Everything you need to know about the polls, the counting process, the Wall of Fame and The People's Corner.
Pure Rank Derry is a community-powered local ranking and recognition platform. The people of Derry vote publicly for their go-to businesses, places, products and cult favourites.
Pure Rank does not choose the winner. The public does.
Voting takes place on the official Pure Rank Derry Facebook page.
The website does not currently host the vote. It preserves the winners and provides a permanent historical record after voting has finished.
Each ballot is built from local knowledge, Google Maps listings, and general online and offline visibility — basically, wherever Derry actually goes.
It's not a science, and it doesn't need to be. If a well-known spot gets missed, that's exactly what "Other" is for.
Each option is assigned a letter. Comment the letter of your choice beneath the original Facebook poll post.
Where stated in the poll rules, clearly writing the business name may also be accepted.
Only votes beneath the original Pure Rank post are counted.
Yes. Pure Rank counts one main vote per person.
Duplicate votes from the same person are not added together.
When a person clearly writes the name of the business they intend to support, the clearly named business takes priority over an incorrect letter.
Ambiguous comments may be excluded from the final count.
"Other" is the write-in option.
It allows people to support a business or favourite that was not included on the original ballot. Voters should comment "Other" and clearly name their choice.
Pure Rank reviews the write-in names and may run another round with the strongest new names added to the ballot.
This allows the community to correct or expand the original list.
Votes are counted from comments beneath the original poll post. Pure Rank:
Accuracy matters because the result becomes part of the permanent Pure Rank record.
Yes. Anyone is free to share a Pure Rank poll, and businesses can share the original poll and encourage genuine supporters to take part.
The important line is this: sharing the poll is always fine. Buying votes, or paying Pure Rank for a favourable result, is not.
No. Businesses do not pay to be listed, declared a winner or placed more prominently on a ballot.
The result must remain entirely based on public votes.
Pure Rank is here to bring businesses up, not push them down.
A comment that's clearly defamatory or breaches that standard can be reported to Pure Rank and removed if it's found to cross the line.
That said, an honest negative opinion isn't removed just for being negative — Pure Rank doesn't censor ordinary criticism, and a poll comment section isn't Pure Rank's to police on a business's behalf.
No. Pure Rank is a grassroots, community-powered platform showing what people choose — it is not an official industry awards organisation or a professional accreditation body.
It does not inspect businesses or professionally assess quality, qualifications, insurance or regulatory compliance.
A Pure Rank title means the winner received the strongest public support in that poll — nothing more, nothing less.
The Wall of Fame is Pure Rank's formal and permanent record of Derry's go-to businesses, venues, services and places.
Winners earn titles such as Derry's Go-To Café or Derry's Go-To Hotel and go up on the wall for good.
The People's Corner recognises products, makers, creations, local legends and cult favourites.
Winners receive titles such as The People's Bottle, The People's Coffee or The People's Maker — painted on the corner, not judged by a panel.
It's where the stuff Derry buys, sips, scoffs on and swears by lives.
Yes. The honours recognise different things.
A business may enter the Wall of Fame for its overall category while also earning a People's Corner title for one particular product.
For example, a bar could be a Wall of Fame winner while one of its drinks is separately crowned The People's Pint of Guinness.
Yes, when the new poll recognises a genuinely different category, product or part of the business.
Pure Rank should not duplicate the exact same title without a clear reason, but businesses can earn separate honours.
Use the "Other" option when it appears and clearly comment the missing business's name.
Names receiving strong public support may be added to a later round or considered for a future poll.
Yes. People can send category ideas through the Pure Rank Facebook page or contact page.
Suggestions do not guarantee that a poll will be created, but they help identify what Derry wants to vote on next.
Most polls run for approximately 48 hours, but the closing date and time should always be stated in the individual Facebook post.
Sometimes. If one option builds up a lead that's obviously not getting caught, Pure Rank may call it early rather than making everyone sit and watch the clock.
That's not the same as closing the vote, though — the poll can stay open right up to its scheduled closing time even after a call's been made.
And if the numbers move and the final tally tells a different story, Pure Rank will correct the published result to match what Derry actually decided.
If the leading result is tied, Pure Rank runs a short deciding vote or applies a clearly stated tie-break process — never a behind-the-scenes call.
Whichever method is used is explained publicly before the final winner is announced, so a tie never just looks like Pure Rank picked a winner itself.
The sticker has historically gone with Wall of Fame wins — it hasn't automatically gone out to every People's Corner winner, and Pure Rank started life as a single Facebook poll and has grown organically from there.
The sticker system is still being built out. Pure Rank is continually reviewing when stickers go out, which winners get them, and how to make distribution practical as it keeps growing — Wall of Fame stickers sometimes go out in batches rather than the moment a result lands, and People's Corner stickers are currently being designed following popular demand.
Short version: it's a system still being built, not a business being overlooked.
No. A Wall of Fame place is permanent.
The current Derry's Go-To title for your category can change hands when that category comes up for a vote again — but being inducted onto the Wall of Fame is part of Pure Rank's history for good. The seasonal title can move on; your place in the record doesn't disappear.
Yes. The purpose of the Wall of Fame is to preserve each result as part of Pure Rank history.
The title reflects what the public chose during that particular voting cycle and year.
No. Pure Rank Derry is independent and stands entirely on its own — it isn't affiliated with, owned by, or connected to any other business, page, or brand, regardless of similarity in name.
If it's not on purerankderry.com or the official Pure Rank Derry Facebook page, it isn't us.
Use the website contact page or message Pure Rank Derry directly through Facebook.
Message Pure Rank directly on Facebook, or send it through the contact page.
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