Please note! -Change to submissions process.

[ElectricBadger]

Beginning with October's competition, submissions will be handled differently, to enable anonynimity during voting.

The Reasons:
1. We feel it is important to critique submissions based only on their own merits. Removing authors' names removes any influence based on reputation, friendship or enmity, or other considerations.

2. Most importantly -- some emerging authors have felt hesitant to contribute, lest they be judged personally because their work is unpolished. However, the Contest is as much about pushing our own limits and improving ourselves as it is about rewarding our exceptional contributors, and we deeply hope the promise of anonymity will encourage more contributions.

The Mechanism:
1. All submissions, starting with next month's (October's), will be made via email to contest-entries@hotmail.com. A confirmation email will be sent, then the work will be posted anonymously by the project leader. Email addresses will not be saved or used for any other purpose. Stories will be added to the topic threads as they are recieved (so that members don't have to read them all at once when the voting begins).

2. Voting polls will be posted once per month in the Site Announcements forum (to encourage more participation). These will be locked, to prevent undue amounts of influencing commentary (which should be kept to the Story Contest or Feedback forums).

3. Once a winner is determined, only their identity will be revealed. Other authors are, of course, fully entitled to reveal their own identities as they please.

[moptop]

This is an absolutely EXCELLENT change.

[cariad]

*stands to attention and salutes EB and his most excellent post.*

Just an obvious footnote - having discovered how things which we think are obvious are not always so. Please will authors not reveal their ID until after the voting is complete.

cariad

[thrall]

*stands up and cheers*

Great call EB!!!!

[Rhabbi]

Just curious, does this apply to all the contests? (ie poetry, story, and photography?) Or just to the poetry? Just asking because I think it is a good idea all the way around.

[cariad]

Rhabbi, we are yet to make a final decision about the photo contest.

cariad

[Rhabbi]

Thank you cariad. Glad to see the change to the poetry and story contest though.

[ElectricBadger]

Thanks for the support, everyone! For now, officially, this is just the Story and Poetry, as of next month; but probably coming soon to the Photo contest as well.