[Other] Contest Discussion(s)

^ Hm, not sure - lemme have a think. I left some "blank" sections scattered around the FAQ (they're currently hidden) for inserting late additions and I'm not 100% sure where they are (the whole squirrel thing again ....), lol.

looks good let me know when to unlock it. I think after 2 makes sense too

I think we need a new RFD Poll: "Which is more hypnotic, hoob's cat avatar or Jimboski's swirling chicken avatar"?

I think Jimboski's bird is an obese pigeon. I stare at them for different reasons - they are personal and really no one's business.

The voting part was well written and informative. It was a great idea to put it in there hoob - so the fall-out from heated discussions can be avoided as the FAQ can be referred to.

wonder what it means when so many users have cats as avatars?

Ok, I think I've got it straight now, Ishfish's avatar black background, Ronin's avatar member of starfleet. Got it.

tracydeanne2 wrote: ↑

Jan 24th, 2013 11:08 am

ok, i think i've got it straight now, ishfish's avatar black background, ronin's avatar member of starfleet. Got it.

+1

binabug wrote: ↑

Jan 24th, 2013 11:05 am

wonder what it means when so many users have cats as avatars?

For me, it's more about the maneki neko - I'm actually not a big fan of cats in real life

Looks like Data's cat has gained some weight.

gbamber wrote: ↑

Jan 24th, 2013 1:04 pm

Looks like Data's cat has gained some weight.

Spot, to the holodeck for some exercise!

Great FAQ Ronin....did not know that slang word either....learn something new everyday...

ronin1701 wrote: ↑

Jan 22nd, 2013 4:45 pm

Been mulling this over for a while: wondering if we should prohibit contest posters from inserting shortened URLs (e.g. bit.ly, etc.) in their contest threads?

It's not really necessary to use them since there's no danger of running out of space in an RFD Forum post (it's not as though we only have 140 characters to work with).

The problem with shortened URLs is that they're a good way to hide referral links, which are of course forbidden by RFD Forum rules. Some are obvious once the contest page is opened, but others are not so that's a problem.

I'm not saying that everyone using shortened URLs is trying to bypass the referral link rule, but I sure wouldn't be surprised if that happens from time to time.

suggestion-prohibit-use-shortened-urls- ... s-1292302/

Let's see if this flies. If not, we can still consider doing the same thing but in Contests Forum only.

I am too lazy to post this: for $150 garage gcs - must take pict. Includes usa.
http://www.garage.ca/family/index.jsp?c ... cale=en_CA

So just to be clear this was the chronological timeline of recent events around here.

1 - Poll is created to get users opinions on saying "thanks" or "good luck" in a thread.

2 - Credibility of poll is instantly thrown out when it is stated early on that nothing will happen regardless of the results.

3 - About 15 pages of "you're wrong, Im right" arguing from both sides occurs.

4 - A new agenda, from within the poll thread, is decided that a FAQ will be created.

5 - Countless hours are then spent creating a FAQ sticky for newbies (or simple suggestions to current users).

6 - Poll thread is buried for dead in expired deals.

7 - Now that the poll thread is dead, the continued debate about what should be added to the FAQ is now migrated into this thread, Contest Discussions.

8 - Old time contesters continue with what works best for them, whether that means replying thanks or hitting the thanks button, and decide to avoid checking this thread for what it was originally intended for.

I think some squirrels ran through the poll thread between 3 and 4.

I must say to Ronin et al that you have done an amazing job on the contest FAQ! Well Done!

The DZA wrote: ↑

Jan 25th, 2013 2:24 pm

So just to be clear this was the chronological timeline of recent events around here.

1 - Poll is created to get users opinions on saying "thanks" or "good luck" in a thread.

2 - Credibility of poll is instantly thrown out when it is stated early on that nothing will happen regardless of the results.

3 - About 15 pages of "you're wrong, Im right" arguing from both sides occurs.

4 - A new agenda, from within the poll thread, is decided that a FAQ will be created.

5 - Countless hours are then spent creating a FAQ sticky for newbies (or simple suggestions to current users).

6 - Poll thread is buried for dead in expired deals.

7 - Now that the poll thread is dead, the continued debate about what should be added to the FAQ is now migrated into this thread, Contest Discussions.

8 - Old time contesters continue with what works best for them, whether that means replying thanks or hitting the thanks button, and decide to avoid checking this thread for what it was originally intended for.

Always looking at the negatives: that's The DZA for you.

But to run down your list:

1. yes
2. no, not really. You/Spidey/Belfour said that nothing would happen - but that was expected. And if you'd bother to pay attention once in a while rather that focus purely on your own little world, things have happened
3. actually, a lot less than 15 pages of "you're wrong, Im right" arguing occurred - the rest of it was actually good discussion of options, but you'd obviously tuned out by then because you'd already had your mind made up.
4. yes
5. countless? Since I wrote most of it, I can tell you that it was definitely less than 10, and a lot closer to five, including edits and posting it into the new FAQ thread. And if it's of no use to you, then don't bother reading it. But I also didn't see you volunteering to contribute content that would take it beyond "simple suggestions to current users".
6. why bother keeping the poll on? It was live for close to three weeks, with a final result of 124-68. And since your plan was to ignore the result any ways, then why do you even care where it is now?
7. Not really. I haven't seen any continued debate in here until you brought it up again.
8. Some of the old timers such as gbamber and twitchyq have adopted another option: the "LCM" method.

I think it was always clear long before this, that you only care about yourself, and don't really give a rat's arse about the rest of the Forum.

I would report your thread for trolling and general disruptiveness, but I want this to stay on the permanent record for the rest of the Contests Forum to see.