outdated rule? (feedback)

[DemonCowboy]

I've been going over the rules a bit making myself more familiar and I've come to 1 that REALLY seems outdated and meant for a much smaller community.

"Contest" Threads Contest threads are permitted providing the following guidelines are adhered to:
Suppliers must only run one contest at a time.
Suppliers must close the thread after 300 posts.
Anyone else is welcome to run contests (eg, in social forums), but they should be closed after 300 posts.
The moderators may close these threads at any time, and they must not be reopened.


300 posts? in a community of almost 40,000? and groups that have more than double 300 members? that's excluding and irritating LOTS of members. I'm sure it's just an oversight as an intelligent and wise group of moderators would know that enforcing this would create a lot of friction and could eventually diminish the community.


hope i did good bringing it to your attention.

 

[Blank]

i cna see your point but at the same time 300 posts makes a thread much harder to look through so i can see the need for a semi low cap, think of it as a contest to participate in the contest,

 

[AngusATAT]

I'm guessing this is brought up because of the Contest that was started in the GreenhouseOne forum.

Ask yourself this: Did more than 300 people participate in that thread, or was it much less than that spamming posts like there was no tomorrow?

The rule is in place exactly because of contests like that. It's a drain on forum resources that does not need to happen.

 

[DemonCowboy]

actually angus i've never heard of the greenhouseone forum

w/ resources being the issue, granted bandwidth u can't do much about, but space, 40k ppl and u'r yes, i can see kb turning into MB and GB but that's going to happen regardless, if they don't post in a contest, they'll post in the snails thread or something. a contest might generate more views and bandwidth but that can't be helped contests are 1 of many tools that keep people visiting the boards. and fewer visits mean less advertising revenue.

 

[Xanax]

Greenhouseone? Was that the contest that said "the 2,000th post will win so get to posting!" was that the one?

 

[DemonCowboy]

Greenhouseone? Was that the contest that said "the 2,000th post will win so get to posting!" was that the one?

oh that 1? nah i wasn't interested in that 1.

 

[Elendil]

Beside the resource issue that Angus already pointed out it also becomes almost a form of spam and just seems unseemly if it goes on too long.

I mean what is the point of looking for the 2,500th post anyway? As a mod, I don't participate in contests as a rule, but if I saw a thread that said "The 2,500th post wins X" (unless "x" is a BMW) I'd be like and just move along.......

We have a couple of suppliers that have very long threads going, but the difference is those thread are spots for discussion as opposed to trying to suck people in to win a $40 kit or some such thing...........

All in all, it is a good rule that aside from the bit of screaming that happened when it was instituted, has served a good purpose.

 

[DemonCowboy]

i feel the same way, but when u have say 600+ ppl in a group and post a contest that says " drawing will be done upon this event, feel free to post until this event occurs"
then yeah usefully, on it's own it could get up there, and it's not blatantly the person running the contest's fault - it could be the contestants' fault (like 1 or more driving the post count up to be cute) even before all the members even see it.

and that's unfair to those that don't see it. as for those that say x post wins the prize, i'm surprised they even work - if it was me i'd watch the thread till i saw 1995 or higher for 2k post goal, then i'd give it a 1 and only shot.

u tell me to either post or not but the more posts i get in the better my chances, yeah, i'll post as often as the rules of the contest allow. so it's hurting the wrong kind of contest it seems.

and the contest i was referring to, the rules stated that a valid post had to b part of the discussion, you couldn't back to back post, etc. after that it's left up to the contestants how big it gets.

i'm saying i think i know what the intent and spirit of the rule are, i just think it could be achieved better a different way. if u'r open to suggestions, let me think on it a little and i could offer a few up.

 

[Jules22871]

I'm guessing this is brought up because of the Contest that was started in the GreenhouseOne forum.

Ask yourself this: Did more than 300 people participate in that thread, or was it much less than that spamming posts like there was no tomorrow?

The rule is in place exactly because of contests like that. It's a drain on forum resources that does not need to happen.

This is being brought up because of the contest in PIF. We have 600 members and I know not all of them are active. Would it be feasible to have a contest that states you can only post once, but it might exceed the 300 post limit if every member did post? Did that make sense?

I totally get the point of why you wanted the thread stopped. It was getting pretty long and I had thought about closing it a couple times myself but I didn't do it. I do think that limiting it to 300 posts though is something that can be discussed and maybe changed to limit one post per person or you are disqualified. Just a thought since I hope to have other contests but dont' want to cut some members out of it.

 

[Mary Kay]

Demon, you are assuming 40,000 people are actively posting. There are around 7.000 active and not even half of them bother with contests outside thier supplier. I have no interest in winning a mod for instance. I remeber one contest that was a "the 500th person to post" one or something like that..it went on for a week or so because people just lost interest!

 

[DemonCowboy]

Demon, you are assuming 40,000 people are actively posting. There are around 7.000 active and not even half of them bother with contests outside thier supplier. I have no interest in winning a mod for instance. I remeber one contest that was a "the 500th person to post" one or something like that..it went on for a week or so because people just lost interest!

then it burnt itself out therefore would be a non-issue.

ok half of 7000 is still 3500 that's still more than 90% of those that would wish to being excluded. i'm not saying that there should be no guidelines. just more effective ones that don't do more harm than good.

 

[5cardstud]

I'm guessing this is brought up because of the Contest that was started in the GreenhouseOne forum.

Ask yourself this: Did more than 300 people participate in that thread, or was it much less than that spamming posts like there was no tomorrow?

The rule is in place exactly because of contests like that. It's a drain on forum resources that does not need to happen.

Thats a very good reason Angus and maybe this rule will help me not get logged off as much due to server busy.

 

[Elendil]

This is being brought up because of the contest in PIF. We have 600 members and I know not all of them are active. Would it be feasible to have a contest that states you can only post once, but it might exceed the 300 post limit if every member did post? Did that make sense?

Not entirely.

Let assume a scenario:

You want to run a contest where the 600th post wins a prize. You have 600 members who want to participate, but each only can post one time per your contest rules. Who is going to post first?(or second, third, etc?) If I can post only once why would I post anytime before post 595 or so?


Look, in broad strokes, there are essentially 2 types of contests.

1. Answer a question, create an acronym, solve a puzzle, etc. This type requires a specific answer or action in response to a specific question or instruction. This type of contest is self-limiting as the correct answer is usually given long before 300 posts is reached. This is the type of contest that you would limit entries to one per person. I highly doubt that we would shut it down (or even notice) if it went beyond 300 posts.(unlikely in any event)

2. Post # X wins the prize. What is accomplished by asking for the 1000th post? The only thing that happens is a bunch on nonsensical post count spamming activity. People want to get to a winner relatively quickly as most people don't have hours and hours to sit around waiting for the post count to get high enough to actually take the time to enter. Getting to post 78 is much quicker and more exciting and accomplishes the same end result.

The 300 post rule makes complete sense for these reasons.

 

[Jules22871]

What about the random number generator to pick the winning post number? Here again, you have excluded part of a group with the 300 post rule.

I completely understand not making a certain post number a winner. That thread would be terrible. I can also see where I made mistakes in the way I presented and handled the gift certificate contest. It should have been set at a one post per person rule.

 

[Elendil]

What about the random number generator to pick the winning post number? Here again, you have excluded part of a group with the 300 post rule.

Yes you did, and the answer is: "Sometimes people get excluded or miss out" However, if you have 600 members and limit entries to 300 you cannot assume you are excluding 300 people as many people will not participate anyway.

It's like a sale at my favorite store. There are times they will run a sale on something I would have liked to buy but for whatever reason I missed it. Meh, I'll get it the next time.

The fact is sometimes people will get left out. you have to draw the line somewhere, and in this case the line is at 300............

 

[Jules22871]

Got it and will definitely remember it for future use.

 

[kushka]

Let me add one thing. I am a fairly new member - I participated in the Greenhouse one game, lost of course, but noticed hat after playing I was a senior member. I felt a bit odd about being a senior member when doing so little - it made me feel a bit guilty - So, I thought I should at least become a supporting member - So I did..

I belong to many forums about topics I really care more about then vaping.
And I post to them, but about more important things and much less volume. Since I use much less volume, I don't feel guilty thus I never give them money.

I basically gave money to ecf all because of that stupid contest.

 

[ddrj]

Heh.... you guys must not have seen the latest Greenhouse contest...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-ego-kit-ejuice-post-5988-greenhouse-one.html

It actually reached 4900 posts before it was closed. Take a look at the last couple of pages, it's primarily 2 people spamming away at least 500 posts of one line lyrics from songs and stuff.

 

[DemonCowboy]

Not entirely.

Let assume a scenario:

You want to run a contest where the 600th post wins a prize. You have 600 members who want to participate, but each only can post one time per your contest rules. Who is going to post first?(or second, third, etc?) If I can post only once why would I post anytime before post 595 or so?


Look, in broad strokes, there are essentially 2 types of contests.

1. Answer a question, create an acronym, solve a puzzle, etc. This type requires a specific answer or action in response to a specific question or instruction. This type of contest is self-limiting as the correct answer is usually given long before 300 posts is reached. This is the type of contest that you would limit entries to one per person. I highly doubt that we would shut it down (or even notice) if it went beyond 300 posts.(unlikely in any event)

2. Post # X wins the prize. What is accomplished by asking for the 1000th post? The only thing that happens is a bunch on nonsensical post count spamming activity. People want to get to a winner relatively quickly as most people don't have hours and hours to sit around waiting for the post count to get high enough to actually take the time to enter. Getting to post 78 is much quicker and more exciting and accomplishes the same end result.

The 300 post rule makes complete sense for these reasons.

i call B.S.

you forgot:

3. Random number generation (as jules mentioned)

4. best whatever (picture, quote, reason, etc.)

5. create the game (contestants create their chances w/ their posts - will explain in detail if asked)

and lots of other types requiring only a modicum of intelligence and creativity.


as the rule sits it's a blanket rule so no modding has to be done w/ it really. and is flawed in itself anyway here's how:

i'm a creative type and can and do help people come up w/ contests if 300 limit per thread is the rule - i'll simply come up w/ contests where each person needs their own thread. since the basis of the rule is resources - tell me which uses more resources, 1 really long active document, or several hundred smaller active documents?


also, which would b easier to moderate? food for thought

 

[AngusATAT]

Heh.... you guys must not have seen the latest Greenhouse contest...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-ego-kit-ejuice-post-5988-greenhouse-one.html

It actually reached 4900 posts before it was closed. Take a look at the last couple of pages, it's primarily 2 people spamming away at least 500 posts of one line lyrics from songs and stuff.

Yep, yet another reason to limit contests of this kind. Think of how upset those members might get when I delete those contest threads, and they lose hundreds from their post counts.

I read where one member added over six hundred to their post count in the first contest. That is going to go bye-bye.

While I might not be averse to raising the limit a bit from the 300 it is now once the forum upgrade is complete and we get the second server online, I will still disallow contests that promote post spamming. I will most likely rewrite the rule to make this clearer.