Caption Contest - Post Mortem

[GroupMagma]

Hey gang,

So, let's talk pros and cons for the Caption Contests.

First off, I like how it incorporated our communities from the forums and from Facebook. It gives everyone ample opportunity to contribute to the contest, and even if you don't win, there's plenty of funny captions to read. It's a bit time-consuming on my end, but not overly so.

One thing I don't like is how much the one-caption-per-picture rule is violated so frequently, but I suppose that's to be expected.

I don't imagine we'll do a Caption Contest every week, but once-a-month is doable, and i think it would be fun.

Thoughts?

[myweedpatch]

Caption contest was ok.

Would like to see a panel voting on the winner, no offense, instead of one persons. Maybe all moderators (but that would make them ineligible to participate)? Or some alternative.

Would like to see the contest just held on forum so all can participate with ease and to remain anomynous. If they can get on Facebook then they can also access the forum to enter, but not the reverse. Maybe just advertise the contest on Facebook to refer to forum to enter the contest.

As for the multiple entries, which I am guilty of myself, I think if you are clever enough and can think the captions up then you should be able to enter as much as you want without penalty or prejudice. As long as it's not a repeat or copy of someone's posted previously. Multiple entries don't make it unfair to others who can only think of one caption. Often people think of something else later in the day that was funny and since you can't edit your own posts, I think you should be able to have multiple entries. Plus, I think it shows dedication to the forum, the TL games and the contest and gives more opportunity to give people a giggle.

[mattdiner]

-Great contest
-People with multiple captions should automatically have all of their entries disqualified.

[gabo84]

How about twice a month? once a month seems not enough :/

and..

people that post more than one should automatically be disqualified.

[casadolce]

I agree that there are PLENTY of good captions. It is heartbreaking to see that only one can win. Maybe we can have 2nd, 3rd...Nth prize?

I support the one-entry-per-player rule. If everybody throws in multiple entries hoping one may hit, it will bring down the average quality of the entries. It will also be very time-consuming for the judge to go through all the entries. If the player cannot decide which one he/she likes best, how can we expect the judge to be able to?

If a player comes up with multiple captions, he/she should pick one and submit as the "contest entry" and, in the same post, post his/her other captions indicating that they are not contest submissions but "for sharing purpose only".

[trenae]

I really enjoy the caption contests, being able to see how creative some get. The only downside on some of them like the one on Friday, where Mario was designed from tiles, is that not all were able to easily see that - other then that, I think the caption contests bring out a lot of good/fun creativity. I also liked how they were split between the forum and Facebook, as that allows for more then just the forum community to get in on the contests, could even be fun to do it on twitter. :p

The multiple submissions per user for sure adds to the work and may not be fair for others as it is a one caption entry contest - however I don't think disqualifying based on that would be the best approach - though what I might do is say that their last submission is the one entered for the contest.

Once a month would be fun, and allows for it to happen regularly, as well as the opportunity to have a few other contests in the month that other users may enjoy.

[xokay]

I have to agree about the anonymity thing. I didn't enter on Facebook, because I don't really want people to know my real name. This is especially important of younger forum members who really need to worry about protecting their identities.

[myweedpatch]

Wow. Really! Disqualified? That's a bit harsh. I really dont understand why its such an issue to have multiple entries, but I guess I'll go with whatever you long time forum members and friends of GM decide, Im sure you know what best and whats a good deal for the users.

Maybe to stop the multiple entries from happening....make the rules bigger and clearer and noticeable...entitle it GAME RULES? List what will happen if you receive multiple entries?

[badger8]

I agree with xokay re: Facebook. I also don't enter any Facebook contests for anonymity sake. I'd like to keep my Facebook acct private.
I did enjoy coming up with the picture entries- that was fun.
However I had trouble with the caption side of the contest. The time was either too short or at odd hours or something, because I missed most of them.
There should be only 1 entry per person. Have the mods help you go through the list. Heck, as said above, have them help you pick a winner. Give them 50 gems apiece (or something) for their trouble and for not being able to enter. They deserve it anyways- they're all doing a great job!

[myweedpatch]

I agree with xokay re: Facebook. I also don't enter any Facebook contests for anonymity sake. I'd like to keep my Facebook acct private.
I did enjoy coming up with the picture entries- that was fun.
However I had trouble with the caption side of the contest. The time was either too short or at odd hours or something, because I missed most of them.
There should be only 1 entry per person. Have the mods help you go through the list. Heck, as said above, have them help you pick a winner. Give them 50 gems apiece (or something) for their trouble and for not being able to enter. They deserve it anyways- they're all doing a great job!

Like this idea...maybe have each impartial moderator pick a winner...several winners per caption might be nice? Everyone has a different sense of humor....

[myweedpatch]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my game neighbors in other countries were sleeping when the contests ran and weren't able to participate...could you extend the entry time to at least 24 hours?

[ladyj0y]

Thanks for this Contests :D It was nice, but really a lot of. I also think one time in a Month should be ok. And I also think, if there are People wich post more Captions have to be disqualified. If you are not so strict, than it's not authentic and serious.
I look forward to more Contests where you have to be more creative ;P Videomaking, Fotomaking, Painting and whatever ^__~ More variety

[Mogwai4111]

Videomaking

You have my vote!

[xokay]

I agree with xokay re: Facebook. I also don't enter any Facebook contests for anonymity sake. I'd like to keep my Facebook acct private.
I did enjoy coming up with the picture entries- that was fun.
However I had trouble with the caption side of the contest. The time was either too short or at odd hours or something, because I missed most of them.
There should be only 1 entry per person. Have the mods help you go through the list. Heck, as said above, have them help you pick a winner. Give them 50 gems apiece (or something) for their trouble and for not being able to enter. They deserve it anyways- they're all doing a great job!

Giving the mods free gems >.> hmmm I like this idea ;)

[jaid666]

Honestly the caption contests were fun to enter, I have to agree with some of the others on here though, multiple entries seem to defeat the purpose. Disqualification for breaking the rules is something that occurs in most other contests so why not do it here? It would make it fair to everyone, and would make it easier on the judge(s) to pick a winner.

Also agree that there should be more than just one person deciding the outcome of each contest. We've got the extra mods to help keep the forums under control and running smoothly, so why not let them have some of the fun in deciding the contest outcome? lol I'm also all for rewarding them with a gem bonus for helping, afterall, they're all doing awesome and they don't get paid.

[dawhyte]

i think thats a good idea...how bout run a contest for new dishes..have folks cook up a dish or even create a drink for the new drink machine (which i cant get cause im a droid user) and the winner gets to have it on rs...im new to the forum so i dont know if this has been done or suggested already

[MrsShrek]

The caption contests were really fun. Will not partake in the Facebook ones, only here in the forum.
Really appreciated that the last forum one Was open longer. All contests should run at least 24 hours since the games are played world wide. Also you have working people playing.
Also agree with the 1 entry per person. No only in consideration to your time having to read them all to pick a winner, but also to give the other time zones and later entries a chance since duplications would count them out.
It was also fun doing the photo contest. Gave you plenty to choose from for the caption contests. ;-)
And yes, disqualification for not following the rules is par for the course. Most contests are this way.

[driftboutique]

No only in consideration to your time having to read them all to pick a winner, but also to give the other time zones and later entries a chance since duplications would count them out.

I think this is a good point.

Beyond that, I quite obviously liked the contests, but I'm afraid I'm biased, so I'll stay quiet :)

[LanokaHarbor]

:D1. The captions contest was fun. However, I would cease the Facebook contests for reasons already stated by others. Furthermore, the point of the contests was to get more people to come to the FORUM.

:D2. The contests should be open at least 24 hours to allow for full participation of game players from different time zones.

:D3. The voting should be done by more than one person, either by the mods, or the forum users. Again, the point is to get more people to the FORUM. What might work is a 24 hour period for captions entry, then create a private poll where registered forum users can vote. Again, increases traffic to the forum.

:D4. One entry per person should be the rule. I think we saw multiple entries because the rules were unclear from the first caption contest, but became clearer as time went on with the subsequent caption contests.

:D5. The captions contest was great because everyone got a chance to participate regardless of what games they play, their platform, their age, or their experience with outside designing software.:D

5.

[LanokaHarbor]

Oh, and one more thing about the Facebook contest.....users cannot see all the entries. After a while, older entries are no longer viewable. So duplicates were likely to happen.....unintentionally.

[MrsShrek]

I think this is a good point.

Beyond that, I quite obviously liked the contests, but I'm afraid I'm biased, so I'll stay quiet :)

Wondering what makes you so biased?! ;-). Have you spent your gems? If so, what did you get, if you don't mind sharing. By the way, congratulations!

[driftboutique]

Wondering what makes you so biased?! ;-). Have you spent your gems? If so, what did you get, if you don't mind sharing. By the way, congratulations!

Thanks! My gems in fashion were quickly wasted on two groovy boxes... I really want the dress for the avatar! But the restaurant winnings were quite well used. I gave my restaurant a facelift with some of the new oriental tables and chairs and I got a bamboo plant from the takeout box around which I redesigned my hostess station :) I'm quite pleased! Thanks again TL :)