Poll ballots seen with more than the allowed maximum number of answers

Posting a poll and specifying a maximum number of answers per ballot (e.g. limiting to 1 answer out of 4 possible answers), when that poll message is subsequently imported into QWKnet nodes, it appears that user can cast ballots with more the maximum number of votes per ballot (i.e. selecting more answers than the pollster desired).

assigned to @rswindell

In the problematic sighting, the poll-message in question does appear to be represented correctly in the exported VOTING.DAT file (in the QWK packet), note the "MaxVotes" value:

[35380]
[poll:<65077630.17994.dove-hlp@vert.synchro.net>]
Utf8 = false
MaxVotes = 1
Results = 1
Comment0 = (it's not your USB stick and you don't know where it came from)
PollAnswer0 = Take it home and plug it into my personal computer
PollAnswer1 = Take it work and plug it into my work computer
PollAnswer2 = Take it to Walmart and plug it into a computer for sale
PollAnswer3 = Pick it up and throw it in a trash bin
PollAnswer4 = Give it away as a gift
PollAnswer5 = Call the police
PollAnswer6 = Nothing
Subject: You find a USB stick on the ground in public, what do you do?
WhenWritten:  20230917145704-0700  c1e0
Sender: Digital Man
Conference: 2005

So this seems to indicate a problem on the import side rather than the export side.

Oh, it just occurred to me. Those responding to the poll with greater than the allowed number of answers are likely using DDMsgReader.

Hey @nightfox, is DDMsgReader adhering to a poll-message's vote limit (max number of answers per ballot) or just allowing user's ballots to contain as many answers as the user would like?

Yes, DDMsgReader (and SlyVote) didn't implement single-answer poll voting properly (they weren't using a bitwise operation to set the 'votes' property of the response header). I've made a fix and a merge request.

changed title from Polls exported to QWKnet appear to allow ballots with than the maximum number of specified anwsers to Poll ballots seen with more than the allowed maximum number of answers

assigned to @nightfox and unassigned @rswindell

mentioned in merge request !337 (merged)

mentioned in commit d1ee6b86

closed with merge request !337 (merged)

reopened

I should add some validation when importing ballots to not allow more than the expected number of answers (votes) per ballot.

assigned to @rswindell and unassigned @nightfox

mentioned in commit ea0f8bbc

Here's another sighting:

On Mon Jun 17 2024 04:36 pm, in DOVE-Net Synchronet Discussion
themintyuser (MORPHEUS) voted in your poll: New SBBS installs should prevent new users from echo-posting?
√ Yes, new users should not have network posting privileges
√ No, a sysop should opt-in to restrictions on new users