Photo contest suggestion...

[Vinnie]

Originally Posted by Relayer

Yeah, but look at the voting results so far. Two leaders with actually very few votes themselves and a bunch of the rest with only 1 or 2. If the voting stays this way, there'll be like 50 total votes and one winner with maybe 15 or so and the 2nd place with maybe 12? I'd like to see a greater majority for the winner and the only way that could happen is to somehow narrow the field. Just saying.

So the problem is that the winner isn't getting enough votes? You want to see the winner win by a landslide and not have a close race? Would it make any difference if the numbers were 35 to 32? Or 105 to 102 with a bunch of 1 or 2 votes? Sorry, I just don't understand your reasoning.

[APBTLove]

Oh I didn't mean to mods pick the ten to be voted on - the members do, I said that.

Second, a thread to nominate ten dogs or less... So the members scroll through the photo submissions thread, pick ten (or less) that they like best, and post their picks

Yes, it does take a bit of time... I moderate on the forum where they do that, what they do is ask the mods who wants to do it if the one who normally does isn't available. Only takes an hour or so, you count up the votes and just pull the ten with the most votes, then set up a poll with those ten... Can't take more time than setting up a poll with a hundred or so names.

And yes, the members still have to go through the long list of contenders, BUT they get to choose quite a few as opposed to picking one out of that vast number.

It also involves the members more, I think. They get to choose their favorites, and then get to have a final vote. Like any competition, they are normally narrowed down before the final vote.

As I said, it was only a suggestion, nothing to get heated about lol

[Vinnie]

APBT - Let me make sure I understand.

First the mod sets up a poll for members to vote on their fav 10.
When they've voted on the 10 favs the mod would have to set up another poll of those 10 and members would have to vote again for their favorite?

So instead of once - things are done twice?

This will create more work for the moderator AND for the members. If the members still have to go through that long list of photos and then a short list, what does this accomplish? What improvement will this make? How does this make things "easier" for anybody?

[APBTLove]

Originally Posted by Vinnie

APBT - Let me make sure I understand.

First the mod sets up a poll for members to vote on their fav 10.
When they've voted on the 10 favs the mod would have to set up another poll of those 10 and members would have to vote again for their favorite?
No, not a poll, it's actually written out... Let me explain a little clearer.. There would be the thread where members post their dogs. Once the alloted time for posting is done, that thread is closed, and another thread is opened, the nomination thread. In the nomination thread (along with the instructions or rules or whatever the staff decide to post) would be a link to the picture thread. The members then go to the picture thread, pick ten - or less- names out that they like best, they come back to the nomination thread and post the ten names. Like so:
Member name
Member name
Member name
ect.

After the alloted time for nominations, the modorator(s) in charge of photo contests will pull the ten names with the most nominations and then set up a poll.

So instead of once - things are done twice?

This will create more work for the moderator AND for the members. If the members still have to go through that long list of photos and then a short list, what does this accomplish? What improvement will this make? How does this make things "easier" for anybody?

Well, on the forum where I'm staff, they have five separate photo contests a month, hundreds of photos, and only a couple of mods who do it, and they handle it fine, never complained or said it was too hard. They have a Male, Female, Puppy, Themed, and Contest(where there is a prize) every month.

We have one contest a month here I believe? It simply cannot be too much work for even one moderator to handle one contest over the span of a month. And as for the members choosing ten out of the many before setting it to a final vote, it takes me about 5-6 minutes to pick the ten I like best.

It is only my opinion, but it makes it easier because it is narrowed down first, and at the FINAL vote, you have fewer choices - the top photos out of the whole lot.

As I said, this was only a suggestion, it was not putting down how you run it, or saying "this way is better!", it was a suggestion, because -to me- it's been easier handling it like that, where the voting cuts out the lower-quality photos before the outright winner is chosen.

[APBTLove]

Forgive me if my answers appear hastily written, my computer is having real problems right now and it keeps closing my window every time I've nearly finished my answer lol so I have to write fast.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I believe we will pass on this one.

I think comparing forums is often like comparing apples and armadillos. What can/does work on one may not be feasible on another for a variety of reasons.

[APBTLove]

Whoohoo, my computer is behaving, I can reply to the other posts now.

Originally Posted by MaggieRoseLee

It's a good idea, but alot more work.

One of the best things about this forum is the tons of members and tons of posts each and every day.

But that makes alot of monitoring and 'work' for all of us unpaid moderators/admins with our real lives and jobs and all the dog stuff we have to do!!!

So I'm thinking that we probably won't be able to make a change like suggested unless one of the Mods/Admins suddenly ends up with alot more free time. But thanks for the suggestion and it is being looked at.

Hey, thanks for being honest and kind... I know it's not easy to manage a bunch of people who can hide behind their computers and be rude and act up, and any added tasks can't help.

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

What if some of the mods/admins have entered pics? Do they put their own picture up as one of the 10 best or do they avoid doing so, even if it clearly IS one of the best, so there are no cries of favoritism?

Hey, on the forum I'm staff, people vote for themselves. Never has there been a complaint. Because just about everyone votes for themselves as one of the top ten lol so they would be pretty hypocritical to say that they don't like others voting on themselves.
I'm staff on one forum, and I do vote for my own picture if I think it is one of the top ten there.

Originally Posted by LisaT

I think if there are many photos, picking the top 10 first, and then having a final vote is a great suggestion.

I also think that they should be voted on by the folks on the board, not chosen by the mods.

Don't know if that input matters, but just thought I'd throw it out there

Yep, that is what happens... Of course your input matters, without the members speaking their minds and being involved, this wouldn't be much of a community.

Originally Posted by JeanKBBMMMAAN

This is illogical. The members have to go through all the pictures to narrow it to the top ten, so they do have to go through all the pictures.

Yep, they do. But instead of picking one picture out of, say, a hundred, they get to pick ten they like best. It's hard to pick which single picture you like best when there are so many to look at, instead you can pick -ten.

[Vinnie]

It's great to have suggestions on improving any part of this board. Thank you for that.

I'm just not seeing the benefit for anyone and that's why I asked the questions I have. It's hard to say yes or no to a suggestion if you don't fully understand what the member is suggesting.

If we didn't do a poll for the first 10 favs, it would be even more work to tally them as you suggest instead of letting the board software tally the nominees. We'd have to read through the thread, which could potentially get very long, and then manually add up the nominees. We'd have to leave room for human error and the influence of popular members. Besides some members don't want others to know who they vote for (myself being one) or nominate so they will just not post. On top of that, typing out 10 favs and making a post to that effect is more time consuming than clicking on 10 boxes and then submit for members. Again, thats even more work for members/mods than I initially thought. 2 polls would be easier in this case. Plus this would probably mean more voting time and less photo submission time.

Where is the benefit to anyone? This doesn't make things easier but instead more complicated for members & mods IMO. If I don't see a benefit for at least the members, I can't advocate for something.

At this point, I'm going to have to agree with Jean & MRL and say we're going to pass on this. We'll stick with the simple old way for now.

[APBTLove]

I do think making two polls would be easier and more anonymous, I guess the guys on the other forum just don't care who knows which pictures they like best.

I wasn't aware that it was a computer that did it here, if that's what you mean, the other forum, everything is done 'by hand'.

The benefit? Eh, just seems neater to me... And I like to do things in portions. But honestly, anyone who talks with me knows I'm quirky... So just my judgement alone isn't a ton of help.

Thanks for talking with me, Vinnie.

[Vinnie]

Originally Posted by APBTLove

But honestly, anyone who talks with me knows I'm quirky... So just my judgement alone isn't a ton of help.

You're too funny!

Just to clarify - we mods set up the polls. The forum software keeps the tally once members vote in the poll. If there were no poll, as you suggested for the 10 favs a moderator would have to keep count manually who the members nominated as their 10 favs in order to set up that poll.