" So you can never ask for member's opinion on something? Seems odd but oh well. "
For the record, the "No Polls" rule existed because it was redundant to start a thread asking for the opinions of others. That's what the Forum is for, so every thread is (in essence) asking for opinions. The rule is, you start a thread by stating your opinion, and others will either agree or disagree, adding to the conversation.
The idea was to stop the lists and attention-whoring, and get people contributing. Overall, I think it was a success, but it depends on close moderation.