Opinions Wanted

[mredburn]

Another Bash is winding down and we are working to notify the vendors and members who donated prizes of the winners of their prizes. It will take some time as we get a complete list together for each Donor.

Now for the Important part of this Post. What did you like? What didnt work or could be be better? All your opinions are considered as we try and tailor the bash to best serve the Members.

If you would rather not post publicly, PM me your thoughts and I will repost them for you anonymously.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello Mike

I knew you would be posting this question as you normally do after a Bash party to check the waters. I hope others will take some time and give their thoughts.

Here is a few of mine. First let me say the Bash was well run,the contestants were great with their entries. I think the vendors and prize contributors were above and beyond this year. The prizes were worthy of winning. My hats off to all those people and we need to remember these people throughout the year as we make our purchases. I believe there is always room to leave a complimentary remark somewhere in the order form and mentioning the Bash is a plus.

To all the hard workers behind the scenes need to be recognized and commended for a job well done and that starts from the top with Jeff and right on down. This does not take place without them.

Hopefully all those that won gifts place that thank you note some time in the near future. Also hope there was some income made to help this great site continue to run and be such a great influence to us all. A huge thanks go out to those that contributed to the auctions this year. They were well played and run and spirited.

Now to the contests. i believe the ones that were used this year is a great diverse group and that it covered all aspects of the pen turning world. Of course as I mentioned a few times the ones that really interested me was the new contests Pen Stands and Pen Boxes. I still believe these are such a great addition because it gets people to show off some other skills and talents but is still pen related. I think the players did a great job for a first year and believe it has made enough of an impact that it becomes a constant here in the contest list. hope to see more people enter now that we have gotten a taste of what is expected.

Was a little disappointed in a couple only because of the amount of entries.


But all in all this was a great party. I enjoyed it and though I am still stuck on the loser train I had fun.

But and i say this with all sincerity. We can not let this be the end of making these extra special items. We need to continue all year long push ourselves and get ready for next year. Those that did not place, do not ttake it as a failure but as a learning experience and grow from it. Go get em next year.

Looking forward to next year and who knows maybe I will even jump in and play some. Happy Turning and once again thanks Jeff.

 

[Monty]

As mentioned, this was the first year for the pen box contest and I believe it was a success. Not knowing how many would participate, I decided to allow multiple entries, of which there were two. Next year, should I limit the number of entries per person or leave it open? If limited, how many entries per person?

 

[jttheclockman]

As mentioned, this was the first year for the pen box contest and I believe it was a success. Not knowing how many would participate, I decided to allow multiple entries, of which there were two. Next year, should I limit the number of entries per person or leave it open? If limited, how many entries per person?

My opinion would be 2. Same for the pen stand. The ideas in both these categories are limitless. I have a little poll going in the polling forum related to this. Hope people go and vote.

 

[Mr Vic]

Think it might help to announce the contest categories earlier. Especially if they are new. Give folks some extra time. Just a thought

 

[edman2]

Pretty happy with the BASH! The one thing I noticed was the difference in size of the photos in the various contests. Some were small and didn't enlarge and others were so large I couldn't even see them on my screen without scrolling (didn't vote for any of those). A standard size and format of ALL photos would be nice. I love the "Contest Votes" button on the front page. Maybe another one "Contest winners" could be added so we would have one place to go to see who won all the contests without having to hunt through the threads. All in all the BASH was great and my hat is off to the organizers and workers.

 

[CREID]

Think it might help to announce the contest categories earlier. Especially if they are new. Give folks some extra time. Just a thought

I agree about announcing the contests earlier, I also think we need to iron out the rules for each contest earlier, I had to send people to another contest because of some unclear criteria for entering a specific contest, most or all of that was before the bash started. This was my first time chairing a contest here and I think I did wonderfully. Oh, and the rest of you did well too.:biggrin:

 

[Cwalker935]

I would like to see more consistency in the voting rules. The number of picks in the first round varied and the number of pens advancing to the 2nd round varied. I would also like to see the voting results for all contests and rounds once the contest is over.

Aside from that the contests were great and well run.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Please note that this in no way meant as a a negative on those who donated to the event just that the prizes didn't always seem fit for the contest.

A prime example was the kitless contest. 1st and 2nd place awards, in my eyes anyway, did not really suit someone who primarily does kitless work. CA glue for first place and a gift certificate for a company that does kit pens and laser inlay kits pretty much only suited to kit pens plus the turntex kicker which is only really useful if you have do stabilizing and/or casting.

To me those really didn't fit the contest. While other contests received r&b, classic nib, Suffolk machinery, a dozen blank makers, etc... that would have all been better options while giving the glue and kit stuff to say the advanced or ballpoint contests.

Again, please don't take this as a slight on the sponsors but that I think some additional thought should be given to the distribution of the prize to contests that would be relevant to the prize.

 

[DigBaddy72]

My participation was limited (as it is every year due to real life events) but I still had a lot of fun following the contests and voting! Loved it! Thanks so much for putting this on.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Please note that this in no way meant as a a negative on those who donated to the event just that the prizes didn't always seem fit for the contest.

A prime example was the kitless contest. 1st and 2nd place awards, in my eyes anyway, did not really suit someone who primarily does kitless work. CA glue for first place and a gift certificate for a company that does kit pens and laser inlay kits pretty much only suited to kit pens plus the turntex kicker which is only really useful if you have do stabilizing and/or casting.

To me those really didn't fit the contest. While other contests received r&b, classic nib, Suffolk machinery, a dozen blank makers, etc... that would have all been better options while giving the glue and kit stuff to say the advanced or ballpoint contests.

Again, please don't take this as a slight on the sponsors but that I think some additional thought should be given to the distribution of the prize to contests that would be relevant to the prize.

Just to provide some context, the prizes come in in a trickle (an then a surge) from September to late January, so the person who does the sorting normally has to scramble last-minute (sometimes the night before) to assign them to contests - so it's not unusual for the sort of hundreds of prizes and thousands of dollars in value to happen in the wee hours of the night..

They also have to think about what can be shipped internationally, and what cannot.

That being said, the team does its best, but often prize values are the key factor in the sort.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Oh trust me I understand and I know this work is done by volunteers and am grateful for those volunteers time for an otherwise great event.

I was just offering some constructive feedback which honestly aside from a minor time constraint was the main reason that I refrained from participation this year. I felt that even if I did well that I would end up passing on any prizes to the next in line. This is also feedback I've heard from at least one other member.

Maybe those that donate consider sponsoring a particular event? i.e. if I'm Curtis and want to offer TurnText items, maybe I'd focus on the blank making contest. If I'm suffolk machinery may be I sponsor a segmented blanks contest. Alumilite blank makers maybe focus on the kitless and advanced contests, glue sponsors or wood blank donations for the ballpoint, etc...

I'm just offering random thoughts that may help with some of the participation.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Oh trust me I understand and I know this work is done by volunteers and am grateful for those volunteers time for an otherwise great event.

I was just offering some constructive feedback which honestly aside from a minor time constraint was the main reason that I refrained from participation this year. I felt that even if I did well that I would end up passing on any prizes to the next in line. This is also feedback I've heard from at least one other member.

Maybe those that donate consider sponsoring a particular event? i.e. if I'm Curtis and want to offer TurnText items, maybe I'd focus on the blank making contest. If I'm suffolk machinery may be I sponsor a segmented blanks contest. Alumilite blank makers maybe focus on the kitless and advanced contests, glue sponsors or wood blank donations for the ballpoint, etc...

I'm just offering random thoughts that may help with some of the participation.

No worries - just wanted to give some perspective.

 

[skiprat]

Hi Mike,
I think the auctions ( which were hosted fantastically btw) should only run for 24hrs. There seemed to be long periods of silence in them and they lost a bit of impetus.

I really think all pen contests should have their pics posted as soon as the entrant has entered. Everyone know the contest is going to happen many years in advance. So good luck to those that finish first.
For the voters and general non entrants, we have to wait for the final entrant before seeing any pics.
It also has a benefit of showing potential entrants what they may be up against and then inspire them to enter.


All in all a great and successful Bash, so hats of to you and your team.

Oh....one last thing......give the members the opportunity to donate prizes before the vendors. It seems vendors are given priority to donate first and then the members are are asked later as an afterthought.

Well done Bash team !!!:biggrin:

 

[twinsen]

I thought it was good that some competitions did not reveal earlier voting results until after the final round of voting was over. Example, 1 round is over, no results posted. Then After 2nd and final round of voting is over, then 1st round results are available.

Even though it didn't change the order of the votes much, I thought it was the best way..... even though I wanted to see the result as soon as the round was over.

 

[Mr Vic]

Pretty happy with the BASH! The one thing I noticed was the difference in size of the photos in the various contests. Some were small and didn't enlarge and others were so large I couldn't even see them on my screen without scrolling (didn't vote for any of those). A standard size and format of ALL photos would be nice. I love the "Contest Votes" button on the front page. Maybe another one "Contest winners" could be added so we would have one place to go to see who won all the contests without having to hunt through the threads. All in all the BASH was great and my hat is off to the organizers and workers.

I agree on picture size. I actually resized a few that resulted in left to right scrolling from within the preview post. I think some entrants just snapped pictures and sent them in. Not sure of the best way to handle. Reject the entry or have the contest co-coordinator re-size.

 

[MesquiteMan]

For the folks commenting about the photos...I am the one who built and maintains the forms and website they are on as well as the collection is distribution of the entries. Some photos were too big because folks DON'T READ AND FOLLOW THE RULES! With form software, you can limit the image file size but it is difficult to limit the image dimensions. As a result, some folks submit photos that are much larger than the stated rules and some submit photos that are smaller than the minimum set in the rules. We really can't expect the contest chairs to have to resize all the different photos which can be really time consuming. The only other option is to enforce the rules and if you enter a photo that is too big or too small, the entry is rejected by the contest chair. The problem with that is then folks get ticked off! Its a no win situation!

 

[CREID]

Pretty happy with the BASH! The one thing I noticed was the difference in size of the photos in the various contests. Some were small and didn't enlarge and others were so large I couldn't even see them on my screen without scrolling (didn't vote for any of those). A standard size and format of ALL photos would be nice. I love the "Contest Votes" button on the front page. Maybe another one "Contest winners" could be added so we would have one place to go to see who won all the contests without having to hunt through the threads. All in all the BASH was great and my hat is off to the organizers and workers.

I agree on picture size. I actually resized a few that resulted in left to right scrolling from within the preview post. I think some entrants just snapped pictures and sent them in. Not sure of the best way to handle. Reject the entry or have the contest co-coordinator re-size.

I just posted the photos I got, I thought that the forum itself wouldn't let you upload photos that were too large. I was obviously wrong.

 

[CREID]

For the folks commenting about the photos...I am the one who built and maintains the forms and website they are on as well as the collection is distribution of the entries. Some photos were too big because folks DON'T READ AND FOLLOW THE RULES! With form software, you can limit the image file size but not the image dimensions. As a result, some folks submit photos that are much larger than the stated rules and some submit photos that are smaller than the minimum set in the rules. We really can't expect the contest chairs to have to resize all the different photos which can be really time consuming. The only other option is to enforce the rules and if you enter a photo that is too big or too small, the entry is rejected by the contest chair. The problem with that is then folks get ticked off! Its a no win situation!

Another one where you someone answers while I was typing a response.:biggrin:
I believe there is free software and or sites that you can use to resize photos, perhaps one of the many members or a group of members could put together a tutorial on how to resize photos using free stuff. Just a thought, I was faced with some tough stuff right at the end, if I chair a contest (Maybe I won't be invited to do so next year :biggrin I will take a lot closer look at everything well in advance to try and keep things fun.

 

[TonyL]

While this doesn't add much value, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to buy more mugs. I commited to buy 3 (actually pay for them) before they were even offerred for sale. It then turned into, you can buy one, then I had to pick a number. This is not a big deal...opinions were asked for, and that is mine. I had promised them to two folks; I made good on my promise by buying them gift certicates instead (which they reluctantly, but graciously accepted). Trust me, I don't want the IAP to get stuck with inventory or even having to store them for sale later. I also understand that all is managed by selfless volunteers and for that I am very thankful. No explanation needed. Again, very grateful

 

[MesquiteMan]

Another one where you someone answers while I was typing a response.:biggrin:
I believe there is free software and or sites that you can use to resize photos, perhaps one of the many members or a group of members could put together a tutorial on how to resize photos using free stuff. Just a thought, I was faced with some tough stuff right at the end, if I chair a contest (Maybe I won't be invited to do so next year :biggrin I will take a lot closer look at everything well in advance to try and keep things fun.

There are even threads here on IAP on those free photo sizing site and software and how to do them. I wrote one a few years ago with step by step directions. Can't see to find it now.

 

[magpens]

I used PhotoScape to resize my contest entry photos ... it's a free download and it works for me. . Do a google search if you want it.

 

[geffre]

Great start to hte

This is my first time participating even though I have been a member for a number of years. I have been a silent member for most of the years, but have recently gotten more involved. The one suggestion I have is minor.
1) Donors to the prize pile should also get put into the donation drawing. I was a bit surprised when the title of the drawing was donation drawing but it was only for organizers.

While my submissions were not my best work ever, I was surprised by what type of pens won. Many of the submissions were not very challenging yet were still rewarded. I guess that is what it means to have a voted winner. Now, some of the winners were truly challenging. The pool cue pen was probably my favorite.

Maybe there could be a best of show category, where the best of the best go head to head with the title of Best Pen of 2017 at stake.

Thanks for your hard work to make this an excellent and exciting opportunity for us pen turners.
(Brian) geffre

 

[mredburn]

The Donation Drawing is held for the Members who donated by buying the Mugs or Pencil cups. A donation by purchasing an Item gets you an entry. Buying more item does not get you extra entries, one entry per member. You can also enter by sending in a written entry. The Organizers are also included as a courtesy for all the work they do.

 

[Smitty37]

I think a better method of informing donors of what is happening with their donations. Many of us donate multiple prize packages but have no idea where they are being used. With so many contests and drawings it would help if something was posted where donors could see what contests their donations are being given in.