Reply #11: I voted yes, but wasn't going to open my yap

[JeffR]

But as Scrooge said, "I just can't help it."

:bluebox: My yes vote isn't intended to give the President a blank check to -- whoops. My yes vote is based solely on the notion that this idea might make for better contests.

:bluebox: First, of course, is it even possible? I'm guessing that DU polls utilize straightforward PHP scripts. Whatever powers them, it should be easy enough to hide the results while the poll is in progress, but then there's the question of how to arrange for the OP to access the results. This would entail giving the OP admin-level access, I think. Can't see that they'd be receptive to doing that.

:bluebox: I agree that off-site polls are not the solution.

:bluebox: I don't believe there was favoritism toward certain entries when the contests were staged in the Lounge, and I don't believe that's happening in GD either. But the sometimes lopsided vote totals lead me to think many votes are influenced by what a viewer already sees the rankings are. "Cash Machine Available Here" is as good an example of this as I can think of. It got 41% of the final vote, against excellent, serious photos like "Suddenly Homeless" (5%), "There but for the Grace of God" (7%) and "Divided We Stand" (6%). I'm not griping about winning, but those percentages are ludicrous.

:bluebox: As to the question of contests being too serious or too competitive, I may be obtuse but I just don't see it. Seems to me that even the pros in the group view the contests as a challenge to their skill and imagination, an enjoyable group project, a chance (hopefully) for some feedback, and a vehicle, however humble, to get better. If this group is riddled with gigantic egos or obsessive-compulsive competitors, the evidence of that has completely escaped me. In any event, trying to spice the contests up a little or get more objectivity from the voters doesn't strike me as inimical to the fun aspect. Quite the contrary, actually.

:bluebox: There's been a lot of discussion about tinkering with the contests, trying different things, roundtables, photo-that-caption challenges, and so on. I sense that these things don't sit well with some members - though again this is more intuition than empirical observation. These changes, IMHO, enhance the appeal of hanging out here.

Happily, there's new blood in the group, and I welcome their input and their photographs as warmly as I felt welcomed here when I jumped in. So much talent, so many good-hearted people. Disagreements, even minor ones, are so rare here I'd swear sometimes that this can't be DU.

Having said all that, I'll close by saying I'm deaf to any voice that doesn't agree with me about everything.:evilgrin: