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I’m quoting the above from the September POTM thread so we don’t “derail” that thread.I'm seeing a lot of critiques of the topic, unfortunately not every topic will "suit" everyone, yet this is starting to derail the thread so I'll ask all to refrain from further derailing this thread. You are always welcome to PM topics that u believe would make for a great POTM and well make sure to chose those if they match with the vision we have for the POTM.
Looking forward for more positive posts and submissions and less negativity on a fun competition.
It’s not negativity, it’s called criticism and people expressing themselves. There are several people that are not happy with the photo competitions. Either you learn to accept other peoples point of view as a positive experience, or you don’t accept it and call it a negative experience. The choice is yours and how you spin it.
First things first..
photo submission threads aren’t getting restored after the winner is announced. Three in particular are missing. I don’t remember the specific titles or month but the basic subject I do remember
1. Photo of your fish tank room.
2. Picture of your favorite fish up close.
3. Picture of blue coral
The selection process is supposed to end up with 15 photos to be judged.
On many occasions this has not been adhered to. There have been several times that an excess of 15 where selected. Also there are times when less are selected. I understand it says “up to 15”. So less is purely based on votes by the staff.The mod team will select up to 15 finalists and a poll will be created and posted in the Reef Discussion Forum.
I think in this case you need to be consistent always pick the same number never more or less.
Mods should not be able submit photos and then be in the vote for selection. This just asks for bias. Also, even if a Mod submits a photo and it makes the final selection it’s going to cause problems. There Mod friends could be playing favorites. These are the things that people see from the outside looking in.
We saw a recent issue where a previous POTM winner, won again but then the award went to the second place. Which is the right thing to do. However it should never have come up. The previous winners photo should never have been selected into the final list.
Photos should NOT be allowed from anything other than a persons tank. Allowing photos from the open ocean or divers isn’t fair to anyone. This forum is a reef keepers forum, not a diving forum. The pictures posted in a competition should always reflect that.
- Photo must be taken by you and in your tank or in the ocean
No, but a subject should not be so exclussive that it narrows submissions to a handful of possible winners. This month for instance is to narrow. We all know people will vote and how they will vote. They pick big, pretty and full of coral.unfortunately not every topic will "suit" everyone
Competitions need to be fair, open and without bias. Right now, there isn’t any transparency in the photo selection process. What’s going on in the photo selection process is heavily clouded behind the scenes. The competitions need to be more inclusive to invite more photos not less. Bring back the submission threads on a steady basis let people see what photos didn’t make the final selection.