Author poll is a small set of questions at the end of every post. By answering them a reader may see the name of the author and the ratings from previous polls taken. Name is visible only in case of public posts. For anonymous posts, one will se "By Anonymous" upon taking the poll.
The poll consists to two parts. The rating part and the remark part. The cumulative rating for the particular post is visible to the reader after they take the poll. The remark is private and anonymous. Only the author of the post get to see the remark. Usually readers give their sharp feedback or praise in the remark. The author cannot know who has given the remark but he author then has an option to reply back to the remark. And once the author reply back, a conversation is started, an anonymous conversation on the post. At any stage any of the two people talking can reveal their identity by click of a button.
Author poll can also be customised by the author for a particular post. Author may add any number of questions to the poll. The questions can be multiple choice, one line answer, or long answer question. The answers of such author added questions are visible to everyone who takes the poll.