Weekly Contest Opinions

Here ye, Here ye....

Can I PLEASE get some feedback from the public on this weekly contest????

I want to know how many of you seriously want to keep it? and if there is only 10 of you, out of this whole HUGE site, then I say lets can it....

I am very irritated as of late, and usually I am this nice, sweet, bubbly, young gal who never lets things bother her, but now I feel like I'm totally wasting my time....

Heres whats going on that I see....

1. Once results are posted.....the max number of posts is 12...12!!!! ...barely anyone is visiting the contest thread, the same 10-12 of you, people get HM's and dont even come to say thanks....ok..I'll let it slide..

2...the mods..I'm seeing what Hellon is starting to say. I dont expect mods to be online ALL the time..or even every day...But one of the MAIN duties you think would be this weekly contest.....No one is ever around..if I notice a problem...I shouldnt say no one, there is ONE assigned mod to retrieve votes each week....and what if that ONE mod gets busy with work? Which has happened...then its just me....and I stumble upon a problem and dont have the buttons to fix it...More than one of you should be online checking these votes/comments over the weekend and if you cant do that, rethink your position.

3. Judges...and PLEASE new judges note, this is NOT directed towards you, I am talking about all judges I have dealt with over my course of hosting.......I have judges who "forget" to vote, I have judges who dont send it in the right format, I have judges who send it in MONDAY morning...if you make the committment, YOU HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT..because rushing last minute or not following directions gets us in a jam.....

I will offer this, make me a Mod. I LOVE pnq, it is my home away from home..I'm going on TEN years this February...I still have my original account, I can deal with peoples shit, I can be online when needed....I CAN RUN THIS ALONE..hahahah seriously...

orrrrrrr....can this whole thing....because no one seems to care, and I literally freak out each week you guys....I like to run a tight ship, I want things to be smooth and fun and I want people to love being here like I have all these years, but I'm seeing total lack of caring going on and I feel like I'm wasting my time....

Opinions please?!?!

I think we may need a few new mods, the current ones seem very busy all of the time.

The contest is suffering the same fate as the site as a whole, it is dying.

from a personal point of view I am finding I am spending less time on here than before, for two reasons,

1) I have a lot of work on that is keeping me busy until 10pm every night
2) I seem to have lost the ability to write poems!!

I am just one of a few members who are less frequent than before, this is going to have a knock on effect.

When I did a stint at judging I forced myself to do it every Friday evening without fail.

Judges need self discipline.

I'm glad you posted this because I know and can obviously see you are frustrated. It would be hard being there and seeing little participation or activity when you want it bad and are pushing for it..... there should be appreciation constantly.

My opinion, I've always loved and been excited by the weekly contest. For me as a judge, it was truly a learning experience. It pushed me to be on time and be responsible, even if I didn't want to do it because of my laziness lol, and I admit I was late quite a few times and tried to work on that. As a reader also, it was something different and always something to look forward to on Monday's... usually I checked my email as well at school because I couldn't wait! I still love the idea, but if things keep going wrong (not because of people, just errors, don't want any blame) than maybe we need a break from it or discussion to get it going with more support.

I did read Britt's idea on the other thread and I like that plus it would spark participation but I do have a concern. I've read a lot of poems in certain sections that have (over the past few years) had fifty or a hundred comments, and the poem is good, don't get me wrong, but not extraordinary or brings a new perspective, which is what I look for in a noteworthy poem. Something creative, original, not just the same rhyming words or same phrases people use. I feel like some of the brilliant writes on here don't have as many comments, like Yaki's poems or Cynnie's, (just examples) I mean it depends.... I know people read and may not comment, and I do that as well, but they can still be gems even if they don't tons of comments. So I fear if it would be that much harder to come to a few conclusive winners based on comments/visits/rates... quantity doesn't equal quality.

Maybe we need a change? Or fresh ideas which is why you posted this Chels. I personally like how the weekly contest here can have structure and I agree with you Darren 100%, it is about self-discipline. Maybe all we need is more encouragement, 1) for the judges & 2) for the poets on here to read and put out more feedback.

Post from other thread:

So when are we going to give up on this stupid contest?

Mods aren't active enough to watch it like a hawk (and seriously, who wants to?!), and Chelsey watched it but then it was still wrong.. unless a judge goofed, which could happen because it's their first week.

Until Janis can get his crap together, why don't we get rid of the contest? Let the winners be randomly pulled by the votes/comments/visits.. bet it would spark actual participation again. At least have a discussion about it, because whats the point of having it so Chelsey has to apologize each week?

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MA: Concerning noteworthy poems not getting praise and people hating the poems on the front page..... let a few weeks go by of poems that people complain about... you'll either see a change or no more complaints. The site as a whole can choose them, and if you complain.. well, get out there and comment (AND VOTE). People don't usually vote because meh, why? But I think it does help with ties etc.

^ I agree and this is true.

Though I 100% agree with you Maryanne that some poems with the most comments are pretty crappy, harsh but true IMO, I think we should do it for Britts reasoning...people will either see we stopped caring so they better start, or Pnq will just die...and those of us on one anothers facebook will have to post poetry there....

Wonder if there is a way to do recent weekly visits/rates/comments....not older ones..that way its always new fresh poetry.

True, I see what you both mean and I'm happy you shared that because I respect you both tons... That would be sad if people think we have stopped caring and then they decide to let things slip and not make an effort or be interested. Right. Definitely don't want this site to ever not be here, or have people leave because there isn't a desire for poetry anymore. This site means a lot to me as well, it's what I enjoy and it's hard to not think about logging in everyday to read and share.... plus it makes me aware that I have to continue to contribute and read poetry, not just my friends but others, that's how it can grow.

Good idea and I didn't mean to sound pretentious or rude about what makes a "noteworthy" poem... everyone looks for different qualities in poems and I don't think there are "bad" poems.... but yes, if we start with weekly commenting more and sharing our thoughts on poems, people (especially on our favorites list) will see the activity.

Look at the poem that are on the front page of each individual area (love, friendship etc). Those will be the cream of the crop.

Oh, and Darren, don't lie. We all know it's because of Candy Crush that you're not around! :P hahaha

^ Lol!

Britt, that's top rated recent right? Is that what we could base wins off of then, because of how many visits/comments/rates...does it take a certain number for poems to be shown on that front page of a section do you know?

Bloody candy crush

I actually stopped playing the dam game when I realised at the current pace of completing levels it would take me years to finish the game, especially as they keep adding levels.

So I have managed to break the candy crush addiction...

As far as poetry goes, maybe I should try and write another series of poems, that helped me last time. Or I could point to a random word in a dictionary and write a poem using that word.
Or better still I could point to 30 random words and try and make a poem out of them...there's an idea!!

I have no idea the criteria that gets them up there, if there is something specific :/

I assume thats what it would be pulling from, though you never really know lol

I don't know whether the site is dwindling or whether as we are growing older we are acquiring more commitments and the younger generation are just less interested in the happenings of the site. I've been a member for 8 years, and when I first joined, I didn't know much about writing, I knew I enjoyed it and had things to say, but the whole workings of the site were above my head and I wasn't online constant enough to learn them. But then I had spare time and came back and began to get to know people and meet friends, and learn more about writing and how the site worked.

I was a judge a couple of times, and it was tough, it was a commitment and I tried to get the comments in and vote on time, and some mistakes were made and I couldn't explain them...

I don't know that the issue is with the mods, or whether it lies with Janis and just the discrepancies or mistakes and glitches, or whether people ARE just less interested.

I love the weekly contest, it is a great way to showcase the talent we have here, because there is bucketfuls of it, but maybe there is a better and more effective, reliable way of doing that

I agree with everything that has been previously stated. It's funny to see that the same people are taking the time to comment on posts such as these but the mods haven't even made an attempt to comment on anything as of yet. And if they do, it will be the same (one to two) mods the attempt to make somewhat of an effort.

Pephaps it is time to re-think how and who runs this site...

I take my thought back!
Obviously the poems that are nominated would get pulled to the weekly contest.. not from the top rated, bahaha. Duh. That's what I get for multi-tasking.

So if they're on top rated AND nominated, chances are those are the ones that would go up.

I personally like the contest as is.. ALways enjoyed judging when I can, and never found a problem with handing in my judging material on time and in an orderly fashion.

This site has had many changes through the years and as always it can be fun to switch things up a bit and try something new, so I'm for that as well...

I'm easy to please.. ha ha

Since I first joined back in 2007 the weekly contest has always caused the most angst and arguments, I think more so than any other topic on this site. From the quality of the poems, the number of poems nominated, the quality of the judges, who should nominate, who should judge, the points for each poem, trying to get judges each week, judges not turning up, judges getting replaced, tiebreak's, you name it its been discussed argued and fought over....

I've been a judge i know what its like and the pressure you are under, when i had 40 odd poems to sift through every week for three months, I was pleased when my stint was over.... god i was bushed

Yes the site is not as active as it once was, what with Facebook and other social media etc, a fact of life
To blame the Mods is a cop out, they are about 5 members of many thousands like you or me, and I think they are doing a good job

Changing the mods won't fix the problems of the weekly contest NO WAY!

No the problem lies in the fact that it is a weekly contest, we have had the same problems week in week out for the last 6 years that I've been here..

I've suggested this many times, the weekly contest should be a monthly one, better quality poems, less stress on the Judges, less time constraint problems, better all round

Heck i would even judge again under that format

And Chelsey if you have a problem with the mods running this site and the weekly contest i think you should take it to PM, ridiculing them in this forum is not the answer and only leads to more angst and resentment

For the record, I checked votes Monday morning and compared them to the 3 judges who posted to the mod account. All were ok, but it was impossible to tell whether any other votes were correct since 2 judges did not post to the mod account.
There was an inadvertent public vote that a member self-informed and I dumped the other public votes on the two clear winners.
Apparently a judge meant to hit Yaki's poem & hit Huntress's in error, putting it into a tie with the other 10s.

I know there is great angst about this contest.

Hey Nicko:)

I like your idea too, but thats a Janis thing. :/

Each week one of the mods will nominate themselves to watch the contest and each week one of us is online doing just that. I think one mod + the host are enough watching the contest each week. The more of us doing it the confusing it gets, one mod may try and rectify a problem and so might another at the same time, thus it becomes problematic.

As always I am open to all opinions. If members think it would be better having two mods + the host watching the weekly contest then I'd get on board.

I have had discussions with several members regarding the weekly contest and when I have asked them why they do not want to judge the answers were simple, lack of time, judging each week is repetitive/it becomes boring and others can't be bothered to sift through poems each week. Some of these things we can't change but perhaps we can find a way to keep people interested.

I really like Nicko's idea, I was all for it in the past but I am unsure of how we can implement this right now. We have a list for Janis but I don't see him visiting any time soon.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I'm not sure how long the weekly contest can go on for. We have thousands of members on this site and many possible judges were nominated. I believe we had roughly 7 people who actually accepted the judging position. What's going to happen when it's time to swap judges next rotation? We hope more members will get on board but over the last few rotations the number of judges accepting has been around the same.

I think the weekly contest is a great asset to the site but it's also very problematic. We have glitches, a lack of people wanting to judge, we don't know how ties being broken are determined. Some factors we can't fix without Janis, others we have tried to fix and yet we still seem to find problems.

As for members not dropping into the weekly winners thread to say thank you for the HM, I think that is really something that is up to the individual. I guarantee if given the option, some members would not even bother to enter their poetry into the weekly contest. Some don't like the spotlight, others are here purely to post poems to receive feedback and believe it or not, some people don't even like contests.

Why can others post their opinions about mods, or the site, or the people, in threads, but I should take it to PM?....no thank you. I'd like the same rights as everyone else. Sorry if it sounds like ridiculing, but I wanted to list all my complaints about the contest...mods are one of them. I love all the mods, it has nothing to do with them on a personal level or how they run the 'site', I just think more need to be involved with this particular site event.

I suggest 2 mods helping like you stated Mel...maybe thatd help! who knows.....because for example, larry was assigned this week and he was going to trial, I was going to work....then the error happened....I like a team of people working on this not 1 or 2 people. I think things can function better when its a team effort, not assigned individuals.

And Nicko..since you like giving me advice on what you think I should do....I think you should be more active since you have an opinion about this topic. Inactivity is a part of the problem. Ironic when inactive people speak up in times like this.

5 mods on the job would not have helped without the comments being sent to the mod account

I know its a bit late and I'm just a dumb kid compared to most people on this site but I have been here and active for 2 years. I may not know the workings of everything and I was ajudge once, so maybe my opinions wont matter, but I love waiting for the contest results on mondays. I love the idea of some sort of contest recignition for authors who have truly done wonderful jobs. The only problem is it seems like only a handful of people get the chance to be in the contests and allthe judges are looking for completely different things, which in itself is a downfall to the contests.

Yes I'm ranting and raving, I'm sorry but I do not want the contest to die completely or for the site too. Maybe start a thread and bbrainstorm ideas to make seperate contests or rework it to gain interest. With so many new members this cant be the fate of something so amazing, too many amazing things were changed on this site since its start, things I wish I had seen, things now I know other people will wish still were. If only people here knew what was lying at their fingertips even if they don't have all the time in the world.

I'm sorry if this seems out of place or stupid or whatever but its something that was inspired by reading what everyone else has said here so far.

We have separate contests (like main board contests) all the time, but even that doesn't get a TON of participation.

A HUGE problem is we can't technically fix anything thats site related, because we definitely need Janis for that. I feel like we have a handful of active people who care, are frustrated, and come up with ideas (or at least try) only to get shut down by people who never participate (or rarely do) and then the whole thread blows up into one big, stupid argument.

By seprate I didnt mean those... I meant by I don't know, something site wide that can be found easily and understood as well. And I didnt mean to add fuel to the fire but it hurts to think things are malfunctioning so much around here lately.

Oh no you're fine! No fuel! :)

I guess I don't know what you mean by separate yet site wide.. Any ideas?

Like the contests in the threads arent as popular because not many people know about them. And when you win, if you do, it feels a little like a popularity contest instead of about the poem. They are fun and all, I just... I don't know, sorry

I kinda do feel that way too like the popularity contest. I've been here for the better half of eight years off and on and its amazing how many people have grown in poetry writing because of this site. I am writing the best stuff of my life soo... yeah. I mean I love coming here to see poems and newpoets on here. I love to ser how people write and the contests help I think. I think another problem are the clubs... they are not as active as they were at all

To take away the contest may just snuff out what little fire is still burning here.

(If there is room for another mod Chels would be a mighty fine one.)

I agree chels would be a wonderful mod.

She must be crazy. :P

^She must be crazy

Well, yes, that is a prerequisite.

I love the discussion. Anything that people can come up with to build interest would be good.

IMHO the keys to quality for the weekly contest are threefold:
1. More poems sifted to find meritable nominations.
2. Dutiful judges reading the poems, commenting & voting and communicating.
3. Diligent host & mod teamwork.

It's that simple.

I think it is up to us to nominate more varied poetry to liven up the contest.

Maybe we should only be able to nominate 1 poem from your club.
Then maybe only 1 poem from each category, such as 1 love poem, 1 poem about life, 1 dark etc..

However this would need coding to work.

Maybe we should only be able to nominate 1 poem from your club.
Then maybe only 1 poem from each category, such as 1 love poem, 1 poem about life, 1 dark etc..

However this would need coding to work.

^^

Or someone watching it very closely. Hellon would be good at this! :P The woman has a sharp eye!

I try to branch out and read more poems to nominate diff people, but its hard

Well hopefully having a monthly contest will be considered and put to Janis when he shows up!

In regards to the contest as it is it seems the mods have been fulfilling there obligations and a glitz was to blame.

What's ironic Chelsey is you assume (ass u me) things about me that you don't know! How often i come on here, be it on the main boards or within my club, my work and family commitments etc, so until you do, please keep your ironic remarks to yourself.

Freedom of speech :) I have it and I like using it. whoomp, there it is.

Larry, 5 mods is not necessary, but 2 is helpful....youre right, all comments/scores should be sent to the PNQ Mod Account (which was in every PM sent to judges)...but even without checking the account for PMs...checking scores, someone may have saw a 10 on the wrong poem when you and I got busy....thats all I'm saying...just an extra pair of eyes.

whatever people want I'm down for! I try my best to host accurately and on time, as well as organized, but like I said I just want to keep making sure I'm not wasting my time, if people like this I'll keep going, if not, maybe we can take all these ideas and vote on them or whatever we have to do to move forward.

I see ideas often suggested here but nothing ever happens to them, which a lot is do to Janis, but there has to be something we can try.

Well this whinge was a waste of time then wasn't it !

whoomp, there it is.

Not necessarily.....this thread just brought out people I havent seen in a while! finally!!=:)

Didnt someone once say that was Hellons purpose of her complaining threads? (kidding of course Hellon)...

Tara Kay, your post hit the spot with me.

Wait, that sounds dirty.

Hit home with me...okay much better.

:)

Anyway, I started on this site as a naive little lovesick 17 year old and have felt myself outgrow this site as I have seen it happen to others.

Perhaps there are faults in the weekly contest but my opinion is either way people always find something to complain about.. that is just life.

Sorry I'm late responding to this but my two cents are these.

Personally I think one mod to check is enough if they do it right that's all that needs. Potentially there could be more confusion with more mods involved, but it could be a positive thing also so whatever the majority goes with I don't mind to much either way. As Larry I think it was that said, the main thing is communication: if the judges send their votes to the mod account and the mod can account for all the votes by Sunday night/Monday morning, there shouldn't be any problems. Of course human error is always going to creep in on occasion.

I would like to see a change to a monthly contest also, but its one of the things Janis would need to be around for. I can put it on the wish list for consideration for when he pops back around.

As for judging, I get the same feedback and know from being a judge myself before that it gets tough sometimes to do it week in week out, especially towards the end of the term. I would be interested to hear people's opinions on the possibility of having a judging rotation system whereby 3 out of the 5 judges vote each week. So judges are on for 3 weeks off for 2 in a 5 week cycle.

e.g. 5 judges A, B, C, D, E
Week 1 - A, B, C judge.
Week 2 - B, C, D judge.
etc.

a) Would members feel more willing to judge in future if this type of system was put in place?
b) Do you think that 3 is too few judges each week and its better to stick with 5?