Some beautiful projects must end, as life often teaches us. However, there is a goal in this contest that you have revealed. It's a goal I have not spoken or written about, but I always take the long view and keep things close to the chest.
We took this contest to a general level of transparency because, at its heart, the WOTW contest was about the community. Everyone got to see how they performed, and they could adjust their methodologies as they saw fit. And I feel it's working. As people became familiar with it, they professionally challenged it, and I changed things accordingly.
Self-grading and community declaration of a winner are on my plate. To prepare the community, I envisioned grading the articles as usual, and if there's a tie in the top four slots, then I would present those to the community so they could decide for themselves:
- Contest participants can cast one vote for the articles of their choice.
- Authors whose articles were under vote would not be allowed to participate.
- The victor will be those chosen among the community participants.
It's a small step forward with this endeavor. If it works, then we'll keep doing it. If it continues to work, then we'll evaluate the expansion of the process.
The problem with expansion, however, is time. It's just me and @nonsowrites curating right now. I had someone express interest in grading, but I haven't gotten a response back yet after presenting the merit bases to them for review.
Yeah, this contest takes up a lot of time, but people like it. We're very fortunate to have nonsowrites with us because there's no way I'd be able to do this independently. On average, I think we get 30-40 entries a week over the last six months. However, I have changed the contest to give more time off to the curators and the community. The seasons are only five weeks long now, and after each season, we will be taking a 1-2 week break before continuing.
For season 4, however, we'll probably break for the rest of the year and start again in January. I want to finish this season in December, so there may be an extra week or two of contests. I'll have to talk to nonsowrites about his availability. I'll be graduating in December, so I'll need time to defend my thesis.
I also have a project plan I need to finish to resolve my medical issues.
Anyway, apologies for the winded response, but I hope I have adequately addressed it. Thank you for bringing it up.
Thank you for the answer. I am always satisfied when I receive a comprehensive response and am actually not bothered in most cases, but rather pleased about it. (I find it a little irritating when people apologise for "expecting" someone else to read a bit more - maybe that's old-fashioned, then I like being old-fashioned :).
I'm curious to see how it will develop and will probably enter the competition once in a while and comment on other authors.
Good luck and success with your work for your diploma.
You're very welcome. I'm better for this engagement. I don't always have an opportunity to communicate my thoughts.