Christmas Contest - Final Voting

[besthijacker 5]

I don't care about "fishing for votes". People are entilted to whatever they want. Either to ask on facebook or they guiildies to vote for them. What I dislike is someone trying to discredit my entry because that someone thinks so. It had a chance to be disqualified but it did not.

 

I'm sorry that my photoshop skills are not "as good as yours". I tried my best to work with I had available for me.

 

If the Timberwolfgray wants, I will PM Admin to exclude my entry and transfer all the votes to him. 

 

Have a happy holidays everyone.

Edited December 24, 2013 by besthijacker

[Miasma 4]

I agree with Enkor, the rules are mostly at fault and I would also say the deadline date should've been extended after the MMO champion post because thats how I found out about the competition therefore was rushed to try and make the deadline.

 

I dont think I could've won but with some more time I could've at least had a fighting chance and I hope the best pieces win.

[Damien 1,514]

Come on, now…

 

Nobody can blame Besthijacker (funny name, under the circumstances…) for being chosen as one of the finalists… We can blame those who set some rules and were inconsistent in applying them (the very first entry also somewhat altered the orginal Blizzard artwork, and so did the one with the Sunwell poster – both were denied), but now that it’s done, it’s too late to go back on it. Lesson to be learned for the next contest.

 

I also can’t blame you for wanting to win, Hijacker! Good for you man, you did what you had to do and worse case scenario you’ll end up with second place… GG!

 

I wanted to win too, and I pestered my friends to vote for me, but I wasn’t that succesful in rallying votes… It doesn’t help that I’m currently unsubscribed, or I would have offered the TypeFrag subscription to some guild leader for 25 + votes, and possibly made a raffle with a pet or two, just so I could win everything else I only wanted the mounts anyway.

 

But, really… If you’re going to spend the whole day fishing for an impressive 60 votes (I’m not saying it’s bad… clearly it’s not against the rules to direct voters here, I’m 100% sure everyone who has more than 10 votes did it), don’t tell people who are disappointed because they worked really hard, showed some true talent (I’m not talking about myself, as proud as I am with my work; B did something amazing starting from a mere screenshot, G is also quite brilliant, L is simply an amazing drawing… not really a proper Christmas card, but it still deserved more votes… Q was more creative than it was given credit for... I almost forgot M, which is very cool and funny at only 14 votes...), and had higher expectations of the judging process, that “it’s just for fun”.

 

That’s so hypocritical and obnoxious! If it’s just for fun why did you struggle to get so many votes? Why not have fun watching some of the better entries win?

 

Fun is good and all, but winning is awesome! Again, you shouldn’t feel guilty for trying to win, period. But you can at least show some sportsmanship and respect to the other participants and NOT preach at them about "fun" and "moving on with your life" from your cozy vantage point of 80 votes… because being upset is also understandable! More so when somewhat justified. Instead, what do you do? You take away the prize AND spit on the losers because they are sore... Sorry, but that's horrible!

 

Storm, just… /facepalm

I am the one who organised the contest and got all the prizes. Obviously, I don't organize this type of contest very often and the rules should have been a lot stricter. But, what is done is done, and I cannot go back. That said, I did not expect so much tension in this thread and this is really getting to me. I don't think many people realise how difficult and stressful it is to make such a contest happen (getting prizes, organizing the thing, setting the rules, monitoring cheaters). All the negative comments in this thread are a clear sign to me that I shouldn't bother again.

[thetimberwolfgrey 14]

Come on, now…

 

Nobody can blame Besthijacker (funny name, under the circumstances…) for being chosen as one of the finalists… We can blame those who set some rules and were inconsistent in applying them (the very first entry also somewhat altered the orginal Blizzard artwork, and so did the one with the Sunwell poster – both were denied), but now that it’s done, it’s too late to go back on it. Lesson to be learned for the next contest.

 

I also can’t blame you for wanting to win, Hijacker! Good for you man, you did what you had to do and worse case scenario you’ll end up with second place… GG!

 

I wanted to win too, and I pestered my friends to vote for me, but I wasn’t that succesful in rallying votes… It doesn’t help that I’m currently unsubscribed, or I would have offered the TypeFrag subscription to some guild leader for 25 + votes, and possibly made a raffle with a pet or two, just so I could win everything else I only wanted the mounts anyway.

 

But, really… If you’re going to spend the whole day fishing for an impressive 60 votes (I’m not saying it’s bad… clearly it’s not against the rules to direct voters here, I’m 100% sure everyone who has more than 10 votes did it), don’t tell people who are disappointed because they worked really hard, showed some true talent (I’m not talking about myself, as proud as I am with my work; B did something amazing starting from a mere screenshot, G is also quite brilliant, L is simply an amazing drawing… not really a proper Christmas card, but it still deserved more votes… Q was more creative than it was given credit for... I almost forgot M, which is very cool and funny at only 14 votes...), and had higher expectations of the judging process, that “it’s just for fun”.

 

That’s so hypocritical and obnoxious! If it’s just for fun why did you struggle to get so many votes? Why not have fun watching some of the better entries win?

 

Fun is good and all, but winning is awesome! Again, you shouldn’t feel guilty for trying to win, period. But you can at least show some sportsmanship and respect to the other participants and NOT preach at them about "fun" and "moving on with your life" from your cozy vantage point of 80 votes… because being upset is also understandable! More so when somewhat justified. Instead, what do you do? You take away the prize AND spit on the losers because they are sore... Sorry, but that's horrible!

 

Storm, just… /facepalm

 

Yeah, I didn't mean to sounds all crazy about it, but I was just a bit frustrated with the way some rules affected some things but not others, and there was that obscure grey area where it's hard to tell what is and is't against rules and what not. Of coarse we all want to win, sure it's fun, but not everyone wins, so that's the fun part. Trying to be the one who does win!  Sorry to sound like a lunatic to some people, but it's just that if your loosing and you don't understand the rules behind why they're winning, you want to voice your thoughts.

 

I don't care about "fishing for votes". People are entilted to whatever they want. Either to ask on facebook or they guiildies to vote for them. What I dislike is someone trying to discredit my entry because that someone thinks so. It had a chance to be disqualified but it did not.

 

I'm sorry that my photoshop skills are not "as good as yours". I tried my best to work with I had available for me.

 

If the Timberwolfgray wants, I will PM Admin to exclude my entry and transfer all the votes to him. 

 

Have a happy holidays everyone.

 

No, no no, I'm not asking for you to drop out or be disqualified or anything, really. I was just voicing my opinion and venting a bit. I certainly wouldn't want someone to come yell at me about my entry then make me loose first place over it. If it passed the judges calls then it wouldn't be fair to go back on it now and take that away, I just saw it a bit differently, and now I understand more. Sorry for causing a big deal out of it, I just wanted to voice my thoughts about it. 

[thetimberwolfgrey 14]

I am the one who organised the contest and got all the prizes. Obviously, I don't organize this type of contest very often and the rules should have been a lot stricter. But, what is done is done, and I cannot go back. That said, I did not expect so much tension in this thread and this is really getting to me. I don't think many people realise how difficult and stressful it is to make such a contest happen (getting prizes, organizing the thing, setting the rules, monitoring cheaters). All the negative comments in this thread are a clear sign to me that I shouldn't bother again.

 

I didn't mean to make it sound at all like that, I was just saying what I thought and I said it all in an angry and confusing way that I didn't mean to make it sound like.   I really do appreciate the work you've done and I understand how big of a deal putting all of this together is and I think it's because I know how big this contest is that I was freaking out over rulings and things. I just wanted to voice my opinion, not yell at you for doing a bad job or anything, you really have been doing well running this contest and in no way did I mean to or mean to sound like I was ungrateful or wanted what was already ruled and voted on to be changed. Sorry to cause a big issue Damien, I didn't mean to sound so upset, I just wanted to say what I thought, not yell it and cause a scene. 

[Reeb 7]

I am the one who organised the contest and got all the prizes. Obviously, I don't organize this type of contest very often and the rules should have been a lot stricter. But, what is done is done, and I cannot go back. That said, I did not expect so much tension in this thread and this is really getting to me. I don't think many people realise how difficult and stressful it is to make such a contest happen (getting prizes, organizing the thing, setting the rules, monitoring cheaters). All the negative comments in this thread are a clear sign to me that I shouldn't bother again.

 

This makes me very sad, while I'm far away from winning and didn't really spend to much time doing my piece (G) I really really enjoyed creating it, it had me do something that is normally a bit out of my comfort zone and attempt a different composition than what I would usually do, and I really enjoyed the piece and just having that extra bit of practice. In a time where I've been busy doing very very specific work for very specific purposes, often not all that enjoyable having something like this pop has been great and a lot of fun for me, even if it was just 1-2 hours or whatever away from what I normally paint.

 

The fact is the prizes are absolutely amazing, and the work you've put into it is brilliant, and I (And im sure many other less vocal contestants, and voters and everyone) really appreciate the work you've done. The fact is even people who have contests like this on a weekly basis run into issues with the rules, and while sure things could be stricter and perhaps a screenshots/custom art only rule would have sorted things out, its too late and even with the few pieces that are in grey areas, I have really enjoyed it. I certainly hope there will be more contests like this - even with lesser prize pools, or just for the glory of it it would be fun and less serious, and the rules could be adjusted occasionally so some contests everything goes, some are screenshot only, some are drawings only, etc.

 

As I said this has brought me out of my comfort zone with my art, as I hardly ever try and draw things from such an established thing such as wow and while all my characters are in shadows, that was something I enjoyed. Please don't be disheartened by some noise on the forums - with prizes this great, people will get a bit greedy and a bit sour if someone they don't think deserve it wins, thats just how life is.

Thanks again for hosting this, it has been very exciting and a lot of fun:)

[Atarnia 2]

I voted for B and P. All the contestants were good in a way or another but these two just caught my eye the best.

 

B for looking very much like "a real artistic card" (love the scenery) with a very nice touch for details such as the horde stamp.

 

P for being heart-meltingly endearing and looking good while doing it. I wish that was my Christmas.

[Enkor 18]

I am the one who organised the contest and got all the prizes. Obviously, I don't organize this type of contest very often and the rules should have been a lot stricter. But, what is done is done, and I cannot go back. That said, I did not expect so much tension in this thread and this is really getting to me. I don't think many people realise how difficult and stressful it is to make such a contest happen (getting prizes, organizing the thing, setting the rules, monitoring cheaters). All the negative comments in this thread are a clear sign to me that I shouldn't bother again.

 

Thank you for organizing it! You shouldn't let the complaints make you think that it wasn't a good thing. I'm glad that it gave me the opportunity to create something that I'm proud of and I enjoyed working on, even if i won't win... And maybe some of the people who came in contact with Icy Veins as participants or voters will stick around and learn to be better at their hobby from it!

 

Criticism happens... As Timberwolf put it, because people are trying to deal with why they don't win... and if things develop in an unexpected way, you especially feel like you have something to grasp on and have an urge to voice your reasoning. I didn't try to be negative, I was just trying to be (somewhat hyper-) objective...

 

The contest was cool, even if there were a few flaws. The flaws weren't such a big deal overall and in the end everyone comes out with some form of win thanks to it, even if it's just their work... And if they get mentioned, this is also a win because it's a learning experience for futures contests (which you shouldn't stop making!).

 

Again, objectively, the real issue was in how the public voting worked out, which was probably a surprise for you as well, so there's no reason to feel guilty about it. There were simply too few neutral voters to cover all of the entries... they got spread between them and weren't enough to offset a large number of voters directed towards specific entries... And it's easy to find voters in a game like WoW, where you are always linked to some sort of social structure, guild, raid team, trade... Icy Veins may have significant traffic, but I would presume most people follow it without making an account, like I used to do (in fact, most participants are fresh accounts). These readers may not be willing to take the extra step of account creation just to support a random person... and many won't vote through Facebook because that's linked to work and friends, and they don't want WoW-related things to show up there.

 

You'd think this would be obvious to deduce, but it really isn't... I didn't think about it one bit until it actually happened and I took a look at voting behavior over the last few days. I just went "Eh, I drew something cool and people will love it, so I'm gonna win", and even sort of expected it (I didn't defeat Heroic Pride, so I guess it's still there). Didn't even tell my friends until I saw I wasn't getting votes. I bet that's what many participants were expecting... and what you were expecting too... and in that light allowing ANY entry was harmless in itself, just a nod to something the participant did right or simply personal preference.

 

But the way it actually went (a majority of directed votes ignoring the other entries) was unexpected, and some people were confused or disheartened by it... Some artists were especially disappointed because they were looking for confirmation of their work in the number of votes, and the way they were skewed gives the false impression that their work sucks because it got few votes (which is false, since so few votes are neutral).

 

It's not something anyone can be blamed for, but it most definitely is something you should take in consideration when you organize future events

 

Once again, thank you for putting so much work into this and Happy Holidays!

Edited December 24, 2013 by Enkor

[blaqkbird 10]

Thank you for organizing it! You shouldn't let the complaints make you think that it wasn't a good thing. I'm glad that it gave me the opportunity to create something that I'm proud of and I enjoyed working on, even if i won't win... And maybe some of the people who came in contact with Icy Veins as participants or voters will stick around and learn to be better at their hobby from it!

 

Criticism happens... As Timberwolf put it, because people are trying to deal with why they don't win... and if things develop in an unexpected way, you especially feel like you have something to grasp on and have an urge to voice your reasoning. I didn't try to be negative, I was just trying to be (somewhat hyper-) objective...

 

The contest was cool, even if there were a few flaws. The flaws weren't such a big deal overall and in the end everyone comes out with some form of win thanks to it, even if it's just their work... And if they get mentioned, this is also a win because it's a learning experience for futures contests (which you shouldn't stop making!).

 

Again, objectively, the real issue was in how the public voting worked out, which was probably a surprise for you as well, so there's no reason to feel guilty about it. There were simply too few neutral voters to cover all of the entries... they got spread between them and weren't enough to offset a large number of voters directed towards specific entries... And it's easy to find voters in a game like WoW, where you are always linked to some sort of social structure, guild, raid team, trade... Icy Veins may have significant traffic, but I would presume most people follow it without making an account, like I used to do (in fact, most participants are fresh accounts). These readers may not be willing to take the extra step of account creation just to support a random person... and many won't vote through Facebook because that's linked to work and friends, and they don't want WoW-related things to show up there.

 

You'd think this would be obvious to deduce, but it really isn't... I didn't think about it one bit until it actually happened and I took a look at voting behavior over the last few days. I just went "Eh, I drew something cool and people will love it, so I'm gonna win", and even sort of expected it (I didn't defeat Heroic Pride, so I guess it's still there). Didn't even tell my friends until I saw I wasn't getting votes. I bet that's what many participants were expecting... and what you were expecting too... and in that light allowing ANY entry was harmless in itself, just a nod to something the participant did right or simply personal preference.

 

But the way it actually went (a majority of directed votes ignoring the other entries) was unexpected, and some people were confused or disheartened by it... Some artists were especially disappointed because they were looking for confirmation of their work in the number of votes, and the way they were skewed gives the false impression that their work sucks because it got few votes (which is false, since so few votes are neutral).

 

It's not something anyone can be blamed for, but it most definitely is something you should take in consideration when you organize future events

 

Once again, thank you for putting so much work into this and Happy Holidays!

I have to agree criticism does happen and I think the main reason why things were getting out of hand is what I posted earlier about why I thought people were upset. Which from reading turned out to be pretty accurate why a lot were upset (how they felt about some of the artwork on cards). No one can predict the way a contest will turn out, you can hope for the best but it all depends on the people. It really doesn't come as a surprise though that there would be voting issues after people being disqualified for stealing work. Running a contest reminds me a lot of being a raid leader and guild master (which let's face it, some night can be utterly miserable if people aren't getting along and things just aren't going the way you planned). It all depends on the people involved, the best we can do (for the one's not chosen) is support the people who were chosen even if we don't know them and vote for our favorites (I voted for quite a few of you that I realllllllllly liked). Even with the prizes announced I did not expect to see such hostility come from it that would make the admins feel they should not do another contest like this. I always thought the WoW community was one of the better gaming communities (yes there are some trolls and whatnot but it still seemed decent). I guess if something like this goes on in the future they will probably change how the voting goes (that's if they decide to do another contest) or how the contest is run but I don't think it would be as fun for them or us if they try to please everyone by becoming even more strict (screenshots only, hand drawn only etc) and still have people disappointed (come on now just look at how WoW is with blizzard trying to please everyone and people still disliking the game to an extent and complaining about it). Pretty much all we can do now is share the contest and tell our friends to vote for their favorites and try and be humble the rest of the voting process and announcement of the winners. Anyone that has run a raid or a guild should know how stressful it can be, this contest is like running a raid of pugs and some guildmates and right now we aren't really making it easy on the admins.

[Guest WeeWilly]

for what it matters, I voted for "B" too. I liked the clean lines of the artwork with the sleigh up in the air. Having the horde as a postage mark was cute, but then I am a demented gnome. 

 

-wee willy

 

PS - congrats to all who made it and Happy Holidays.

Edited December 24, 2013 by WeeWilly

[caguari 3]

When the contest finishes? in the original post we have

 

"25th of December: at 12:00 GMT, voting ends / at 20:00 GMT, winners will be announced."

 

and in this post we have:

"the 25th of December at 22:00 GMT."