook and copy its URL.
Here’s how you can create a Webhook:
Go to your on your server’s name on the top-left of your on “Server Settings” the left navigation bar, select “Integrations” “Integrations”, select “View Webhooks” on “New Webhook” your Webhook as your server’s name, select the channel where you want to send polls to, and upload a profile picture (optional) on “Copy” to copy your Webhook’s URL and click on “Save”.
Now that you have a Webhook URL, you connect it to a third-party app/website and send messages from there.
4. Go to and paste the URL
Paste and send your Webhook URL in
Next, go to and paste your Webhook URL.
Discohook is a tool that allows you to send messages and embeds to your Discord server.
It allows you to send messages “blindly”, without using the actual Discord app.
Once you’re on the website, you’ll see a ton of fields and text.
But don’t worry, you’re only going to have to use some of the fields, and not all of them.
Here’s how you can connect your Webhook URL to Discohook:
Go to your Webhook URL (that you copied from the previous step) under “Webhook URL” “Send” to connect your Webhook URL to Discohook.
After you’ve sent your Webhook URL, go back to your Discord server.
You’ll see a lengthy message guiding you on how the Discohook tool works.
It’ll also come up with your Discord server’s name and profile picture.
In the next step, you’ll learn how to make a poll using Discohook.
5. Click on “Clear All” > “Add Embed” > Fill up the poll > Send
Clear all > Add Embed > Fill up the title and description fields > Send.
Now that you’ve connected your Webhook URL to Discohook, you can send messages to your server via “Message content”.
You can also make a poll by using the embed form and filling up the necessary fields in it.
Here’s how you can make a poll using Discohook:
Click on “Clear All” to clear all the on “Add Embed” the “Title” field, add your poll’s the “Description” field, add your poll’s options (one per line) can also change the color of the embed to match your server under the “Color” on “Send” to send the poll to your Discord server.
Once you’ve sent the poll, go back to your Discord server and you should be able to see it there.
Congrats—you’ve successfully made a poll on Discord via Webhook + Discohook.
In the next step, you’ll learn how yo add emojis for people to react.
6. Add emojis for people to react
Tap on the smiley face to add reactions to your poll.
Now that you’ve sent the poll via Discohook, you need to add emojis for people to react to.
If you’re using steps #1 to #2, you won’t be able to edit the emojis.
However, since you’re using Webhook + Discohook (steps #3 to #7), you’ll be able to add reaction emojis on your poll.
In order to do that, tap on the smiley face emoji and add the emojis on your poll.
Here’s how you can add emojis for people to react with:
Hover your cursor over the the top of your poll, click on the smiley face the emojis that you want to add (one after another) on your poll.
The emojis that you’ve added cannot be shifted around.
Hence, you need to make sure that the emojis are added in order based on the options of your poll. ’
In the next step, you’ll learn how to edit your channel permissions.
7. Edit your channel permissions
Right-click your channel > Edit Channel > Permissions > cross out “Send Messages” and “Add Reactions” > Save Changes.
In a Discord server, there will always be someone who tries to add extra emojis on your poll.
In order to prevent this, you need to edit your channel permissions.
Otherwise, channel members will be able to freely add emojis and ruin your poll.
Let’s make some changes to your Discord server.
Here’s how you can prevent members from adding emojis to your poll:
On the left navigation bar, right-click your channel (e. g. #general) on “Edit Channel” the left navigation bar, click on “Permissions” “Text Permissions”, cross out “Send Messages” and “Add Reactions” on “Save Changes”.
By crossing out “Add Reactions”, it will ensure that people are unable to add reaction emojis on your polls.
Since they cannot add reactions to polls, they are only able to react to it.
You’ve successfully learned how to use Webhook + Discohook to make polls on your server!
Conclusion
This concludes the end of the “How to make a poll on Discord” tutorial.
Polls are essential to increase engagement in your Discord server.
At the end of the day, if you’re the owner of a server, you want to make sure that it is active.
In the future, you can use Discohook to send polls to your server “blindly” using steps #3 to #7.
In other words, you don’t have to use the /poll command in your server from steps #1 to #2.
Further Reading
How to Quote Text on Discord
How to Fix “A JavaScript error occurred in the main process” on Discord
11 Cute GIFs to Search For on Instagram
Author: Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
matnad/pollmaster: Discord Bot for creating and managing polls … – GitHub
Overview
With Pollmaster you can very easily create and manage complex polls on your server.
Here is a quick list of features:
Voting works with reactions (users don’t need to type anything)
Anonymous voting is possible!
Polls can be single choice, multiple choice or restricted to a specific number of choices
You can prepare polls in advance and schedule them to a date and time or manually activate them
Polls can be given a deadline or they can be open until closed manually
You can restrict which roles are allowed to participate
You can assign weights to roles to count their votes more or less
You can hide the current vote count to prevent sheeping
Polls are persistent and will be available until you delete them
Personalised info for each poll by reacting with ❔
Everything can be done in private chat with the bot to reduce spam on the server
Full multi-server support!
For advanced users: Commandline support to create a full poll in one line -> pm! cmd help
Take a look!
Here is how Pollmaster looks in action:
The most important commands
Command
Effect
pm! help
Shows an interactive help menu
pm! new
Starts a new poll with the most common settings
pm! advanced
Starts a new poll all the settings
pm! quick
Starts a new poll with just a question and options
pm! show
Shows poll in a specified channel (can be different from original channel)
pm! prefix
Change the prefix for this server
@mention prefix
Show the prefix if you forgot it
pm! userrole
Set the role that has the rights to use the bot
Getting Started
Users with the server permission “Manage Server” will have all rights from the start, meaning you can get started with pm! new right away!
To grant users without “Manage Server” poll creation access to the bot, create and distribute the role polladmin or polluser. If you already have roles for these rights you can tell the bot by typing pm! adminrole and pm! userrole.
Need help? Want to try out Pollmaster?
Join the support discord server by clicking the button on the top of the page.
Frequently Asked Questions about how to vote bot
How do you vote Bot in discord?
Discord does not have that command, so you need to invite the bot if you want to use it….1. Invite the Simple Poll botGo to the Simple Poll bot on top.gg.Click on “invite” to invite the bot to your Discord server.Check all the permissions and click on “Authorize”.Complete the “I’m not a robot” CAPTCHA.Nov 30, 2020
Can you do anonymous polls on discord?
Here is a quick list of features: Voting works with reactions (users don’t need to type anything) Anonymous voting is possible! Polls can be single choice, multiple choice or restricted to a specific number of choices.
How do you vote for a Facebook contest?
4 Easy Ways to Get Contest Votes on FacebookUse Your Facebook Wall. Leverage Your Facebook Wall to Get More Votes. … Join Facebook Vote Exchange Groups. Facebook voting groups are a valuable way to help each other win. … Create Your Own Facebook Voting Group.May 29, 2021