Signature of the Month Contest Generic Discussion Thread

[Frailty]

my it's quite hot in here
I don't wanna butt in but things are kinda getting out of hand.
oh well, debates will be.....debates

Originally Posted by ahelo

What about having two winners. One by popularity (the voters and how SOTM is usually voted) and another by a panel of judges (like how the previous banner contest is voted). That way no one can say it was rigged and at the same time there's still a choice for you to vote.

I like this idea though, good job thinking on that one.

[Rennir]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

The last SOTM, April 2011, has 12 participants. What happens if we split that number up into 2?

Agreed. It'd be a bad idea to splinter the competition just when participation is rising.

@Frailty and ahelo: I'm not sure how that helps? I don't think Tong was trying to say it's rigged, but rather the votes are biased by the reputation of the artist, friendships between the voter and maker, and other similar factors. And the moderators are only human after all, so I'm not sure that they wouldn't be susceptible to the same biases?

[Frailty]

even if they don't mean the same, they sound pretty similar to me.

it's pretty hard to explain but friendship and other things like that
aren't they just considered advantages on contests like these?
isn't it a little..rude, to call it biased immediately?

[CMSensei]

Debates getting heated..
How about we do this instead?

If we go along with ahelos plan then..

The two who wins the SOTM of that month gets to pick the topic for next month and sits out? and gets to be the judges. So that someone else has a chance to win, when that month is over and they find a winner they get to enter again in the next month.

[ahelo]

Also considering the Winter Banner contest had 28 entries, I think there's enough interest for the people to join SOTM again. We just need to have more ideas to revamp the contest so that we can actually restart it in a way that won't go on hiatus quickly.

[Tong]

Or make it tournament-like... with losers finals and runners up.
Teams can also be made, either trios or duets. Never saw done before, but in theory it would better than our usual format, since newbies would stand a chance.

[Marcus H.]

A setup similar to the International Saimoe League would be interesting.
Now we just need a diagnostic as to how many would be interested in joining SOTM.
We can't just rely on the results of the banner contest since there might be more or less people interesting in joining the competition.

Also, we need new rules, such as what happens if there are no staff around, if an interested user wants to join in the middle of the contest, and if a participant wants to leave the contest temporarily or for good.

[Marina]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Also, we need new rules, such as what happens if there are no staff around, if an interested user wants to join in the middle of the contest, and if a participant wants to leave the contest temporarily or for good.

For the first, perhaps a set schedule would help the staff member stay on track. Also having a previously staff-chosen regular forum member as back-up might work for if the head staff member misses a deadline. Those two could collaborate together. I balk at the contest being managed by solely regular members because the contest could easily get out of hand without someone of authority ready to step in and settle everything.

A new user joining in the middle? That doesn't really make sense. Is the user just new to the contest, or new to the forum? If new to the forum, then no, we've already seen repeat accounts made solely for cheating a vote. If new to the contest, I'm not sure what you mean by "middle". Are they trying to insert an entry when voting has already started? Doing that will just mess up all the votes.

And why would a participant leave the contest early? I don't see how he or she can do that if the art is already submitted. At that point it's out of the creator's hands. Or, are you labeling the participant as someone involved with managing the contest? If so, then staff would just have to choose someone else.

[Marcus H.]

I was planning for the SOTM to become a yearly event like the International Saimoe Tournament, with various revisions such as assigning January to October as the Preliminary Stage, and November and December as the Final/Semi-Final Stage for the competition.

There should be rules regarding interested users who want to join the contest on August or participants who wish to leave the contest on April, for example.

[Tong]

Monthly is long enough. Can't we shrink it down?

[Frailty]

^to weekly?

knowing that most graphics artists have busy schedules from either school or work, entries will decrease dramatically

a Monthly contest is good enough IMO

[Marcus H.]

Also, brain drain is imminent if we do SOT* contests more frequently than once a month.

[Tong]

Weekly would be tiring, I agree. But I meant when Marcus said about Yearly events.
Yes, it should be possible if each monthly contest worked as a classifier for the Year.

[ahelo]

I like the tournament idea but we also want new faces to join every now and then. And since we're going with the yearly tournament idea, why not turn it into a Fantasy League type of tournament and newcomers can just go in and out. And by the end of the year we accumulate who got the most points and that will be the winner.

Or like seasonal winners but the monthly contest can be shortened into three weeks. Not too much or too little.

[Solace]

You guys are seriously over thinking this. The SOTM is going to resume after the New Years holiday. I wanted it to be a surprise but with certain members pushing, I see there's no choice but to announce it early. Yes, it will include the new rule changes I outlined earlier this year.

In regards to the format of the contest itself, people need to understand that the SOTM is not a competition, it is a tool to help users improve their abilities and creativity. It's in a contest format so that we can offer a new challenge every month in a manner that feels somewhat meaningful.

That's why the "prize" for winning is so simple, and not something fancy like a bump in reputation or a special title. Your reward shouldn't extend past the contest itself, since the point is improvement and expression of creativity and not fame/fortune.

[Marcus H.]

I wanted it to be a surprise

Not to be rude, but it is indeed a surprise; the odds of reviving this contest event is getting slimmer and slimmer as the months go.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Not to be rude, but it is indeed a surprise; the odds of reviving this contest event is getting slimmer and slimmer as the months go.

I knew when the contest first began that interest would wane eventually. For some people, it's a novelty, for others, it's a way to pass the time. Still others like the challenge, and others simply want the recognition. There are numerous reasons why people participate, and quit.

Still there will be a time when all good things come to an end. It might happen after another few runs, or maybe it will take a few more years. We'll see. Inevitably though, it will end. It's not like Saimoe, which is a huge event run across multiple forums and websites. It's just not built like, or for, that kind of size and interest.

I'm proud of what the contest has accomplished, but I'm not going to delude myself into thinking it is more than it is.

[ahelo]

Originally Posted by Solace

You guys are seriously over thinking this. The SOTM is going to resume after the New Years holiday. I wanted it to be a surprise but with certain members pushing, I see there's no choice but to announce it early.

Lol well at least there's a lot of interest!; too bad for the surprise though.

[Suomi]

I will be glad to see the SOTM return. Will have to dust off my PS...

and I agree with Solace on all counts. Welcome back, Solace to the contest anyway.

[Shin'i]

oh so art comps are dead here