Moderating Unofficial Contests

[Mable]

I think we should just ban ALL contests and not ever have any.

i just think unofficial contests shouldn't be allowed at all.

Thats exactly what Joey doesn't want. Also coming from MosaicMario who currently hosts one makes sense.

One of the best unofficial ones was the Vinesauce one (Yes it was posted here also)

It's not that they shouldn't be allowed, it's just that they ahould be better moderated so things like we saw in all those don't happen.
I mean why disallow stuff that gets like 4-5 people anyway.

[PersonNamedUser]

I think we should just ban ALL contests and not ever have any.

i just think unofficial contests shouldn't be allowed at all.

Thats exactly what Joey doesn't want. Also coming from MosaicMario who currently hosts one makes sense.

One of the best unofficial ones was the Vinesauce one (Yes it was posted here also)

It's not that they shouldn't be allowed, it's just that they ahould be better moderated so things like we saw in all those don't happen.
I mean why disallow stuff that gets like 4-5 people anyway.

Can't you take a joke? You know i was joking with the contests that i judge in and the contests i host.

[PixelPest]

Well that's a pretty terribly played joke in this more or less serious context. I'm pretty sure Kep actually was serious.

[Shadow Yoshi]

Contests like the Vinesauce one aren't a part of the "unofficial contests" realm. That was hosted on a different site. (this doesn't mean you can just go make a forum and have a contest and advertise it in a thread here, Vinesauce is an established site so it makes sense that we had a thread)

I would be open to having an approval system of some sort for contests that users want to host.

[Dreamer]

If I understand correctly, the idea of an official contest is one hosted by the staff of an established site with a large userbase (for instance here, talkhaus and Vinesauce) right? Because they're the only ones that really should have any clearance to go whenever what with them obviously being up to a good standard. Going from that it only seems logical that someone should be checking on the unofficial contests to make sure they're quality as well.

tl;dr approval system pls

[CopyLeft]

I'm all for unofficial contests, but there should be some guidelines out there.

[PixelPest]

I think we should do it. The poll seems to be for a positive vote on contest moderation. Here's what I propose are the rules for running contests:

(Proposed) Rules for Running Unofficial Contests

The rules for running your own level contest, etc. are as follows:

You must PM exactly what will be written in the main post to a staff member (Administrator, Global Moderator, or Level Judge) before posting.
If you do not follow this rule, your post will be deleted and the contents of the main post sent to you through PM.

Contest proposals will be moderated for the following:

1. You must have a predetermined list of at least three judges. This should be settled through PM. A minimum of three judges is required to run a contest and they must agree to their role as a judge. (Don't just PM someone and say they're judging your contest; they actually have to agree to it first.)

2. You must have clear rules and guidelines for your contest written in proper English.
These rules must be very precise, sensible, and unbiased. Please be open to recommendations made by staff members for changes in your rules. Also, make your post organized and professional-looking. Don't use random clumps of coloured and sized text. When using coloured text, make sure it is easily visible and clear.

3. The deadline must be at least three weeks, but not more than a month.
While asking people to submit a level in a week is a poor idea, giving them three months is also a bad idea. Around a month is usually a good length for a contest, but a month and a week won't likely have your proposal refused.

After your proposal is accepted, you must follow these rules:

4. Your contest must have at least five participants by the end of the first week of your contest thread.
It's as simple as that. Most unofficial contests receive submissions from 10-25% of the users that signed up, so it's really not worth it to run a contest that won't receive any entries.

5. You may not change the rules and guidelines of your contest after it is posted.
After it is posted, you may not drastically adjust the deadline, rules, or any other guidelines of your contest without approval of a staff member. Pushing the deadline longer and longer is one of the worst things you can do to your contest. If you are just fixing a small grammatical or spelling error, feel free to do so.

6. Post the results for your contest in the same thread.

[PersonNamedUser]

I think we should do it. The poll seems to be for a positive vote on contest moderation. Here's what I propose are the rules for running contests:

(Proposed) Rules for Running Unofficial Contests

The rules for running your own level contest, etc. are as follows:

You must PM exactly what will be written in the main post to a staff member (Administrator, Global Moderator, or Level Judge) before posting.
If you do not follow this rule, your post will be deleted and the contents of the main post sent to you through PM.

Contest proposals will be moderated for the following:

1. You must have a predetermined list of at least three judges. This should be settled through PM. A minimum of three judges is required to run a contest and they must agree to their role as a judge. (Don't just PM someone and say they're judging your contest; they actually have to agree to it first.)

2. You must have clear rules and guidelines for your contest written in proper English.
These rules must be very precise, sensible, and unbiased. Please be open to recommendations made by staff members for changes in your rules. Also, make your post organized and professional-looking. Don't use random clumps of coloured and sized text. When using coloured text, make sure it is easily visible and clear.

3. The deadline must be at least three weeks, but not more than a month.
While asking people to submit a level in a week is a poor idea, giving them three months is also a bad idea. Around a month is usually a good length for a contest, but a month and a week won't likely have your proposal refused.

After your proposal is accepted, you must follow these rules:

4. Your contest must have at least five participants by the end of the first week of your contest thread.
It's as simple as that. Most unofficial contests receive submissions from 10-25% of the users that signed up, so it's really not worth it to run a contest that won't receive any entries.

5. You may not change the rules and guidelines of your contest after it is posted.
After it is posted, you may not drastically adjust the deadline, rules, or any other guidelines of your contest without approval of a staff member. Pushing the deadline longer and longer is one of the worst things you can do to your contest. If you are just fixing a small grammatical or spelling error, feel free to do so.

6. Post the results for your contest in the same thread.

I think these are great ideas for some rules for posting a contest. I'm planning a new contest so i'll make sure to follow these rules.
EDIT:
Also, sorry for the terribly played joke.

[glitch4]

unbiased

Can you remove that word, because for me, it does not sound right.

[Emral]

unbiased

Can you remove that word, because for me, it does not sound right.

Do you want biased rules? Subtracted score for using vanilla graphics or LunaLua because the judges don't know how to judge around that?

[glitch4]

Do you want biased rules? Subtracted score for using vanilla graphics or LunaLua because the judges don't know how to judge around that?

no I just want him to change the 'biased' word to something better, because imo some users will not understand what 'biased' word means.

[JupiHornet]

Well as a person who's hosted two unoriginal contests and judged three, I think the whole "unofficial contest" thing is being generalized. Some contests are pretty bad, like the one that Tinkerbell showed earlier. But (not to sound arrogant) I, Ludwig von Koopa, and The Thwomp King have run some pretty decent contests.

Still, I think this system is a good idea, just so there aren't any more bad contests

[h2643]

Yes, all of my yes. I also want to say that, imo, we shouldn't have more than 1 unofficial contest run at the time, as 2 and more would be WAY too much.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Another pitfall is the lack of a prize. Over 75% of the unofficial contests I have seen don't have a decent prize of some kind. If they're doing the contest, then why are they not getting a decent reward for it. Saying that the prize is just satisfaction for winning isn't enough because this will be forgotten over time. Look at the official contests; they have actual prizes like a new medal and a change of name colour.

I disagree. Some people may have a really good idea for a contest but not be able to have a prize, and having a mediocre prize like "you get my CGFX" just to say you have a prize is silly. Also, the official contests used to have no prize, so that's not a good example; the medals weren't implemented until July of this year, and the name color change simply isn't true (example: Marina won CC11).

If the rules are implemented, maybe there could be a medal for winning unofficial contests? Either way, I find it ridiculous to require a prize.

1. You must have a predetermined list of at least three judges. This should be settled through PM. A minimum of three judges is required to run a contest and they must agree to their role as a judge. (Don't just PM someone and say they're judging your contest; they actually have to agree to it first.)

I've seen many unofficial contests fail (or almost fail) because some of the judges never finish their reviews. If this is made a requirement, there should also be a requirement for a reasonable deadline for judge reviews; if a judge isn't able to finish his/her reviews before the deadline, his/her reviews won't count.

[StrikeForcer]

I disagree on setting controls for unofficial contests and the idea that non-staff be banned from making contests just because of people having no idea how to run a contest and if they do but lack the marketing and organizational skills to pull it off. Its arbitration at its finest and disempowering to others who want to start a contest and have the skills to pull it off just because their idea wouldn't meet your specific requirements.

[Zeldamaster12]

I definitely agree with setting guidelines for unofficial contests, and I'm all for using PixelPest's set of rules to do so.

[StrikeForcer]

I definitely agree with setting guidelines for unofficial contests, and I'm all for using PixelPest's set of rules to do so.

PixelPest's rules doesn't take into account of the scale of whatever contests requires x amount of judges and x amount of time to work then submit and what needs to be judged. Small-scale contests can afford to have below the arbitrated minimum set within the ruleset PixelPest proposed. (http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=viewthread&t=75193 this contest comes to mind what I think of a small-scale contest) and I have seen it be successful by people who have the organizational skills and experience to run those kinds of contests.

[PixelPest]

I disagree on setting controls for unofficial contests and the idea that non-staff be banned from making contests just because of people having no idea how to run a contest and if they do but lack the marketing and organizational skills to pull it off. Its arbitration at its finest and disempowering to others who want to start a contest and have the skills to pull it off just because their idea wouldn't meet your specific requirements.

I think lacking organization skills and not having any idea how to run a successful contest are pretty good reasons why you shouldn't run them.

@Imaynotbehere4long: That is a very good idea. How long should the max and minimum dates for judging deadlines be after submissions?

[StrikeForcer]

I disagree on setting controls for unofficial contests and the idea that non-staff be banned from making contests just because of people having no idea how to run a contest and if they do but lack the marketing and organizational skills to pull it off. Its arbitration at its finest and disempowering to others who want to start a contest and have the skills to pull it off just because their idea wouldn't meet your specific requirements.

I think lacking organization skills and not having any idea how to run a successful contest are pretty good reasons why you shouldn't run them.

That is true but you misunderstood my argument. I am arguing that what you proposed is taking away the freedoms of non-staff users from making unofficial contests which is precisely why I am here voicing my opposition to this proposal. I would much rather you guys not participate in a poorly-ran contest or a contest that has the makings of a good one but is going south due to whatever bad thing is happening than taking away the freedom of creativity of being allowed to run your own contest with your own terms.

[Fuyu]

The addition of rules isn't the same as "taking away the freedoms of non-staff users from making unofficial contests" mind you, it's helping those who have no idea of how to run a contest actually understand how a true contest should be made, pre-coordinated. You don't see the CC starting without any judges right? The rules, how make the levels, guidelines, everything is planned from the start and that's why it goes so well. What's bad about helping people understand how to make a good contest?

And yes, many of us don't participate in poorly-ran contests but we all know that people aren't going to stop trying to participate on many contests as possible, regardless of who runs it. Now would you take their freedom? Of course not, nobody wants that, but to put order rules are required. I think this's what PixelPest and the rest are trying to say.