Is there an online or software version of Dotmocracy?

So far the closest thing to Dotmocracy online is MixedInk.com

MixedInk allows users to post ideas and rate them on 5 point scale of agreement.  You can also post comments, and copy, combine and redraft ideas. It is a free tool and I recommend trying it out.

Alternatively there are many other online tools that allow users to post ideas and to rate them.  Below are a few of the better options. 

  • UserVoice
    A sophisticated forum tool where users can post ideas and vote on them with a limited number of votes, similar to traditional dot-voting. Price starts at free.
  • KindlingApp
    Submit ideas, vote (+ / -) limited number of votes. Post & reply to comments.  Watch, edit, view changes, approve and volunteer for ideas. Grouped by "rooms".  $49 month for 40 user.  $99 month 100 users $416 month ($500 year) for 100 users Enterprise version. Designed for organizations. 
  • IdeaScale
    Post, reply and vote (up / down) on ideas, although not their comments. $15 - $99 a month. Unlimited users and content.
  • Google Moderator
    Free to use and simple to set-up this new Google application has a lot of potential. Unfortunately you need to have a Google Account to participate and voting is only limited to "yes" "no" "skip" or "flag as inapproriate".
  • dialogr.com
    dialogr free web service allows user to quickly register, create topics, post ideas on a topic, rate each idea out of 5 stars and post comments on ideas. 
  • FacilitatePro
    An excellent collection of tools for brainstorming, categorizing, priortization / voting, action planning, surveying and documenting. Unfortunately you are looking at around $19,240 USD for license fees and training.
  • CoVision's WebCouncil
    This is a key application used by AmericaSpeaks for their 21st Century Town Hall Meetings. They don't tell you much about the software on their public site but I can tell you it cost over $10,000 USD for set-up, training and license. You can peak at a demo at www.webcouncil.com/wcapps
  • GroupSystems.com
    Software and services for live large group decision-making. Their latest application called ThinkTank looks quite ideal, except for the price, which was around US $35 seat/day, $105 seat/week, or $200 seat/month (a seat is required for every logged in user).
  • Delphi Decision Aid
    This is a free-ware application for hosting a basic Delphi method which has similar characteristic to Dotmocracy. Unfortunatly the usability is lacking in the software interface.
  • Discussion Forums (phpBB, Yahoo Groups, Google Groups)
    The free bulletin board software phpBB includes an optional module for rating postings. Both free Yahoo groups and Google groups allows users to post topics, comment and to rate each comment.
  • Ning.com
    Ning is a free social network tool  that includes options for user five-star rating of content.
  • Drupal CMS with VoteAPI module
    Drupal is a free content management system that is very flexible.  Drupal savvy web developers can implement a website that includes rating of posted content using the VoteAPI and relate modules.

consensus

Hi folks I rather like this concept and am keen to adapt it for online purposes. One of the nearest pieces of free online help to run something similar to Dotmocracy I've found is: http://www.learnmyself.com/personality.asp?p=new-poll It offers all sorts of other aids to personal understanding alongside it, but the poll it creates is quite modifiable and works fairly well. My view at present is that anyone voting needs to see the trend as soon as they've voted, just like the dotmocracy forms. Hope this encourages and helps

Limits of polling

Thanks for the link! Easy to use online polling tools are like Dotmocracy in that they allow individuals to see other people's responses to their proposed ideas. Keep in mind, polls often are multiple choice questions forcing respondents to choose between competing options. For example: "What flavour do you like most: a) chocolate b) peanut butter c) other." Such a poll forces you to choose between two flavours, with no options to say "both", nor will the poller know what the "other" popular flavours might be. In short, traditional polling restricts respondents to the multiple choice options presented. Dotmocracy always invites respondents to write their own statements and see if others also agree. MixedInk.com and these other web services I am recommending do include options for participants to post new statements to be rated.

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