Author Topic: Voting Rules and Schedule  (Read 19126 times)

Ocicat

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on: May 08, 2019, 08:29:35 PM
Hold on to your hats! There are 220 stories coming your way! That's a lot of flash fiction, more than any of our sister podcasts have had in Contest V, and more than Podcastle had in Contest IV. We also have two stories with the exact same title, which I think is a first. So be on the lookout for that, I guess. It might be awkward if they both get to the finals.

The first group will be posted on May 15th, and new groups will be posted every two days thereafter. 16 groups in all!  Each to have 13-14 stories. Groups were generated randomly, without regard for when a story was received or who submitted it. Voting for each group lasts 7 days. Three winners from each group go to the Semifinals. After a group closes, authors will be revealed for all eliminated stories.

You will vote for up to 3 stories in each group. You do not have to vote for any and you can vote for fewer than three, but you are limited to three votes per group.

The semifinals start June 22 (hopefully). There will be 4 semifinal groups, each with 12 stories (at least). A new group will be posted every day.  Three stories from each group will advance to the finals. Each semifinal group will also be available for a week. Each group will be seeded with approximately equal amounts of first, second, and third place winners from random groups.  No story will be in the same semifinal as other stories from its original group.  

The final round will be from July 3-10.  

Ties:
- If there is a two-way or more tie for third place both stories will ascend, resulting in an extra story in the next round.
- If there is a tie for third place in the final round, the editorial staff will offer a contract to all the tied stories; if this is considered unfeasible (say, there's a 5-way tie), then there will be a tiebreaker round.

The full schedule is posted at the bottom of this post, after the contest voting rules.

VOTING RULES:
1. This contest is being run by me, Ocicat, Podcastle forum moderator. If needed, other forum moderators or editors may be brought in, and that will be announced. If one of the moderators submitted an entry, they will not use any of their moderator abilities in the contest forums without disqualifying their entry.

2. Stories will be posted anonymously. Authors will be revealed after their story either loses or wins the contest. If we discover that an author has revealed their authorship of a story before it is allowed (in the contest threads or elsewhere), that is grounds for disqualification of the story. The contest is to be won on the merits of the story, not the popularity of the author. Please do not try to guess at the authors, at least publicly. Those posts will be deleted and the poster will be warned. As an author, please do not try to garner outside support through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. - please just link to the contest in general, not your own story.  It is very easy to see when something dubious is going on with the voting.

3. As always, constructive discussion is encouraged about all stories posted in this contest. The key word here is constructive. Normal forum rules remain in place. Be civil and respectful. That's our one rule. Rude and nonconstructive negativity will be deleted or edited, and the offending poster will be warned. This goes for authors as well. You are free to comment on any story, including your own (without revealing that it's yours, of course), but keep it civil and respectful. I reserve the right to kick any author and their stories out of the contest should there be ample reason.

4. Creating multiple accounts to vote for a story will get you banned from the forums and your story kicked from the contest. If you are sharing a computer, living space, or router with someone else who will be voting or creating an account, make sure to message me. Failure to do so may result in various adverse effects such as account deletion and/or banning.

5. It is perfectly fine to vote for your own story. In fact, we encourage all authors to do so because that levels the playing field. Only avoid voting for your own story if you genuinely believe other stories should win over it, not just to be polite, please.


Please watch out for voting fatigue.  This is going to last nearly two months, and the first month will have 13-14 stories posted every other day.  That's about 3,000 words a day.  If you can't vote in every group, don't.  But don't let that stop you from voting again in later groups, or coming back for the semifinals or finals.  

VOTING SCHEDULE:

Group voting will usually start in the early AM of the day, Pacific Time zone. But there are no guarantees.

Group 1: May 15-22
Group 2: May 17-24
Group 3: May 19-26
Group 4: May 21-28
Group 5: May 23-30
Group 6: May 25-June 1
Group 7: May 27-June 3
Group 8: May 29-June 5
Group 9: May  31-June 7
Group 10: June 2-9
Group 11: June 4-11
Group 12: June 6-13
Group 13: June 8-15
Group 14: June 10-17
Group 15: June 12-19
Group 16: June 14-21

Forums were down for a bit, dates re-adjusted:
Semifinal A: June 22-29 June 25-July 2
Semifinal B: June 23-30 June 26-July 3
Semifinal C: June 24-July 1 June 27-July 4
Semifinal D: June 25-July 2 June 28-July 5

Final: July 3-10 July 6-13
« Last Edit: June 24, 2019, 07:25:32 AM by Ocicat »



danooli

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Reply #1 on: May 20, 2019, 11:28:42 AM
Ocicat, are we not going to be able to change our votes for this contest, prior to the poll ending?



Thunderscreech

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Reply #2 on: May 20, 2019, 03:26:59 PM
Question: wouldn't explicitly allowing vote-changes enable popular-pile-on or tactical voting vs. actual preference?



danooli

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Reply #3 on: May 20, 2019, 03:39:14 PM
Sure it would, but, it's always been allowed in the past.

Sometimes, a second (or third) reading can clarify a story. Sometimes, upon ruminating and stewing over a story, it grabs hold. Sometimes, comments made by other forumites help you see a story in a different light....

There's reasons to change a vote, as there are reasons to NOT.

The pile-on possibility is not insignificant, but I think the flexibility to make changes outweighs them.

This is NOT my contest though...



Ocicat

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Reply #4 on: May 20, 2019, 03:49:46 PM
I've run contests both ways in the past, and do prefer non vote changing. Mostly because tactical vote changing is indeed a thing, and I prefer that stories win on their own merits. If that means that you want to delay voting until you've had a chance to re-read stories and take part in discussions, I encourage you to write down notes or do whatever else helps you to do that.



danooli

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Reply #5 on: May 20, 2019, 03:50:50 PM
Right on, thanks for letting us know!



That Fellow

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Reply #6 on: May 21, 2019, 03:58:41 AM
I don't seem to have access to any stories in Group 1. Help?



Ocicat

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Reply #7 on: May 21, 2019, 04:39:34 AM
I don't seem to have access to any stories in Group 1. Help?

And magically, through the act of posting once as you just did, you can now see the stories!



Ocicat

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Reply #8 on: May 21, 2019, 08:45:12 AM
Today is the last day of voting for group 1!



leoman

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Reply #9 on: May 21, 2019, 12:10:45 PM
BEST OF LUCK ALL



firetruck

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Reply #10 on: May 21, 2019, 09:38:02 PM
Best of luck, everyone



Ocicat

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Reply #11 on: May 29, 2019, 07:27:38 AM
Half of the stories have now been posted! How is everyone holding up?



JugglingJester

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Reply #12 on: May 30, 2019, 12:17:35 PM
Thoroughly enjoying reading all these fantastic stories... you've done a brilliant job bringing them all to us... half way through, so bring on the second half!



fabiombarreto

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Reply #13 on: June 03, 2019, 01:51:13 PM
To be honest, haven't been able to read ALL entries, but I'm managing to read the ones with titles most appealing to me. Work is a bit intense right now, so I hope I can keep up with the second half. :)

Thanks for all the work, Ocicat.



Ocicat

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Reply #14 on: June 07, 2019, 08:24:17 AM
Thanks and appreciation for everyone who is still out there and voting. These contests are really long, and most people wander off for one reason or another. Group 1 had 118 voters. I just closed group 9, with 63 people weighing in.

I'm betting that most of you still here are here until the end, and we love you all.



NathanWrites

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Reply #15 on: June 07, 2019, 09:06:32 AM
Thanks and appreciation for everyone who is still out there and voting. These contests are really long, and most people wander off for one reason or another. Group 1 had 118 voters. I just closed group 9, with 63 people weighing in.

I'm betting that most of you still here are here until the end, and we love you all.

Sticking it out till the bitter. Just like you. Four more groups to go, then onto the semis!

Thanks for the hard work.



FictionPhial

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Reply #16 on: June 07, 2019, 11:30:33 AM
Thanks and appreciation for everyone who is still out there and voting. These contests are really long, and most people wander off for one reason or another. Group 1 had 118 voters. I just closed group 9, with 63 people weighing in.

I'm betting that most of you still here are here until the end, and we love you all.

Sticking it out till the bitter. Just like you. Four more groups to go, then onto the semis!

Thanks for the hard work.

I promised myself that I would comment on every story this contest, and so far I have managed it. We can do this. Only four to go. Water and glucose shots all round!

"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible.  And if you failed, well, it had been impossible." -- Going Postal


danooli

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Reply #17 on: June 07, 2019, 12:09:13 PM
I've managed to comment on most of the stories this go around. Of I didn't comment, it was only because I had nothing new or constructive to add. (Not that all of my comments contained new or constructive feedback...)

Most likely, more voters will return for the semis and the finals.



JeannaS

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Reply #18 on: June 07, 2019, 12:26:16 PM
Haven't commented on everything, but I've read them all and voted. It's been fun reading them all and also really instructive. I have written very few stories quite this short, so I'm not yet really familiar with what does and doesn't work well at this length. But now, having read a hundred plus, I've learned quite a bit. So thanks for putting this together!



FictionPhial

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Reply #19 on: June 08, 2019, 02:42:20 PM
Three more to go! Ooh the semis are going to be HARD!

"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible.  And if you failed, well, it had been impossible." -- Going Postal


raroyce

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Reply #20 on: June 12, 2019, 03:30:53 AM
Quote
It's been fun reading them all and also really instructive.

I, too, have learned so much about what it takes to write flash fiction that works. I've read all the stories so far, and look forward to the rest. The semifinals, and then the final, will be difficult, as the winners as of now are all worthy.

Thanks for the supreme effort to make this run so smoothly.

;0


Ocicat

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Reply #21 on: June 13, 2019, 07:54:37 AM
Just disqualified two stories for cheating by using sock puppets. Why does this happen every time? Just don't cheat, people.  :'(



mbrennan

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Reply #22 on: June 13, 2019, 09:15:40 PM
Jeez, another one? That's sad.



Ocicat

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Reply #23 on: June 14, 2019, 07:12:13 AM
All stories have now been posted! The voting lasts another week, and then the semifinals start June 22nd.

If you're at a loss for what to do while you're waiting, maybe go post about some podcastle episodes over in the episode comments board. It's lonely over there.



FictionPhial

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Reply #24 on: June 14, 2019, 11:48:33 AM
All stories have now been posted! The voting lasts another week, and then the semifinals start June 22nd.

If you're at a loss for what to do while you're waiting, maybe go post about some podcastle episodes over in the episode comments board. It's lonely over there.

Woo hoo! Thanks so much, Ocicat!  :D

"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible.  And if you failed, well, it had been impossible." -- Going Postal