Friday, May 2, 2008

Final Results (a bit early)

Due to some voting irregularities, I am declaring both categories a three-way tie. Congratulations to Rob & Tina, Martin, Phil and Megan. The contest is over, so it's OK to visit them all and think they're all great. (I certainly do!)

This contest has been a lot of fun, and I'm very proud that we have so much talent here.

See you on your blog! You'll find me at Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills and Flame of God.

9 comments:

Rob, Tina and the boys on May 3, 2008 at 11:47 AM said...

This is the fairest way to do it. Too bad a few people had to ruin something that was suppose to be done in fun. Maybe next year people won't feel the need to skew the results with savvy "cookie tossing" to vote multiple times.

Indigo on May 3, 2008 at 3:46 PM said...

Okay, now ya got me..."cookie tossing"? Obviously not "woofing your cookies".I don't want to know how to do this but I AM intrigued. Such a IT loser I am.

Megan on May 3, 2008 at 8:31 PM said...

Basically, it is impossible to know who won, because the vote totals are not accurate. They are off by several hundred votes. Yes, really.

It is not hard to "goose" this type of voting system, but I was really hoping that nobody would.

I want to make it clear that the bloggers in the contest were not the ones trying to mess with the numbers. I have data on everyone who comes to the site, so I know exactly who it was and who they were voting for.

Allmycke on May 3, 2008 at 11:18 PM said...

Boneheads come in all sizes. Why would anyone think a competition like this is important enough to try and cheat at it? The same people who ruin their kid's little league-games by screamng blue murder over every missed chance?
People who race on parking lots to be first at the exit when there are two cars leaving at about the same time?

Rob, Tina and the boys on May 4, 2008 at 5:44 AM said...

Well put Trudie. I'm sure it was done with the best intentions (I admit someone was skewing with my numbers from back home, although I have no sweet clue as to who). It shows people are loyal enough readers to each blog and blogger to go to extremes to see them win. Oh well, I was happy just to be nominated. *grin*

Indigo on May 4, 2008 at 7:39 AM said...

WOW, blows my little IT mind. Now I worry about who (and how they vote) votes for me when I enter Jen's just for fun contests. Pretty annoying. I'll have to try and think up an adjective for this that is not rhyming with truck or hunt!

Indigo on May 4, 2008 at 7:41 AM said...

Another thought. I wonder if Clare had the same problem when he ran the Nunies?

Megan on May 4, 2008 at 8:15 AM said...

It's certainly possible, but Clare's the only one who would really know.

It's very easy to see if you are watching the numbers, though. When someone gets 100 votes in one hour, it's a sure tip-off.

The Best Blog contest was getting the majority of the fake votes, but the Best Post one was also affected. That one was very close -- all three were within one vote of each other for days -- and I was getting ready to call it a three-way tie when the numbers suddenly started to spike. So I am confident that that one really should be a three-way tie. Unfortunately, I have no way to know who really won Best Blog.

I agree that this whole thing is silly. It's a silly contest, and silly for anyone to spend hours trying to cheat the system.

I would like to propose that if we do this next year, we should do it through judges, not through votes. Maybe we could each take a category and judge it. If we were careful not to let people judge their own posts, that might work.

Anonymous said...

Hey Megan! I need your contact. I'm writing another story today about NWT blogs and the awards. Can you e-mail me at entertainment@nnsl.com with your phone number?

Thanks.

 

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