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Frequently Asked Questions

If I vote for a really good entry, won't that hurt my own chances of winning?

No, because you are not competing against the entries you vote on. This competition is really two competitions running in parallel. The entries will be organized into two groups, Group A, and Group 1 with each serving as jury for the other. The final result will be a winner from each group. Entries from one group will never be compared with entries from the other.

When I vote, will I have to look over dozens of other entries?

No. Each member's ballot will include a random subset of entries from the other group. Each ballot will list no more than half the entries in a group, and will in no case exceed twelve entries.

How are votes counted?

Each ballot will include several entries from the other group, and you'll be asked to rank the top entries (e.g. rank the top 3 of 12, or rank the top 2 two of 6, depending on the stage of voting). Numeric point values will be assigned to each rank. A perfect score is a first rank vote on every submitted ballot where your entry was listed. Your score is computed as the total points received divided by the perfect score, all multiplied by 100. (e.g. if a perfect score is 20 points, and you receive 15 points, your score is 75 = 100*15/20).

What if there's a tie?

In the case of equal scores, entries whose scores have a higher percentage of first rank votes will be considered higher. If those are equal, then compare the percentage of second-rank votes and so on. If the rank votes are all the same, then scores in earlier stages will be compared.

Will I be able to find out how people voted on my entry?

Not really. At the end of each stage, you will know whether you advanced or not, but more detailed information about voting will not be released; this is to prevent voting patterns in one stage from influencing later stages.

How many entries will advance at each stage?

That will depend on the total number of entries. The objective is for the final round to have two groups of 10 to 14 entries each. The numbers advancing in the earlier stages will be set toward that goal.

Isn't it possible that an entry from one group might advance with a lower score than an entry that didn't advance in the other group?

Yes. Say at stage 1 we advance 30 entries in each group. It is quite likely that the advancing entry ranked 30 in one of the groups will have a lower score than the non-advancing entry ranked 31 in the other.

We allow this because it preserves the concept that entries from one group are never compared with entries from the other, which is necessary for members to be confident that voting for a good entry will never penalize their own chances of winning.

What if my entry is listed on someone's ballot, but they don't vote? Will I be penalized?

No. Your perfect score is based on the number of ballots that come in. For example, say there were 10 ballots that listed your entry, and a first-rank vote counts for 5 points. When the voting is done, say only 8 of those ballots were submitted, your perfect score would be 40 (8 ballots times 5 points), and your score would be computed as the total points received divided by 40.

We expect missing ballots to be rare, since failure to submit a ballot disqualifies an entry from continuing in the competition.

What if my entry is listed on ballots with other strong entries, but someone else is listed with weaker entries? Won't they have an advantage?

Possibly, but not likely. Ballots are arranged so that no two ballots are exactly the same. If your entry is listed on 10 ballots and each ballot lists 10 entries, the set of 9 other entries listed with you will be different on each ballot. The objective is for every entry to be compared with a broad selection of other entries. In addition, the order of listing on each ballot is random.

Can I continue to work on my entry after voting starts?

Yes. You'll never be asked to stop working on your entry. Although you should keep in mind that people who vote during the early days of a voting period may not see later changes.

Won't people in the different groups try to make deals to swap votes for each other's entries?

That will be difficult. Your ballot will be organized so that your entry is not listed on the ballot of anyone listed on your ballot. It won't be possible to do a one-for-one vote swap.