[corynsboy]

We seem to be getting a lot of emails from very new members asking us to complete surveys and reply to questions for university degree work etc. 

I'm always happy to help a genuine cause but there seems to be a marked upturn in these threads.  I'd hate to think that some lazy journo or market researcher is using our happy sunny forums to help them write their next half hearted article or pitch another worthless gimmick.

I'm sure that our brave Moderators are all over this.  Maybe I'm just a bit grumpy today.

[Oscar Too]

We get quite a few on the cycling forum of which I am a member.  I'm always happy to help genuine queries, but they must explain the purpose of the survey, what they are investigating, and what they hope to achieve.

I never answer the offhand, poorly-written or slapdash survey requests.  If someone is asking you for a favour while taking you for granted, they don't deserve a response.  In general though, I'm happy to help.

[Aunt Sally]

We get quite a few more than you ever see.  Any that are doing research for business reasons are usually shown the door quite quickly. 

Most students (not all) ask permission before posting or are quite quickly reminded of forum etiquette 

[digalotty]

i was thinking of doing a survey on how many people do surveys