Community polls vs Shorts as an idea-validation tool

Community polls vs Shorts as an idea-validation tool
Heard this week: a 200k channel stopped using Community polls to pick video topics and switched to disposable Shorts.
— Polls only survey your existing subs — the people already biased toward your stuff, useless for predicting browse/search demand
— A throwaway Short on the topic tests the open audience: if it pops with non-subs, the long-form has browse legs
Confidence: medium. It's clever but I've only seen two channels run it deliberately.
For a channel like yours: stop letting your loyalists vote on what NEW viewers want. Float the concept as a Short first, read the non-subscriber reaction, then commit the long-form budget.