Feedback on Contests

[jeemersmom]

Rob, Please realize that some of the comments that are seen as "of a less than favourable nature" come about due to frustration. When one is told that the rules have not been followed....and that individual knows he/she has not used the green glove and that the footprint of all objects are totally within the farm boundary (that is how I interpreted the rule that states: "Overhanging of lakes, seacoasts, waterways and buildings is not accepted, everything must stay within the boundaries of the farm border"), the moderator's comments may be difficult to swallow. My comments in an earlier post were not to criticize any individual. In the immortal words of Dr. Phil, "it isn't about YOU". It is about what appears to be unclear/uneven application of the rules.

[Queen.of.Clutter]

Originally Posted by Rob T

When we first brought back the competitions, we decided to err a little on the side of leniency, rather than be more "heavy handed". We did not instantly disqualify those entries which did not meet the rules, but gave them a "second chance" by sending a private message, listing the faults within their entry and inviting those people to re-post, once they had made the relevant changes. However, during the course of this competition and the second chances that we have given, there have been numerous replies received, of a less than favourable nature.

Offering this "second chance" did not mean that entries were open for negotiation, dispute or to be argued against. The decision was final, and a choice was given. Therefore, unfortunately, due to the responses and unfavourable messages that were received, during the course of this competition, we now find ourselves in the position of no longer being able to offer this opportunity. All future competitions, will now have no "second chances" and if an entry does not fall "within" the strict guidelines of the competition, it will be instantly disqualified.

This is something that we were hoping to avoid, but it has sadly turned out to not be the case. Please keep in mind, that this is an Official Slashkey Competition , and as such, we really should not have offered these second chances at all, but we chose to try and be as fair as we could to entrants. You would not get a second chance, within any other Official Competition and I'm very much afraid, that this now applies to the Slashkey Forum Best Farm Contests.

I firmly believe that the Moderators have been MORE THAN FAIR ... especially since they notified entrants of errors and gave them a chance to correct them ... NO OTHER contests will do that ....

For someone to whine or complain is beyond reason .... I saw the entrants, and the judges have their work cut out for them ! So many wonderful farms! I entered without even a hope of placing, but enjoyed doing my farm so much! It broke up the wait for a release, and I feel so fortunate that I play a Facebook game that the Developers actually CARE about the players, and cater to them at every turn.

Let's all cut these Mod's a bit of slack .... they are trying to help us all, and crying about things does NOT help .... it only hinders ....

[Rugged Barbie]

Originally Posted by lynnetimpeiro@msn.com

I previously gave some feedback on the B2B contest but would like to add a couple of things to my prior thoughts.
First, I would like to wish all of those who entered Good Luck. I have gone in and viewed the farms and there is so much talent out there -- WHEW!!
Second, Good Luck to the judges -- you have your work laying out there in front of you. It will not be an easy decision for this. Again, the talent is awesome!!
Third -- I can't wait until the next one comes out -- LOL!! The trip down memory lane has passed; the nail biting is over (at least for me); and, it has now come down to a "waiting game".
Again, GOOD LUCK Everyone!!

Agreed!
Good Luck Everyone!!!
And, it's most unfortunate that a few of you have taken issue with the advice and suggestions made from a MOD after submitting a farm that is in nonconformance. It gave me the opportunity to redo something that I didn't see as a nonconforming quality. I greatly appreciated that, redid that little issue and have resubmitted. Thank you for that!
This is a game.
The contest is for fun.
Get real people!
hearts and flowers to the Moderators and Helpers!

[Eradani]

Originally Posted by jeemersmom

Rob, Please realize that some of the comments that are seen as "of a less than favourable nature" come about due to frustration. When one is told that the rules have not been followed....and that individual knows he/she has not used the green glove and that the footprint of all objects are totally within the farm boundary (that is how I interpreted the rule that states: "Overhanging of lakes, seacoasts, waterways and buildings is not accepted, everything must stay within the boundaries of the farm border"), the moderator's comments may be difficult to swallow. My comments in an earlier post were not to criticize any individual. In the immortal words of Dr. Phil, "it isn't about YOU". It is about what appears to be unclear/uneven application of the rules.

this is what i feel too. and it really isn't about YOU, whoever YOU are - it's about the first farm contest for this group of mods and the first farm contest for all of us in a long time. and i think many of us understand the frustration of the mods when they have to answer the exact same question about quests 293874 times a day and post links and screenshots.

i think i do understand the reason for the rules in this contest because previously, there ended up a small and talented group of people who would be the only ones entering contests and nobody else would bother and you wanted to get the community up and going again with everyone participating.

i like the idea of the 2nd chance (and not at all because i needed one) because you wanted to get the community up and going again with everyone participating. we're all new at these contests so maybe you could have some smaller contests with no (or a very tiny) FC prize - just something creative to do.

when i was involved in the zoo tycoon 1 community (zootycoonunleashed and zootekphoenix), the prizes for contests was simply a banner for your signature and many people entered them anyways. there was usually a "beta test" for contest rules so they could be clarified before posting to lessen confusion.

i was going to suggest you could look at some of their contests but when i went over there today i remembered that you need to have an account to see posted pics. if you were at all interested, these 2 sites do not send any spam or sell your email or do anything at all shady. for reference: zoo tycoon 1 is like farm town with 2d or 2.5d or whatever isometric graphics format except zt1 has rotate and ground elevation control.

[Black Bunny]

Originally Posted by Queen.of.Clutter

I firmly believe that the Moderators have been MORE THAN FAIR ... especially since they notified entrants of errors and gave them a chance to correct them ... NO OTHER contests will do that ....

For someone to whine or complain is beyond reason .... I saw the entrants, and the judges have their work cut out for them ! So many wonderful farms! I entered without even a hope of placing, but enjoyed doing my farm so much! It broke up the wait for a release, and I feel so fortunate that I play a Facebook game that the Developers actually CARE about the players, and cater to them at every turn.

Let's all cut these Mod's a bit of slack .... they are trying to help us all, and crying about things does NOT help .... it only hinders ....

I for one...was quite pleased to have another chance to change things that I needed to. Of course...after the momentary "dang" that I had gotten it wrong. I don't have any of the designer tools, so I used the dirt paths...a no no that I didn't understand at first. It was incredibly kind of the moderators to send a private message...and not just air it for all to see, as that bothers some. They surely didn't have to, could have just deleted and told you that it didn't conform...without telling you why it didn't.
I don't understand the fussing...you entered THEIR contest...THEY make the rules. Sometimes life has disappointments when we don't fully understand the rules and therefore...fail.
The moderators have been more than kind with explanations and help...and now to be a fond memory of second chances. They should be appreciated for that. *off my soap box now

[LazyMare]

Originally Posted by Rob T

When we first brought back the competitions, we decided to err a little on the side of leniency, rather than be more "heavy handed". We did not instantly disqualify those entries which did not meet the rules, but gave them a "second chance" by sending a private message, listing the faults within their entry and inviting those people to re-post, once they had made the relevant changes. However, during the course of this competition and the second chances that we have given, there have been numerous replies received, of a less than favourable nature.

Offering this "second chance" did not mean that entries were open for negotiation, dispute or to be argued against. The decision was final, and a choice was given. Therefore, unfortunately, due to the responses and unfavourable messages that were received, during the course of this competition, we now find ourselves in the position of no longer being able to offer this opportunity. All future competitions, will now have no "second chances" and if an entry does not fall "within" the strict guidelines of the competition, it will be instantly disqualified.

This is something that we were hoping to avoid, but it has sadly turned out to not be the case. Please keep in mind, that this is an Official Slashkey Competition , and as such, we really should not have offered these second chances at all, but we chose to try and be as fair as we could to entrants. You would not get a second chance, within any other Official Competition and I'm very much afraid, that this now applies to the Slashkey Forum Best Farm Contests.

I am astounded that anyone would send anyone, let alone a Mod an "unfavourable" message. Seem to remember reading somewhere on the forum that PM's to the Mods would go unanswered.
That the Competition adjudicators have taken the time to PM entrants with advice - hat's off. However, as a first time competition entrant, who had difficulty enough understanding the rules and the "How To's" I would very much appreciate being told why an entry isn't acceptable and would have no qualms with that being as a comment on the entry, or in place of the entry if it had to be removed- chances are if I've misunderstood something someone else will have too so, that would help everyone. I would feel very confused if an entry just disappeared into the ether - I would assume that I'd posted it wrong and just re-post it with no modifications. Some of us get so engrossed in the details of this fabulous game that we forget - IT IS A GAME. Please don't let one or two "rotten eggs" spoil things for the less vocal majority of nice players.

[Rob T]

Originally Posted by LazyMare

I am astounded that anyone would send anyone, let alone a Mod an "unfavourable" message. Seem to remember reading somewhere on the forum that PM's to the Mods would go unanswered.
That the Competition adjudicators have taken the time to PM entrants with advice - hat's off. However, as a first time competition entrant, who had difficulty enough understanding the rules and the "How To's" I would very much appreciate being told why an entry isn't acceptable and would have no qualms with that being as a comment on the entry, or in place of the entry if it had to be removed- chances are if I've misunderstood something someone else will have too so, that would help everyone. I would feel very confused if an entry just disappeared into the ether - I would assume that I'd posted it wrong and just re-post it with no modifications. Some of us get so engrossed in the details of this fabulous game that we forget - IT IS A GAME. Please don't let one or two "rotten eggs" spoil things for the less vocal majority of nice players.

Hi LazyMare

We always try to answer every PM we get. Sometime we do get alot of them. As for entries.... no entry will just disappear without a PM being sent to the user as to why it was removed.

[anglnwhite]

Originally Posted by Black Bunny

I for one...was quite pleased to have another chance to change things that I needed to. Of course...after the momentary "dang" that I had gotten it wrong. I don't have any of the designer tools, so I used the dirt paths...a no no that I didn't understand at first. It was incredibly kind of the moderators to send a private message...and not just air it for all to see, as that bothers some. They surely didn't have to, could have just deleted and told you that it didn't conform...without telling you why it didn't.
I don't understand the fussing...you entered THEIR contest...THEY make the rules. Sometimes life has disappointments when we don't fully understand the rules and therefore...fail.
The moderators have been more than kind with explanations and help...and now to be a fond memory of second chances. They should be appreciated for that. *off my soap box now

Ditto.

Thank you, Slashkey for reinstating the contests and making the FC awards available.
Thank you, mods for enduring through what I am sure has been an overwhelming amount of negativity.
Thank you, mods and helpers for donating your time to the process.

The rules for the September contest appear to be very straightforward; one season, absolutely no seasonal items. Hopefully that kind of simplicity will help us all avoid the need for a second chance in the future.

[sandee parlor]

At the beginning of the best farm contest the rules were to have the crop at the same time of growth when the comp ended this I thought would be impossible and so I left a ploughed field and then entered the farm to competition, then the rule changed and so it left my farm without a crop and not being able to change that since that would be breaking a rule....now someone says you have to have a crop in the field....does this disqualify my entry ?

[marymarcel]

Originally Posted by sandee parlor

At the beginning of the best farm contest the rules were to have the crop at the same time of growth when the comp ended this I thought would be impossible and so I left a ploughed field and then entered the farm to competition, then the rule changed and so it left my farm without a crop and not being able to change that since that would be breaking a rule....now someone says you have to have a crop in the field....does this disqualify my entry ?

Hi sandee!

Your farm is into the competition, no problem with itYou are right about the rule was changed, but it was only for the farmers who had entered a farm with crops ready to harvest. You and other farmers who had entered their farms only plowed have no problem with the rule.