Discussing the Writing Challenges -- November and December 2010

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Teresa Edgerton said:
Possibly due to Karn's bad influence (deciding who to vote for before all the stories were in), I knew that I would vote for HareBrain's the first time I read it. But then I already knew there would be three votes, having attended all of those secret meetings. While I could imagine one or two stories turning up that I liked better, I couldn't believe there would be three. As it happened, it remained my unquestioned favorite. I was pretty sure about Parson's early on and I loved No One's, too, from the first reading. But StormFeather's was a very close fourth. It was one of those stories that stuck in my mind. So I was very pleased to be able to vote for it in the tie-breaker.
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My bad influence? :( Such libel. :p :D


But I prefer to make my decisions quickly on things I like, TE. The longer I mull a decision over the longer it takes to solidify. Kind of opposite of concrete.
 
I like the idea of 3 votes ; it gives some people who may not have got any a little boost to persevere, and means it's not quite as dificulty choosing between them.
 
Maybe we should have a vote on how many votes to have. But how many votes would we get on that?
 
digs said:
Maybe we should have a vote on how many votes to have. But how many votes would we get on that?
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Now there's an idea. If we gave everyone who voted on that three votes, those who only wanted one would be at a distinct disadvantage, because they could only vote once without sacrificing their principles.
 
I liked the idea of three votes as a one off. The problem with the three votes in December was that each of the three votes carried equal weight despite the fact that, for me at least, one was a clear winner and ahead of the other two. But without some complex method of voting that was inevitable.

So, in the absence of some difficult-to-implement three voting system, I'm for returning to a single vote - except at Christmas. :)
 
I think the three vote system was useful in that, as someone else mentioned, it does make it more likely more people will get someone to vote for them.

However, those that don't get any votes may get even more disheartened.



And then you die!
 
Always cheery you are, TEIN.

So the general consensus is to keep extra votes for special occasion months, then? Like, say, Australia Day in January, Valentine's Day in February, ah, the Ides of March? Easter! Easter is in March, sometimes, isn't it? And the Ides otherwise. April Fool's, May Day, the Queen's Birthday in June, the Fourth of July, Brisbane Show Day Holiday in August, um, Father's Day in September, Hallowe'en in October, Thanksgiving in November, and then, well, Christmas in December! Yeah, special occasions only...
 
I like the 3 votes - although I didn't get to use them this time. It means that I can show my appreciation for more than one story, and those excellent stories that often don't get any votes each month are more likely to get the recognition they deserve. And, as it often seems that there are more stories written than voters, this helps to even it up a bit.

Besides, now that we know that it's possible . . . . .:D
 
Speaking as someone who has racked up a total of quite possibly less then three votes over every month that I've entered (and, might I add, didn't get any votes when everyone could choose three), I prefer the single vote system.

Having one vote makes you really think about the stories before you choose your winner. You build up a short-list, then an even shorter list, and so on, until you're down to two or three. At this point, you really look at the stories, try to find the hidden meanings or really clever lines to put one above the other two. In this way, it really is the best of the bunch that are voted for.

With three votes, you shorten your short-list down to three and then decide to call it a day and vote for three.

Sure, it's nice if everyone who enters gets a vote, but then that begins to defeat the point of a competition - if everyone who entered a golf tournament walked away with a miniature trophy for taking part, then it devalues the big trophy for the winner.

Unless someone is willing to implement an alternative system (single transferable vote, for instance - Google it), then I think it should be left as one vote per person.

As far as I see, it takes something special to win one of these things. I'd love for one of my entries to be a winner, but it would have to be really special.

If we want to give everyone a chance at winning or, at the very least, getting a few votes, then we might as well ask that people who have won more than twice, or three times, take a month or two out. But that's just stupid.

Excellency is awarded. Thus, those who crave recognition push themselves towards excellency in the hope that they have their moment in the spotlight.
 
I still prefer the one-vote system.

I knew (and reported here) which would have been my winner, so all I had to do was bump up a couple of the runners-up to winner and a couple of honourable mentions to runners-up; which meant more work for me, actually (though whether this is a good or bad thing is open to discussion).


As a (sleeping) member of the UK's Electoral Reform Society, I'm familiar with the Single Transferable Vote (STV), though not with how one would implement it on the Internet. (The Alternative Vote, by the way, is the same as STV, but with only one winner; again, I've no idea how one would automate it on the web.)
 
Lenny said:
Sure, it's nice if everyone who enters gets a vote, but then that begins to defeat the point of a competition - if everyone who entered a golf tournament walked away with a miniature trophy for taking part, then it devalues the big trophy for the winner.
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I thought you made a lot of good points in your post, but this one I feel is completely wrong. How does it cheapen an overall winner, when every entrant is recognized? The winner still understands that for that moment, at least in the eyes of the judges, his effort was the best. Which is all a single trophy/award would do as well.

As to 1 vote or 3, I am indifferent. I like the idea that more people receive some recognition, but I did have one story which I felt stood out above the others, so voting for 1 would have been easier this time than some others. I had not thought of the wickeder cut that one might get from receiving no votes in the multiple vote system which might mitigate away from it.
 
I did start thinking about the fact that there were still several outstanding stories that got no votes at all, and how extra-disheartening that might be. Thank goodness and DFM (I think) I managed to squeak one vote out, or I could tell you firsthand.

As a fairly vocal advocate of more votes, I must say that I now think we should reserve the extras for Christmas and keep the one vote system the rest of the year.
 
Reasonabilistically.... 3 pts. for 1st, 2 for 2nd, one for third.
Much more work for the Mods, so might not fly.:)
 
I think I agree with the majority, the three votes was fantastic for a Christmas special, and a great surprise, but for the norm 1 vote each seems best.

I did like J Riff's vote system, but I think getting something like this set up would be just too much!!!
 
sloweye said:
I don't really do this to win but for the taking part. I have to say it was nice to get a vote, but i'd rather it was earned than charity coz people had a spare vote going.
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I'd say that with 40-odd entries and only 3 votes , there wouldnt be any chance of having any spare votes. If you got voted for it means someone liked your story , simple as that.
 
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