| |
| Some changes to the photo contests |
« View previous topic :: View next topic » |
| Author |
Message
|
ckurz7000 |
 Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:46 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
Aficionado
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 51
|
| starstef601 wrote: |
| I definitely agree with you about quality not always being judged, but if only certain people are allowed to vote, then it will just be based on their personal opinions. |
Yes, of course, that's the whole point! I would like my photos to be judged by people who are at least as good or better photographers than I am. How else am I supposed to learn?
| starstef601 wrote: |
| Also, what if some people aren't around to vote on all the contests? Then there will be a very small amount of votes. Just a few things to consider maybe. |
I was imagining the pool of judges to be fairly large. Maybe everyone that's won at least one contest. Then it wouldn't matter if at one time or another there aren't all judges voting.
-- Chris. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
|
| starstef601 |
| Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Devotee
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 46
|
| You do make good points, and I think that system would probably work pretty well. I don't really understand though, how it is a popularity contest because aren't all photos anonymous until the voting is over? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ckurz7000 |
| Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Aficionado
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 51
|
| starstef601 wrote: |
| You do make good points, and I think that system would probably work pretty well. I don't really understand though, how it is a popularity contest because aren't all photos anonymous until the voting is over? |
I don't know if the multiple accounts problem -- i.e., people using other accounts to vote for their own pictures -- has been solved.
I guess what I was trying to say was that by asking everyone to vote, what happens is that the most popular image takes the prize whereas I would prefer that the "best" one wins.
-- Chris. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| starstef601 |
| Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Devotee
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 46
|
| Yeah, I see what you're saying and I definitely do agree, as long as the judges know what they're talking about. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Himself |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
Aficionado
Joined: 26 Oct 2008
Posts: 51
|
A problem that I could see with having judges appointed due to skill is this - you're risking hurting somebody's feelings.
Say what?
Let's say somebody has been on ShotAddict for two months and feels qualified to be a judge, has asked to become one, and has been denied. Now let's say somebody else comes to ShotAddict, and within two weeks, is made a judge. Wouldn't the first person be hurt, or at least mad with ShotAddict, if that happened? No? What if you were that person? The fact of the matter is, somebody would get their feelings hurt somewhere down the road if we started using judges.
Another thing...if I'm not mistaken, ShotAddict was not meant to be a professional, top-notch photography contest site. Sure, we want to look good. But we want to leave room for everybody to stand a chance and have fun, too. Using judges who know their stuff will almost surely take that away, in my opinion.
I know you also suggested whoever has won a contest to be a judge, which would probably take that example away - it's a possibility, but for as long as contests run and for as few as we have running at a time, I imagine it would get pretty frustrating waiting to win one so you can vote.
Like I said, we want people to have fun at this site. So...have fun. If the setup isn't what you like, suggest changes (as you have done) and make the best of it, or find somewhere else to go.
I too would like the "best" to be the winners...but what is the best? It's a matter of opinion, and with a mixed group, you'll have mixed opinions.
On the issue of people using multiple accounts to vote for themselves - for a site moderator, those people would be almost impossible to track down, and maybe even for an site administrator as well. There are currently 4,357 registered accounts. It would take ages to track through each one to look for multiple-acccount-users, if you could even find them based on account information. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| JLW |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
Fanatic
Joined: 12 Aug 2007
Posts: 163
|
The debate goes on .. and on ... and on....
Same rant was being had a year ago and nothing much has changed. There are still ways to see the photos that are entered in contests and know who the photographer is before the end of the contest. This was explained in detail about a week back in a post from Heatherlynn.
While it's true that there are 4K plus users registered here, there are only about 2 dozen regular posters/participants which is why there are so few voters.
To Chris's point about multiple accounts…When I posted on this issue many months agoI had calculated that over 90% of the so-called "registered users" have "0" pictures posted in albums, have participated in "0" contests, made "no posts" and otherwise made no effort to participate. The moderators could start by eliminating these otherwise vacant accounts on a regular basis to help cut down on some of the multiple accounts issues.
Personally I'm in favor of returning to the old system... at least to the point where you could see the feedback from people without having to wait till the contest was over. At least then you would occasionally get some good feedback in between the useless “cool shot dude” remarks.
I would still like to see a voting system that wasn’t so heavily weighted for “subject” (You can look at some of mine and others suggestions in previous posts).
And finally… Many times when honest opinions are given by others about improving a person’s work, someone gets their feelings hurt and quits posting. Everyone goes back to the “cool shot” comment and we return full circle.
I’m ready to put some effort into trying to make this site what I hoped for me would be an opportunity to improve my work.
One more suggestion… I was on a site a couple of days back where you had to pay a small fee to post in a contest. It allowed for some prize money to be awarded to the winners. If I remember correctly a couple of the moderators on the site were the judges.
Sorry for the long post.
Jim
_________________
Orville Wright didn’t have a pilot's license. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ckurz7000 |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
Aficionado
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 51
|
Good points are being raised by JLW and Himself.
It just goes to show that there isn't a single "right" and "wrong" decision in this matter. It all depends on what you want the site to be. In this respect I can only tell you where I come from:
I signed up here because:
a) I wanted to get feedback on my photos.
b) I wanted to use that feedback to improve my skills.
c) I wanted to show some of my work to others and see how it is received.
d) It was free.
e) I hoped to meet some nice people to exchange views and opinions.
So far I really am happy with d) and e). There's a bunch of well meaning people on this forum and the atmosphere is friendly and encouraging.
The other points are somewhat lacking. The comments I got on my shots were mostly of the "cool shot, dude" type. And when I look at the ranking in contests, I ask myself: "What good is it to participate? What does it mean if I place near the top or not?" The one place that I seem to be able to get some of that valued feedback is when I post my shots in the forum.
To Himself: If the motto of this site is "not to hurt other people's feelings" then I will refrain from posting and commenting in the future. A while back I asked in the forum if people wanted to have meaningful comments or just a pat on the back. The overwhelming majority preferred meaningful comments, even though the can be critical. I mean, how else am I going to learn if not by being pointed out the weaknesses, too?
You also ask if MY feelings would be hurt if I didn't get to be on the judge's panel. The answer: no, they wouldn't if the procedure is fair and transparent.
The problem isn't with having a panel of judges. The problem is transitioning from not having one to having one. Because if you've always had one, people would have known from the start and either signed up or not. I, for one, would greatly favor some kind of selective panel. And for the records: I'd rather prefer NOT to be on it.
Sorry for the lengthy post, -- Chris. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| TJRusso |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
Aficionado
Joined: 30 Sep 2008
Posts: 88
Location: South Florida
|
| The judges would need to be kept anonymous or there could be fighting. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| starstef601 |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Devotee
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 46
|
| How about choosing both methods of voting rather than just one? There could be a group of judges that vote as well as all the members. The two scores could be averaged together to produce one single score. Possibly not exactly this, but maybe someting of this method would work. This way, the members have their opinions at the same time as the judges' vote, and everyone's happy =] |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ckurz7000 |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Aficionado
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 51
|
| TJRusso wrote: |
| The judges would need to be kept anonymous or there could be fighting. |
Sometimes I have the feeling that we are dealing with a group of kindergarten kids... or is it just that we are afraid to treat forum members as reasonably sane adults?
I like the suggestion of starstef601: why not have the public and the panel judge each picture and let the two rankings live side by side. So your photo could be number 1 by the public and come out dead last as voted by the judges. Seeing the two rankings next to each other is interesting by itself.
I would, however, make it manadory (at least for the judges) to give a brief written comment/critique to each picture they judge.
-- Chris. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum
|
|
|
|
Live Chat
