[TerraGenesis]

According to the voting (29 people included it in their top 3), Alabastero's Skull Rock Temple should win. However, the entry directs readers to a link at photobucket.

Although there's nothing specific in the rules about this (they only explicitly exclude links to WIP topics) I would have thought TG members were sufficiently aware that, as we archive competition entries, links to WIP topics and other temporary resources are not allowed. It would seem however that none of the entrants, the competition organizer, the voters, or anybody else who looked at it was aware. So what do I do: let it win and ignore the link (leaving it to break at some later date), disqualify the entry, or spend some of my own time correcting it?

Of course there's also the question of whether including this additional material gave Alabastero's entry an unfair advantage over the other entries? Perhaps others are thinking they'll do the same next time?

My other complaints include:

coxrltw's use of /w rather that writing "with" in full. I haven't checked whether this was done to squeeze under that maximum text limitation, or just to make it harder to read. I suspect the latter given that the entire text is posted as a single paragraph.

nealcrankshaw's neglecting to answer the main question that any future reader will want to know about his entry: "how did you make the shipping containers". All we are told is that they are made from 4 layers of card. Not very useful. Photos are a bit dark too.

I'm very busy at the moment and the time I can devote to TerraGenesis is currently being used working on an improved posting mechanism. So I don't have time to decide what, if anything, I should do about this. We started archiving the competition entries because we thought they'd provide a useful resource. If the quality of the information is such that it isn't useful then maybe we should stop archiving?

[Alabastero]

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know about that rule. I thought it would be better to have a look at better pictures - as 640x480px pics don't really sell the work we put into our projects. But I understand the reason behind this (dead links, etc.)

Anyway, I have no problem with being disqualified. I think the competitions are not completly about winning. The winning aspect really helps to get the most out of a project. But to get the motivation for finishing the project, the exchange of ideas and the learning of new techniques is much more important.

[nealcrankshaw]

I would rather be disqualified than have the Skull not win.

Is there no way to allow us to edit our entries to bring them in line with archive requirements (without doing the voting again) so that you don't have to?

I am more than happy to reshoot my pics and tart up my description.

[Alabastero]

If there would be a possibility to change the entries, that would be great. And I think it would be very good to state these rules clearly in the FAQ-Section. I wasn't aware of that, neither thecoldwarrior. I could have changed this before the deadline.

[Ambience 327]

I think the good news here is that, based on the camaraderie oft displayed here, whatever is decided isn't really going to tick anyone off.

I'm all for whatever is easiest on you Andy, though all other things being equal, I say let the win stand, and if possible, let others help tighten things up a bit, and make sure the rules are easy for everyone to find and understand.

[HobbyDr]

I doubt anyone based their vote on any of your points of concern. I say accept the results as voted.

Don

[Tob]

HobbyDr said:

I doubt anyone based their vote on any of your points of concern.

Most likely due to all voters presuming entrants followed the rules to begin with.

If rules are in place, they should be followed, otherwise there's no point in having the rules.

Are the rules being followed? Are the rules being enforced? Who has the responsibility of enforcing them?

Is it the voter's responsibility to make sure entrants are following the rules?

[nealcrankshaw]

Tob said:


Are the rules being followed? Are the rules being enforced? Who has the responsibility of enforcing them?

Is it the voter's responsibility to make sure entrants are following the rules?

If anyone has the responsibility, it should be the person who approves the entry. Having been in the position of running a competition before though, the comp organiser can easily overlook this in his/her haste and happiness to approve entrants.

Based on this comp, I think a quick checklist could be added to the competitions thread as a sticky to remind comp organisers what to look for before they approve.

But for now, it is December, let's just let this one go and get all paraat next year.

[Alabastero]

I think the responsability is up to both: the entrant and the person who is running the competition. The only problem is that the rule "no links to temporary ressources" is just written down in the information for organizers. I should have known the rule anyway, as I have already hosted competitions, but for the future it is necessary to make these things clear.

And: I think we all turned a blind eye on these rules to have more entries in a competition.

[pendrake]

I concur with Don and Neal.

[TerraGenesis]

Having cleared the decks a little of other work, I've taken another look at this and have amended the entry texts by Alabastero and coxrltw, and awarded ranks as per the voting... which means that Alabastero came 1st and coxrltw came 2nd, with TheRat nipping at coxrltw's heels in third.

How much of an advantage Alabastero's and coxrltw's "crimes" gained them over the other entrants, I guess we'll never know... although to be fair... I suspect: not much i.e. I think the results would have been the same regardless.

I've read through the replies in this thread and taken the comments on board.

It is the responsibility of the competition organizer to make sure that entries meet their criteria and comply with the rules. As the site Admin I guess I should also be watching more closely. The "rule" about not linking to temporary resources is kinda hidden in the organizer notes... so, understandable I guess that an entrant might be unaware. Additionally: I guess if folks do read the rule etc, they do so at the start of the competition... so it's not going to be fresh in their minds 7 or 8 weeks later when the competition is coming to an end.

A checklist, as nealcrankshaw suggests, might help, but I'm thinking that maybe I can make a few modifications to the mechanisms to help with that... and it just so happens that I want/need to make a few changes there anyway and am going to postpone stating a new competition until I've done that. More details here.