Forums → Support Forum → How to Create a Successful Forum Contest [Guide]

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SirLegendary

16,585 posts

Duke

Posted August 7, '15 2:12pm UTC

Introduction

Ever been so afraid to create a contest because people might ignore it and that would just be embarrassing? I'm here to help. I know how hard it is to create contests, and there are actually a few really simple things you can do to give your contest life and a good amount of participants. These are some simple tips that anyone can use. Please take note that there are many ways to run a contest, though this way seems to be, in my opinion, the most straightforward way to do it. So let's get to it!

Keep it interesting

- I know you want to start a contest about something you yourself enjoy, but do you think others may share the same interest? Just because it seems like a good idea in your head, doesn't mean that you can just start a new thread for your would be contest. It takes a bit of skill to turn ideas into reality, and to create a contest from scratch requires a process, in fact turning anything from your imagination into reality requires a process. Ask yourself, will my contest be fun? Will my contest be interesting? Is my contest unique, but not too far off the norm to push people away?

- One major part in this process to think about is the difficulty of your contest. Will it be too hard and do the users in this forum have the skill to pull of what I'm asking for? Don't forget, a lot of users might not be the best at the kind of entry you're asking for, so don't ask for something too difficult. The truth is, if it's easy to pull off and interesting at the same time, more users will actually participate in your contest. Make sure your choice of what users will submit won't be such a time killer, at the very minimum, it shouldn't take users more than a few days to create their entry for your contest, unless they do it on purpose because they chose to take their time.

- Have a reward for the winner/winners. Why? Imagine doing something for nothing. Exactly, get your contest winners something to be happy about. Something that will tell them it was worth it. Of course, a lot of those reading this won't be a moderator and above, and the rest of us don't really have prizes to give. Pitch your idea to a moderator/admin and ask them if the winners of your contest can be given a merit. Ferret used to gift my contest's winners AFG+. Though there are still many forms of bestowing an award, just make sure that if it's a questionable method, that you contact a moderator first.

Keep it Organized and Appealing

- For the love of Ferret, please make sure your intro page is organized. Please. Make sure your participants know what they are getting into. Make sure they know what's at stake. Make sure the rules are visible. Make sure it's appealing too. Have some headers, have some bullet points, or perhaps have some emoji's to bring up the mood. DO NOT put the intro, the rules, and the reward part in one paragraph. I swear to you that it will look so unattractive it would look like a modern art painting.

- Set sections, with titles.

- Bold the titles, or enlarge their sizes.

Rules and Judging

- Most times you want to be able to create a contest that specifies to an area of skill you understand. This way you can judge entries better and have a better understanding on the decisions you might have to make along the way. If you feel like you don't have the skill for the specific entries that will be made for your contest, find another user who does so they can be the one to judge. Someone who is credible, and has experience. Eventually you will gain your own experience.

- Set standards, narrow down the broadness of how an entry should be by setting standards. For example, if the contest was based on artworks and images, and your goal was to look for the best digitally drawn artwork, set specifics so that size, dimensions, and themes, so that you don't have to find yourself judging between how large someone's work is compared to how to beautiful another's is. Set standards, so that you are able to judge works based on the skills required that your contests demand, and so that other variables that don't really matter won't affect how you judge those entries.

- You also shouldn't forget that if you set too many rules, you'll be limiting the creativity of an entry. You want to be able to bring out the best in users for that specific skill required for your contest, but you don't want to restrict them to the point that they can't think of what to enter into your contest. Be reasonable, and in return users might just amaze you, be too lenient, and your contest is broken.

- Bending the rules is okay! Let users bend the rules, it's another way of freeing themselves from limits. Just make sure they aren't totally breaking them to the point that they have an obvious advantage over other users.

- Follow your own rules. Follow dates that you have set. Judge on time, and announce on time. Extending deadlines is okay, but is still messy. We want to be clean and accurate.

Quick tips

- I discourage you from entering in your own contest. Even if you aren't judging. It doesn't feel right should you win, you would have an unfair advantage over others, and you should always try to keep the playing field fair for everyone.

- If you are biased, no one will ever think about entering another contest of yours.

- If you're contest will have a theme, it would be nice if you could follow up with a round two, round three and so on. Why? Because it gives people more chances to shine. Also because someone may not do their best in a "happy" theme, but better in a "sad" theme.

- Be active, if users ask you questions, be sure to respond as soon as you can.

Conclusion to this guide

You really don't have to follow everything that has been said here, if you want, you can create contests that are basically open to anything, because after all creativity and imagination is endless. The point of writing this was to show users that if you create a contest, you will have a bad time if you manage it incorrectly, and otherwise, your contest that wasn't well thought out may just end up being totally lost in the forums with no replies. This was meant to guide users to create organized contests. So what does a good introduction to contest look like? It looks like the very first post of this thread.
In this post, we see organized sections cut into an introduction, guidelines, closing dates, and prizes. Every section has a title that is easily readable because it is bolded and sized differently. We also see appealing images for the introduction. If I had to ask you to at least remember one thing from all of this, it would be to be organized and clear with what you want.

Hope you learned something from this, good luck!

__________________________________________

Example of What Your Post Should Look Like

__________________________________________

Next stop after the Spring warm up in our Armor Games' Armatar Contest is the sizzling season that makes everyone happy!! Are you ready? Because here comes the long awaited...

SUMMER EDITION!!!

As usual, here are the guidelines that help you figure out what is allowed and what is not :

ARMATAR CONTEST GUIDELINES :

ne: All entries must be appropriate. They cannot be offensive or profane in nature. Keep it clean!
The entry must be square and at least 512x512 pixels in dimension.
Your entry must scale down well to 100x100. So if it looks good in its larger form, make sure that it will still look good when it is scaled down to the armatar size. Here are a few suggestions about this :
Sometimes keeping it simple is better. If you go into a lot of detail, it might not look as great when you scale it down. So keep in mind what the Armatar size will be and check often how it looks when it is scaled down.
Remember to save a lot while you are making it! Better to delete 20 -in between made- save files later on, than ending up with a finished piece you don't like or an end result that is showing up blurred when scaled down...
If you are able to do vector, by all means! That can help with the sharpness of the image. However, since they are small in Armatar size, this is probably not a big issue.
All entries must be fitting to the current contest's theme. If a certain entry is debatable to whatever extend, a Mod or Admin will give the decisive and final ruling for submission.
An entry must be completely original. You cannot use entire (or even elements from) pieces of artwork made by someone else, the entire armatar must be 100% created by you! A Moderator can ask you to provide conclusive proof that the entry was created by you entirely and you are obligated to provide this when asked for.

Plagiarism will not only exclude your submission by means of disqualification, it will also exclude you from participation in any future contests AND will have further consequences!

CLOSING DATE OF THIS CONTEST :

As most of you have a long summer vacation, we will have a long entry window for this contest. Heh, you've got more than enough time on your hands to make a whole bunch of awesome creations, right?! Just make sure to submit them before the closing date of 09/01/2015!

WINNING SUBMISSIONS :

Every participant of an official edition of the Armor Games' Armatar Contest receives a well deserved Merit for submitting one -or more- entries to every separate edition held. This means a maximum of one Merit per participant, per edition.

Alongside this Merit for your participation, we now have a special non-game Quest to award for the winning submissions of the Armor Games' Armatar Contest!! This special Armatar Creator Quest will be bestowed upon the creators of the winning entries that were chosen for every contest held from now on. The winners will receive this Quest to show our appreciation for their outstanding work. Wear this Quest with pride!
Winners will be chosen after the edition is officially closed;
The winning entries are non-debatable, results are final;
The Armatar Creator Quest can only be awarded once per user. If a particular user wins another edition, they will not receive this Quest again, as Quests can not be achieved a second time;
As a special appreciation for their outstanding work, all the winners and their winning entries of every edition will be placed into the Armatar Creator Quest Winners Hall of Fame!

As always, we are looking forward to seeing your wonderful ideas and contributions! Are you ready to take 'em and make 'em? Bake your thoughts to their boiling point in the hot sun, swim in your sea of endless ideas, listen to the seashell whispering to you about what you can make, climb up that tall palm tree and harvest that coconut brain of yours! Eh... eh... that's enough DayCee...

Right! *cough* Ahem... Make 'em look good! Amaze us!!! =)

Source: @MrDayCee's Armatar Contest: Summer Edition 2015

__________________________________________

Another Example

__________________________________________

Welcome to the Art Skills Competition 2014/2015, or "ASC" for short. It is a contest to gather willing artists from the forums to compete in a friendly test of their skills and reward the best of their work each round.

Rounds will take place each month, the last week of a month will be dedicated to judging submissions, so artists have 3 weeks after a theme is declared to submit their entry for the round.
___________________________________________________________________

Competition Guidelines :

1. The entry must be 100% original material.
2. Each round lasts for a month; closing date is at the end of that month. (See thread's title)
3. Submissions should be relevant to the current month's theme. (See thread's title)
4. Keep posts resolutions within reason and if you must have a larger resolution, link it to the entry.
5. Entries can be created in any medium, please note that it will be appreciated if hand drawn entries are cropped to contain only the intended work.
6. Winners will be announced by the judge of the competition at the end of each round; the results are final and non-debatable.
7. The winner of a round will have the right to choose the next theme; if this takes too long, the judge will choose one instead.
8. All participants of each round will receive a Merit for their hard work; the winner of each round will receive the Armor Games "Artist Quest"!

___________________________________________________________________

Rounds held thus far :

Round #1 : Knight (2014 Page 1) - Winner @kegaumongo
Round #2 : Fantasy (2014 Page 4) - Winner @weirdlike
Round #3 : Smileys (2014 Page 7) - Winner @MrDayCee
Round #4 : Horror (2014 Page 10) - Winner @AHomoSapien
Round #5 : Wild Animals (2014 Page 15) - Winner @SirLegendary
Round #6 : Superheroes (2014 Page 16) - Winner @Alexistigerspice
Round #7 : Birds (2015 Page 21) - Winner @kegaumongo
Round #8 : Alone in the Dark (2015 Page 24) - Winner @Cenere
Round #9 : Through the Fire (2015 Page 26) - Winner @kegaumongo
Round #10 : Blue (2015 Page 30) - Winner @StormWalker
Round #11 : Robots (2015 Page 34) - Winner @weirdlike
Round #12 : 3D Glasses (2015 Page 40) - Winner @Cenere
Round #13 : Self Portrait (2015 Page 44) - Winner @StormWalker
Round #14 : Dragons (2015 Page 47) - Winner ...
___________________________________________________________________

Starting theme...

Round 1: Knight
This months theme will be dedicated to creating a knight representing that of Armor Games, it is a non official character to try and stir the imaginations of artists and viewers. The artist should endeavor to embody Armor Games in a Knightly character.

Goodluck and have fun

Source: Art Skills Competition Hosted by @Hectichermit

__________________________________________

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Introduction[/b][/size]

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Keep it interesting[/b][/size]

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Keep it Organized and Appealing[/b][/size]

- Set sections, with titles.

- Bold the titles, or enlarge their sizes.

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Rules and Judging[/b][/size]

- Follow your own rules. Follow dates that you have set. Judge on time, and announce on time. Extending deadlines is okay, but is still messy. We want to be clean and accurate.

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Quick tips[/b][/size]

- If you are biased, no one will ever think about entering another contest of yours.

- Be active, if users ask you questions, be sure to respond as soon as you can.

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Conclusion to this guide[/b][/size]

You really don't have to follow everything that has been said here, if you want, you can create contests that are basically open to anything, because after all creativity and imagination is endless. The point of writing this was to show users that if you create a contest, you will have a bad time if you manage it incorrectly, and otherwise, your contest that wasn't well thought out may just end up being totally lost in the forums with no replies. This was meant to guide users to create organized contests. So what does a good introduction to contest look like? It looks like[b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12520586/official-armor-games-armatar-contest-summer] the very first post of this thread[/url].
[/b] In this post, we see organized sections cut into an introduction, guidelines, closing dates, and prizes. Every section has a title that is easily readable because it is bolded and sized differently. We also see appealing images for the introduction. If I had to ask you to at least remember one thing from all of this, it would be to be[i] organized and clear with what you want[/i].

Hope you learned something from this, good luck!

[b]__________________________________________[/b]

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Example of What Your Post Should Look Like[/b][/size]

[b]__________________________________________[/b]

[img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8500/8253540719_7b89c6b013_b_d.jpg[/img]

Next stop after the Spring warm up in our [b]Armor Games' Armatar Contest[/b] is the sizzling season that makes everyone happy!! Are you ready? Because here comes the long awaited...

[b]SUMMER EDITION!!![/b]

[img]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2937/14655297575_25c7cc7ce1_b_d.jpg[/img]

As usual, here are the guidelines that help you figure out what is allowed and what is not :

[size=150]:art:[/size] [b][i][u][size=125]ARMATAR CONTEST GUIDELINES :[/size][/u][/i][/b]

[b]:one: All entries must be appropriate.[/b] They cannot be offensive or profane in nature. Keep it clean!
[b]:two: The entry must be square and at least 512x512 pixels in dimension.[/b]
[b]:three: Your entry must scale down well to 100x100.[/b] So if it looks good in its larger form, make sure that it will still look good when it is scaled down to the armatar size. Here are a few suggestions about this :
:small_orange_diamond: [i]Sometimes keeping it simple is better.[/i] If you go into a lot of detail, it might not look as great when you scale it down. So keep in mind what the Armatar size will be and check often how it looks when it is scaled down.
:small_orange_diamond: [i]Remember to save a lot while you are making it![/i] Better to delete 20 -in between made- save files later on, than ending up with a finished piece you don't like or an end result that is showing up blurred when scaled down...
:small_orange_diamond: [i]If you are able to do vector, by all means![/i] That can help with the sharpness of the image. However, since they are small in Armatar size, this is probably not a big issue.
[b]:four: All entries must be fitting to the current contest's theme.[/b] If a certain entry is debatable to whatever extend, a Mod or Admin will give the decisive and final ruling for submission.
[b]:five: An entry must be completely original.[/b] You cannot use entire (or even elements from) pieces of artwork made by someone else, the entire armatar must be 100% created by you! A Moderator can ask you to provide conclusive proof that the entry was created by you entirely and you are obligated to provide this when asked for.

:bangbang: [b][i]Plagiarism will not only exclude your submission by means of disqualification, it will also exclude you from participation in any future contests AND will have further consequences![/i][/b] :bangbang:

:curly_loop:

[size=150]:art:[/size] [b][i][u][size=125]CLOSING DATE OF THIS CONTEST :[/size][/u][/i][/b]

:curly_loop:

[size=150]:art:[/size] [b][i][u][size=125]WINNING SUBMISSIONS :[/size][/u][/i][/b]

Every participant of an official edition of the [b]Armor Games' Armatar Contest[/b] receives a well deserved Merit for submitting one -or more- entries to every separate edition held. [i]This means a maximum of one Merit per participant, per edition.[/i]

Alongside this Merit for your participation, we now have a special non-game Quest to award for the winning submissions of the Armor Games' Armatar Contest!! This special [b][i]Armatar Creator Quest[/i][/b] will be bestowed upon the creators of the winning entries that were chosen for every contest held from now on. The winners will receive this Quest to show our appreciation for their outstanding work. Wear this Quest with pride!
:trophy: Winners will be chosen after the edition is officially closed;
:no_entry_sign: The winning entries are non-debatable, results are final;
:white_check_mark: The Armatar Creator Quest can only be awarded once per user. If a particular user wins another edition, they will not receive this Quest again, as Quests can not be achieved a second time;
:gem: As a special appreciation for their outstanding work, all the winners and their winning entries of every edition will be placed into the [b][i][size=105][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12403802/]Armatar Creator Quest Winners Hall of Fame[/url][/size][/i][/b]!

:curly_loop:

Right! *cough* Ahem... Make 'em look good! Amaze us!!! =)

Source: @MrDayCee's [url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12520586/official-armor-games-armatar-contest-summer]Armatar Contest: Summer Edition 2015[/url]

[b]__________________________________________[/b]

[size=150][b]:heavy_check_mark: Another Example[/b][/size]

[b]__________________________________________[/b]

Welcome to the [b]Art Skills Competition 2014/2015[/b], or [b]"ASC"[/b] for short. It is a contest to gather willing artists from the forums to compete in a friendly test of their skills and reward the best of their work each round.

[size=110][b]Competition Guidelines :[/b][/size]

___________________________________________________________________

[size=110][b]Rounds held thus far :[/b][/size]

Round #1 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/1#post-12327571]Knight[/url][/b] (2014 Page 1) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/kegaumongo]@kegaumongo[/url]
Round #2 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/4#post-12336802]Fantasy[/url][/b] (2014 Page 4) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/weirdlike]@weirdlike[/url]
Round #3 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/7#post-12350268]Smileys[/url][/b] (2014 Page 7) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/MrDayCee]@MrDayCee[/url]
Round #4 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/10#post-12369739]Horror[/url][/b] (2014 Page 10) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/AHomoSapien]@AHomoSapien[/url]
Round #5 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/15#post-12393232]Wild Animals[/url][/b] (2014 Page 15) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/SirLegendary]@SirLegendary[/url]
Round #6 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/16#post-12409857]Superheroes[/url][/b] (2014 Page 16) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/AlexisTigerSpice]@Alexistigerspice[/url]
Round #7 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/21#post-12429607]Birds[/url][/b] (2015 Page 21) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/kegaumongo]@kegaumongo[/url]
Round #8 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/24#post-12448139]Alone in the Dark[/url][/b] (2015 Page 24) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/Cenere]@Cenere[/url]
Round #9 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/26#post-12464029]Through the Fire[/url][/b] (2015 Page 26) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/kegaumongo]@kegaumongo[/url]
Round #10 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-9-through-the-fire-deadline-march-25th/page/30#post-12478890]Blue[/url][/b] (2015 Page 30) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/StormWalker]@StormWalker[/url]
Round #11 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-11-robots-deadline-may-20th/page/34#post-12492124]Robots[/url][/b] (2015 Page 34) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/weirdlike]@weirdlike[/url]
Round #12 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-12-3d-glasses-deadline-th/page/40#post-12507556]3D Glasses[/url][/b] (2015 Page 40) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/Cenere]@Cenere[/url]
Round #13 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-14-theme-dragons-deadline-september-8th/page/44#post-12520074]Self Portrait[/url][/b] (2015 Page 44) - Winner [url=http://armorgames.com/user/StormWalker]@StormWalker[/url]
Round #14 : [b][url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-14-theme-dragons-deadline-september-8th/page/47#post-12526568]Dragons[/url][/b] (2015 Page 47) - Winner ...
___________________________________________________________________

Starting theme...

[b]Round 1: Knight[/b]
This months theme will be dedicated to creating a knight representing that of Armor Games, it is a non official character to try and stir the imaginations of artists and viewers. The artist should endeavor to embody Armor Games in a Knightly character.

[i]Goodluck and have fun[/i]

Source: [url=http://armorgames.com/community/thread/12327571/asc-art-skills-competition-2015-round-14-theme-dragons-deadline-september-8th]Art Skills Competition[/url] Hosted by [url=http://armorgames.com/user/Hectichermit]@Hectichermit[/url]

[b]__________________________________________[/b]

10 Replies

offline

akshobhya

5,063 posts

Justiciar

Posted August 15, '15 5:03am UTC

This is excellent and informative. Thanks legendary.

offline

devansh_asthana

480 posts

Farmer

Posted August 15, '15 1:09pm UTC

We needed this @SirLegendary .Kudos!
=)

offline

MrDayCee

14,745 posts

King

Posted August 16, '15 8:04am UTC

Well written, organized and constructed! Well done @SirLegendary!

offline

SirLegendary

16,585 posts

Duke

Posted August 16, '15 4:28pm UTC

Thanks all

offline

Ferret

9,323 posts

Bard

Posted August 18, '15 9:59pm UTC

@SirLegendary Should this be in the guide section! Looks great.

offline

SirLegendary

16,585 posts

Duke

Posted August 19, '15 6:00pm UTC

@Ferret Thanks

Just updated the guide, for more reference.

Also, I extend my apologies to those who get sent notifications saying you were tagged in a post, because you were mentioned in some of the contest pages I used for reference. I just remembered that all of you get notifications by email if you are mentioned. Well, you do get recognition for the wins.

offline

Ernie15

13,344 posts

Bard

Posted August 21, '15 8:11am UTC

Don't enter in your own contest. Even if you aren't judging. It really looks bad and we want to avoid as much bias as possible.

If you aren't judging, what harm can entering your own contest do? People will often hand their contests over to someone else to judge, then enter that very next round or sometime later on. There's nothing wrong with that.

offline

SirLegendary

16,585 posts

Duke

Posted August 21, '15 9:23am UTC

@Ernie15 Just to avoid bias and keeping it fair. Winning your own contest isn't fair because you've created the contest, and people will be looking to you for unanswered questions, maybe even judges. The user entering in their own contest has an advantage over others because that certain user had created the rules, can bend the rules farthest since they set the standard, and has set up the contest (prizes, format, choice of judges). These kinds of things gives the owner of the contest an edge over others, despite how small it may be.

Like said, users don't have to follow this guide strictly, it was meant to show users a simple format of running a contest that's organized, and easy to understand for everyone.

offline

Ernie15

13,344 posts

Bard

Posted August 24, '15 7:36am UTC

The user entering in their own contest has an advantage over others because that certain user had created the rules, can bend the rules farthest since they set the standard

It's true that the person who starts a contest generally has a better understanding of the rules and guidelines than a contestant would, but once that individual becomes one of the contestants, it doesn't matter how they interpret the rules as much as it does how the current judge interprets them. The creator can try to bend the rules all he wants as a contestant, but the new judge(s) will have their own set of standards to judge by, so it could go either way. Most contests are set up so that the general rules in the OP can only be broken, not bent. What matters most is the parameters of the current round and how well the current judge deems an entry to fit the theme of the round.

What gives a contestant more of an edge than creating the contest is being able to choose the theme for the next round, specifically in an art contest since there are artists who can draw certain things better than they can others. It hasn't happened in the Art Skills Competition, as nobody has won twice in a row, but theoretically it can give the winner a very slight advantage in the next round.

[quote]The user entering in their own contest has an advantage over others because that certain user had created the rules, can bend the rules farthest since they set the standard[/quote]

offline

SirLegendary

16,585 posts

Duke

Posted August 24, '15 4:59pm UTC

It's true that the person who starts a contest generally has a better understanding of the rules and guidelines than a contestant would, but once that individual becomes one of the contestants, it doesn't matter how they interpret the rules as much as it does how the current judge interprets them. The creator can try to bend the rules all he wants as a contestant, but the new judge(s) will have their own set of standards to judge by, so it could go either way. Most contests are set up so that the general rules in the OP can only be broken, not bent. What matters most is the parameters of the current round and how well the current judge deems an entry to fit the theme of the round.
What gives a contestant more of an edge than creating the contest is being able to choose the theme for the next round, specifically in an art contest since there are artists who can draw certain things better than they can others. It hasn't happened in the Art Skills Competition, as nobody has won twice in a row, but theoretically it can give the winner a very slight advantage in the next round.

Yes you have a point there. I understand what you are trying to say. Though if you look at it from another contestant's point of view, it still seems pretty unfair, and the disadvantage is implicit. Furthermore, winning your own contest seems to be a very shallow way to run a contest, since the real reason you should be running one isn't for your sake, but for other user's sake. Future contest creators can start their own contest, with the prize that they want, and set the rules and system how they want, and make sure everything is in place so that they have the edge over other users, essentially creating a prize made just for them and rules set for their liking and abilities. The system and rules aren't set by judges, it was set by the contest creator.

Sure, I mean if the prize wasn't just merits, and instead real currency, or prizes to be shipped to the winner, than the contest creator who had just won their pwn contest will end up sending it to no one.

Like I said, all of which could be avoided if the contest creator doesn't enter in his/her own contest. Though because of the good points you make, I'll be sure to edit my post, and discourage users from doing so, instead of telling they can't do it at all.

[quote]It's true that the person who starts a contest generally has a better understanding of the rules and guidelines than a contestant would, but once that individual becomes one of the contestants, it doesn't matter how they interpret the rules as much as it does how the current judge interprets them. The creator can try to bend the rules all he wants as a contestant, but the new judge(s) will have their own set of standards to judge by, so it could go either way. Most contests are set up so that the general rules in the OP can only be broken, not bent. What matters most is the parameters of the current round and how well the current judge deems an entry to fit the theme of the round.

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