Contest Section

Maybe instead of giving up points to enter a contest or start a contest, you just lose them when you don't finish, or like others said before, you get like a one week ban from the contest section.

@ KatieMosing
That's a little harsh, to ban someone for a week, isn't it? I don't think that there should be punishment for not being able to complete an entry. It just seems far too heavy for something that someone really isn't doing wrong. If a user were to be breaking site rules, I would understand that, but it just seems a little heavy. I mean, I know it would leave contests where they're at now, but people are still going to drop contests and not write entries, no matter what kind of punishment is decided.

People forget, or just don't have time, or the last thing on their mind is a contest on Mibba. While I agree that it's very important to follow through on a writing commitment, Mibba is a community - not a place where users punish other users for not being able to write an entry. It just doesn't sit well with me.

@ Takanori Matsumoto.
I agree.

Another issue I've noticed with contests is that at times hosts aren't clear with what they will and will not accept. I've gotten nasty comments on entries in the past because I entered something the host had a problem with, but it was something that wasn't stated in the rules.

I guess a suggestion I would have for contests would be having a menu (like the one in comment swap to check off what story types and ratings we'll read) where hosts could check off what they'll accept, like story type, genre, rating, pairing type, maybe a box for other to put word min/max, prewrites, that deal?

@ i saw sparks
Yes! that way, we could search through the contests we actually might want to enter, instead of sifting through the ones that we're not necessarily interested in. Someone else also suggested something like having contests sorted by type (i.e. "Song/Lyric Prompt", "Photo Prompt", "Quote Prompt", "Prewrite", etc.) and I really liked it.

Takanori Matsumoto.:

@ darkfallenangel

Not gonna lie, I don't like the thought of an entrance fee, period. I think that if I'm entering a contest, I'm already giving up time and energy to write the best possible entry that I can. I shouldn't have to pay points to join something, especially if it's on a for-fun basis only, as someone already said.

I agree. I don't like the idea of an entrance fee or mandatory prizes. I think if hosts/participants want to do that, they can, but we (site administration) should not make that mandatory. When the point system is fully functional, there is other things users will want to do with their points, and we don't require points to post anything else on the site, a contest shouldn't be different.

I especially don't like the idea of using points as a mandatory fee/prize, because some contest hosts just simply judge and give no prizes. Some uses are just looking for a writing prompt when they join a contest, and I think it's fine for users to keep it simple if they want to.

i saw sparks:

Another issue I've noticed with contests is that at times hosts aren't clear with what they will and will not accept. I've gotten nasty comments on entries in the past because I entered something the host had a problem with, but it was something that wasn't stated in the rules.

I guess a suggestion I would have for contests would be having a menu (like the one in comment swap to check off what story types and ratings we'll read) where hosts could check off what they'll accept, like story type, genre, rating, pairing type, maybe a box for other to put word min/max, prewrites, that deal?

What the host accepts is still going to be entirely at their discretion; we cannot make them read something they don't want to. I like this idea though,as long as the host still can write and describe the types of entries they want, so they can be specific beyond the content filters we come up with.

Takanori Matsumoto.:

@ i saw sparks
Yes! that way, we could search through the contests we actually might want to enter, instead of sifting through the ones that we're not necessarily interested in. Someone else also suggested something like having contests sorted by type (i.e. "Song/Lyric Prompt", "Photo Prompt", "Quote Prompt", "Prewrite", etc.) and I really liked it.

This is definitely something we need, and can do, we just need a list of the most common types of contests, and i'm sure we'll have an "other" category or something in case someone comes up with something new or strange.

One bad thing I could see happening with giving out points as a prize is that a user could host a contest and say "the winner gets 10,000 points!" and then pick their friend to win so they could get a massive amount of points, but that would only happen if the points were generated from the system instead of handed out by the host of the contest.

*I hope that made sense.

@ KatieMosing
They wouldn't be generated by the system for that very reason; it would come from the hosts personal supply of points. (And you'll be able to give points to any user for any reason, so I don't think someone would go through the trouble of hosting a contest just to give their friend points)

Kurtni:

What the host accepts is still going to be entirely at their discretion; we cannot make them read something they don't want to. I like this idea though,as long as the host still can write and describe the types of entries they want, so they can be specific beyond the content filters we come up with.

I never said anything about making people read anything they don't want to read, but I've been in circumstances where a host has left me a nasty comment on an entry because it had x in it when they never stated in the rules that x wasn't allowed.

I think it's unfair to punish someone just because they're not psychic and can't read a host's mind. If there was a menu when someone created a new contest that they had to check off what they would accept as far as story type, genre, pairing type, ratings, the basics go, it could help avoid that. Contest hosts are so quick to throw in "anything goes" when they aren't really willing to accept everything, so having to go through and check off this and that may remind hosts that maybe they don't want to read something that say, has a NC-17 rating.

Kurtni:

I agree. I don't like the idea of an entrance fee or mandatory prizes. I think if hosts/participants want to do that, they can, but we (site administration) should not make that mandatory. When the point system is fully functional, there is other things users will want to do with their points, and we don't require points to post anything else on the site, a contest shouldn't be different.

I especially don't like the idea of using points as a mandatory fee/prize, because some contest hosts just simply judge and give no prizes. Some uses are just looking for a writing prompt when they join a contest, and I think it's fine for users to keep it simple if they want to.

The points you and others raised are fair enough, but I still feel like people need some sort of incentive to really push people to carry it out to completion, whether that is submitting an entry or hosting/judging. It's not fun if heaps of people enter, but only one person hands in an entry, or if quite a few eager people hand in entries and never know who was better.

@ darkfallenangel

I agree.

I mean, I get that their supposed to be fun, but I think, since it's a contest, it should be about more than just fun. There are prompts all over the site, so if people just wanted a prompt they could do that, or still use the prompt, but not enter. The contest section is for competition and I think people, especially hosts, need to be held responsible when they enter into something. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I don't think it's fair that people spend a ton of time writing their entries, only to never have them judged or even looked at by the host. I mostly think the point deduction should be given to the host, because it really isn't fair for them to leave their contestants hanging.

@ darkfallenangel
I agree. I know it's just for fun, but so are stories and forums and those have to follow rules, so why shouldn't contest people have to follow the rules?

@ dru is the man.
The rules being proposed for contests in this thread just seem much more restrictive than rules on the other parts of the site. There is no other section on the site where you could lose the points you earn, we don't limit the number of stories/articles/poems/blogs you're allowed to post at one time, you're not required to complete a story before posting another one, and no one is penalized for dropping out of a co-write or role play. I don't see why we should crack the whip on this particular section just because we want to move it off forum. I guess I just don't see contests as this big responsibility over any other section of the site.

@ Kurtni
Are there other parts of the site where people consistently lie to others, don't do what they promised they would, and "steal" from others? (When a contestant turns in a story and the contest runner never delivers, I think they've stolen the contestants' time, which is a minimum of 7.75 per hour in the U.S.)

I think that if contests ran smoothly and as they were supposed to, then people wouldn't be suggesting these ideas.

If there is a problem with contests, solutions should be developed before a new corner of the site is.

dru is the man.:

@ Kurtni
Are there other parts of the site where people consistently lie to others, don't do what they promised they would, and "steal" from others? (When a contestant turns in a story and the contest runner never delivers, I think they've stolen the contestants' time, which is a minimum of 7.75 per hour in the U.S.)

I think that if contests ran smoothly and as they were supposed to, then people wouldn't be suggesting these ideas.

If there is a problem with contests, solutions should be developed before a new corner of the site is.

Yeah, co-writing projects, beta/editor agreements, and role playing threads. I don't think there is a solution to make people judge contests who don't want to; that's not something you can force people to do. So far I think the best suggestion was for contest completion stats to be displayed so users can be selective about what they enter, but even that doesn't prevent people from picking phony winners. I'd rather focus on areas of contests we can improve, like organization and structure.

If you disagree and think there is a solution, that's cool, just my two cents.

@ Kurtni
In that case, it sounds like the contest section should stay the way it is, so we don't waste the man hours fixing something that will be the same sort of disaster for users.

I personally think the idea of using points and getting them back when you've completed your duties or cancelled in time is a good idea. Everyone gets the points back as long as they follow the rules. And since no one is required to do contests, why would the points be an issue anyway?

@ dru is the man.
Obviously not everyone thinks it's a disaster or that section wouldn't be so active; I think the users who like entering contests would appreciate better organization and structure. Not everyone is concerned with contests being judged, some people just like entering for the heck of it.

@ Kurtni
But you and I have both seen individuals repeatedly complaining about it in the Things You Hate About Mibba thread. In fact, there's a separate thread about people not judging contests. I think it's worth making sure our users aren't getting lied to and taken advantage of.

If a user has no points left, would the just be disallowed from using the contest feature?