Challenge voting concerns! Important

[Engel47]

I have several questions for you, dear members of Innertraveler.

*Do you think that the way the challenges are run here at IT could be improved? In what way do you think they could be?
*Do you think that the current voting and points system works, or do you feel that this system is open to corruption, i.e the member/s with the most friends will get the most votes?
* Have you ever refrained from entering a challenge here for that reason?
* Would you refrain from entering a challenge for that reason?
* Can you suggest a way of making the voting/points system better or completley different - a system that is seen to be fair to all that participate in the challenges?
* Would you perhaps like the Moderators of the site to choose a winner for each challenge - perhaps leaving out the moderator that started the challenge?
* What exactly are your thoughts?

Don't be shy please, this is the only way we will know what you, the registered members, and the heart of IT, actually feel and think. Please give us your honest opinions.
Be as brutally honest as you like (within the TOS :love: ).

[tdierikx]

I actually think that the people here are more likely to vote for the image, and not the person... unlike certain other sites...

Personally, I vote for the images that please me - not because they were submitted by someone that I know. Sure, a couple of challenge entries are by people that I like, and I've voted for them - but only because I liked the actual work that they submitted.

I don't subscribe to the "buddy system" of voting - if someone enters a really nice work - they will always get my vote - regardless of who they are...

T.

[Engel47]

I don't subscribe to the "buddy system" of voting - if someone enters a really nice work - they will always get my vote - regardless of who they are...

T.

Nice to know you can remain impartial! I know that there are of course many members here that are impartial, and of course at any site you will get those who join because their friend posts here,and they invite along a friend and so on, and of course some people will vote for their friends image/s in any challenge or contest - but do you think there is a fairer way to do it? A way that can be seen as fair and impartial to all those who enter these challenges, and contests?. We want to be seen as a fair site - a site where works get picked by merit, not because of who the artist is. :community

[tdierikx]

Hahaha! I've always been one to "buck the trend" for want of a better way of putting it. I'm the proverbial square peg in a world of round holes... lol!

I was invited here by a dear friend, and I have voted for their works in a couple of the contests - but only because I really liked those particular images - not out of "loyalty" to that person.

Unfortunately, whatever "system" we might come up with here, some bright spark will complain that it may not be "fair" for whatever perceived reason...

I think the current system where the votes are NOT secret, and everyone can see who votes for whom is the fairest actually - the tendency to vote for particular persons every time becomes quite obvious after a few cycles...

I certainly would be appalled if people voted for one of my works just because I was the artist - that is certainly NOT the point of a contest at all! I would prefer to know that I got a placing in a contest for the artwork, not for who likes me as a person... that would tick me right off!

Actually, I won second prize in a photo contest at my work last year - and I was totally stunned - I really didn't think my entry was all that good - but enough other people obviously did... lol!

Maybe the contests could be run where the artist is anonymous on the entry (like some of the ones at RR)?? That might make it harder for others to vote for the person, and only judge the work itself...

Can the gallery software here be made to do that? Anonymous entries in contest galleries?

T.

[Engel47]

Can the gallery software here be made to do that? Anonymous entries in contest gallery?

I don't think so - there has to be a user name as far as I know but I will check that. I did think perhaps that images could be sent to me and I could post them - but I myself am limited to 3 uploads per day and only of those should be my own personal artwork, the other 2 are for posting announcements etc - so that wouldn't work either :eyepoppin I will look at the gallery setting to see if anonymous can be used (but I doubt it).

[Engel47]

Anonymous uploads are not allowed by the system - because the system is set to allow certain groups certain numbers of uploads (like the premium service 3 uploads per day) it has to have the user name of the person uploading. :gallery:

[Q.R.]

I haven't been around long enough to vote in a challenge yet, but I'd vote for the art, not the artist. I've seen too many "buddy vote" things going on at other places, and don't think it's a fair way to do things. Friends should understand that you like them for who they are, regardless of whether you vote for their art in a contest.

[Engel47]

I haven't been around long enough to vote in a challenge yet, but I'd vote for the art, not the artist. I've seen too many "buddy vote" things going on at other places, and don't think it's a fair way to do things. Friends should understand that you like them for who they are, regardless of whether you vote for their art in a contest.
Well said - and very true!! :love:

[tdierikx]

That said though - we tend to gravitate to those who have similar tastes when we make friends... so maybe we would be more inclined to vote for those artists who are friends...

But - I don't care if all of my friends enter a challenge - if there is a better work there (in my opinion anyways) done by someone else, I will vote for it...

Buddy systems and mutual backslapping really irks me to no end. There is a difference between encouragement and plain clique behaviour - sometimes it's hard to tell that difference... but it is obvious after a while...

That is probably why I'm not likely to post many works in the public galleries all over the internet - I have my own personal gallery setup, and prefer it that way. But that's just me... lol!

By the way - my personal gallery can be found at the following link...

http://www.woosie.net/gallery/index.php

Enjoy!

T.