Polls help you find optimal raid times by letting members vote on their preferred time slots. RaidBot’s polling system uses reactions and tracks results in real-time.
Why Use Polls? Polls are perfect when:
Scheduling recurring raids Find the best weekly time that works for most members
New raid series Gauge interest and availability before committing to a schedule
One-time events Schedule special events at times when attendance will be highest
Timezone conflicts Balance preferences across members in different timezones
Creating a Poll
Run the poll create command
/poll create title:"Weekly Raid Time" options:"Sat 7pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm" duration:72
Parameters:
title: Poll title (e.g., “Weekly Dragonspyre Time”)options: Comma-separated time slots (2-10 options)duration: Hours until auto-close (optional, 0 = manual close only) Polls require the Manage Server permission to create.
Poll message posted
RaidBot posts an embed in the current channel with:
Poll title
All time slot options
Numbered reaction emojis (1️⃣, 2️⃣, 3️⃣, etc.)
Poll ID for management
Expiration time (if set)
Example: 📊 Weekly Raid Time React with a number to vote for your preferred time(s)! 1️⃣ Sat 7pm 2️⃣ Sat 8pm 3️⃣ Sun 3pm Poll ID: POLL123 • Closes: in 3 days
Members vote
Members react with number emojis to vote. Members can vote for multiple options by reacting to multiple numbers. This helps identify overlapping availability.
Options are separated by commas (or semicolons):
Simple Times
With Timezones
Detailed Options
Date-Specific
options:"Sat 7pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm"
Clear, concise time slots. options:"Sat 7pm EST, Sat 8pm EST, Sun 3pm EST"
Include timezone for international servers. options:"Saturday 7:00pm (East Coast), Saturday 4:00pm (West Coast), Sunday 3:00pm (All zones)"
Provide context for each option. options:"March 15 at 7pm, March 16 at 7pm, March 17 at 7pm"
For one-time events or specific dates.
Minimum : 2 optionsMaximum : 10 optionsGoing outside these limits will result in an error
Managing Polls List Polls View recent polls in your server:
Shows:
Poll title and ID
Status (Open ✅ / Closed 🔒)
When it was created
Jump link to the poll message
Example output:
📊 Recent Polls Weekly Raid Time (ID: POLL123) ✅ Open • Created 2 days ago • [Jump](link) Special Event Time (ID: POLL456) 🔒 Closed • Created 5 days ago • [Jump](link)
View Results Check current voting breakdown:
Shows:
Vote count for each option
Progress bars visualizing votes
Total voter count
List of voters for each option (up to 10 shown)
Top 3 choices highlighted
Example:
📊 Weekly Raid Time 1️⃣ Sat 7pm — 8 votes ████████░░ └ @Player1, @Player2, @Player3 +5 more 2️⃣ Sat 8pm — 12 votes ████████████ └ @Player4, @Player5, @Player6 +9 more 3️⃣ Sun 3pm — 5 votes █████░░░░░ └ @Player7, @Player8, @Player9 +2 more Total Voters: 15 🏆 Top Choices: 🥇 Sat 8pm (12 votes) 🥈 Sat 7pm (8 votes) 🥉 Sun 3pm (5 votes)
Use /poll results during an active poll to see which option is winning and encourage more participation!
Close Poll Manually close a poll and show final results:
When closed:
Poll embed updates to show “Poll Closed — Final Results”
Final vote counts displayed
Optimal time slots highlighted
Public announcement posted with results
Example announcement:
📊 Poll Closed: Weekly Raid Time 🏆 Optimal Time Slots: 🥇 Sat 8pm — 12 votes 🥈 Sat 7pm — 8 votes 🥉 Sun 3pm — 5 votes Poll ID: POLL123 • Total voters: 15
Polls with a duration set will auto-close when the time expires. Manual closure is only needed for polls without a duration or to close early.
Delete Poll Remove a poll and its message:
This:
Deletes the poll message from the channel
Removes the poll from the database
Cannot be undone
Deletion is permanent. Consider closing the poll instead of deleting to preserve historical voting data.
Auto-Close Duration Set how long a poll stays open:
No Auto-Close
24 Hours
3 Days (72 hours)
1 Week (168 hours)
/poll create ... duration:0
Poll stays open indefinitely until manually closed. Best for:
Ongoing preference tracking
Polls you’ll close after enough votes
/poll create ... duration:24
Poll closes after 24 hours. Best for:
Quick scheduling decisions
Same-day or next-day events
/poll create ... duration:72
Poll closes after 3 days. Best for:
Weekly raid scheduling
Giving all members time to vote
International servers (covers all timezones)
/poll create ... duration:168
Poll closes after 1 week (maximum). Best for:
Long-term planning
Monthly event scheduling
Collecting broad feedback
Duration is in hours . Maximum allowed is 168 hours (1 week).
Voting Behavior Multiple Votes Allowed Members can vote for multiple time slots:
Player reacts to: 1️⃣, 2️⃣, and 3️⃣ = "I'm available for all three options!"
This helps identify:
Which times have the most overlap
Backup options if the top choice doesn’t work
Member flexibility
Changing Votes Members can change votes by:
Removing a reaction (unvote that option)
Adding a new reaction (vote for that option)
Adding/removing multiple reactions (adjust preferences)
Votes update in real-time as reactions change.
Vote Tracking The system tracks:
Total unique voters : How many members participatedVotes per option : How many votes each time slot receivedVoter lists : Who voted for each option (up to 25 tracked)
A member who votes for 3 options counts as:
1 total voter
3 votes (one for each option)
Finding Optimal Times When a poll closes, RaidBot identifies optimal time slots:
Votes counted
All reactions are tallied for each option.
Options sorted
Time slots are ranked by vote count (most votes first).
Top 3 highlighted
The top 3 options are shown with medal emojis:
🥇 Most votes
🥈 Second most
🥉 Third most
Results posted
A public message announces the optimal times.
Example logic:
Option A: 12 votes → 🥇 Best time Option B: 8 votes → 🥈 Backup time Option C: 5 votes → 🥉 Third option Option D: 2 votes → Not recommended
Use the winning time to create your raid with /create, or consider the top 2-3 options for recurring events with rotating times.
Use Cases Weekly Raid Time
Special Event
Trial Period
Timezone Balancing
Scenario : Establishing a permanent weekly raid schedule
Create poll
/poll create title:"Best time for weekly Dragonspyre?" options: "Saturdays 7pm EST, Saturdays 8pm EST, Sundays 3pm EST, Sundays 5pm EST" duration:72
Wait for votes
Let members vote over 3 days to ensure everyone participates.
Poll auto-closes
After 72 hours, results are posted automatically.
Schedule raids
Use the winning time for your weekly raids going forward.
Scenario : One-time event with flexible date
Create poll
/poll create title:"Best time for guild anniversary raid?" options: "March 15 at 7pm, March 16 at 7pm, March 17 at 2pm, March 17 at 7pm" duration:168
Gather votes
Give members a full week to vote since it’s a special event.
Close and announce
Results show which date works best.
Create the raid
/create # Use winning date/time from poll
Scenario : Testing different times to see what works
Create initial poll
/poll create title:"Trial raid time options" options: "6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm" duration:0
Keep open indefinitely
Let members vote over several weeks.
Check results periodically
Scenario : Server with US East and West Coast members
Create poll with multiple zones
/poll create title:"Best raid time (multiple zones)" options: "7pm EST (4pm PST), 8pm EST (5pm PST), 9pm EST (6pm PST)" duration:72
Voters see their local time
Members from both coasts can assess which works for them.
Results show compromise
The winning option balances both timezones.
Best Practices
Include context in poll title
Be specific about what the poll is for: ✅ “Best time for weekly Dragonspyre raid”
✅ “Preferred time for Saturday museum runs”
❌ “Vote for time”
❌ “Poll” Clear titles increase participation.
Too few (2): Limits choice
Too many (10): Overwhelming and splits votes
Just right (3-5): Balanced and clear
Example: options:"Sat 6pm, Sat 7pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm"
Include timezones for international servers
Always clarify timezone if your server is international: options:"7pm EST (4pm PST), 8pm EST (5pm PST)"
Or set a server default timezone in /settings.
Allow enough time for voting
24 hours : Minimum for quick decisions48-72 hours : Recommended for weekly planning1 week : For long-term or special events Members in different timezones need time to see and vote.
Use results to inform scheduling
Announce poll in your announcements channel
After creating a poll, share it: @everyone Poll is live! Vote for the best weekly raid time. [Jump to poll](link)
This ensures maximum visibility. Poll Embed Anatomy 📊 Weekly Raid Time ← Title React with a number to vote for your ← Instructions preferred time(s)! 1️⃣ Sat 7pm — 8 votes ████████░░ ← Option + votes + bar └ @Player1, @Player2, @Player3 ← Voter list (if viewing results) 2️⃣ Sat 8pm — 12 votes ████████████ └ @Player4, @Player5, @Player6 +9 more 3️⃣ Sun 3pm — 5 votes █████░░░░░ └ @Player7, @Player8 Total Voters: 15 ← Participation count 🏆 Top Choices: ← Leaderboard (if results) 🥇 Sat 8pm (12 votes) 🥈 Sat 7pm (8 votes) 🥉 Sun 3pm (5 votes) Poll ID: POLL123 • Closes: in 2 days ← Footer with ID and expiration
Integrating Polls with Raids
Create and run poll
/poll create title:"Weekly raid time" options:"Sat 7pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm" duration:72
Wait for poll to close
Either auto-closes after 72 hours, or manually close:
Check results
Note the winning time: Sat 8pm (12 votes)
Create raid with winning time
/create # Select type: Dragonspyre # Set time: "saturday 8pm" # Configure and create
Announce to participants
@everyone Thanks for voting! Based on poll results, weekly Dragonspyre raids will be Saturdays at 8pm EST. First raid this Saturday - react to sign up!
Save your poll ID! You can reference past polls to see historical voting patterns and adjust schedules over time.
Next Steps
Create Raids Use poll results to schedule raids
Time Parsing Learn more about time formats