Polls and quizzes in Telegram without wearing readers out
How a quiz differs from a poll, when anonymity hurts, and why a poll cannot carry a picture.
A poll is the cheapest feedback there is: one tap instead of a comment. Overuse turns a channel into an endless “so what do you think?”.
Poll versus quiz
A poll is a vote. You can allow multiple answers and make votes public or anonymous.
A quiz has a correct answer and an explanation that appears after the choice. It works beautifully as a rubric: the question in the morning, the breakdown inside the explanation.
Anonymity
Votes are anonymous by default, and that is the right call nine times out of ten: with public votes people vote the way that looks acceptable rather than the way they think.
Names are worth showing where a vote is a commitment: signing up for a meetup, picking a call time in a work chat.
Technical limits
A poll is its own message type. It cannot be combined with a picture, post text or buttons — if you need both a poll and context, send two messages.
Up to twelve options, 100 characters each. A quiz requires exactly one correct answer and forbids multiple choice.
Auto-close is a timer — handy for “voting until tonight”.
How not to become noise
One poll a week gets noticed, three get scrolled past. Ask where the answer will actually change a decision, and report the outcome: a vote without a result devalues the next one.
Polls and quizzes are set up on the scheduler page.