Choose the next topic for Assigned

I assume this is what everyone's urging people to vote about, yes?

It is once again time to fulfill your civic duty and decide which topic I will be writing on with some regularity over here at Assigned. This time, you have four selections to pick from, and voting will remain open until the end of next Tuesday, Nov. 12th. (I will have a couple of posts in between now and then to keep things lively around here, don’t worry.)

As a reminder: voting is the one part of Assigned that is paywalled. The stories are all free to the public, but if you want to decide what those stories are about, you’ve got to be a paid member. (And as a paid member, you’re also supporting the ability to keep all stories free for everyone else, which is a gift in itself I’d say.)

Without further ado, here’s your ballot:

ONE AND DONE: Sports are acts of repetition, where players take thousands of shots/swings/reps to prepare to execute those same actions dozens or hundreds of times in games. It’s actually very hard to do something – whether it’s nailing a three-point shot or getting hit by a pitch – only once. This series looks at the stories and circumstances behind the times a player accomplished some task or reached some milestone just one time.

ODDITIES OF FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE: I will not argue that Facebook has been a net good for our world in any way, but I will say this for Facebook Marketplace: People will sell absolutely anything over there.

Here I’ll look at the intersection of art, commerce, and the digital presentation of self, which is a very fancy way of saying we will review the incredible depths of America’s Weirdest Yard Sale. We will ask important questions like, “where did this come from?” and “what are the theoretical circumstances that would lead someone to own this but not keep it?” and “why Bugs Bunny and not one of the Looney Tunes characters hailed for their speed?”

POINTLESS ADVICE: An advice column where I answer reader questions about incredibly low-stakes topics like this one.

This was the runner-up in our first round of picking a topic, so I wanted to throw it back on the ballot this time. I promise I’m very ready to overanalyze things for no reason.

BEST DAY EVER: In this column, I’ll look at one player or coach’s career, or the timeline of a team, and identify the most amazing (and maybe unlikely) day of success they ever achieved. This is not technically an excuse to mention several instances in which Notre Dame lost to A Team That Shouldn’t Beat Notre Dame, but don’t be surprised if those pop up.

The poll to register your vote is below.