What's wrong with the challenges

[Mr Darcy]

I found the submission process to be actually quite simple once I qualified.

What wasn't obvious in my early days was that
A> you need to be a member, not a newbie to enter/vote I (almost) never went back after I qualified because I didn't realise this was a condition

B> you need to request a separate login ID & password to enter/vote Not sure why this can't happen automagically with the same login/pwd on attaining member status. I'm sure Gary hasn't anything better to do than to code this simple snippet

Oh & yes I needed to learn to read too. Still working on this one

[dviv]

A suggestion to make the submission process easier:

Why not have an email address all the mods/comp organisers can access, and when someone wants to submit an image, they email it to that address.

One of the mods/comp organisers then posts it in a thread for each comp. That way noone knows who submitted each image. A poll is added to that thread once the comp closes and people vote in that thread.

Only down side is the 5 to 1 vote system wouldn't work.

[phillipb]

Only down side is the 5 to 1 vote system wouldn't work.

I don't really see that as a down side. As it stands at the moment a photo with lots of 1 points can beat one with fewer votes but mainly 5 points if you know what I mean.

[gstark]

However, given the identified problem about the submission process, maybe a simple tutorial thread or pdf, put together by someone who understands the system, might be an option?

Perhaps something like this? It's actually an announcement at the very top of the "Challenges" section. Not at all obvious.

It could cover the process for those signing up/submitting an image for the first time, and a refresher for those who already have a login etc. A coupe of FAQ's and a screenshot?

No FAQ or screenshot there, but I suspect the other bases are all covered.

It could be on the front page as a link to a pdf, in the same way some of the other tutorials are, and be included in the first post when a mod creates a new comp thread.

Making it a PDF and available also from the front page is probably worthwhile, although it took me less than 15 seconds to find it in its current obscurity.

[gstark]

Not sure why this can't happen automagically with the same login/pwd on attaining member status.

It's because it's a different site and codebase. Scott is doing what he can to reduce the pain of cross-site logins, but I'd need to bring Scott's code here, and see where the login routines are, in order to do this.

It's doable, but I don't know what the effort would be, and that's presupposing that Scott is happy to relinquish this work and data.

[Oz_Beachside]

i am grateful for the effort put into making the challenge facility available. I also fumbled around the duplication of accounts, but it works. As far as I am aware, this is not a commercial group, so I certainly would not complain that the functionality is undesirable. it gets the job done.

while there is a fair bit of discussion regarding improvements in this thread (thats the topic of course), I would like to express thanks to scott and gary for making it available (and others I may not be aware of).

no, i need to get back to my studio lights and work out what blew up on the weekend...

[gstark]

no, i need to get back to my studio lights and work out what blew up on the weekend...

Oh ???

Not good.

[Mr Darcy]

a photo with lots of 1 points can beat one with fewer votes but mainly 5 points

I don't see this as a downside. An image with broad "squeak-in" appeal probably deserves a higher ranking than an image that is only given 5 by the poster + cronies.

It might become a problem if there were only 5 or 6 images being voted on

I guess it comes down to do you prefer preferential or "first past the post" voting

Interesting aside. maybe a quota system as per our election process would be the go. Then we could all be certain in the knowledge that Little John really deserved to win.

[Big Red]

THE SERIOUS COMP:
maybe a prize when available?
after reading this it seems things could be made easier to encourage more participation.
some good ideas were...

send your pic to an email address and someone posts it into a thread to preserve annonanimity[sp] and make it a locked thread so no comments can be made.

one vote only per person for the pic you like the best to make it fairer and should be sent to the email address and verified that you don't vote for your own pic.

only the winning three pics get the names announced after the comp ends so the pics that come last don't get embarrassed and remain annonymous.

------------------------------------------------
A FUN COMP:
no prizes !
maybe also run an open comp in its own thread to get people into the
"entering a comp" groove where people can make comments on the pics posted and openly vote for their favorite on the thread.

[Reschsmooth]

One thing I would like to see is not only "publicity" about the competitions pre closure (and there probably is enough), but more emphasis post competition to really give the "podium" winners some kudos - for example, a bit more fanfare for the winners, upon winning of prizes, etc. For example, the only comp I have entered so far was the tryptich one - it would be good to know what the actual film camera, first prize was, and feedback by the winner on receiving the prize.

I probably haven't expressed what I wanted to, but I know what I mean.