At the end of the day it really comes down to each to their own I suppose. I look at 'crowd-sourcing' in a very negative light because there's no way you'll please everyone. What if an equal number of players voted for each option? 

I think, the player needs to know what they want to do, or at the very least the character they want to play. Heck if you end up making a character you're not able to connect with or not like because the players wanted a different vision then you're going to be no good to anyone. 

But like I said, ultimately it comes down to each to their own.

EDIT: I have a draft I'm currently working on for my IC post :P