It would be a good idea to have an "Other" option for all categories. e.g. for IDE those preferring Code::Blocks could select "Other" rather than not participate in the poll. I suggest allowing voters to specify the "Other". If ever the "Other" votes were large and many were for a specific "Other" then that can be included as one of the options.
Sincerely,
Aouie

This is a vote, if you put "Other" then how would you provide the award certificate if "Other" was the winner? This is why the polls all allow free text discussion, should there need to be another product in the poll it can be discussed here and either added to this one if there's time or put into the next one.

One would have to allow people to enter a text field when they choose "Other". The software would never pick "Other" as the winner (hardcoded), but if ever a specific "Other" was much bigger, then the moderator would have the option to move those votes to an entry (which would then be eligible to be picked as the winner). The reason to not automate this process is because people may vote for a product that may not qualify for inclusion into the specific category.

Though the member's choice awards are gravitating towards standard mainstream Linux user's choices for the most part, the awards are probably relevant and useful enough to put in the extra time to add some useful features to the polling code. (Unfortunately, I am not volunteering to work on the necessary code for the feature.)
Sincerely,
Aouie

Which is one more reason you'll probably never see "Other" added to the polls.

Fact is, Jeremy and the mods keep close track of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and they included several options in each category, many of which received very few, or no votes at all. Typically, the top 2-4 products get the lion's share of the votes. IMHO, there's nothing that could be added through an "Other" option that could even be worth mentioning.

Of course, if you use something that you feel is an excellent product and for some unknown reason it's being ignored, you could always post a review and give it a high rating to help boost it's popularity.

Cheers

Lest we forget, we technically do include an "other" section. For the first few weeks before things start you can make suggestions in individual polls and suggest additions. Obviously, if you miss the first period of the polls you have to wait 12 months.

True, but not for the final polls, as I assumed the OP was suggesting.

Cheers

But then, if we're going for an "other" option that needs someone to go through the threads and posts manually to count the votes, why bother with a poll at all?

"Other" is always a bit useless, could you imagine seeing that option in a general election?

Exactly.

AAMOF, I'm hoping for an "Other" option, this year. I don't like any of the nominees.

Cheers

What about best linux magazine of the year?