Photo Contest Cancelled

[admin]

Due to the fact that several people cheated for the photo contest, we have discontinued it for now and will reinstate it at some point in the future...

We will use the same photos, but people will have to login to vote and we will make darn sure only one vote is cast per photo...IF there is any cheating at all the next time, the contest will be over and the offenders removed from the forum.

We are VERY disappointed it came to this and those who cheated should be ashamed of themselves...over a photo calendar contest???

 

[Wild Tafari]

This is sad, but it doesn't surprise me... I'm a member of another group not related to cats what-so-ever (Chickens actually! Our serval "Tafari" loves fresh eggs!), and they also had a photo contest with a lot of cheating going on. The person holding the contest/giveaway said they would NEVER do another photo contest. It's a shame really.

Would it be possible to have non-biased judges to select photos vs allowing people to vote, which can obviously change the odds...? As I do not have a personal photo in the contest myself, it makes no difference to me, but I'm simply asking as a way to potentially come up with another idea to allow the contest to go on without incident.

 

[John Popp]

If you need some judging for a photo contest I can help and have no entries. We do them all the time at work (in the photo business as is my wife) and I'd be happy to help out.

 

[Trish Allearz]

This is sad, but it doesn't surprise me... I'm a member of another group not related to cats what-so-ever (Chickens actually! Our serval "Tafari" loves fresh eggs!), and they also had a photo contest with a lot of cheating going on. The person holding the contest/giveaway said they would NEVER do another photo contest. It's a shame really.

Would it be possible to have non-biased judges to select photos vs allowing people to vote, which can obviously change the odds...? As I do not have a personal photo in the contest myself, it makes no difference to me, but I'm simply asking as a way to potentially come up with another idea to allow the contest to go on without incident.

It's feasible, but I think people's feelings are more liable to get hurt that way. I think, anyways...

Any which way, it is a shame- and people, please do realize that Paige does not get income from this site- she puts her heart and soul into all of these contests and whatnot and really, we can do better then this, right?

 

[Wild Tafari]

I didn't think about that side of it, but I can see that happening too. I guess either way it can happen with someone getting their feelings hurt, but the cheating shouldn't be happening anyway. It is sad.

It's feasible, but I think people's feelings are more liable to get hurt that way. I think, anyways...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Definitely disappointing behavior :-(

 

[Sonnenblume]

Very, very sad, that people cheat over something that should be a little bit of fun.

Am glad it will continue at a later date and that the actions of some individuals, has not ruined it for everyone.

Keep up the good work Paige

 

[Mrs.CC]

I guess for a middle aged woman, I'm still rather naive...I'm actually surprised that this happened. IMHO, I don't think it would be very easy to find an unbiased party (from this board, at least) to choose the winners. Some folks have been members for quite some time, and a lot of friendships have been formed; along with some strong dislikes. Placing the voting in the hands of closely monitored members sounds like a good way to maintain the integrity of the contest.

Hope I didn't ruffle any feathers...I didn't enter a photo, so it did't affect me. I just find it sad that this had to happen.

 

[Sonnenblume]

When you re-open the contest, will there still be time to up-load some pics?

Many thanks

 

[John Popp]

It's feasible, but I think people's feelings are more liable to get hurt that way. I think, anyways...

If people get their feelings hurt over a photo contest, they must be looking at life as being served up a crap sandwich everyday. Certainly people have their heart into it, and of course a bond with their pet(s) but no different than anyone else who submitted an entry. The world isn't filled with blue skies, rainbows, pixie dust, fairies and unicorns so they need to get used to some disappointment.

As for the cheaters, it's about as vile as it gets knowing there is some emotional attachment to the entries. You really want a calendar with your cat in it, there are a couple hundred companies that do custom calendars across the internet that can provide you with a custom calendar that exclusively has pictures of your pet. For me, I am planning to purchase a calendar and not to see a picture of my kitten, but to see all the variety the breed has to offer and the cats that make others happy.

Disclaimer, I was initially going to have my wife submit a photograph of Chongo for the contest and she declined. Her statement was that nearly everyday catalogs and magazines come to the house with her photos in them and she already has plenty of photos of Chongo. He certainly likes going to the studio, being the occasional prop in room sets and of course harassing the puppies that aren't quite sure what to make of him. "Winning would make someone else happier than it would make me" she said, and too bad others didn't see things the same way.