Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest 2015

[stargatedalek]

Is it possible to set a minimum of two votes? Just wondering if it might be an easier fix.

[Patrx]

I agree; participants should be prohibited from voting for their own work.

[tyrantqueen]

I think restricting people from voting for themselves is a great idea.  Seems kind of selfish, and like you said, not really in the spirit of the contest. 
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's submissions!  I was surprised looking at the prizes this year- CollectA is being very generous. 

This.

I did not agree with voting for oneself when it was first suggested, and I'm happy that the idea is being reconsidered.

[Gwangi]

I've never seen voting for your own picture as an issue, especially when so many votes are allowed. Sure, some people will only vote for their own but IME a lot of votes are throw away votes regardless. Just look at what pictures get those throw away votes, it's rather obvious. In the end, the best picture will win. Someone voting for their own picture has no bearing on this. Whether you think it is unfair or not, selfish or not, in the end it does not matter. You're ultimately just putting a restriction on people that isn't necessary based on your personal code of ethics.

Personally, if I take issue with anything regarding the diorama contest it's that anyone can just join the site, submit a picture and leave. How many people do just that? They don't contribute anything, they're just here to win the booty and go. Some come back the following year, some probably don't. That IMO is a worse offense than voting for yourself. I used to be a member of a few forums where a minimum post rule was in effect in order to enter the contest so I'm not alone in this opinion, even if I am here. But that's just personal opinion. Honestly I don't even take much issue with that, I just don't see why tossing yourself a single vote is a big deal.

[laticauda]

I personally  don't like the idea of voting for yourself, but I think it should be allowed.  People should be free to make their own choice.

[Arul]

Agreed with Gwangi, but if i didnt found the announcement of last year contest maybe im not a member of this forum till now and that time finally i found one of the biggest dinosaur toy lover community...i mean this contest is one if many ways to introducing the forum to the people. not everyone just "come and go". Last year the contestant is 59 member, some of them maybe still active visiting or sometime posting to join the discussion in this forum and we never know because almost all of entries last year are still anonymous until know.

[Simon]

I personally  don't like the idea of voting for yourself, but I think it should be allowed.  People should be free to make their own choice.

Don't know if anyone has brought this point up, but allowing members to vote for themselves serves another purpose:  if a member chooses to vote for his/her entry, it insures that the entry will gather at least "1" vote in the final tally.

I know that I would feel bad for anyone whose entry got "0" votes.

Allowing members to cast ballots for their own entry at least guarantees them one vote in the final tally....

[Gwangi]

I personally  don't like the idea of voting for yourself, but I think it should be allowed.  People should be free to make their own choice.

Don't know if anyone has brought this point up, but allowing members to vote for themselves serves another purpose:  if a member chooses to vote for his/her entry, it insures that the entry will gather at least "1" vote in the final tally.

I've never participated, but I know that I would feel bad for anyone whose entry got "0" votes.

Allowing members to cast ballots for their own entry at least guarantees them one vote in the final tally....

Agreed. While it may appear selfish I see no reason why someone who took the time and energy to think up an entry and make it a reality shouldn't be able to ensure that at least one person appreciates the effort they put forward, even if that person only ends up being themselves.

[Paleona]

To play a little devil's advocate, it may be sad if an entry ends up with 0 votes, but that's the way of contests- not everyone's a winner.  Ok, that sounded unintentionally harsh.  Any other art based contest I've ever submitted to has restricted the artists from voting for themselves, though.  I don't think a participant would feel that great if their only vote was from themselves, either.  Part of entering a contest is putting your work on the line and in front of others, to see how it's received.  

edit: To expand a little, if everyone can vote for themselves, then it's likely most people will, it becomes a throwaway vote- we might as well start everyone off with 1. 

[Arul]

By the way...one week to go 

[Mitko]

Arul, there are actually 10 days to go. 17+7=24, 17+10=27, right?

[DinoToyForum]

In an election candidates are allowed to (and do) vote for themselves. In major contests (such as Eurovision) voting for oneself is often not allowed. So there's no right or wrong here, no precedent. However, if I had to compare, I feel the spirit of the contest should be more in line with Eurovision than an election.

Personally, I don't understand the 'guarantee one vote' argument. Unlike in an election, not every participant does vote for themselves (or even votes at all) in the diorama contest, which unevens the playing field, and makes it still possible that someone gets no votes. As for myself, I couldn't possibly take solace in receiving a single vote knowing it was from myself. There's something rather sad about that, like sending a birthday card to oneself.

The simplest solution to avoid people voting just for themselves would be to set a minimum number of votes, but I can't do that with a forum poll. Even if I did, someone utterly intent on winning at all costs would simply throw their votes at the dioramas they consider least competition. Although I can see who votes for who, there's no way for me to actually stop someone voting for themselves in a forum poll, so if it happened (despite being disallowed) I'd have to manually adjust the results retrospectively (one can't edit actual poll results). I imagine it could get messy.

So, there's an ideal world and a real world. In the ideal world, I'd like to enforce a minimum number of votes and inhibit people from voting for themselves. However, in the real world it isn't quite that easy. So, considering all of the above, I'll leave the system essentially as it has been in the past. Voting for oneself will be allowed because I can't easily enforce the alternative. However, since some participants vote for themselves despite me discouraging it, this year I encourage everyone to do so. To this end, I will add an extra vote option for this very purpose. This will hopefully even out the playing field. As Paleona feared, 1 is the new 0!

[Paleona]

Fair enough decision, Dr. Admin.  I think the only way you could really stop people from voting for themselves is if there was no poll at all, but comments for voting, or PMs.  I've seen that done on other websites, but it is messier and more work on the judges/admins.  So it's not very practical. 

[Simon]

Now all that's left is to count down the days ... can't wait to see the creativity of the membership explode onto the screen!

[Patrx]

I think that's a good compromise. I've never voted for my own entries in the past due to the potential onslaught of soul-crushing guilt, but it seems I will do so this year.
...Assuming I finish my entry in time, that is!

[Kayakasaurus]

Good discussion and conclusion. That's all I was wondering. It makes sense that if you can vote for yourself everyone should be encouraged to do so, to guarantee an even playing field. It's also good to see this forum is full of members with consciences 

[DinoG]

Give us a sneak peek Mr Admin. How does the contest looks so far? Lots of participants and amazing dioramas?

[DinoToyForum]

Give us a sneak peek Mr Admin. How does the contest looks so far? Lots of participants and amazing dioramas?

 

[laticauda]

Even with being told, hey it's ok to vote for yourself, I don't know if I could do it.  Enough about policy, let's get ready for some fun.  I am really excited for this years entries.  There is a palpable buzz of excitement that goes through the community during this time of the year and it is hard not to get swept up into it.  Seeing everyone's entries for the first time is so much fun, I'll be with my kids, looking through the entries together , and enjoying the hard work that people have put into there entries.

[Kayakasaurus]

I'm definitely excited! This is my first year on the Forum, and I can't wait to see all the new Dioramas!