Competitions Discussion Thread Part 13

Mamzie

STOP.....

can we just rewind things please..... PCL, don't delete the stickie, it working fab. Glad do you mean that every thread still on Regs is moving here too. We will lose comps as they slowly slide into GO and don't get reposted.

Glad, I really think that you and the other BGs need to explain things more to MSE Andrea. She has stated that its is difficult to understand comps as a non comper. I think you guys need to say what guidelines would will work on here to her, and that before she posts anymore rule changes its reviewed by you all or some compers. I have quoted her below, and it appears to me, that she is unsure of this herslef, by the end sentence of the paragraph???

(MSE Andrea)

What I can say is please post them as individual threads for each day/week/month noting in the title which day etc it is - that way when you discuss them you all know you're discussing the same one, plus when you click thanks you only need to look at the first post to know you've entered it, rather than wade through the thread to find the new post for the new day's comp? (I think I'm understanding that correctly?)

I can see the sense in moving some reg comps over to main, but I think that a BG and members need to pm her that single threads, with updated answers in work much better. That we are sensible people and are quite capable of using the thanks button to know where we are in a thread.

All we need is for her to set out some basic comping/Regs guidelines that will work... Please suggest anything I have missed below, or that is an obvious error. I intend to pm MSE Andrea myself, but want to clarify want I want to convey myself first, so would appreciate any help or constructive criticism.

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Possible Comping Board Guidelines

1) Post all comps, Reg comps or one off comps with an End Date in the Main Board. Please search beforehand to ensure it has not already been posted by someone else. (Please make sure a link plus comp info is posted at end of relevant sticky thread in Regs Sub-Board if needed).

2) Post Daily reg Comps in a single thread per comp - State if its a daily entry or prize in title - Thread can be updated as needed if there is a Q&A.

3) Post Weekly comps in a single thread per comp - Threads can be updated as needed if there is a Q&A.

4) Post Monthly Reg Comps in a long thread for each comp or as individual comp threads every month. Use your common sense with posting and ask on discussion thread if advice is needed.

5) Post all comps using the Expiry Date Format eg. E: 01/01 Win.... If unsure of end date, then use your best estimate and put guessedenddate anywhere in the thread.

6) Please use suggested Title Tags (FB/effort etc. - see bottom), to help members decide which comps to enter and for searching the Comps Forum.
.
7) Do not c&p entire articles from sites due to copyright issues.

8) Hit the Thanks button to thank OPs instead of posting thanks on the thread as that causes the comp to be bumped for no reason.

9) All questions, discussion, chat, etc, should be posted either on the Comps Discussion Thread, or in the Compers Inn Thread.

10) Be polite and helpful to fellow posters.

Suggested Title Tags, to help people Enter Comps

a) Please mention Kids, photos, purchase required, effort, etc in title if entry requires these.

b) Please mention FB, Twitter, Blog if the comp is hosted on these sites.

c) If unsure of end Date, then use Guessenddate on thread, to help comp get identified when searching.

beffffff

Really feel for all you BGs Glad. You've all got a huge ask in the coming days now to change the dates on all the regular threads, move them, then move an extra 100+ comps to GO each day and merge any extra dupes that arise out of these new rules.

This doesn't feel very well thought through, and doesn't feel like what was voted for in the polls. That may have been unclear but at least it was democratic. Small tweaks and more clarity around the poll results would have been better for most than a whole new way of working that creates extra work for all posters

And we're going to miss so many comps as once they're missed once they will fall off the radar until someone finds them again days/weeks/month later

purplecatlover

Mamzie wrote: »

STOP.....

can we just rewind things please..... PCL, don't delete the stickie, it working fab. Glad do you mean that every thread still on Regs is moving here too. We will lose comps as they slowly slide into GO and don't get reposted.

its staying until tuesday because im going to have limited access until then, then if andreas post still stands the daily prize draw section will be redundant. to leave it will mean many of us (or at least those of us who cant remember if it was today or yesterday that we entered between those and the 200 odd comps we skim through picking out what we want to enter by end date) will dupe comps since they will also be on main.

but I think that a BG and members need to pm her that single threads, with updated answers in work much better. That we are sensible people and are quite capable of using the thanks button to know where we are in a thread.

a few months ago i would have agreed with you there, but if you go back to the initial discussions quite a few people complained that they found it impossible to keep track of ongoing threads and therefore chose not to use the postal sticky or the tab and puzzler ongoing threads as they found it impossible to keep up with or find where they left off. many people have insisted they would prefer each comp to be posted each day/week/month so they can see the prize without having to open the thread and dont have to look beyond the first post to get the new answer and/or link and that they do not have time or inclination to go to the regular board or the reg stickies to find comps that are "hidden away" from the bulk of compers.

andrea has listened to what they want, and the want for consitancy and all comps to be posted the same way. this way there will be no regular board, everything will be on main and it will be a mess but at least no one will miss anything because its hidden at the end of a thread or on another sub forum :T

and there will be no more complaints or comments of not understanding how to post a comp, or where it should be posted as it is now very very simples. everything goes on main, if its a weekly it has a new end date each week, a monthly has a new end date each month and a daily has a new end date each day.


All we need is for her to set out some basic comping/Regs guidelines that will work... Please suggest anything I have missed below, or that is an obvious error. I intend to pm MSE Andrea myself, but want to clarify want I want to convey myself first, so would appreciate any help or constructive criticism.

she has had a few pms form me, and im sure form other people explaining that we just need guidelines that will work, especially since her last update. the using links to reg threads was a compromise that should have worked though would have meant some extra threads on main but would have prevented dupes. judging by the various complaints over using them, and over threads being merged or even over threads being posted in regs forum that was too complicated a solution. there was still no proper consensus as to what counted as a regular comp so we were still in exactly the same place as before anything was ever attempted as a solution :eek:

this new solution solves all that too its simple, its easy to understand, its easy for everyone to post.

its just going to be a nightmare for the bgs for example re merges as 10 people try to be first to post the new answer to a daily as soon as it goes live at midnight :rotfl:and those of us who comp by end date a day or two ahead of actual end date will miss out on heaps unless we start also comping by newly posted or find a way to sift through each days 200 plus new comps to find the ones that end earlier in the day or are dailies we would normally have hit via the thread

thingamaBob

purplecatlover wrote: »

and those of us who comp by end date a day or two ahead of actual end date will miss out on heaps unless we start also comping by newly posted or find a way to sift through each days 200 plus new comps to find the ones that end earlier in the day or are dailies we would normally have hit via the thread

It's not only "end date" compers who will miss out on comps. Although I comp as much as possible by "newly posted", I often find that I am a day or two behind. So most dailies will be gone to GO before I get to them. (If the BG's find enough time to move them at all)
I feel sure that one of the reasons the Regs board was created was to help keep the main board tidy and manageable. If this goes ahead, it means that the Regs board will virtually disappear and the messy main board it was created to resolve, will return.

beffffff

IMHO this decision needs to at least be reversed for dailies - I think it's workable for weeklies and monthlies as some weekly/monthly comps are posted each week/month and some are made into regular threads, depending on who posts the comp and their interpretation of any rules. But for dailies it's ridiculous and I can't believe it's what anyone really wants(?????)

However, if this is really going ahead I think we need to try to come up with some ground rules or there's going to be comps missed all over the place and people duping the comps that are "good" prizes whilst ignoring the ones that are not so good.

My suggestion:
Maybe we could now have one regular comps sticky, a bit like the postals sticky? There could be details of who posts what on the 1st page?
And we can then all add details of any new regular comps to it as we first find and post them and say if we are happy to repost it ourselves each d/w/m or if we need a volunteer to take it over?

We also need to decide who posts all the existing regular comps. Is it just a free for all each d/w/m? Or is it the OP? Or maybe we could put a call out for who is willing to take a few extra posts on each d/w/m and then split them out between all volunteers and add them to the 1st page on the sticky mentioned above? I know this wouldn't be perfect as some newbies won't know about it. But at least it would maximise the chances of all comps staying on MSE and minimise the work for the BGs having to merge dupes?

Oh and Mazmie I think that list is great and hopefully it isn't too late. My only comment is that personally I think maybe we should have a firm rule for monthlies. Either one regularly updated post OR post them new each month. I'm fairly sure there will be disagreement between different compers and different BGs if it's just open to common sense because we all look at things differently.

One-Eye

Possible Posting Guidelines (based on the work started by Mamzie)


1) Post ALL comps on the main board. Please search beforehand to ensure it has not already been posted by someone else. Note that postal/text/phone competitions have their own section.

2a) Post a daily regular comp in a single thread for the duration of the promotion (or for a maximum of ** days if the promotion lasts longer). State “Daily” in the thread title. New posts can be added to the thread for new questions/answers/links. Post a link to the thread at the end of the daily sticky.
OR
2b) Post the comp as an individual comp with an end date for that day only. A new thread will be required the following day, and no link in stickies is required.

3a) Post a weekly regular comp in a single thread for the duration of the promotion (or for a maximum of 52 weeks if the promotion lasts longer). State “Weekly” in the thread title. New posts can be added to the thread for new questions/answers/links. Post a link to the thread at the end of the weekly sticky.
OR
3b) Post the comp as an individual comp with an end date for that week only. A new thread will be required the following week, and no link in stickies is required.

4a) Post a monthly regular comp in a single thread for the duration of the promotion (or for a maximum of 12 months if the promotion lasts longer). State “Monthly” in the thread title. New posts can be added to the thread for new questions/answers/links. Post a link to the thread at the end of the monthly sticky.
OR
4b) Post the comp as an individual comp with an end date for that month only. A new thread will be required the following month, and no link in stickies is required.

One-Eye

All the options above can co-exist, or some options could be banned. If we are to have all regulars on the main board then I think we should focus on which of these options we don’t want.

2b is the option that would cause MAJOR problems, and everyone who has posted here so far (beffffff, purplecatlover, Mamzie, thingamabob, Amilucky?) is against it. You can add my name to this list. Does ANYBODY think 2b is a good idea?

Current practice is supposed to be 2a, 3a, 4a
Actual current practice is 2a, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b
Andrea’s proposal is 2b, 3b, 4b
Mamzie’s proposal is 2a, 3a, 4a, 4b (post #1546)
Beffffff mentions 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b as a possibility (post #1550 last paragraph)

I would favour 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b as the first stage of re-organisation, with 2a, 3b, 4b as a possible second stage if the first stage works.

beffffff

My last paragraph was based on Mazmies rules...where she said dailies and weeklies were single threads but monthlies could be either based on common sense. I said I thought monthlies should be one or the other not left to the individual. I didn't state a preference but mine would actually be that monthlies were posted in the same way as Mazmie suggests for dailies and weeklies (eg one updated thread)

So if you're keeping a list 2a, 3a, 4a would be my actual preference so all the stickies can be used as designed and no comps get forgotten about. But that won't happen.

I would also be happy with 2a, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b. Provided everyone just lets it lie if they disagree with how a certain post is posted (eg if you think a 4a or 3a should be a 4b or 3b (or vice versa) just hold your breath, count to 10 and forget about it )

My worry with 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b (that you put me down for) would be that some monthly comps would fall off the radar. But I could live with it (or even 2a, 3b, 4b) IF we could split all the current comps on PPDs (and Gillas) sticky up between us to post each month (or week) so they don't get missed or duped at 00:01.

My absolute last choice is what MSEAndrea has told us to do, namely 2b, 3b, 4b.

purplecatlover

One-Eye wrote: »

All the options above can co-exist, or some options could be banned. If we are to have all regulars on the main board then I think we should focus on which of these options we don’t want.

2b is the option that would cause MAJOR problems, and everyone who has posted here so far (beffffff, purplecatlover, Mamzie, thingamabob, Amilucky?) is against it. You can add my name to this list. Does ANYBODY think 2b is a good idea?

Current practice is supposed to be 2a, 3a, 4a
Actual current practice is 2a, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b
Andrea’s proposal is 2b, 3b, 4b
Mamzie’s proposal is 2a, 3a, 4a, 4b (post #1546)
Beffffff mentions 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b as a possibility (post #1550 last paragraph)

I would favour 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b as the first stage of re-organisation, with 2a, 3b, 4b as a possible second stage if the first stage works.

the problem with the current system of posting using 3a and 3b, 4a and 4b is that there is no consistancy, no clarity, no one knows whether to update a thread or start a new one, people ignore the fact that there is a thread to update and post a new thread anyway because its hidden away at the end of a thread etc etc etc. also means they are duped. i cant see how they can really work together with links both in ongoing and new threads each time?

i really do not want it to carry on with that confusion, they need to be posted one way or the other. for now we have little option but to follow the new rules and start posting all dailies with each days end date too....i agree its stupid but its what people who want to be able to see every prize in t he thread title without opening the thread want, and at least it means all comps are treated the same. dont like it but ill work around it and as i have been told numerous times go elsewhere for a daily list or accept that im going to miss a heap of them, forget it and move on *shrugs*

maybe andrea will review things again when she gets time ro read and attempt to understand what any pms she now gets are asking. maybe she wont, in the meantime its going to be great fun avoiding dupes and getting everything moved :rotfl:

the other option (unless thats what you mean when you say to use 3a and 3b at same time) is to post and update ongoing threads but allow them to be posted with the current day/week/months end date and moved to game over each time with a link to the ongoing thread, in which case the ongoing could be linked in the stickies, the people who dont want to have to keep track of threads can find them by the linky in the new post each time and if they dont get posted and they miss them then they can accept being told to forget it and move on or go elsewhere :cool: but im repeating myself again ,and we were supposed to be trying that for the last month or so and have ahd great success and cooperation over it :rotfl:

also why would 3b adn 4b only become used after a while? might as well jump straight into it now rather than carry on with the confusing aspect of ongoing threads which people cant follow.

purplecatlover

as postals need to be sent off at least a few days before end date, and as need extra things rather than just mouse and keyboard and linky for entering them do they also need split and posted or can they stay as they are? is that an exception to the post everything on main with its true end date rule that everyone agrees on? thats another thread people claim they cant follow though although is entirely different to entering online comps........