New Comps Board Guidelines Discussion

emiai

purplecatlover wrote: »

its a little unfair to expect the reg sticky maintainers to add and remove links they are told are expired, search out any regs they know of that should have had a new thread, add those, find all those that have been running for a while and this expired and remove them without being told that they have expired

id say its also a bit unfair to expect the maintainers to know that the comp person y has just told them about is the same as or replaces the one that person x gave them and thus is already in the sticky unless they are told, especially if its a dupe post and the lists are long !

I was not criticising the work done, I was simply highlighting some of the flaws you previously mentioned in the regular system, adding that there will always be something someone will moan about - you can not please everyone.

Again, I hope what you guys choose to impliment lightens the burden for the posters and mods.

beffffff

Comping cat/emiai/toniq I agree too. I've said it a few times as have plenty of others.


And One-Eye personally I don't care where those comps go. I certainly wouldn't be running to a BG if they continued to be posted as they are even if this poll got a yes vote. I just want ground rules to follow so that when I am shouted at for posting a regular comp on the regular board I have some comeback. If people had been more easy going rather than having a go and duping comps all the time I wouldn't be involved in this ridiculous discussion!

Mamzie

I would have loved the BGs to have done it. Glad is trying to do it atm, but is allowing us to discuss it, while Divadee and Dalkirst, have suggested going back to 6 mths ago but which version do they want??? When MSE Andrea was called in to help, she sorta made things more confused, so she has suggested this route instead. I would much prefer that the BGs, just said - This is how it will be in future - if they could come to an agreement on which guidelines/rules to follow.

I only tried to help by pulling things together, to try and get this all to end. It seemed to me that we just kept going round and round in circles. This all started when the T&Cs changed in some comps and they changed into a daily reg comp. When a BG started to move them to Regs they were questioned. Them people started to say they would no longer post comps, if comps were in Regs.... ALso some peole posting and using Regs were flamed by post/pm, an occurance I rarely see in the Comps Forum

Because we never accurately defined a Reg, it has left things slightly confused. But by agreeing the difference in and ONGOING and END DATE comps, we can agree where to post. No offence One Eye, you are slightly mixing up the difference between these two. Possibly it may have helped if you had suggested a different wording of Point 2a as you seem to find it confusing. We adopted the term of Promotion after you suggested it as a definition. This is making it seem so much more complicated than it needs to be, iyswim. If you ignore End Dates in T&Cs then 75% of companies/Websites kind enough to offer a comp monthlyish could be called a Reg, which they are obviously not.

One-Eye wrote: »

We are NOT voting on how to define ONGOING comps. We are voting for or against a proposal to post ALL ONGOING promotions on regulars. The definition is "These are competitions with no apparent Promotion End date, but which hold a regular daily/weekly/monthly competition"

All the following competitions that are currently posted each week/month as an individual competition on main have no promotion end date and hold a regular weekly/monthly competition.

....... my edit .

I have gone through the links you have supplied and if they were posted in line with the proposed guidelines, this is how I understand they would be posted...



Waitrose - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main
Sunbuzz Crossword - not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Sunbuzz Wordsearch - not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Silver Creek Villas - States Ongoing Monthly with no End Date in sight - Already on Regs
Telegraph Where In The World - Same Prize and Stated Weekly in T&Cs - so ongoing
Observer Viewfinder not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Independent Jumbo crossword not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
TV News win movies - Prizes changes - End Date shown = Main
Jelly Belly Bean World - Same Prize - Ongoing Monthly, stated in T&Cs, so should be in Regs

Hornby - Prize Changes - offer a comp every month = Main
Brook Taverner - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
Green & Spring - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
fuk.co.uk - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
Tic Watches - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main
Zandra Rhodes handbag - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main


ITV on screen comps from a series which ends after a short run (The Chase, Dancing on Ice, Push The Button etc.) have a promotion end date at the end of the series so are not ongoing, but Loose Women, This Morning, Daybreak are weekly and ongoing. Each comp has - END DATE in T&Cs each week...


Weekly Mags - different prizes and END DATE in T&Cs each week...


Suggested Guideline 1 covers most of these links... Its virtually as the board is running at the moment, but we've tried to put it into writing.

Then after this poll/thread closes, we can talk about other proposals, such ascompers Corner, hints and tips, etc

1) How to Post Competitions - Post all single/limited entry Competitions and Regular Daily/Weekly/Monthly Competitions with a Promotional End Date in the Main Board. Please search beforehand to ensure it has not already been posted by someone else. Do not repost a competition if it has already been posted on the Main or Regular board, as this may cause people to duplicate entries and creates extra work for the BGs in merging posts. How/where to post ongoing and d/w/m is covered below. Please update the relevant Daily/Weekly/Monthly Sticky thread in Regular Sub-Board with a link to the Thread, and competition info when posting a Regular Competition.

NB Competitions which are postal/text/phone entry are directly added to their own Sticky Thread at the top of the Main Board.

fire**fly

purplecatlover wrote: »

it certainly wouldnt work having them all in one thread, certainly not all in the same thread:o that would be way too complicated and confusing. how they are posted is a separate issue

yeah the mag comps are not a free for all, i thought that there were some mags/papers that dont have postal comps normally so are really only email. not sure if your missunderstanding me, trying to explain extra things or im just not being clear;) if for example the tab weekly mag is posted on main every week as its and online comp. where does it say this mag is posted by this person and mag comps, even those that go on main are not the free for all that the rest of the comps on main are?

the list in postals = who posts the postal mags, which probably overlaps some with those on main but how are newbies meant to find that? how long does it take someone to find the postal thread? how long does it take for them to decide ok i might send a few postcards lets see what the postal thread is all about and read it? how mnay people never actually look at the first post in postal to see who posts what mag on main.

dont worry about replying again korky i was merely trying to suggest that a list somewhere, easily findable, pointing out that mag comps on main are not the free for all the rest of comps on main and regs are, and are posted by specific people. i guess we should also add itv comps to that list too to make it very clear they also are not a free for all :cool: its an issue ive seen comp up a few times where some one else has posted havign been expected to know the unwritten rule that mag and itv comps are excepted from the free for all that main is

dont worry about replying again korky i was merely trying to suggest that a list somewhere, easily findable, pointing out that mag comps on main are not the free for all the rest of comps on main and regs are, and are posted by specific people. i guess we should also add itv comps to that list too to make it very clear they also are not a free for all :cool: its an issue ive seen comp up a few times where some one else has posted havign been expected to know the unwritten rule that mag and itv comps are excepted from the free for all that main is [/QUOTE]

bargainhuntergal

Mamzie wrote: »

Because we never accurately defined a Reg, it has left things slightly confused. But by agreeing the difference in and ONGOING and END DATE comps, we can agree where to post. No offence One Eye, you are slightly mixing up the difference between these two. Possibly it may have helped if you had suggested a different wording of Point 2a as you seem to find it confusing. We adopted the term of Promotion after you suggested it as a definition. This is making it seem so much more complicated than it needs to be, iyswim. If you ignore End Dates in T&Cs then 75% of companies/Websites kind enough to offer a comp monthlyish could be called a Reg, which they are obviously not.




I have gone through the links you have supplied and if they were posted in line with the proposed guidelines, this is how I understand they would be posted...



Waitrose - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main
Sunbuzz Crossword - not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Sunbuzz Wordsearch - not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Silver Creek Villas - States Ongoing Monthly with no End Date in sight - Already on Regs
Telegraph Where In The World - Same Prize and Stated Weekly in T&Cs - so ongoing
Observer Viewfinder not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
Independent Jumbo crossword not sure as it paper, but I assume the paper states a date to enter by??? = Main
TV News win movies - Prizes changes - End Date shown = Main
Jelly Belly Bean World - Same Prize - Ongoing Monthly, stated in T&Cs, so should be in Regs

Hornby - Prize Changes - offer a comp every month = Main
Brook Taverner - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
Green & Spring - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
fuk.co.uk - Prize Changes & END DATE in T&Cs... = Main
Tic Watches - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main
Zandra Rhodes handbag - END DATE in T&Cs each week... = Main


ITV on screen comps from a series which ends after a short run (The Chase, Dancing on Ice, Push The Button etc.) have a promotion end date at the end of the series so are not ongoing, but Loose Women, This Morning, Daybreak are weekly and ongoing. Each comp has - END DATE in T&Cs each week...


Weekly Mags - different prizes and END DATE in T&Cs each week...


Suggested Guideline 1 covers most of these links... Its virtually as the board is running at the moment, but we've tried to put it into writing.

Then after this poll/thread closes, we can talk about other proposals, such ascompers Corner, hints and tips, etc

I can see where One-Eye is coming from as the thing is, if you search out the end dates of all of those competitions you get:

Waitrose - Weekly - Ends on a Tuesday
Sunbuzz Crossword - Weekly - Ends on a Friday
Sunbuzz Wordsearch - Weekly - Ends on a Friday
Silver Creek Villas - Monthly - Ends last day of the month
Telegraph Where In The World - Weekly - Ends on a Wednesday
Observer Viewfinder - Weekly - Ends on a Thursday
Independent Jumbo crossword - Weekly - Ends on a Friday
TV News win movies - Weekly - Ends on a Sunday
Jelly Belly Bean World - Monthly - Ends last day of the month
Hornby - Monthly - Ends last day of the month
Brook Taverner - Monthly - Ends last day of the month (Edited to add: This also has monthly in the link)
Green & Spring - Monthly - Ends last day of the month
fuk.co.uk (in association with Tic Watches) - Monthly? Various early month end dates - One competition a month
Tic Watches - Monthly? Seems to be one a month(ish) - Generally towards the end of the month end date (Although Decembers was middle of the month)
Zandra Rhodes handbag - Monthly - Ends 13th of the month

Which just confuses matters even more as neither definition is wrong? So we're still none the wiser as to whether they're ongoing regs or separate comps each time?

comping_cat

Doesnt Silver Creek Villas have a new question each month? I would say that should be on the main then.
Also ITV comps always have an end date, and although Real Deal and Loose Women (at the moment) are regular, This Morning at the moment is running for two weeks, last times was one week and in Jan and Feb it was monthly - also the prizes change with all the ITV comps as does the question. (and over the summer last year it ran for about 7 weeks)

This is the problem - so many different types of competition, so many different views. Everyone has a valid and justified point of view, but a lot of them are different.

The main thing im now reading, is that people want rules - and i will say it again the best people to decide on the rules are the Board Guides. I know they have asked for our opinions, but there are too many different views, too many different (and often confusing) suggestions for polls that im sure they are as confused as i am.

Therefore, if they are agreeable, let them write and agree on the rules for us to follow. They have enough ideas and suggestions from this thread and before, and as they will be enforcing them, they should have the final say.

One-Eye

Silver Creek Villas has same prize, new question and a specific end date every month shown below the entry form.

Telegraph and Observer are so similar - They both have a photo and text clue and you have to decide where in the world they are. Both run each and every week (except maybe Xmas). They both have a specific end date for each week's comp. Yet one is a regular and one is not?

walwin

I was away when all this was being argued about, and I only have a certain amount of time so can't spend hours and hours trawling through all the posts.

Will someone please tell me why the arguments started and who instigated all the changes.

Until now I've kept quiet but I'm slowly losing the will to live here.

As far as I was aware the forum was running okay. I'm a believer in 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'.

I'm sick of all the arguments and I get the impression that some people are shouting for change just for change's sake. It's not the first time it's happened on the forum and probably won't be the last, but I do feel this is the most damaging episode.

I've seen suggestions for even more polls, one suggestion was for another 9 polls :eek:

Whatever happened to 'Keep it simple'?

I'm not going to involve myself in the arguments and I'm seriously considering bowing out as a reasonably active member of the forum because I hate what's been done and is being done to it.

There are some brilliant contributors on here and you know who you are. I hope you can stand the fight better than me.
Thank you :A

Marg2k8

Thank you to everyone who has spent time trying to sort things out. Sorry, I do not have time to read through everything and thank you all individually, due to real life getting in the way. I have voted that I could live with Mamzies rules. Mamzie has spent a lot of time working out these rules and I applaud her for that. I would however have voted for any well constructed rules at all, even if they were totally opposite. For me, the main thing is that at least we have a set of rules to work to.

beffffff

walwin wrote: »

Will someone please tell me why the arguments started and who instigated all the changes.

walwin, my interpretation (apologies if I've missed anything, and afraid I don't know who was responsible for what):


Some people post regs on regs some post regs on main

People started duping the threads on regs onto main because a) the thread got locked or b) they wanted more to see it.

The people that used regs started complaining that they were duping comps because of this, said it was unfair and asked for a definition of regular and/or clarity on where they should post what

To try and sort it out comps started being moved to regs when they were perceived to be regulars and people got unhappy

A few polls were run. One clearly said that most people wanted end date regs on main and the rest could stay on regs

That happened but there was still disagreement over what should be an ongoing thread on regs and what should be a new thread each d/w/m on main

People complained that comps were being hidden to mse andrea and that they didn't like ongoing threads so she came in and said every single comp needed to be posted as a brand new thread each d/w/m

Thankfully everyone thought that was silly so andrea said we could try and sort it out between ourselves. So we are trying to define ongoing so we know what should go on regs and what should go on main because we thought that definition was the main stumbling block. But since the new poll went live it appears maybe not. It seems people want a consistent rule for all regulars and some people want it to be different for each type. Some people don't want ongoing full stop. Some people don't want regulars full stop. Some people are OK with ongoing but not OK with ongoing on regular. Some people (me included) don't really care and just want clarity and to move on.

And i think we're all losing the will to live.