Spirit of the No Prize Contest (NPC):
since this is a user-run NO PRIZE contest and not an official Panoramio contest, nor a presidential election, all entrants are expected to play honorably and respect their fellow entrants at all times. You cannot vote for your own entry, or specifically play favorites with friends or countrymen, or enter/vote using additional user names.
You cannot campaign for any entries or canvass your favorite users or the other entrants for votes. Basically, that means
NO SPAM messages to anyone soliciting votes from them in any way for any entries, especially your own.
If you break the spirit of this contest your entry will be removed from the final results, in cases that are considered serious enough to do that. If you prefer, you may also voluntarily withdrawal your entry before the results are posted.
Owen Morgan's lesson: How to put thumbnails in your post
Basic Rules:
- Post a Photo: a single favorite photo by you matching the subject of the contest forum topic
- Post a Vote: list your favorites in a single forum reply
- Win: results are posted after votes are sorted - the photo with the highest vote count wins!
(Note:
all of the preceding postings are to be made
in the contest forum topic)
Detailed Rules:
1. Dates and Times: based on “Panoramio time” at the top of all forum postings. Days start and end at midnight (12am) and all date ranges include the first and last date:
a) Posting a Photo: between the 1st and the 10th (if very many entries, an entry # cutoff may be set at any time by the contest moderator)
b) Posting a Vote: between the 11th and the 20th
c) Posting preliminary results and checking: between the 21st and the 23rd
d) Posting final results and determining next moderator: between the 24th and the 26th
e) Deciding on next subject and starting the new contest: from the 27th to the end of the month
(Note: please be aware of your personal time zone difference by checking your current date and time against what is shown at the top of any Panoramio forum posting “Preview” screen)
2. Posting a Photo: enter any one of your own photos
from only one of your Panoramio accounts as a reply in the contest forum topic within the time frame of rule #1a.
Your photo...
a) must be shown in a single post
as a “thumbnail” or a “small” image if >= 2:1 aspect ratio (change the format by writing "small" over "thumbnail" in your post only if your photo is >= 2:1)
b) must match the subject in the title of the contest forum topic
c)
must have its entry number in the title (ex: “42. My photo” for 42nd entry)
d)
must be tagged in the format: “YYYY MonthName NPC” (ex: “2008 March NPC”)
e) may be a new upload or already in your Panoramio album
f) may be changed, or withdrawn from the contest, by editing your original post
g) will be removed by moderators if changed after the voting begins!
h) may only be posted once - extra photos will be removed by moderators
i) will be resized by moderators if it is larger than allowed by rule #2a
3. Posting a Vote: any Panoramio user
with the exception of #3g below may vote by leaving a single posting in the contest forum topic
using the same user account of their entry if an entrant, within the time frame of rule #1b.
a) list the entry numbers of the photographs for which you want to vote - for example:
2, 5, 12, 33, 50 [enter without '#' for easy copy/paste to spreadsheet programs for counting]
name2, name5, name12, name33, name50 [
optional: photographer names on 2nd line]
b)
maximum number of votes: 10% of total entries, rounded up
c) minimum number of votes: 5 no matter how many entries
d) you may only vote once for any one photo; any repeated entry numbers are ignored
e) you must change your original vote posting to change your vote
f) any postings after the first by any one user will be removed by moderators
g) non-contestants who wish to vote must be registered at least a month before the start of the contest and must have uploaded at least 10 photos
h) this is not a presidential election - you cannot vote for your own entry! if you do, that part of your vote will be ignored.
4. Counting Votes: 1 vote is counted for each of the photographs listed in the single reply post allowed per person.
a) any additional vote postings by the same user are to be ignored
b) any votes made outside the voting period (rule #1b) are to be ignored
c) any votes listed after the maximum allowed in a vote reply are to be ignored
d) non-contestant voters must be registered at least a month before the start of the contest and must have uploaded at least 10 photos. if either condition fails, all their votes are to be ignored.
e) if a voter fails to list at least 5 votes (rule #3c), then all their votes are to be ignored
5. Winning:
a) the photo with the highest vote count wins!
b) ties are decided by
entry number with the lowest entry number being declared the winner.
6. Prize: nothing in the material world; however, a great feeling of elation at having a favorite photo liked by so many fellow photographers!
a) the winner has the option to choose the subject for the next month’s contest
b) if the winner declines, then the next person in the Top 10 will be offered this option, with ties decided as explained above in rule #5b, until someone accepts
c) the person who chooses the subject will also create the new forum topic for the next contest
d) if a new contest topic is not created by Noon of the first day of the new entry period, then the first contest topic created by anyone in the Top 10 will become the new contest! Any additional contest topics with later timestamps should be ignored by potential entrants and removed by moderators.
(Note: the new subject may be picked from those in the “Share your photos” forum. The subject must be general enough to allow almost anyone to enter, but specific enough to make the entries similar and easy to compare. A subject from a previous contest may be used again.)
7. The Top 10: will be posted in the contest forum topic after all the vote counts have been reported and the entries are sorted by vote, with ties noted and listed as in rule #5b and counting for only one place in the Top 10.
[all edits appear below in square brackets]
[11 Oct 2008 edits:
- #2d: adjusted tagging rule to match the current standard
- #3b: boldfaced and adjusted voting rule to max 10
- #3c: boldfaced the added rule for a minimum of 5 votes
- #3g, 4d: boldfaced new rule #3g and original rule #4d to specifically disallow new users and those with less than 10 photos from voting - the "sock puppets" problem]
[19 Oct 2008 edits:
- #2: added boldfaced text - "from only one of your Panoramio accounts"
- #3: added boldfaced text - "with the exception of #3g below"
- #3b: adjusted wording to match the current standard of rounding down rather than up (as originally intended) to a multiple of 10 when determining maximum votes allowed
- #4e: added this to ensure that voters casting less than 5 votes are not counted as per #3c]
[22 Oct 2008 edits:
- #3: added boldfaced text - "using the same user account of their entry if an entrant"]
[21 Nov 2008 edits:
- added the "spirit of NPC" clause concerning fair play and no spam
- clarified rule 3h: any vote for oneself is simply ignored
- adjusted rule 5b: ties are listed by entry number instead of photo ID#]
[13 May 2009 edit:
- adjusted #3b: maximum number of votes, back to original rule of 10% of total entries, rounded up]
[29 December 2009 edit:
- removed rule 2e which referenced the original but now removed rule 3
- removed rule 3 (the noting of significant photo modifications), 5 (entrant vote counting method) and 7 (reporting of vote counts by entrants)
- removed the "Count and Report" statement in the "Basic Rules" section
- changed wording in rules 1c/d since entrants will no longer need to count
- all remaining rules were re-numbered, including references within the rules and these edit notes]