Secret Photographer Challenge (SPC): Comments (2/2)

[Administrator]

Continued from here

[Neanderthaler]

Hmm, it seems me to be not really the right discussion.

Is it wrong to present photos in my gallery which are not taken by myself?
It isn´t...I think we agree...if the "owner" of the picture gives his permission (I for myself have the permission of my wife to show four or five of "her" photos ).

Is it really wrong to present such photos in a contest as Daniela said??
I don´t think so...I don´t see any really important difference if the photographer himself agrees (I accuse myself: My photo in the current NPC is taken by my wife!).

But I see a large and important rule violation...a violation against the most important rule of SPC:
All entry pictures must be unpublished, at least not published on Panoramio!
Cropping a photo is no exeption to this rule in my opinion...because the anonymity is no longer assured, a lot of people have seen this photo before!

Therefore I´m really disappointed about this "incident"!

[Daniela Brocca]

I can understand that wife and husband has the same gallery, we have hundreds of them, even with different cameras, but not the whole family, with nieces and sons-in law,maybe living in another country etc. And not using the photos for the contests.
And you are right , the photo has to be unpublished by Panoramio. As I said, now it's too late. We will hope next time everybody will read the rules.

[grcav]

Hi there... be aware: strong opinion below.

there are several things I can understand, but not all of them in conjunction. Frank calls it "culture", Brian used to call "the spirit of the game", I call it common sense, or proper adult behavior.

My view is that the rules of the contest are there to
1) give us the idea of what the contest is all about, in this case, submitting our photos and judging "anonymous" photos and this is to help against a shortcoming from the NPC in which favoritism seemed to play a role in how people vote
2) lay down in clear form what is considered proper adult behavior, or the spirit of the game. This is how the players are expected to act during the contest and, in case of winning, their responsibilities.

Once you understand what the contest is about, if you agree to behave properly, it is likely that you will not break "the rules", even if you don't know them. But the catch is that if you don't behave properly, you will probably also not play according to the spirit of the game, even if you don't break any written rule.

We have had discussions about this before and this is my opinion about this:

1) What is the meaning of anonymous? Personally, I think that if nobody else can discover who took the photo before the revelation period, it is anonymous. How we put that into words in the form of a rule is a bit tricky. The rules say it must not have been published before. Brian says that even if you have uploaded similar photos you took in the same day you should not submit the photo. These are just words trying to get around the first idea. Anyway, from the moment one person taking part in the contest can tell, for whatever reason, who the photographer was, it is their duty to point it out to the moderator and the photo should be disqualified: that is anonymous. Don't sit an wonder if anybody else will recognize it, because then you might just sit and wonder how many people are also sitting an wondering with you.

2) How many different accounts can I use to enter photos in and votes in a single contest? One! Both using more than one account to enter more photos than allowed or more than one account to self vote are not allowed and are in strict violation of the rules.

3) How many people within a household should participate in the contest? One household = one participant, even in other contests, to avoid favoritism. In this one, since it is likely the husband knows the wife's entry end vice-versa, in effect if they take part as different players they should turn on each other according to 1): the photographer is not anonymous anymore.

4) What if I win? Then you are expected to moderate: choose a topic, open a gmail account, make the posts. Plenty of people are here to help. I understand that maybe one wins at busy period, so I don't expect that every winner will moderate, but it is proper behavior to moderate unless you have a very good reason not to! "my English is bad" is not a good reason, not to say that it is a long term one. What you are saying is "I won't moderate now or in the foreseeable future, if I'm ever required." And that is unfair to those who do their share of work when required. Of course "I can't/won't moderate" is no reason, it is just a statement on unwillingness.

And now we have a new one:

5) Can I enter photos I didn't take? It depends, but generally speaking no. Maybe you share an account with your spouse, in which case it is really the household that is acting as a player. Photos taken by sons and daughters uploaded to your account probably are also ok, for the same reason and again, for anonymity, the whole family should act as one player. What about nephews, nieces, cousins, in-laws? I say no. I guess on could argue that if the whole extended family acts as one player we might be just about ok, but really, what is the point? Does the person who took the photo even know that their photo has been entered in a contest? Are they getting our ultimate prize, that feeling of elation, or is it just all lost? What are you achieving by entering somebody else's photo when the number of photos one can enter is already so limited?

Now, the last contest. We got a winner. The winner's household used two accounts (francinelb3 and Henni&Frani) to enter four photos in the competition. Four was such a large number that they decided to enter photos neither of them took and the photo was already present in their account. They self voted using their accounts. It wasn't fair and square, but heck, they won and hopefully their are now enjoying that feeling of elation at having such a talented niece, who beats the crap out of their photographic talents any day of the week. And they won't moderate. This is appalling behavior.

I, for one, think that they shouldn't take part! And it beats me why they are in it. And also that whatever title we give should be removed from the awards and given to the second place. The contest is over, but it is not too late to make it right. And to everybody else (myself included), this should serve as a message: play honestly with good intentions and proper behavior or suffer the consequences and there will be consequences.

Best,

Gil

[Frank Noordenbos]

I agree with you in every way Gil.

There's one thing I want to emphasize about 2th accounts.
Each account and each household should always be considered as equivalent to one person.

There is no reason at all to investigate whether or not a husbant, a child or a grandmother is involved.

[Karen James]

I also agree with every word that Gil has said, what's the point in uploading another's photo if not our own work. I.ve always supported the SPC and NPC, I've recognised a photo that was already in this persons gallery,that was in the SPC at one point in time, what should I have done, exposed this person, but to who? or just keep quiet for the games sake, or my own self worth?
To me if you upload another's photo in a contest it means nothing to you, so don't enter, it's always meant something to me win or lose.

Warm Wishes,

Karen.

[Daniela Brocca]

I agree with every word, Gil, even if I as a moderator have to look at many matters not only the already submitted photos. Why didn't somebody tell me or Oliviero Masseroli, last MM, that there were photos from the same person with different accounts? Frank told it me only when he decided to volunteer for MM of this month. Privately. This is something for the forum, as everybody has the right to know if somebody is cheating. And if you read Francine answer she does not even understand that what she did is not fair. Each user that incidentally find such issue must warn us. How should we else know?

I wish to have other opinions , if possible.

[Wim Janssen]

I agree Daniela. Cheating or other bad behaviour even unintentional spoils the pleasure of the contests.
Rob and I build some checks in the tool-kit for Excel to help the MM and you. But its undo-able for you to check on double accounts and entered photo's of others of course. So if anyone notices this behaviour it should be reported to you or the MM at least. First ask them politely, but if nothing happens they should be excluded from the Contests.

Just a thougt...

Rob and I can make a black-list with bad-behaving users to mark there entries in the votingmachines. (except the spc of course)
So people using the voting-machines can decide not to vote on them because of that.
Its just a little technical solution, but maybe it can act as a warning and prevent bad behaviour. Of course we can give you and the MM the rights to edit this list.

[Karen James]

Okay Daniela will do privately, if I notice again for the sake of the game.

[Neanderthaler]

You are completely right in all what you said Gil,
and you are completely right in all what you have written in the NPC-thread.
It´s a shame what happened in the last SPC-contest, and it´s a shame that similar actions certainly happened in the past too.

Many of us are disappointed about that and we reject such a behavior.
But is it realistic?
I´m very afraid it´s not!
We all know that Panoramio is a platform for lots of people who want to get some attention, some success and some self-esteem...and so they give hundreds of likes and favorites to any photo they can find, and they try everything possible to achieve what they want.

This was and this is a big part of Panoramio...and I fear that it is simply not possible to keep free any competition or any game from such a behavior.

[Daniela Brocca]

Quote Karen James:

Okay Daniela will do privately, if I notice again for the sake of the game.

Not privately, this is something to tell in the forum, Karen.

[Frank Noordenbos]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

Quote Karen James:

Okay Daniela will do privately, if I notice again for the sake of the game.

Not privately, this is something to tell in the forum, Karen.

Daniela, precie this is what I've done some time ago.

I felt alone in the NPC-forum.

I got no support, not yours and not the MM's.

That's exactly what I call: "the wrong culture".

[Daniela Brocca]

I don't want to argue. I hope most of you know what a hard work is to moderate not only this forum but the different contest, 4, of the months. Nobody can tell it did not get my support. The SPC is running, even if it's dying.

http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=548881#548881

[grcav]

Hi Daniela,

would you be able to edit the results post in the last SPC to remove Francine's photo from the top ten as well as remove all the photos from Francine and Henni&Frani from the rankings?

Unless somebody objects to these measures.

There is talk of time out for cheaters. I feel that is a one month out might be a suitable penalty to some offences, but not to all of them, so maybe we should try to lay some rules to give people a clear idea of what is considered bad and how serious the consequences will be if they get caught.

And while I am proposing time out, I am also totally in favor kicking the person who deleted all the photos from the game a couple of months ago out of the SPC forever[\b].

Best,

Gil

[Daniela Brocca]

Hi Gil,

tomorrow I will be away until evening. In the next days I will surely remove the "winner". For the others what to you mean? There are only links. Do you mean delete the links in the rank?

I asked the two accounts to choose between the 2 photos posted this month in the NPC and to come to the forum to the discussion.

We don't know who the person was.At least, not after the first time.

Daniela

[grcav]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

We don't know who the person was.At least, not after the first time.

I know that we don't know who one of the two were. I mean banning Yalican (http://www.panoramio.com/user/4991090), who deleted all the photos in the first instance and proudly owned it up... forever.

Gil

[Karen James]

Some time ago when I noticed the photo I reffered too, someone begged me not to mention it in the forum, back then I listened to that person. When I read what was being said these past few days I felt I had to say something, BUT now I wish I listened to that person,, which has an account on Panoramio, now I feel I've been ridiculed for speaking out, as if he knew what would happen.

I'm not on the stand here, I've done nothing wrong,I will not expose anyone in the forum or anywhere else, so Frank good luck with the SPC, and Gil I'l always support you, but silently, and Daniela you've always done a fine job, so from now on I'l listen to that person and just upload my photos, I will not feel like I'm on a witness stand, life's too short.

[grcav]

Quote Karen James:

When I read what was being said these past few days I felt I had to say something, BUT now I wish I listened to that person,, which has an account on Panoramio, now I feel I've been ridiculed for speaking out, as if he knew what would happen.

I'm not entirely sure I follow what you say above Karen, but I hope that the talk about punishment for people who break the rules is not putting you off.

When I proposed some sort of punishment for rule breaking to be included in the rules I also proposed that we talked about what is the appropriate measure for each breach. To make it more precise, here are some examples of possible transgressions and my opinion of how they should be met:

1) Entering a photo which is then linked to the photographer by other people (either because the same or a similar photo is in the user's account or any other reason): The photo is removed from the competition

2) Secretly trying to canvas votes with friends while trying to maintain the appearance of anonymity to other players: Expelled from current contest and next month's

3) Entering the contest with more than one account either with more than the allowed number of photos or the more than allowed number of votes: Expelled from current contest and next month's

4) Maliciously attacking the contest with intention to disrupt or terminate the game ahead of its natural conclusion: Expelled forever

As for the appropriate way to report breaches, well I find that that is personal.

If I am to find out who took a certain photo (and yes, I have in the past) I would first contact that person directly and ask them to remove their photo. If that happens, there is no need to fuss about it any more. If they don't remove the photo, I'd contact the monthly moderator. That failing I'd post in the forum. Clearly some people take a more direct route. And others simply go for the show and create a sock puppet only to report in the forum with a big splash the rule breaking... panobuster in page 3 of this thread comes to my mind, and yes, I have been in the receiving end as well.

Quote Karen James:

I'm not on the stand here, I've done nothing wrong,I will not expose anyone in the forum or anywhere else, so Frank good luck with the SPC, and Gil I'l always support you, but silently, and Daniela you've always done a fine job, so from now on I'l listen to that person and just upload my photos, I will not feel like I'm on a witness stand, life's too short.

You are correct, you have done nothing wrong and nobody is pointing fingers at you. For me, you can do what you are comfortable with and nobody can force you otherwise.

I for one think that the S in SPC is not optional, so if I find out how took a photo I will talk to them and I hope that if somebody finds me out, they will also talk to me.

As for the person you are talking about, the correct attitude is not to ask not to tell but to make the wrong right. If you contacted somebody about a photo, they should have taken the photo out of the competition.

Best,

Gil

[RobStamp]

If rules are not enforced, they cease to have value.

Regarding francinelb3 and Henni&Frani, I have posted revised SPC30 results, having applied the following.

Penalty for submitting a previously published photo, especially when not her own - photo removed from results.
Penalty for mutual voting, in a contest that is meant to be anonymous - photos and votes excluded.

I think we should allow husbands and wives, and other members in a household with separate accounts, to enter the same SPC, just don't vote for each other.

[D. Alexandru Ioan]

I feel the same about families, but I conclude that each person must his/her own moderator. We have to make people understand that if your friends vote for you it doesn't mean, in any way, that your picture is more beautiful...

[Karen James]

HI Gil,
Thanks for your answer, yes I'm still for punishment if wrong doing has occurred here, it's not putting me off, I know the rules and thanks for pointing them out

I remember when you were on the receiving end with Panobuster, that couldn't have been nice for you, as for the person I've mentioned just a friend of mine, he just didn't want me caught up in confrontations, that' all, just looking out for my best interests, he didn't take the photo I'm talking about, maybe I should have come forward and spoke out, but it's done now, lets hope everything will settle down, and for the forseable future speaking out won't harm our friendships here.

Karen.

[Daniela Brocca]

Quote RobStamp:

Following Rob rules, as he already posted the revised Top Ten and rank I will delete all other ranks, the olds. I will edit Oliviero post and copy this text there too.

[Daniela Brocca]

This is the answer to my request to Francine under her photo in the NPC.

Quote:

I was in the Forum few minutes ago, Daniela, and i wish to say..i can only decide for my account. In this time i would want to decline in the contest by having this photo #34 be deleted from the NPC contest entry..thank you for making me informed.

Yes. I will edit my entry number.

Greetings, Francine

[TomRos]

Quote:

"Frank Noordenbos"

After consulting Daniela, I decided to moderate the august SPC

Now you have to know the new august subject.

subject: Mirrors

It's about real mirrors (no looking glasses, no reflecting water surface, no reflecting windows).

One or more real mirrors must be the main subject of the picture or an essential part of the composition. The camera with which the photo was made, may not be visible.

Frank, I dug up into my photos recently, and found a photo with mirror in it.
It was a tough job. I do not look into mirrors in my regular life, and even less in the last decade or so.

Just want to point out, that photograph #6 is showing the camera.

Maybe the person still has time to replace the photo. Sorry not to report sooner, but I just noticed!

[Gedó]

The rules:

"One or more real mirrors must be the main subject of the picture or an essential part of the composition. The camera with which the photo was made may not be visible."

Please take a look on photo nr15.

What's the different? Where is the mirror? I can see a camera.

I don't understand.

[Daniela Brocca]

The monthly moderator is the only one who decide, being also the uploader. If he uploaded the photos then there is no off topic for him and the photos are all right.

[Gedó]

Thank you very much for your answer Daniela! So only the MM can break the rules. It's not too fair.

[Neanderthaler]

It's about real mirrors (no looking glasses, no reflecting water surface, no reflecting windows).

#15 is definitely not within the rule...one of your important rules, Frank!

Very surprising...too few participants?

[Frank Noordenbos]

Hi TomRos, Gedó, and Neanderthaler,

It's true, last days I am very mildly tuned.

If you think photos don't match the topic, you can express that opinion when you cast your votes.

Cheers, Frank

[Panoramiospc31mirrors]

[quote="TomRos"]

Quote:

Just want to point out, that photograph #6 is showing the camera.

The submission was withdrawn by the owner.
Photos are renumbered.

[C. Johnston]

Dear Frank:

I have been reading the comments here for the past few days. I can understand the struggle with all those involved with the comments: what rules to enforce, how strongly do you enforce them, do you enforce them at the cost of the contest. All that is difficult to balance, but I personally think that most are of the same mind with a few exceptions. But, Frank, I found you to be one to who harps on following the rules quite energetically, yet here....when you are actually the MM, just because it is near the end of the entry period.....you decide to be "mildly tuned".
This appears to have been a difficult topic for the SPC.....from the comments and the number of entries. Those who have entered have shown that they can come up with photos that comply with the rules. Although I feel that photo #15 is a very creative photo, I don't think that you should all of a sudden ignore the rules that you have so strenuously defended(especially when 2 rules are being broken). The person that previously posted #6 with the camera showing, removed their photo.....or you removed it for them....I think the same should happen here. If not, why do you so vigorously fight for the rules?

Cathy

[Frank Noordenbos]

I hesitated about number 15 (now nbr. 14) Cathy.

If more entries had been there, I had probably rejected the picture.

Because of the problems with the SPC and because many people are still on holyday, I dicided this way.

I'm afraid there is no decision that satisfies completely.

Cheers, Frank

[Nick Weall]

Hello Frank

The following came through my e-mails today from an user who has absolutely no photos uploaded in her gallery at all ~ Who dares to open Pandora's Box I wonder?

Hi Nick Weall,

Pandora's-Box<http://www.panoramio.com/user/6293056> sent you a new message on Panoramio<http://www.panoramio.com>:
[http://www.panoramio.com/img/user_avatar.gif]<http://www.panoramio.com/user/6293056>


Dear Nick Weall:

I am a big fan of the forum games and contests. It seems that the Secret Photographers Contest (SPC) is having a difficult time right now. I was hoping that you could help out by going in and voting for your favorite photos for this contest. I would really appreciate it if you could help. The voting ends on the 9th. Thank you for considering this.

Pandora.

[Frank Noordenbos]

That's quite remarkable Nick.

I have no suspicion who it can be. But it is heartening that there are people who apparently feel involved in the SPC

[Daniela Brocca]

TomRos is the winner of the Spc. We are waiting to know if he agrees to moderate next month,and give us new subject. The game begin the 15th during the day. Thanks in advance, Daniela

[TomRos]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

TomRos is the winner of the Spc. We are waiting to know if he agrees to moderate next month,and give us new subject. The game begin the 15th during the day. Thanks in advance, Daniela

Hello SPC players. I just found out, that I have been declared the winner of last contest. While a win is a win, there is also somewhat dissatisfied feeling of being the best of only 7 players. Not much satisfaction in that.

Anyway the champagne bubbles are slowly fizzling in my glass as I wildly celebrated after my discovery today.

I will break the rule, and agree to moderate the next contest. I will try to make it as vibrant and fun as possible, to attract participants.

My idea of Secret Photographer Challenge is to discover photos, which are in people file,s but not quite typical Panoramio images.

Umbrellas, Fountains, Tractors, Mirrors, are examples of such images.

‘Trees and Clouds’ is was a subject, which is way to common., and is more a subject for a wider contests.

I liked best the imaginary concept of triangles, circles and curves.

I am suggesting one of the 2 topics:

1 ‘Mail boxes’, ‘Postal boxes’ and I am thinking have these as a topic.

or imaginary

2. Melancholy or sadness.

Let me know what you think, and I will listen and decide accordingly.

Greetings, Tomas

[TomRos]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

TomRos is the winner of the Spc. We are waiting to know if he agrees to moderate next month,and give us new subject. The game begin the 15th during the day. Thanks in advance, Daniela

Daniela, I will need some quidance, how do I get the emails, houw to set up the gallery page ...etcetera

1. ‘Mail boxes’, ‘Postal boxes’

or imaginary

2. Melancholy or sadness.

I will decide by 14 September!

[Sandy065]

Quote TomRos:

Go to the Gmail account page and click on Create an account button. Choose the Desired Login Name to be something like spc32postalboxes or spc32melancholy or so.

With your new e-mail logged in, open a new tab and go to the Panoramio start page.
Sign up (in order to be able to set a different user name in panoramio).
Choose the user name for the Panoramio account - something like panoramio.spc32.postalboxes or so. (the "panoramio" prefix is mandatory in order to let know the Team that this is a contest account and not to have the account deleted)

You are ready. You may use your e-mail login name to login in Panoramio also (I guess)...

If something unclear (or not working) just ask again.

[RobStamp]

Melancholy or Mailboxes?
My first thought was that "Melancholy or sadness" would be too hard, and limited to photos of people, but perhaps it could include a building with a sagging roof, or a wilted flower.
Anyway, I think "Mail and post boxes" is the better topic, and seeing the different styles across the world should be interesting.


Let us take something positive from Frank's experiment.
Surely we have learnt that people are not keen on comitting to moderating if they win.

Suggestion:
When you email your photo to the MM, with your user name and id, also add a line saying,
"I am willing to moderate the next contest: Yes / No / Maybe"

Only the MM will see this, so voting is not affected.
When the results are published, the next moderator can also be named with a degree of certainty,
or even confirmed first by the MM.

Benefit:
It avoids having to read the excuses, (whether considered good or poor).
It avoids waiting for the winner to reply, and waiting, waiting, and then going down the list.

It is these two issues that I dislike, rather than the fact that someone does not want to moderate.

[Daniela Brocca]

Thank you very much to Sandy and Rob ifor helping Tom.

Tom, do you know how to use the Toolkit? If yes, then you are ready. If not , go to Rob site,

http://vm.npc.nl.eu.org/

download the last release and go to the help :

Daniela

[TomRos]

Quote:

[quote="RobStamp"] Melancholy or Mailboxes?

Anyway, I think "Mail and post boxes" is the better topic, and seeing the different styles across the world should be interesting.

After sleeping on it, I have concluded the same. Sadness, is too open to interpretation and it will be hard to have any rules. Sometimes the feeling we have, while taking a photo does not translate well to others!

"Mail and post boxes" is the new topic for SPC #32. I will specify more details on the contest page!

http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=556944&highlight=#556944

You can start emailing any time! I will start to upload on 15. September in the order entries are received.

here is an example from my gallery!




Greetings, Tomas from Toronto

[Panoramio - SPC32 Mailbox]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

Thank you very much to Sandy and Rob ifor helping Tom.

Tom, do you know how to use the Toolkit? If yes, then you are ready. If not , go to Rob site,

http://vm.npc.nl.eu.org/

Daniela

I would like this SPC 32 join an existing Group **Post**. Are there any objections?

[Daniela Brocca]

What do you mean? The photos in this group are from unknow users at the moment. So it's better to wait until the end of the game.

After that you can invite all the participants to join the group. Copyright issue, you know.

[Panoramio - SPC32 Mailbox]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

What do you mean? The photos in this group are from unknow users at the moment. So it's better to wait until the end of the game.

After that you can invite all the participants to join the group. Copyright issue, you know.

Yes, I understand. I will wait until the end of the game!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to repeat the note on size, as some people asked me about it!

Guideline to reduce the size

Submitted photo to be about 1 megapixel (1200x900).

that guideline is there for these reasons:
- to protect your copyright, by preventing high resolution files with no attached (copyright)name being illegally downloaded
- to prove your ownership in case of dispute, by uploading a higher resolution version of the same photo to your personal album after the voting

It is not required that anyone delete, re-size and then re-enter their photo, but it is highly recommended!

[brunosma]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

What do you mean? The photos in this group are from unknow users at the moment. So it's better to wait until the end of the game.

Buongiorno Daniela ho ricevuto un invito a partecipare al concorso SPC ma non mi è molto chiara la cosa anche perchè con l'inglese non sono al massimo mi sapresti spiegare in poche parole e se trovi tempo come si svolge il gioco, se è cosa seria e fattibile e cosa dovrei fare ciao ti ringrazio anticipatamente buona giornata bruno

[Daniela Brocca]

ciao Bruno, ti ho mandato un messaggio privato.

[brunosma]

Rieccomi Daniela a domandare ancora, spero mi scuserai, allora io ho tentato di leggere il regolamento e mi sembra di aver capito che si possono inviare due foto ogni partecipante, si devono togliere i dati exif (fare un copia e incolla con l'immagine su paint, ma vanno via?), non si possono fare cornici, non devono essere già pubblicate su panoramio e il soggetto deve essre preponderante pena la squalifica, non sono tanto sicuro di aver capito se le immagini devono essere di una dimensione stabilita. Io ho smanettato un pò sono andato al link che mi hai dato tu e ho visto gia delle foto pubblicate (le carico la?) con # e numero in progressione?. se ci sono regole che non ho capito o se ho capito male ti chiedo gentilmente di farmele sapere ciao grazie ancora e buona serata bruno

[Panoramio - SPC32 Mailbox]

Dear Secret photographers!

Tomorrow 30 September, 2011 is the last day I will accept photos
For SPC 32 Mailboxes.

After 20:30 Toronto, Canada time, no photos will be accepted.

You can begin to vote, right after that.

People in Europe will have a bit advantage, if they have been shooting in the last minute.

My fellow Canadians on the West coast, will be few hours, but everybody had plenty of time to submit a photo or two.

So far, everything went smooth and I hope that all participants and many Panoramio users will cast a vote!

[TomRos]

Quote:

[quote="Panoramio - SPC32 Mailbox"]Dear Secret photographers!

Tomorrow 30 September, 2011 is the last day I will accept photos
For SPC 32 Mailboxes.

After 20:30 Toronto, Canada time, no photos will be accepted.

Hello SPC 32 Participants and all eligible Panoramio users.

I just checked all the links.

Everything is working fine.

Rob's voting machine is ready to spit out the next winner of Secret Photographer challenge.

Lets the voting begin!

[Frank Noordenbos]

I like to congratulate Hubert for his great winning picture.

And I like to say thanks to Thomas for his well done job as MM and for keeping the SPC alive.

[Hubert J]

I was thinking about the new SPC theme. There were several ideas passing through my mind, but I think the one I like the most is "The Wonders of Nature". What do you think? I hope there wasn't anything like that in previous editions?

[TomRos]

Quote Hubert J:

I was thinking about the new SPC theme. There were several ideas passing through my mind, but I think the one I like the most is "The Wonders of Nature". What do you think? I hope there wasn't anything like that in previous editions?

I like it, but I also think there will be a lot of female bodies, hopefully in birthday suit, presented as this subject.

Sorry, but that was the first thing, my brain cells came up with!

[RobStamp]

I think that "A wonder a nature" will bring a diverse range of entries for our viewing pleasure, from plants and animals, but also to anything not made by man in the natural world, from rock formations and waterfalls to the weather.

There is now a SPC tutorial for the monthly moderator.

If this encourages more members to compete, making them less concerned about being able to moderate if they win, I will be happy.

If moderators of the recent new email system of SPCs have suggestions to improve the tutorial, then please contact me.

[Frank Noordenbos]

The subject ""The Wonders of Nature" is a subject with very much aspects Hubert.

There are the non-living nature, the living nature, the microscopic nature, the astronomic nature, flowers, animals, landscapes, waterscapes, crystals, constellations and so on and so on.
It's a topic with which we can expect pictures of all kind. When it comes to voting it's a hard task to compare all those pictures with very different kinds of qualities. So, I would prefer a more restricted topic.

But, of course, the choice of the topic is totally up to you.

Cheers, Frank

[Hubert J]

Tomas At first I thought that the human-made wonders should be excluded from this contest, but now I have second thoughts

Rob thank you so much for the SPC Tutorial, now managing the contest will be a piece of cake for every monthly moderator! I will start a new contest thread tomorrow (or, at the latest - on Friday).

Frank I agree with you, the subject is indeed rather wide, but this was my intention. Last several themes were rather strictly defined, so this time I'd like to try something else, with greater freedom of interpretation. I hope you will not find this wide variety of possible themes as something that can pose difficulties when voting (in my opinion, when it comes to voting, the deciding factors should be as usual - compatibility with the subject, photographic quality, creativity and the general impression).

Greetings everyone,

[Pandora's-Box]

Hi.

I was wondering if there is a minimum time that an entrant has to be a member in panoramio. I know that it says in order to vote, you have to be a member for 30 days.....does that also apply for entering?

Thank you
Pandora

[Daniela Brocca]

No, that doesn't apply. You can send one or two suitable photos to the email address.

[brunosma]

Good morning, where can the photos of the SPC of the preceding months be found?, a brown regard

[Daniela Brocca]

Quote brunosma:

Good morning, where can the photos of the SPC of the preceding months be found?, a brown regard

http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37560
http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36964

click on the link Entry account or in the name that begin with Panoramio.

go back about one month for each game in the forum and you will find all the games

http://www.panoramio.com/user/6211211
in this account of the mirrors game you can found most of the games as favorites. Remember that the rules changed 2 months ago for how the photos are submitted. Not by the users but by the Monthly Modersator.

[RobStamp]

Quote brunosma:

Good morning, where can the photos of the SPC of the preceding months be found?, a brown regard

Hi Bruno

There is a list of NPC and SPC, with links, here
http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=430737#430737

Or, for all contests, you can try
http://vm.npc.nl.eu.org/contests-search-form.php
Choose the contest you are interested in, (year and/or month can be blank) and click Submit Search,
then see the links under Topic Nr, Results, and TopTen

Ciao, Rob

[grecik]

#57 has the frame inside. Due to the rules it should be out of the game.

[panoramio.spc33.wondersof]

Quote grecik:

#57 has the frame inside. Due to the rules it should be out of the game.

Oooops... You are right, unfortuanttelly I didn't notice that when the photo was sent to me. I feel sorry for the author, but I think I have no choice and have to remove the photo from the contest (I hope it's not too late for uploading a replacement photo).

[The Man in the Maze]

Hello guys,

this is my first SPC and I have a question about the size (or resizing) requested for the contest which I seem to understand is 1200 x 900. Is this a recommended requirement or is it a rule of the contest?

Thank you in advance for your answer,

The Man in the Maze

Vic

[Daniela Brocca]

A bit late. Yes, the size is recommended, mosly because you have to send the photo to the Monthly moderator. by mail.

[The Man in the Maze]

Thank you Daniela,

It is a useful answer for the next contests!

I am struggling to find the SPC full rules in the forum (I only found the initial rules), but I suppose that, of course, like the other contests one can only vote for someone else photo and not for his/her ones, right?

Vic

[Daniela Brocca]

A part that photos are sent to the MM, and that is new, the rules are the same as NPC. Only the photos are in the account , after that the voting period is like in NPC. Dates you 'll find in the opening post every month. Rules were changed a little with the time, but they are only to find on the entry post, copied from the Toolkit.

[Panoramio - SPC32 Mailbox]

Quote:

I would like this SPC 32 join an existing Group **Post**. Are there any objections?

There are two groups which are suitable for mailboxes.

http://www.panoramio.com/group/15028

http://www.panoramio.com/group/24805


If you participated in SPC 32, and would like the photo to be added to any of the two Post groups, please let me know!!

Just leave a note under your own photo!

http://www.panoramio.com/user/6306951

Tomas

[Daniela Brocca]

Rob Stamp's site with the Voting Machines is temporary down because of maintenance of internet-provider by Wim Janssen, where the server is located. We hope it will be fixed soon. At the moment only the SPC is by the voting period, so please do it manually or use the Toolkit. Thanks, Daniela

[TomRos]

* * SPC 33 VOTING period is NOW drawing to CLOSE!!* *

Please, submit your votes.

I did not count, but it seems to me, that less people voted, than there are photos in the contest!

Note, you do not have to be in the contest in order to vote!

Support you favorite photo and the unknown photographer!

The more votes; the better the competition!

[panoramio.spc33.wondersof]

Quote TomRos:

* * SPC 33 VOTING period is NOW drawing to CLOSE!!* *

Please, submit your votes.

I did not count, but it seems to me, that less people voted, than there are photos in the contest!
Note, you do not have to be in the contest in order to vote!

Thank you Tom. I can confirm - 7 contestants still didn't cast their votes. But anyone can vote (you just need to have a panoramio account for more than one month), so please come visit SPC 33 Panoramio entry account or go directly to the Rob's Voting Machine.

Voting period ends in 4 hours, so please be hurry!

[Hubert J]

Hi,
Since I managed to win for the second time in a row, this time I would like to pass the privilege to select the subject for SPC #34 to Frank, who took second place in the last edition of SPC (of course if you are interested Frank).

[Frank Noordenbos]

Congratulations Hubert, you did win the SPC on a convincing way with an excellent picture. Just one request; don't win all SPC's from now on

Given the circumstances I can imagine you don't want to be the next MM. And give the same circumstances I would be glad with a 3th place. But duty calls I guess. So I accept to be the next MM.

As new SPC theme I consider to chose: Interiors of all kind.

Cheers, Frank

[C. Johnston]

I was just wondering....did the voting period for the SPC this month end early? It seems that the voting usually goes till the 14th or 15th. That might be one reason why there were not so many voters.

Regards, Cathy

[Daniela Brocca]

No, the voting period goes until the 9th.

[Daniela Brocca]

As posted by Gerard in the blog and in another topic

http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38540

we will have next a new forum and there will be the migration from this one.
To be able to post in the forum we will need to have a Google Account, or , if we already have one, to upgrade the Panoramio Account to the Google Account. This is to do asap, or to wait until January or Febraury not being able to enter the forum in the mean time.

I want to ask here if the moderators of the lasts SPC did open a Google Account and did the upgrade.If yes, how they did it. If not, I ask here please to do it, to be able to see and enter their participations in the forum with the games accounts.

That should be done now or before the 20th - 25th of November.

[Hubert J]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

I want to ask here if the moderators of the lasts SPC did open a Google Account and did the upgrade.If yes, how they did it. If not, I ask here please to do it, to be able to see and enter their participations in the forum with the games accounts.

Hi Daniela. When it comes to the last SPC - I've just followed Rob's tutorial: I created a new Gmail account dedicated to SPC 33 Contest and then I opened a new Panoramio Account connected with this new Gmail account. Is it ok, or do I need to do anything more?

[Daniela Brocca]

You should upgrade the SPC account to the Google account you got opening the Gmail account. That way you don't will loose your posts in the forum with that name, e.g opening post, voting post and the ranks. Please do it asap.

[Hubert J]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

You should upgrade the SPC account to the Google account you got opening the Gmail account. That way you don't will loose your posts in the forum with that name, e.g opening post, voting post and the ranks. Please do it asap.

Hmm.. I don't know what should I do, to be honest - what does it mean "upgrade Panoramio account to Google account"? I thought (until now), that if Panoramio account is registered with Gmail account - it should be automatically connected with Google?

[Daniela Brocca]

No, there should be a red line in the account page and some things to do. So it was when I did it.

[RoarX]

Quote Hubert J:

Hmm.. I don't know what should I do, to be honest - what does it mean "upgrade Panoramio account to Google account"? I thought (until now), that if Panoramio account is registered with Gmail account - it should be automatically connected with Google?

Some useful info here (hvbemmel's post): http://www.panoramio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=573002#573002 Also read the first post there

[Hubert J]

Daniela, Roar - thanks for your help, but I don't see any 'Upgrade to Google Account' link anywhere in Panoramio (neither in SPC account nor in my own Panoramio account). Maybe I can't find it (usually I don't have problems with that kind of stuff) but my guess is rather that accounts are already connected, probably it was done upon registration.

[RoarX]

Quote Hubert J:

Daniela, Roar - thanks for your help, but I don't see any 'Upgrade to Google Account' link anywhere in Panoramio (neither in SPC account nor in my own Panoramio account). Maybe I can't find it (usually I don't have problems with that kind of stuff) but my guess is rather that accounts are already connected, probably it was done upon registration.

I think "upgrade Panoramio account to Google account" basically mean, connect your Panoramio account to your Google account.
Which mean that you must first have a Google account, when logged in to it, perhaps the link appears in your Panoramio page.
I've had a Google account before I joined Panoramio (or so I think, already using Gmail and Picasaweb) I connected the two accounts when the possibility to transfer photos from Picasaweb to Panoramio was released (spring 2010 I think?). So I don't remember how to do these things.
Do you have a Google account or are you using any Google prodicts (besides Panoramio)?
If no on both, do it the way hvbemmel did in the previously provided link. Start with a Google product of your choice, then it will be easier to generate the full account.

[Daniela Brocca]

He has to have a Google account for the account he opened for the SPC, as he has a Gmail. What I asked what the upgrade of this Account. Of course he has to upgrade his own acoount too, opening a google Account, if not yet done.

[RoarX]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

He has to have a Google account for the account he opened for the SPC, as he has a Gmail. What I asked what the upgrade of this Account. Of course he has to upgrade his own acoount too, opening a google Account, if not yet done.

He needs two Google accounts then, one for the SPC account and one for himself. You can use Gmail or other products without having a Google account, and as far as I remember, only one Panoramio account per Google account.

[Daniela Brocca]

Yes, it's that what he needs.

Herman said that you receive a Google account when you open a Gmail. As he opened one for the last SPC he should have at last this Google Account to upgrade to the SPC account. And yes, he need a second for the Hubert J Account, if he doesn't have it, to upgrade too. Or he will loose all the posts in the forum. This connection between Panoramio and Google is not something we can do for others.

I see bad times for the forum

[Frank Noordenbos]

I did the same as Hubert did.

And, to be honest, I don't understand the "upgrade-discussion".

[Daniela Brocca]

Then read a bit in the forum or ask spomeone that can explain to you , because in few days we will have a new forum and we need the people in the games to have the upgrade to Google account, In the case of the SPC with both accounts, that from SPC and yours. You have the SPC 31 too.

It seems to me that Roarx and hvbemmel explained it. Both account have to be connected.

[Panoramio SPC34-Interior]

Tomorrow I'll take a closer look at the forum-discussion Daniela.
Sleep well.

[RoarX]

If it is of any help... A small video tutorial I've found on how to make a Google account: http://youtu.be/f8i9b4_ppjY

[Daniela Brocca]

Thanks Roar, I copied it on other topics too.

[Frank Noordenbos]

Thank you Roar and Daniela, everything is OK now with my accounts.

Cheers, Frank

[Daniela Brocca]

I'm glad, Frank! I'm waiting to know something about Hubert ...

[Hubert J]

Quote Daniela Brocca:

I'm glad, Frank! I'm waiting to know something about Hubert ...

Daniela, it seems that both of my Panoramio accounts are already connected to Gmail and Google and I don't need to make any additional upgrades. I checked everything carefully trying to find 'Upgrade to Google Account' link, and I found instead that I already have an item 'Google account settings' in my Panoramio settings page, which makes me think that the connection must have been already done.

I think everything will be ok and nothing will be lost. Warm greetings, and thanks for caring!

[Daniela Brocca]

Im glad all it's ok, Hubert.

For the record, you don't need the Gmail to use Panoramio or to have a Google account, I don't have it. I could open it if I should need a second account.

[RoarX]

There is an easy way to check this. Visit a group with discussions with the SPC account (I see that Hubert is on groups). If there is no Google account attached (or not logged in), the discussions will be invisible.

[Panoramio SPC34-Interior]

Just a reminder.

Those of you who have two or more accounts, please use just one account (one or two photos per person).

In the case two or more people in one household do have own accounts, please don't vote for each others photos.

Thanks in advance,

Frank

[panoramio.spc33.wondersofnature]

Hmmm... It looks like SPC33 thread disappeared for some reason (even though my google account seems active). A bug or migration failure?

[Daniela Brocca]

Active yes, but maybe not connected to the Panoramio account of the game,as it should have been.We will see in the next days, and maybe, as Gerard said in the blog, in the next months. Daniela

[Panoramio SPC34-Interiors]

After the migration the SPC34-mail address disappeared from the opening post.

I don't know how te reenter the adress.

Is there anyone who can tell me how to do it?

The adress is: spc34interiors*gmail.com (*=@)

[Daniela Brocca]

As we cannot edit the posts for the moment the best to do is to post it after the opening post. I see you already did it  ;-)