Collect audience (or community) questions, approve the good (or, ahem, appropriate) ones, and draw one at random for stage use.
Pop Questions is a highlight of the contest for some people. Its fun, it allows all attendees and judges to see how the contestant reacts on the fly, and can be quite entertaining.
The public form is fixed: a required question and an optional name. Producers cannot add or edit custom fields on this form. Name is for review only and is not shown during Random Selection. Producers can edit submitted question text and name after the fact (spelling, clarity, etc.).
Note: Approving a question does not create user accounts or anything like that - it just adds to a pool that can be drawn randomly.
- Have a contest.
- Be signed in as a producer for that contest.
- Decide fields (question text, who asked, keep anonymous, etc.).
- Decide if you need a passphrase to try and make it so only present attendees can submit.
- Agree with your emcee well in advance how draws appear on stage (phone, projector, etc), and do a run thru so they can see how it works BEFORE you use it.
| Area |
Who |
Public submission form (/pop-questions/...) |
Anyone with the link (and passphrase, if you set one) |
| Form settings, custom fields |
Producers only |
| Approvals / review list |
Producers only |
| Random Selection (picker) |
Producers only |
There is no Emails button on Pop Questions pages. Other things get emails, not here.
- Open Pop Questions in the sidebar (or from the Pop Questions card on Contest Overview / Manage).
- Click Pop Questions Form.
- Enable the public form.
- Optionally enable and set a passphrase.
- Click Save Settings.
The form always asks for a question (required) and a name (optional). You do not configure custom fields for Pop Questions.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Pop Questions form settings
- Copy the public Pop Questions link from form settings (shown when the form is enabled).
- Share it in the program, QR code, Discord, or at a volunteer table.
- Share the passphrase separately if you use one.
Only this public link is for everyone else. Review, settings, and the picker stay in your producer tools.
- Open Pop Questions in the sidebar (the review list).
- At the top of the page you'll always see Random Selection and Pop Questions Form.
- Filter by Pending / Approved / Rejected / All.
- Click View on a submission.
- Read the full answers, then Approve or Reject.
- Optionally add notes with your decision (handy for "why did we reject this?" later).
- Check Decision History on the review page if a submission was decided more than once.
- Remember: approve does NOT create accounts. You're just curating a selection of questions.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Review a pop question
Use this when spelling, clarity, or stage wording needs a fix before (or after) approval.
- From the list, click Edit, or open View then Edit.
- Update the question (required) and optionally the name.
- Save. You're returned to the review page.
- Edits update what Random Selection shows for approved questions (question text only on stage).
Editing does not change status by itself - approve/reject stays as it was until you change it.
//Chris: TODO: Screenshot: Edit pop question
¶ Random Selection (draw)
Random Selection is always linked at the top of the Pop Questions list (and on the form page). You can open it anytime - even before anyone has been approved.
Only approved questions are in the draw pool. The stage view shows only the question text - not the submitter name.
- From Pop Questions, click Random Selection at the top.
- If you have approved questions, click Draw a Question.
- If the pool is empty, you'll see, well, an empty list - approve some first, then come back.
- Questions shuffle rapidly for about half a second, then settle and pulse on the chosen one (large stage text, like Emcee Reveal names). Either have a producer/the AV folks project and run the random draw, or have a producers phone, freshly signed in, with the random picker button ready, there's more than a dozen good ways to do this. Whatever you decide, review it with the emcee well before the stage portion of the contest - that way everyone already knows how it works and is comfortable with it.
- Tap Next Random Question for another draw — just remember to have more than one approved, otherwise you'll just get the same one over and over. Back returns to the draw start screen.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Random Selection always at top of Pop Questions
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of Random draw result
- Post the link and/or generate a QR code to share before the contest begins (maybe also remind folks at registration), and regularly remind attendees to submit questions.
- Remember to review and approve a pool of questions (and reject the ones that may not be complete or appropriate) before the pop question portion so you have a good assortment of questions to pick from.
- Set up volunteers at the door who can help people submit on a tablet.
- Practice the draw offstage - same energy as Emcee Reveal rehearsals.
- Keep the Random Selection tab ready on whichever device you decide to use; that way the page is always there when you need it.
- Expecting Emails settings on the Pop Questions page (they're not here on purpose).
- Leaving the form disabled while QR codes are already printed.
- Approving everything including spoilers for a surprise segment.
- Confusing Pop Questions with Emcee Reveal - different tools, both dramatic.
- Trying to open review/settings/draw without a producer login (those pages are producer-only).
Does submitting a question create a login?
No.
Can judges or volunteers approve Pop Questions?
No. Approvals, form settings, and Random Selection are producer-only. Everyone else uses the public submission form.
Where is Random Selection?
At the top of Pop Questions (the review list). It's always visible - click it anytime.
Why isn't there an Emails button here?
Pop Questions keeps the page focused on the form, review, and picker. Use contest Emails from Manage or other producer pages when you need email templates.
Can I edit a question after submission?
Use the approve/reject workflow and form settings for future submissions; treat the pool as curated, not a wiki edit war.
Where is the public help page?
Pop Questions form.