Building a Template for Contests - Help me ( and successors) do it right

[ConsAreLiars]

I'd rather not mess up the contest process, so I've read thru the last few contests (NICE photos!) to see the steps involved. I just found the group when the last contest began, so correct me or offer suggestions as needed.

STEP 1: Pick A Topic.
Step 1a: Run a thread to gather up possible topics. Run a poll including whatever topics seem (to you and the group, weighted however you see fit) most favored. Thanks to F. Gordon for getting this started. :toast:

Step 1b: Run a poll in this group to reach a final decision.


STEP 2: Collect entries -- Just a proposal:

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The theme for this contest is ANAL CYSTS (or whatever, an homage to the Rush creature) and the first 30 will be accepted.
The entries will be open for one week or a bit over, and end whenever 30 entries are submitted or the poll originator closes the thread.

One image per person. Please provide the Title in your subject header, and the link and any comments in the Body of the message.

The first 10 will go into Poll #1
The next 10 will go into Poll #2
The last 10 will go into Poll #3

You DO NOT have to be a participant of the DU Photography group to enter, just post a picture and a title in response to this post to be entered.
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Step 2: Run the needed number of polls in the Lounge for at least one week, to give weekenders a fair shot.

Step 3:
3a: EITHER: Gather up the top 10 vote-getters, regardless of which poll the image appeared, in and put them together and present them in the Lounge for a contest in a final poll.

3a-alt) OR: Take the top 3 from each Poll and the 10th as the highest vote-getter remaining and present them in the Lounge for a contest in a final poll.
.................................................

Well, that's what I see has to be done. A variant is to allow however many entries are obtained and adjust the number of polls accordingly. A further variant might be to do some pre-selection here and present the top 10 to the Lounge in a single poll there.

I think the above is a fair summary of how things have been being done. That said, I think whoever runs a contest can do it any way (s)he thinks fit, so long as it results in a contest in the Lounge. Even "Submit and I WILL CHOOSE" or "I'll use numerology.")

(Edit - missing words, it's aleays something)

[F.Gordon]

1. Goin' for it? Good for you.

Looks like ya' got everything figured out pretty well. If you want to experiment with sumtin' new... I'm up for anything. Change is good. And you just made the little "discussion" over on the volunteer thread a non-issue. :wipessweatfrombrow:
:hi:

I might even try to come up with a snapshot and play along this month, but I'm still thinkin' "Blue" will win. Any day now it will shoot up the Poll. :crazy:

[ConsAreLiars]

2. Would you mind locking the polling thread

whenever it is scheduled to end - midnight Wednesday or Thursday, I'm not clear - maybe PM me when that is done, and I'll try to get a submissions thread going shortly thereafter.


As for "rules" for contests, I'll try to follow precedent and leave innovation for those more skilled. That said, as I see it, this is an open forum and it seems that there can be as many contests and sets of rules for them as there are people willing to do the work to manage them.


It might be helpful to reach some sort of consensus on what the rules would be for an "Official" contest, but other than it being one's own work, I don't think there are any hard rules I can think of. I think it would be helpful in the context of the contest to describe how the image was achieved, but not to exclude any particular type of digital processing.

[F.Gordon]

3. Will do. It closes Thursday.

It's tough to get rules established around here. And I'm certainly not going to offer any "suggestions".
:hide:

Perhaps...just ask people to provide information on the image if they are willing to do so. Exif/Image data, how it was acheived, were they stoned or sober at the time, how long has been since they had sex.... all the important stuff.

It's your Contest. Do what you want.

Oh.. I do have one suggestion. The Theme poll will end on Thursday. Can you wait till after the weekend before you start taking submissions? I'd like to maybe play along this month, but I'd like to have one weekend to come up with something. I'm sure there are a least one or two others around here that would like to have that time as well. Especially if it's May Flowers.... I'm completely "flower-less".

Thanks!
:hi:

[intheflow]

4. Flowerless in Denver this week

won't be any problem. My whole neighborhood is abloom. And my sweetie usedtobesick has the hayfever to prove it!

[F.Gordon]

6. I know

All this dry pollen in the air has really nailed Mrs. F. :(

I could go in my neighbors backyard and take photographs of her garden, but I was thinkin' about trying to find something natural/wild. Contemplating driving up the hill on Sunday and see what is bloomin' in the mountains... if anything.

Edit: That is, if Lights & Shadows doesn't make a come back.

[intheflow]

5. This looks great, ConsAreLiars.

I think it's a great idea to limit the entires to 30 to avoid the contest hosting from getting SO out of hand in the future.

I've also been thinking that whatever we codify into Photo Group "law" we should ask elad if he could/would put them into a permanent message at the top of the group, like the Welcome to the Photography Group post. Then we we called for submissions at large, we could refer possible entrants to that post for details on the contest and submission "rules."

What your post doesn't address is the problem of who will host. But I'm thinking about posting a poll about that, so maybe we can "codify" that as well, and include it in the "rules."

Great work on this. Thanks!