About voting - for Blunt, to start with

[JoyceCarter]

I hear from someone who belongs to BeWrite that you have been saying how few votes you have so far had for Comp #2, and wondering whether you ought therefore to lift the restrictions. 

I can't help thinking that if new members were able to join right now, you would quite probably not have a fair poll at all - it would be open to people lobbying anyone they know who has a computer to cast a vote, whether or not those people have any interest in writing or art.

Although it's a shame if voters are thin on the ground, please keep to the closed poll.  I didn't sign up and put in the work to be part of a personality contest, or a 'who knows the most computer-literate people' race!

And if anyone reading this hasn't yet voted, PLEASE get on and do so!

[Walker]

You are right, Joyce, it should remain closed for the very reasons you outlined here. I would encourage the competitors from the 'other' comp to also vote for the writers, as we have voted for them. These are short stories and to read a few a day is not a big deal. Voters needn't be up to date on dark, contemporary fiction, they only need to be able to read and vote for the one(s) that stuck in thier heads. Above all, lets remember this is a friendly place and a friendly comp. Win or lose, we're all friends. Right? 

[canadian]

I am pleased that Blunt has kept the voting closed to current members only. It's fair and eliminates the spam factor.

Results should be based on the merits of the work, not how many friends the writer can induce to click on their name in the poll.

Vote, people, vote! (I think I was the first one to exercise my democratic right!) And may the best written fiction win!

[Ed]

   I don't know where you're getting your info from, Joyce, but it seems like a case of Chinese whispers - I haven't said anywhere that I'm disappointed with the number of votes cast.  

The whole reason I blocked forum registration during the voting was to stop a popularity contest from unduly influencing the polls.  I will open it up again, if the majority wants it that way, but if that happens we will refuse to be bound by the outcome of the poll - simple as that, and the comp winner will be chosen by the forum mods and admins.  I put that 'we wouldn't be bound by forum polls, because they can be rigged' in the rules from the start, guessing that it might happen in the long term.

I want the comps to have integrity, be fair, and be fun.  Otherwise there is no point in running them - it would be a waste of everybody's time.  Not least of all mine - I make nothing from it, and don't propose to - the prize money comes out of my pocket, as do the hosting fees, etc.  I lose all the way down the line, but I don't mind as long as we're fulfilling our goals.  

I want this place to be a showcase for excellent work by new authors and new artists, as well as being a place where we can learn from each other and have fun.  The reponse to the comps has been extremely good this time around, and I'm really glad that so many people made the effort - it's been great.

[santhere]

yes, yes I will get around to it, but right now I simply can`t concentrate on it(which probably says more about me than the stories)  

[JoyceCarter]

In that case, Blunt, I'm delighted to be misinformed - and I said from the start that the info was at second hand - and I'm backing up what you want to be the case!