u/davidbellerive

Since some people like to pretend that the project budget doesn’t include… components of the project.

If you follow both sides of the debate, you may have noticed posts linking to a survey by “Common Ground Research,” which presents itself as an independent group collecting public opinion about Alto.

The questions guide responses toward particular outcomes, but the bigger concern involves how the survey functions. The sample depends on link-sharing and offers no protection against multiple submissions. There is no obvious “contact us” section or statement about affiliation. Some questions aim to inform about “potential harm” without noting any possible benefit, as well as your voting preferences. Another asks about “what fare would you pay for ALTO,” a question needing far more context.

After my investigation and work with others on the GO ALTO discord, we spotted patterns: the earliest mention of this group and survey comes from Lindsay Davidson, who also collaborates with Citizen Research. The survey circulates only within Anti-ALTO groups. The group’s site is a standard Squarespace template registered on June 13, with default social links to Squarespace’s own accounts.

This reflects my personal view, but I value evidence-based, methodologically sound data gathering. Here, they rely on a convenience sample while likely asserting that it is A) representative and B) not aimed at a specific outcome.

TL,DR: be cautious about this survey, the claims that will come out of it, and the lack of clear methodology.