Suggestion: The "Think up a contest" contest. [Archive] - Bjorn3d.com Forums brought to you by XFX

Das Capitolin

07-02-2006, 12:18 AM

I am not a huge fan of the mass posting contests, because it can sometimes do more harm then good. It is because of this that I suggest we start thinking up new and creative ways to hold contests. Perhaps we could have a (small prize) contest where people brainstorm and enter their ideas and outlines for a bigger contest.

Suggestions are welcome.

werty316

07-02-2006, 12:23 AM

Think of slogans related to PCs.
scavenger hunt type contests.
Riddle contests.
Theres also the simple "vote and post in this thread to be eligible."

Thats all for now.

dracos

07-02-2006, 12:51 AM

Random drawing through email, got a gmail account,(everyone has one right..) have everyone who wants to enter email their info, keeps spam down on the forums and is pretty easy.. number the entries (emails) and randonly pick numbers for winners..

A creative writing contest! work with one of the sponsors, write about why you want a certain item, the best entry wins whatever...

the old modding contest always works too, and variations there of it, like wire mgmt, best lighting, customizations etc etc

wallpaper contest is good also, even winamp skin contest... Bjorn winamp skin!

most of these cut down on spam and require some work on the entrants part so 'leechers' will not apply

mousiness

07-02-2006, 01:30 AM

you guys are seriously greedy lol no offense, id rather have traditional competition

Das Capitolin

07-02-2006, 01:33 AM

you guys are seriously greedy lol no offense, id rather have traditional competition

What do you mean? First, I would like to know what a "traditional" competition is. Second, I am only trying to help Bjorn3D with some new ideas. For all I know, past winners may not be allowed in future contests (which is a good rule).

mousiness

07-02-2006, 01:35 AM

traditional competition is the owner makes up a game or the "main man", then competing in a common goal ie. posting multiple posts, not like you suggesting stuff and that, its just an opinion no need for fighting, changes can be good too, im not bashing the idea or anything

werty316

07-02-2006, 01:36 AM

I am satified with how all the contests have been run so far.

mousiness

07-02-2006, 01:42 AM

me too, and it all couldnt be done without the nice people at XFX providing very nice cards and hardware for us to drool over :wink:

werty316

07-02-2006, 01:53 AM

Don't for get about the admins of the website as there wouldn't be these contests without the websites and their mods.

mousiness

07-02-2006, 01:57 AM

i was thinkign of taht but we had just complemented them hehe

Scott

07-02-2006, 03:22 AM

Hey I am always opened to new ideas, but I do like seeing the forums with alot of diffent post so I can read alot and chat it up. Like I said I hate going to other sites forums when I have my own here if enough is going on in them.

I could have other type of contest if you guys posted like this all time, I am having a blast reading!!

Kasrkin Guard

07-02-2006, 11:02 AM

A minimum post count of say 50 (quality) posts for example certainly doesn't hurt in that case for entry on some contests.

mousiness

07-02-2006, 01:57 PM

b3d is flourishing from these contests and i think lowerig the post count would cool down the competition drastically, i personally do not like the sites that say put 5 quality posts in this contest, the more thepost count, the more news we get thanks to werty, the more visitors b3d gets, and overall a much better rounded, more fun competition

borschtBomber[SS]

07-02-2006, 02:55 PM

Honestly in my short time here at Bjorn3d, it seems to be a pretty good mix of types of contests. Some good ones I have seen at other forums are caption contests (you post and odd picture and everyone submits captions, funniest or most unique wins) and photoshop contests. Sometimes can bring out the creativity in members.

werty316

07-02-2006, 04:48 PM

A minimum post count of say 50 (quality) posts for example certainly doesn't hurt in that case for entry on some contests.

Doing this is a smart move to reduce hit'n runners who want to enter with little to no effort required.

mousiness

07-02-2006, 07:41 PM

quality posts as in probably what werty does in daily news, thats worth it

werty316

07-02-2006, 07:57 PM

quality posts as in probably what werty does in daily news, thats worth it

Yep and spam is easy to spot so having a higher minimum post for eligilibility helps to reduce hit'n runners.

tomato

07-03-2006, 06:14 AM

I too am satisfied with the contests at Bjorn3D, thank you to everyone involved! :) It must take them alot of time and effort, but the resulting booming community makes it all worth it ;)

Das Capitolin

07-03-2006, 07:42 AM

I too am satisfied with the contests at Bjorn3D, thank you to everyone involved! :) It must take them alot of time and effort, but the resulting booming community makes it all worth it ;)

I am not putting down Bjorn3D by asking for ideas, I am just trying to see some suggestion on what we could come up with. If you are happy with the mass-posting contests, then by all means that's fine. I just think that we could mix it up, so that someone else can find their niche and win.

I still think that previous winners should not be allowed to play in the very next contest; or better yet, at least not allow them to receive 1st place. Something to keep it fun for all, and fair for everyone.

Just to show I mean what I say, I will intentionally not go after 1st place in this months contest. :lol:

tomato

07-04-2006, 05:52 AM

Just to show I mean what I say, I will intentionally not go after 1st place in this months contest. :lol:

Heh, sounds good to me :) :)
jk ;)

=CDU=Above

07-04-2006, 10:44 AM

Yeah, I never really have that much to say. <---see, told ya.

pym

07-04-2006, 11:00 AM

I am not putting down Bjorn3D by asking for ideas, I am just trying to see some suggestion on what we could come up with. If you are happy with the mass-posting contests, then by all means that's fine. I just think that we could mix it up, so that someone else can find their niche and win.

I still think that previous winners should not be allowed to play in the very next contest; or better yet, at least not allow them to receive 1st place. Something to keep it fun for all, and fair for everyone.

Just to show I mean what I say, I will intentionally not go after 1st place in this months contest. :lol:

I must agree, Scott once had a pretty fair rule, saying whoever won can not win the following contest.
I think the "wealth" should be spread around equally and everybody should get a chance to win.
If one has more free time to sit and explode with posts, that is pretty unfair to play right to his hands each and every month...

Don't get me wrong. I am not participating in this contest and, for that matter, not in any contest in the past few months, I am here but nor for the prizes ;). Therefore, I don't mind seeing the same person win 2,3 or 10 times in a row.

I just think it makes other members quit the contest before they even started and they are getting bitter about that...

Sorry Werty316, I really mean no offence here, I hope you know that :)

tomato

07-04-2006, 04:31 PM

Well, to be fair to werty, he did not participate in last month's contest, so this month should be fair game... and yes, there are other people who will have much more time to spend on the forums than others (I'm lucky to be able to check the site once a day :P), but that's just the way life goes...

That said, the previous rule of "last month's winner is not eligible to participate in this month's contest" is a good rule and gives everyone a more fair chance at winning.

werty316

07-04-2006, 05:47 PM

I must agree, Scott once had a pretty fair rule, saying whoever won can not win the following contest.
I think the "wealth" should be spread around equally and everybody should get a chance to win.
If one has more free time to sit and explode with posts, that is pretty unfair to play right to his hands each and every month...

Don't get me wrong. I am not participating in this contest and, for that matter, not in any contest in the past few months, I am here but nor for the prizes ;). Therefore, I don't mind seeing the same person win 2,3 or 10 times in a row.

I just think it makes other members quit the contest before they even started and they are getting bitter about that...

Sorry Werty316, I really mean no offence here, I hope you know that :)

I got nothing against you Pym so its all good ;)
Building a community comes first and the contests are just a bonus.

mousiness

07-04-2006, 05:54 PM

gees i hope werty wins the 7900GT hell have SL! even though he doesnt need is as much as some of us do, the reason im participating is cause not only do i need a new video card, i wanna respond to these threads, theres so many of them i can relate to

pym

07-04-2006, 07:02 PM

I got notihng against you Pym so its all good ;)
Building a community comes first and the contests are just a bonus.

What I said was meant exactly to do that, build a community with as many memebrs as possible.
More people get prizes = more people stay here...
That's what I mean.
Prizes are here to promote the site and get more active members around.

Love ya all... :)

Kougar

07-04-2006, 11:15 PM

Just to show I mean what I say, I will intentionally not go after 1st place in this months contest. :lol:

Hey! I know exactly what you said there even if no one else commented on it... You're going to have to aim for 3rd place buddy because I need a graphics card upgrade and won't be letting this one go... :mrgreen:

Coolest-Tech

07-05-2006, 12:33 AM

We are all going off topic. I still recomend vBux, which I posted about in the site sujjestions. ;)

mousiness

07-05-2006, 01:44 AM

i know this has nothign to do on topic but nvidia guy where have you been on msn? and whats wrong with your site its not running answer me ASAP ok? ty

Coolest-Tech

07-05-2006, 02:00 AM

I'v been on MSN, but coolguy@coolestech.com

And my site is down because my host in upgrading his OS, PHP, and apache. Will be up soon.

pc_man_iac

07-05-2006, 02:07 AM

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 02:10 AM

We could have whos the biggest jack ass award, I would nominate mousiness for his nice jackassery of finding his sisters disability to be funny, so if that works for you guys I think he deserves, to be the winner for that contest.

Although this in on topic, I don't see to many real suggestions being added. Moderators, please close the thread if you see fit.

Kougar

07-05-2006, 02:12 AM

Dragging that around as you've done doesn't exactly bring him up to your level, as so much as bring you down to his, to put it succinctly.

pc_man_iac

07-05-2006, 02:19 AM

well in all honesty I eould just like hom, and others to a least voice that they think that they think that it isn't funny b/c it isn't, it just bugs me that no one is willing to say yo man thats wrong, to be laughing at her, and to post it in the Jokes Humor, and othr such funnies is wrong, maybe if he posted about it asking what if anything he should do to help his sister is one thingm but posting it at her expense is quite another

werty316

07-05-2006, 03:24 AM

It isn't funny at all but who knows what 13yr old kids these days think is funny so I'll leave it at that.

vfrex

07-05-2006, 12:36 PM

Eh, to the topic on hand...I don't know, the main forum that I posted at for years disabled their post counter to prevent worthless spammy posts. I like the posting contest to some degree, but there are a lot of posts that aren't adding anything to the forum or discussion. I don't really think those should be allowed, but at the same time, policing would wear our the admin/mods and make them fear contests more than enjoy them. And, if something isn't enjoyable, people tend to burn out and stop.

So, I do think a discussion about alternate contests that aren't a burden to run that add only valuable information to the forum is warranted. Unfortunately, I'm not a very creative mind. What about a self-policing system at the end? Line up all of the posts, and allow each member to rate each other member's posts in a "digg-like" system. They get to give it a +1 or a -1. To avoid some bias, keep usernames out of the posts. Just rate the posts. At the end, you can do one of two things:

1) Count up the number of posts that the community finds worthwhile to keep for each person. The person with the most wins the contest.

2) Sum the total voted value of the member's posts. The person whose posts have the highest value in the eyes of the community wins.

Two is a bit harder to pull off since if a voting member gets tired of reading posts and voting, and quits halfway through, the first half get an unfair bias. Then again, it shouldn't be hard to tell the difference between a good post and a bad post.

Kougar

07-05-2006, 01:03 PM

Actually, that's a very good idea, and one of the few uses for a user or user's post rating system that I'd see being useful. As usual, with most things it could be easily abused though... For instance I am a member of one gaming forum where they used a +/- karma system to rate the user. After publicaly roasting (As in watching their warp cores explode, not flaming posts :mrgreen:) a few players on a different team I found that two or three users decided to collectively -1 my rating, and come back the next day to -1 it again due to the built in one per day limit, an so on and so forth until I was almost back to no rating before they grew bored of it... ;) In this particular case, it'd be easy for someone to intentionally -1 anyone's posts that most threaten their own chances at winning.

I agree that I don't enjoy the whomever has the highest postcount wins contests, because then you have to get into the quality of the posts and there is simply a good disparity between many posters. And naturally whomever is willing (And able) to sacrifice the most time to posting will either win it or hold a massive advantage, even though I completley understand the reasoning behind hosting such a contest in the first place.

This is why I would have to say I rather preferred Virtual-Hideout's own contests, such as the last few where you solve a riddle, or post a picture of yourself and your newly cleaned/orgnaized desk. The last one actually got hardly any entrants at all, since most people were simply unwilling to go that far... ;) Although this was one reason why I liked the contest held two months back where posts + game scores + the picture contest all factored into the one final score to decide who won what.

vfrex

07-05-2006, 01:15 PM

Scott

07-05-2006, 01:32 PM

I can of like the ranking of post on the fly idea myself. The users can rank a post and we would see who had the most ranked post at the end of the month.

I think each reply in a thread could get a rating, let Miles and I look into that.

vfrex

07-05-2006, 01:55 PM

Your call of course, but on-the-fly ratings lack the (I'm probably using this term wrong) double blind feature that my suggestion utilizes. As Kougar brought up, members rating members usually will lead to hostilities, especially when something like a serious prize is at stake. I am frequently modded down on Digg for posting an informed opinion that disagrees with someone else's post.

Imagine this scheme. I make 3-4 friends on the forum, or bring in a few from outside to register. In the first contest, my friends mod all of my posts up, and anybody who gets close to me down. In the next contest, we're in agreement that friend #2 gets to win, and so we all mod his up and his competitors down.

That can be avoided by devising a system (admittedly, this might be more trouble than its worth) where posts (not including his own) are sent to him at random. He up mods or down mods each one, only looking at the content of the post, not the thread or who the user is. Since he gets random posts 20+ days into the contest, it would be difficult for him to remember when/who/where it came from. He only views the content and decides whether it is decent or not.

If a member fails to rate the posts he is assigned to do, they are resubmitted to the pool and the member is disqualified from the contest.

Kougar

07-05-2006, 02:07 PM

Well, that is why we would not show the name of any particular person on the posts that are being rated. Let's say that instead of a full month, the contest would run from the 1st to the 20th. On the 21st, the admins scrape all of the posts into new tables in the forum database and set up a system where we see a few posts at a time that we can rate. We don't see names or context, merely the post. In fact, we wouldn't even need every single person to rate every single vote.

I mean, those are details that could be worked out. I like the clean desk idea (and other stuff like that), but it seems that the purpose of the contest here is to bring activity and posting to the forum.

Don't show the name??? You mean the rating number? Well that would definitely help...

I don't see anything else against that idea really, it's a pretty good one. It takes a little work, but really what contest doesn't I suppose! You're right that the main goal is to bring new members and encourage member participation... I think you're on to something with your idea. :)

vfrex

07-05-2006, 02:19 PM

Don't show the name??? You mean the rating number? Well that would definitely help...

Showing the rating number would bring bias as well. People shouldn't be aware of ANYTHING related to the post aside from the content of it. Does it make sense? Is it informative to people reading it? You make a good point, that not showing the rating of any posts would help solve some problems.

I guess it could be said that people making redundant posts can cheat, but that is something that could be easily monitored and policed by the members of this forum with the report button.

I'll try to flesh out the pros and cons of this system later.

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 03:27 PM

Showing the rating number would bring bias as well. People shouldn't be aware of ANYTHING related to the post aside from the content of it. Does it make sense? Is it informative to people reading it? You make a good point, that not showing the rating of any posts would help solve some problems.

I guess it could be said that people making redundant posts can cheat, but that is something that could be easily monitored and policed by the members of this forum with the report button.

I'll try to flesh out the pros and cons of this system later.

Take a look into the rating system over at http://forums.rojakpot.com

They do allow a user to see who rated them, but it gives room for notes.

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 04:16 PM

mousiness

07-05-2006, 04:57 PM

but then it would be unfair to the people that worked hard to post a lot, even though more posts would mean better chances of winning theres a chance of the single poster to win, theres always that odd chance

Kougar

07-05-2006, 05:32 PM

As a suggested adjustment for this months contest:

Let it be random draw based on entries. One post would equal one entry, so the member with the most posts would stand the greatest chance of winning.

Randomness is fair to all, and keeps people chasing the carrot. One look at the number of posts that this months post-leader has, and someone might not even try to compete.

At first I didn't like this... but there is a sort of twisted, dark humor in it that I can agree with... ;) I have to agree on one point though, the posts are already somewhere between 100-200 for most people... it pretty much locks everyone into place unless a major event occurs taking someone out, or they give up... neither of which would encourage new attempts in the posting race.

mousiness

07-05-2006, 05:37 PM

im not giving up i want a new video card hehehe :twisted: the dark humour in that is quite sinister and evil, i like evil but its still not fair

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 05:52 PM

im not giving up i want a new video card hehehe :twisted: the dark humour in that is quite sinister and evil, i like evil but its still not fair

Mousiness, you better give up on sleep and start posting about 100 more posts a day if you want either of the video cards.

Getting back on track, I still think that the random draw based on entries idea is best because new members would still feel like they had a chance. Nobody would be getting screwed, not even werty the postmaster.

Let's be honest here: how many new members are competing in this months contest? I have only seen three new members make posts, and I posted this contest on eight other sites.

mousiness

07-05-2006, 05:54 PM

i cant even gte on my own pc because my paranoid sister uses it all the time and if i kick her off she cries her ass off and tells my parents i hurt her even when i didnt, oh well ill try my best to win and if i dont its still loads of fun

EDIT: b3d had that as a third of the competition for the 10th anniversary, i spent loads of time on mine and i actually felt more confident when enetering that picture, that suggestion is really good and this time they should put freehand drawing as the contest, hehehe id own

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 05:57 PM

i cant even gte on my own pc because my paranoid sister uses it all the time and if i kick her off she cries her ass off and tells my parents i hurt her even when i didnt, oh well ill try my best to win and if i dont its still loads of fun

Mousiness, you must have forgot to edit your post and tell us what you think about the random drawing idea we are discussing. Right? <psst... go back and edit your post> :wink:

tomato

07-05-2006, 06:14 PM

Mousiness, you previously stated that you dad will be buying you a brand spanking new computer in about 6 months time (or less now)... so why would you need a new video card if the one is your new system will most likely be more than adequate (if the parent is footing the bill)?

Back on topic, if members were allowed to vote and/or rate various posts, I feel that a bias can still be implemented. Even if the poster name and whatnot were removed, some of us can identify a member's post by the style/content of said post, therefore destroying any anonymity... just a thought.

1 post = 1 entry is an interesting idea, but again, you've gotta filter out the spam...

Wow, the simple "most post count" contest is sure getting complicated... interesting how the stakes and people's opinions have changed since the beginning, eh?

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 06:19 PM

1 post = 1 entry is an interesting idea, but again, you've gotta filter out the spam...

Wow, the simple "most post count" contest is sure getting complicated... interesting how the stakes and people's opinions have changed since the beginning, eh?

Users can still report bad posts, they just don't do it often enough. Now that Scott has established a ban for spam policy, this should curtail the bad posts.

As for the post like a madman contest, I predicted this very early on. I wish everyone the best, and I hope that we can all maintain our composure despite the prizes.

mousiness

07-05-2006, 06:27 PM

the thing is i dont know what exactly spam is othe than the marketer uber-spammers here

mousiness

07-05-2006, 06:28 PM

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 06:36 PM

[QUOTE=tomato]Mousiness, you previously stated that you dad will be buying you a brand spanking new computer in about 6 months time (or less now)... so why would you need a new video card if the one is your new system will most likely be more than adequate (if the parent is footing the bill)?[QUOTE]

why wouldnt you want a new video card if it was given to you for free? and plus my 6600 is a piece of crap and i need a new one and you guys with uber-pcs have to agree with me on this one right?

Mousiness, do me a favor and don't post in my threads anymore. You haven't even bothered to discuss the topic, and you break up our sub-topic discussions with your own trite. You are seriously pissing me off. Learn to start your own topic threads you little spamming thread hijacker. :mad:

mousiness

07-05-2006, 06:39 PM

what??? dude calm down im just responding to what he said....

tomato

07-05-2006, 06:48 PM

Sorry Das Capitolin, I'll take the blame for getting mousiness off-topic (this time :P)

Anyway, the stakes for this month's contest have been set, so Good Luck everyone :)

mousiness

07-05-2006, 06:50 PM

yeah and peoples blood have been boiling from it too and i have to say this is going to be stiff competition, good luck all, hehe thanks for taking the rap this time tomato

Das Capitolin

07-05-2006, 06:53 PM

EDIT: b3d had that as a third of the competition for the 10th anniversary, i spent loads of time on mine and i actually felt more confident when enetering that picture, that suggestion is really good and this time they should put freehand drawing as the contest, hehehe id own

Thanks for adding your 2 cents. This might actually be a good idea; just make sure to have two other requirements:

1) be in the photo with the art
2) have Bjorn3d logo in the photo somewhere

mousiness

07-05-2006, 06:57 PM

thats a smart idea, what i did that 10th anniversary month was i put my name "By:mousiness from bjorn3d", and actually as a matter of fact i fit right in that criteria for my drawing 2 months ago, coincidence hehe

vfrex

07-05-2006, 07:11 PM

Back on topic, if members were allowed to vote and/or rate various posts, I feel that a bias can still be implemented. Even if the poster name and whatnot were removed, some of us can identify a member's post by the style/content of said post, therefore destroying any anonymity... just a thought.

That is why I suggested that the post ratings not happen until the 20th or so of the month of the contest, and that each member rating posts gets random ones. So, I won't review every single post. I'll get a random 100 to rate, mostly ones that occured between 5 and 20 days ago. Further, they will be from varying people.

If I saw 20 posts that I knew were from a single person, I might be able to deduce who the poster is due to style. It would be much easier to confuse if you could only see one post you were rating at a time, and knew that it would be a different user every time.