May / June 100 Word Anonymous Challenge 2022 Discussion Thread

[elvet]

In the interest of keeping the voting to a timely manner, given that there is usually 2 added weeks of guessing, I'm going to go with the dedicated thread for the votes. Since it may be more confusing/unusual than the polls, I will leave it open for 6 days, starting midnight GMT tonight.
Hopefully people will find their way there and take the extra time to write out their favourites. We'll go with 3 choices per voter.
I would like a volunteer to second my count once the voting ends.
Hope this is ok for everyone. You have all been great with your support.

 

[paranoid marvin]

As the one of the people who suggested it, I'm happy to be second counter.

 

[elvet]

As the one of the people who suggested it, I'm happy to be second counter.

You're in! Thanks.

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

Fair play @elvet and @paranoid marvin ; no machine can stop a SFF Chronicles 100 Word Anonymous Challenge

 

[elvet]

The Voting Thread has been made .
Please only enter your 3 choices (titles) and nothing else. Save this thread for other comments. Remember to keep the stories anonymous until the voting ends.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

The voting is a bit long winded, too many to choose from, it'll probably take more than 6 days to read them all fairly.

 

[elvet]

I can easily extend the timeline, how about 8 days? I have until 8PM my time to edit.

 

[Wayne Mack]

Given that the high number of entries is, so far, a one off occurrence, let's not over-react and fix something that may not be broken. An alternative to shortening the window would be to split off a new entry thread when a limit is hit. Maybe something like 50? In that case, we could have two polls and, if desired, a run-off between the top finishers in each poll.

If things settle back down to the usual level of participation, then no changes would result. If splitting into two polls becomes common place, then we can consider more drastic changes. I'm not sure that simply reducing the time window will limit those who feel very creative on a topic and I kind of like giving people free reign to put up multiple entries.

 

[elvet]

Update: the Poll limit has been changed by Brian T. It is over 100 now.
It is nice to know that there is no concern for future challenges, other than the time it takes to read them all.

 

[elvet]

Due to a wind storm here last night, we had a power outage. I was unable to edit the Voting Thread to change the duration of time it is left open. So it is still officially 6 days.
So far, We have 7 voters.
Ian Fortytwo and Wayne Mack have expressed interest in extending the time.
I will do my usual 'reminder to vote' PMs to everyone, and a profile post. We can always extend it a bit at the end of 6 days if we get more comments about not having enough time.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Due to a wind storm here last night, we had a power outage. I was unable to edit the Voting Thread to change the duration of time it is left open. So it is still officially 6 days.

I know it is extra work, but... now that the poll does allow at least 100 entries and 'only' 7 people have voted so far, is it perhaps an idea to quit the vote-thread and create a normal poll yet?
As a bonus, it does allow you to extend the duration of the vote-process.

 

[elvet]

I know it is extra work, but... now that the poll does allow at least 100 entries and 'only' 7 people have voted so far, is it perhaps an idea to quit the vote-thread and create a normal poll yet?
As a bonus, it does allow you to extend the duration of the vote-process.

I thought about that. I think it will be too confusing, and involve more than just me setting up another poll. I will need to get a moderator involved to delete the thread and posts. Then make sure everyone that voted re-votes. Leaving things as they are seems simpler right now, and if anyone specifically wants to vote, but needs more time, I can adjust it with the thread, not with the poll.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I really enjoyed reading the entries this month, and it was difficult to narrow it down to my three favourites. The one story that (for me) perfectly encapsulated both the theme and the genre was 'The view from Space', but it was nice to be able to also vote for 2 of the others I liked as well.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

A bumper crop!
There were a couple that I felt missed the genre of Science Fiction, others that didn't feel like stories, yet all were nice and well-written entries.

Here's my shortlist...
Relativity
In Between
Prelude to a Catastrophe
Flaw
The view from Space

And my votes went to...
Truth Within
Beyond the Jungle
Seeking Out New Life

 

[Starbeast]

@elvet Thanks for the extra time to vote. I'll try my best to make my three votes tomorrow.

 

[Astro Pen]

Well I am down to nine. And that, my friends, was hard enough.
Now I must page back and re-read the first ones which are getting overwritten in memory.
I need a secretary to print them all out. Yes that would help.

 

[BT Jones]

So many good stories.
Shortlist:

• Time, and the Foundation of a Prerogative.
• Elder Magic
• A Simple Matter of Scaling Matter
• It All Depends On Where You're Standing
• Dual Reality
• The Perspective 3000
• Incoming
• Elevated Hazard

I voted for:

• Silva Locus
• Blood runs deeper than oil
• The View from Space

 

[JS Wiig]

When does the voting end? I have two and need to decide on a third.

 

[elvet]

It is scheduled to end tomorrow (Wed) at 11:59 GMT. I am working on extending it to the weekend (Sunday June 26 at 11:59 GMT) by seeing if I can edit my original post with help from a mod. Turns out I have a hellish week at work and my spare time is non existent, so I need the extra time as well. I have not had time to do my usual voting reminders for those who need to know the challenge is over.

 

[elvet]

Voting is officially extended to Sunday June 26 at 11:59 GMT.
Many thanks to @chrispenycate for editing the thread for me.