Both tools exist to keep decisions out of chat, where they get buried.
Announcements
An announcement is for something every member needs to see. The latest one appears prominently on the Space home page, so it is not competing with chat scroll.
Publishing requires the publish announcements permission, which admins and owners have. That is deliberate — announcements only stay noticeable if they are rare.
Archive an announcement once it no longer applies. Archiving keeps the record without leaving stale information at the top of the Space.
Good candidates: a schedule change everyone must act on, a decision that alters how the group works, a deadline moving. Poor candidates: anything that is really a discussion.
Polls
A poll settles a small question quickly. Create one with a question and options, and members vote; results show as a percentage breakdown.
- Create polls and vote in polls are separate permissions — members can normally do both.
- Votes can be changed while the poll is open.
- Close a poll to stop voting and fix the result.
Using polls well
- Best for genuinely small decisions — a date, a name, a preference between two options.
- Keep the options few and clearly distinct.
- Close the poll and act. A poll left open indefinitely reads as a decision nobody made.
- Do not poll a question that needs discussion first. Talk it through in a channel, then poll the shortlist.