mbroberg
IAP Activities Manager, Emeritus
Here are some cut and pasted bits of information from this thread.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f70/looking-bash-critiques-94509/
Additionally, several PMs I received are tacked onto the end.
Please go through them and pick out what you believe applies to you. Not all are practical, some aren't even possible. But these comments and suggestions can be used as a guide to assist in our planning.
There is one repetitive comment about having the rules and details of the contests for which pens need to be made posted ASAP. I would like to get the rules to those contests posted in early January. That should give people plenty of time to get supplies and find time to work on their entries. thismay be a good idea for the casting contests also. Fortunately Landon, Eric, Ben and Jonathon are all seasoned pros at this and probably only need to tweak last years rules. Once you have this years rules drafted please send them to me for a quick review.
I will have a calendar of events posted for the member's reference.
I do think that a separate sub-forum for each activity makes sense.
Here are the critiques:
Here is one thought - next year have contestants visit websites of the vendors for answers to trivia questions. The vendors really step up with the prizes and they deserve more than a thank you.
The trivia was fun, but easy. I think I spent no more than a minute finding most of the answers. Harder, much harder might be nice, at least for every other day or something.
I know from another forum I am on polls can be tweaked to allow more than 10 options. One thread with all the options for "best ..." would be easier.
Also the beginners best pen contest is great but I didn't qualify, been here a year now, but I am far from able to participate in the other classes. Maybe a "I've made less than 50 pens" class? Though next year I'll enter the advanced
A master schedule of events would be cool, maybe in the calendar if it allowed times.
The prizes were great! I think it was a nice mixture of both certificates (allowing you to buy something you need or want to try) and objects (receiving tools or original blanks from our vendors).
I like the polls, allowing for everyones input on picking the winners.
post the contest rules more in advance.
I liked the way the intermediate pen contest was done. I think something in the "less than 50 pens" direction would be a good idea.
Next year we need to do the edible pen contest again.
The "ugly pen" contest kind of got out of control. I think the idea was to show a pen that didn't end up as it was designed. Instead, some pens were made specifically for the contest, and took away the "oops" factor.
Also, maybe the auction times could be shortened. Maybe 1 hour or so. It seemed like many of them had long periods when no one was bidding. Shorter time would mean more action.
I would like to see the some small changes in the pens/casting and photo contests. First, I think all the entries in those contests should be anonymous. This year some were and some were not. Second, I would like to see "judges" pick the top six from the entries. Those six finalists would then be presented to the membership for voting to determine the final winners. Judging is very subjective and I just think that having the members vote does a lot to eliminate or at least balance out the subjective factor.
I like the idea already submitted of taking members to a few of the sponsoring vendors web site for some of the trivia questions. I think we need to do more to promote those vendors for their contributions during the bash.
I also agree on making a few of the trivia questions a little harder to find the answers to.....although that is not a biggie.
One thing that might be an improvement was in the Trivia questions. Many were very easy either to find or were common knowledge. The more difficult ones were findable within a few minutes search
One thing that I think would be nice is when the winners in the various pen contests are announced, the photo of their pen should be placed there too.
Regarding the beginning pen turners, join date isn't always that reliable. I joined about 10 months before I purchased my lathe! And given that some have a harder learning curve to climb than others, I think an "under 50 pens" would be interesting.
I too would agree that the entrants should be anonymous, so that reputations could not help sway the voting.
The Uner XXX pens turned could be expanded to "under 20", "Under 50" and "Under 100". I think this would encourage a lot of the newer members to enter. As has been mentioned before, some people turn more pens in a week then I might in a year.
Also, don't show the pictures until voting time! I think it was the first picture posted in the Intermediate Class (so really early on) that made me realize I had no chance. Had I not seen this I might have tried.
I also thought a "Mystery" contest could be set up. Maybe sponsored by a vendor? With the mystery item (kit, color, theme?) noted Feb. 1rst.
my only critique...when a crossword clue says to find a "West African species of the Sterculiaceae family" - the answer should be a species name, not a common name.
I really enjoyed the crosswords and the "Match the shop" contest
I agree with those that say contest rules should be posted well in advance and I like the idea of not showing pictures until the voting starts. I wish that more participated in the contests and perhaps the advance warning might encourage those who may have a little less time to work on their pens and those that might be limited by shop time because of the weather.
I also agree about rules being posted in advance of the contests
I think it would be fun create Beginner(<75 pens), Intermediate (76-199 pens) and Expert (200+ pens) categorys w/ Pen Kits. I know there was an advanced contest but those were for the kitless and closed ends and such. Many folks dont have the Hardware to achieve that or the time leaving a big void in skill levels. I missed the Beginner by 1 month becasue I turned my first pen in July '11 but have only turned about 30-40 pens in that time, most in a box labled mistakes to have the tubes reclaimed one day.
Also, like others said, more advanced notice or more than 2.5 weeks to complete the pens.
Next year we need a trash talkin thread because some of the folks out there were bringing tears to my eyes when I read their posts.
My only suggestion would be in relation to the trivia. I think that it would be a good idea to only allow a person to win the trivia once (per Bash of course). This would allow more people to be able to win prizes.
Communications were responded to very timely.
The trivia while being easy to alot of these folks, had the Newbies struggling(ME) and a few others. We all have not searched every corner of this site yet. As for sending out to vendor site(great idea) they get traffic and maybe a order of 2 while we are there.
I see alot of folks saying keep photos hidden and let a panel pick 6 and post to general population. If thats the case then all photos should be posted for an initail vote(blind) then the top 6 set up for a revote(blind again) This way everyones pen photos get posted to be seen by the forum during the competition and it still allows for the population to vote(be pretty disappointing to submit a pen and then the only chance it is seen in in March after the bash(because a judge didnt think it was top 6 material)
I was suprised that freestyle included kitless pens, I loved the freestyle category---most amaing folks submitting things. I would have thought kitless would have had its own category aside from being with this group.
I think the anonymous entry and hidden poll system worked quite well.
I'd like to see more contests decided by poll than judges panel. In those cases where a panel makes sense, use the judges to narrow the field and present the top 6 entries to the membership for voting.
I think staggered constests throughout the month would keep the excitement going better. For example, Best Article and Featured Pen polls could be run during the first week of February. Ugly Pens, Shop Photos , and Tricolor Casting could be due at the end of that week, and voted on during the second. Beginner Pens, Marketing Photos, Embedded Object Casting, and Russ Fairfield entries could be due the second week, and polled during the third. Intermediate Pens, Open Pens, Logo Photos, and Tube-On Casting contests could close on the third week, and be judged and polled during the last week. That way, there'd always be voting going on, and winners announced throughout the month - rather than most at the very end.
Press the winners to move up. Ask this year's contest winners (myself included) to help run - or at least be a judge for - that contest next year, or advance to the next eschelon of contest.
I don't know how much thought went into prize allocation, but I think prizes could be matched to contests. For example, blanks, kits, and small tooling would make great prizes for the Beginner Pen and Russ Fairfield contests. Specialty tooling, casting/stabilizing materials, and the like would be good for intermediate prizes. Best Tutorial / Featured Pen / Open Pen type contests should focus on bragging rights. Give them a plaque and some sort of prize an experienced turner could use. If a vendor gives multiple items, they should be awarded in different contests to give the donor good exposure.
This idea may not be a good one, but would it make sense to have some sort of prize exchange or regift after the fact? Sometimes, one wins a prize that he simply doesn't need. If that's me, I'd like the opportunity to trade or donate it away. As a vendor, I'd rather my item goes to someone who will use it. Maybe we could think about how to do that without seeming ungrateful or potentially offending the givers.
It would like to see a "calendar of events" for future Bash's. There is so much going on ( which is a good thing ) that's it's hard to keep track of it all. If all the information was in one place it would be much easier to be sure we are online for the events we are interested in. It would be great to have a calendar showing the time and date of the various events. For example, show when all the auctions will be held and when the various contests will end.
My only thought was the contests need to end on a sunday evening where possible. this would allow a full weekend for that last ditch effort to finish an entry for those that have to work during the week.
I know several new guys that didnt play trivia because they said it was to hard to find answers. I found most by the way.........I didnt even try the 2nd crossword after the first took me so long.
I wonder if a 50/50 would fly for a 'contest'?
So here is my one critique........Fisrt off, im not here to win anything, im here for the love of making pens, so prizes werent a huge issue for me, but i was a little disappointed that most of the prizes were the same. Now i want to personally thank Constant and Lazerlinz for all of the prizes and the extent of the prizes that he donated to this years bash!!! THANK YOU!!!!! But this is part of the problem. In almost every contest there were prizes from Constant in the form of gift certificates and laser kits. While great for some, i personally dont do kit pens, so this would mostly be a waste for me, and if i did, i also dont do laser kits, just dont like stuff like that, so i had a very high percentage of winning something from Constant in every contest and in some contests all 3 prizes were form him. Now like i said, this is great for some, and really great for the new guys, but i wouldnt have any use for those and would have just sold them or donated them back to IAP. I would have liked to see a larger diversity of prizes other than laser kits and gift certificates to buy laser kits. Again i want to thank Constant for being a huge part of this years bash and on IAP in general!!! I look forward to many more Birthday Bash's!!!!
The great thing about the trivia is that it forced me to become better acquainted with the site layout, so big help there!
I entered a pen the the Russ Fairfield competition, and I almost didn't, simply because I'm still in the moderate learning phase, where things seldom look as good as they did in the planning stage, and was a bit intimidated by other entries, as were probably others. A blind entry, shown in groups of six, with a poll, and winners advancing to the final is probably more work for the marvelous sponsors, but would lead to more entries. My entry was outclassed, and I knew that when I submitted it
Any thought given to breaking out the competitions to folks who do this for a living versus those of who don't? Amateur vs Pro categories? Personally, I am not going to compete again against folks who I know don't have a chance in hell of beating. I do this on a spare evening, and they do it all week and/or as a primary source of income? I know in the casting contest I entered that the folks who seem to have won, many/most seem at least on a quick glance to do this as a source of income.
In the pen contest threads do not allow any posting or comments until all entries have been posted. This makes it easier to look at the entries. The other possibility would be to post all entries at the same time. Then people might still enter a contest without knowing what their competition is
Triva, - Everyone should participate, Triva masters have just as much chance as I to be on the losing bus because the RNG HATES ME.. Maybe some deeper reading questions taken from the Library would generate the creative thoughts and create more entries in Contests.
Crossword - the first one was easier, unfortunately I was sicker than a dog when the 2nd one was posted; and never completed it. I know it takes time to generate a puzzle and the clues; but maybe have puzzle one posted on day 1 and puzzle 2 posted day 15. With 2 weeks of working on them, us poor people that have to put up with a JOB will beable to put some time on them.
I think the UGLY pen contest has gone to more of a 'gross' pen contest. Maybe just me..
I would love for each contest to have it's own sub forum (much like the trivia)! With almost a full page of stickys it got super hard to keep track of everything.
The trivia questions - it depends on the objective - if the objective is to generate more participation to give more folks a shot at winning the easier questions are the way to go. I personally won't spend a lot of time looking for an answer.
The first suggestion I have is concerning the Freestyle contest. I wonder if you would consider increasing the number of places next year. Honestly, if they keep getting better like they have, I think the membership would agree that 4 places really isn't enough. Either that or have a couple of sub categories. As far as I am concerned, nearly every pen entered this year could earn a prize of some sort.
The second comment is an in general one. I think that if we are going to vote on pens in some way that should look like this.
1. Used the entry form
2. All pens that are in the poll get posted on the same day.
3. If you are going to poll for places either
a. have just the number of pens that you have (places) prizes for
b. have at least at least 2 more pens than you have (places) prizes for
**Allow me to say something about that. So far as I know, only one contest had 5 pens in the poll and 4 prizes. And while it is an honor to be in the running, to be the only one left out of a group is a tough pill IMO. If there were two people that were left out, it would be easier to swallow.
4. It would be great if we had some way of picking not just 1st, but 2nd, 3rd etc.
There have been a bunch of other great suggestions and comments made so far. The one that sticks out the most IMO is the one about staggering the contests through the month.
*******************************************
I will write this as a private message instead of a thread post because I don't have a critique of the bash, I ignored it as well as I could, I don't have anything either good or bad to say about how it was handled. I can say that I appreciate those who organize and promote the event, supporting IAP is a worthy cause. I choose to support IAP by sending a cash donation once a year during the bash month and I did that again this year.
While I appreciate bash planners and participants for their efforts in raising funds for IAP, I find that all of the activity surrounding the bash takes away from the the fundamental interchange of knowledge and ideas about pen making that I consider to be core purpose of IAP. If more members would simply send in an annual donation and eliminate the bash entirely, we would have one more month every year that the exchange of pen making knowledge could take place without bash related clutter.
I'm fully aware that I'm likely in a minority of one on this issue, that is familiar territory for me. I understand how the activities and contests promote fellowship among members and that is a most worthy endeavor, just not an interest of mine. Thanks for your work, IAP is truely a .org that is truely worth supporting, I just choose to support it in a different manner.
******************************************
I know if I say this out in public I will get slammed for it, thus the PM.
One of our first prizes was won on Feb 1. We got the name and address today. Now I realize that there are hundreds of prizes that are passed out, but if one person would stay on top of the trivia prizes it would look much better to get the prize out sooner and not wait a month. To have a prize won 30 days ago and not be able to ship to the winner just looks bad. I know an announcement was made about this but I am sure not many really read or caught that fact.
Anyway this is how I personally feel about this and I thought this might be the type of stuff that you wanted to here. Pat on the backs are great but do nothing to improve preformance.
I liked the fact that it allowed for some modifications. A step above a component pen. It seems that most members don't consider themselves capable of entering the freestyle contest and a contest like this one will make them try something more challenging.
Considering the number of active members we have entries for the contests wasn't terrible. I also get the impression that most members don't turn a lot of pens. Maybe more contests on the easier side may be a good idea. With more contests members may pick a few to enter instead of trying to enter all of them. If you think it is a good idea I wouldn't mind doing an alternative materiel contest next year.
As for trivia, it's purpose is to get people to look around the site not stump as many people as possible. If the questions get harder the people in charge get more PM's. This year was an easy year.
As for prizes, I think most people enter contests because they think they have a shot at winning, not because they want the prize. When people started talking about about contests not having prizes they would want to win and talking about prize swaps all I could hear in my head was my Dad saying, "Smile and say thank you." Start telling vendors winners don't like their prizes and see how much they donate next year.
Last year several members mentioned that they only order pen supplies 3-4 times a year. I think it would be good if we could tell members what supplies they might need for the Bash in early January. Not all the contest rules just a list of contests and kits and other supplies they may need. A month for the Bash sounds like a lot of time but if you enter 2-3 contests and you work for a living 28 days turns into 3 weekends and if you need parts you're pretty much out of the running.
I know this is more than you asked for but you were going to get all of this in the next month or so anyway. Now was a good of time as any to do it. Hope this helps. Have a good day.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f70/looking-bash-critiques-94509/
Additionally, several PMs I received are tacked onto the end.
Please go through them and pick out what you believe applies to you. Not all are practical, some aren't even possible. But these comments and suggestions can be used as a guide to assist in our planning.
There is one repetitive comment about having the rules and details of the contests for which pens need to be made posted ASAP. I would like to get the rules to those contests posted in early January. That should give people plenty of time to get supplies and find time to work on their entries. thismay be a good idea for the casting contests also. Fortunately Landon, Eric, Ben and Jonathon are all seasoned pros at this and probably only need to tweak last years rules. Once you have this years rules drafted please send them to me for a quick review.
I will have a calendar of events posted for the member's reference.
I do think that a separate sub-forum for each activity makes sense.
Here are the critiques:
Here is one thought - next year have contestants visit websites of the vendors for answers to trivia questions. The vendors really step up with the prizes and they deserve more than a thank you.
The trivia was fun, but easy. I think I spent no more than a minute finding most of the answers. Harder, much harder might be nice, at least for every other day or something.
I know from another forum I am on polls can be tweaked to allow more than 10 options. One thread with all the options for "best ..." would be easier.
Also the beginners best pen contest is great but I didn't qualify, been here a year now, but I am far from able to participate in the other classes. Maybe a "I've made less than 50 pens" class? Though next year I'll enter the advanced
A master schedule of events would be cool, maybe in the calendar if it allowed times.
The prizes were great! I think it was a nice mixture of both certificates (allowing you to buy something you need or want to try) and objects (receiving tools or original blanks from our vendors).
I like the polls, allowing for everyones input on picking the winners.
post the contest rules more in advance.
I liked the way the intermediate pen contest was done. I think something in the "less than 50 pens" direction would be a good idea.
Next year we need to do the edible pen contest again.
The "ugly pen" contest kind of got out of control. I think the idea was to show a pen that didn't end up as it was designed. Instead, some pens were made specifically for the contest, and took away the "oops" factor.
Also, maybe the auction times could be shortened. Maybe 1 hour or so. It seemed like many of them had long periods when no one was bidding. Shorter time would mean more action.
I would like to see the some small changes in the pens/casting and photo contests. First, I think all the entries in those contests should be anonymous. This year some were and some were not. Second, I would like to see "judges" pick the top six from the entries. Those six finalists would then be presented to the membership for voting to determine the final winners. Judging is very subjective and I just think that having the members vote does a lot to eliminate or at least balance out the subjective factor.
I like the idea already submitted of taking members to a few of the sponsoring vendors web site for some of the trivia questions. I think we need to do more to promote those vendors for their contributions during the bash.
I also agree on making a few of the trivia questions a little harder to find the answers to.....although that is not a biggie.
One thing that might be an improvement was in the Trivia questions. Many were very easy either to find or were common knowledge. The more difficult ones were findable within a few minutes search
One thing that I think would be nice is when the winners in the various pen contests are announced, the photo of their pen should be placed there too.
Regarding the beginning pen turners, join date isn't always that reliable. I joined about 10 months before I purchased my lathe! And given that some have a harder learning curve to climb than others, I think an "under 50 pens" would be interesting.
I too would agree that the entrants should be anonymous, so that reputations could not help sway the voting.
The Uner XXX pens turned could be expanded to "under 20", "Under 50" and "Under 100". I think this would encourage a lot of the newer members to enter. As has been mentioned before, some people turn more pens in a week then I might in a year.
Also, don't show the pictures until voting time! I think it was the first picture posted in the Intermediate Class (so really early on) that made me realize I had no chance. Had I not seen this I might have tried.
I also thought a "Mystery" contest could be set up. Maybe sponsored by a vendor? With the mystery item (kit, color, theme?) noted Feb. 1rst.
my only critique...when a crossword clue says to find a "West African species of the Sterculiaceae family" - the answer should be a species name, not a common name.
I really enjoyed the crosswords and the "Match the shop" contest
I agree with those that say contest rules should be posted well in advance and I like the idea of not showing pictures until the voting starts. I wish that more participated in the contests and perhaps the advance warning might encourage those who may have a little less time to work on their pens and those that might be limited by shop time because of the weather.
I also agree about rules being posted in advance of the contests
I think it would be fun create Beginner(<75 pens), Intermediate (76-199 pens) and Expert (200+ pens) categorys w/ Pen Kits. I know there was an advanced contest but those were for the kitless and closed ends and such. Many folks dont have the Hardware to achieve that or the time leaving a big void in skill levels. I missed the Beginner by 1 month becasue I turned my first pen in July '11 but have only turned about 30-40 pens in that time, most in a box labled mistakes to have the tubes reclaimed one day.
Also, like others said, more advanced notice or more than 2.5 weeks to complete the pens.
Next year we need a trash talkin thread because some of the folks out there were bringing tears to my eyes when I read their posts.
My only suggestion would be in relation to the trivia. I think that it would be a good idea to only allow a person to win the trivia once (per Bash of course). This would allow more people to be able to win prizes.
Communications were responded to very timely.
The trivia while being easy to alot of these folks, had the Newbies struggling(ME) and a few others. We all have not searched every corner of this site yet. As for sending out to vendor site(great idea) they get traffic and maybe a order of 2 while we are there.
I see alot of folks saying keep photos hidden and let a panel pick 6 and post to general population. If thats the case then all photos should be posted for an initail vote(blind) then the top 6 set up for a revote(blind again) This way everyones pen photos get posted to be seen by the forum during the competition and it still allows for the population to vote(be pretty disappointing to submit a pen and then the only chance it is seen in in March after the bash(because a judge didnt think it was top 6 material)
I was suprised that freestyle included kitless pens, I loved the freestyle category---most amaing folks submitting things. I would have thought kitless would have had its own category aside from being with this group.
I think the anonymous entry and hidden poll system worked quite well.
I'd like to see more contests decided by poll than judges panel. In those cases where a panel makes sense, use the judges to narrow the field and present the top 6 entries to the membership for voting.
I think staggered constests throughout the month would keep the excitement going better. For example, Best Article and Featured Pen polls could be run during the first week of February. Ugly Pens, Shop Photos , and Tricolor Casting could be due at the end of that week, and voted on during the second. Beginner Pens, Marketing Photos, Embedded Object Casting, and Russ Fairfield entries could be due the second week, and polled during the third. Intermediate Pens, Open Pens, Logo Photos, and Tube-On Casting contests could close on the third week, and be judged and polled during the last week. That way, there'd always be voting going on, and winners announced throughout the month - rather than most at the very end.
Press the winners to move up. Ask this year's contest winners (myself included) to help run - or at least be a judge for - that contest next year, or advance to the next eschelon of contest.
I don't know how much thought went into prize allocation, but I think prizes could be matched to contests. For example, blanks, kits, and small tooling would make great prizes for the Beginner Pen and Russ Fairfield contests. Specialty tooling, casting/stabilizing materials, and the like would be good for intermediate prizes. Best Tutorial / Featured Pen / Open Pen type contests should focus on bragging rights. Give them a plaque and some sort of prize an experienced turner could use. If a vendor gives multiple items, they should be awarded in different contests to give the donor good exposure.
This idea may not be a good one, but would it make sense to have some sort of prize exchange or regift after the fact? Sometimes, one wins a prize that he simply doesn't need. If that's me, I'd like the opportunity to trade or donate it away. As a vendor, I'd rather my item goes to someone who will use it. Maybe we could think about how to do that without seeming ungrateful or potentially offending the givers.
It would like to see a "calendar of events" for future Bash's. There is so much going on ( which is a good thing ) that's it's hard to keep track of it all. If all the information was in one place it would be much easier to be sure we are online for the events we are interested in. It would be great to have a calendar showing the time and date of the various events. For example, show when all the auctions will be held and when the various contests will end.
My only thought was the contests need to end on a sunday evening where possible. this would allow a full weekend for that last ditch effort to finish an entry for those that have to work during the week.
I know several new guys that didnt play trivia because they said it was to hard to find answers. I found most by the way.........I didnt even try the 2nd crossword after the first took me so long.
I wonder if a 50/50 would fly for a 'contest'?
So here is my one critique........Fisrt off, im not here to win anything, im here for the love of making pens, so prizes werent a huge issue for me, but i was a little disappointed that most of the prizes were the same. Now i want to personally thank Constant and Lazerlinz for all of the prizes and the extent of the prizes that he donated to this years bash!!! THANK YOU!!!!! But this is part of the problem. In almost every contest there were prizes from Constant in the form of gift certificates and laser kits. While great for some, i personally dont do kit pens, so this would mostly be a waste for me, and if i did, i also dont do laser kits, just dont like stuff like that, so i had a very high percentage of winning something from Constant in every contest and in some contests all 3 prizes were form him. Now like i said, this is great for some, and really great for the new guys, but i wouldnt have any use for those and would have just sold them or donated them back to IAP. I would have liked to see a larger diversity of prizes other than laser kits and gift certificates to buy laser kits. Again i want to thank Constant for being a huge part of this years bash and on IAP in general!!! I look forward to many more Birthday Bash's!!!!
The great thing about the trivia is that it forced me to become better acquainted with the site layout, so big help there!
I entered a pen the the Russ Fairfield competition, and I almost didn't, simply because I'm still in the moderate learning phase, where things seldom look as good as they did in the planning stage, and was a bit intimidated by other entries, as were probably others. A blind entry, shown in groups of six, with a poll, and winners advancing to the final is probably more work for the marvelous sponsors, but would lead to more entries. My entry was outclassed, and I knew that when I submitted it
Any thought given to breaking out the competitions to folks who do this for a living versus those of who don't? Amateur vs Pro categories? Personally, I am not going to compete again against folks who I know don't have a chance in hell of beating. I do this on a spare evening, and they do it all week and/or as a primary source of income? I know in the casting contest I entered that the folks who seem to have won, many/most seem at least on a quick glance to do this as a source of income.
In the pen contest threads do not allow any posting or comments until all entries have been posted. This makes it easier to look at the entries. The other possibility would be to post all entries at the same time. Then people might still enter a contest without knowing what their competition is
Triva, - Everyone should participate, Triva masters have just as much chance as I to be on the losing bus because the RNG HATES ME.. Maybe some deeper reading questions taken from the Library would generate the creative thoughts and create more entries in Contests.
Crossword - the first one was easier, unfortunately I was sicker than a dog when the 2nd one was posted; and never completed it. I know it takes time to generate a puzzle and the clues; but maybe have puzzle one posted on day 1 and puzzle 2 posted day 15. With 2 weeks of working on them, us poor people that have to put up with a JOB will beable to put some time on them.
I think the UGLY pen contest has gone to more of a 'gross' pen contest. Maybe just me..
I would love for each contest to have it's own sub forum (much like the trivia)! With almost a full page of stickys it got super hard to keep track of everything.
The trivia questions - it depends on the objective - if the objective is to generate more participation to give more folks a shot at winning the easier questions are the way to go. I personally won't spend a lot of time looking for an answer.
The first suggestion I have is concerning the Freestyle contest. I wonder if you would consider increasing the number of places next year. Honestly, if they keep getting better like they have, I think the membership would agree that 4 places really isn't enough. Either that or have a couple of sub categories. As far as I am concerned, nearly every pen entered this year could earn a prize of some sort.
The second comment is an in general one. I think that if we are going to vote on pens in some way that should look like this.
1. Used the entry form
2. All pens that are in the poll get posted on the same day.
3. If you are going to poll for places either
a. have just the number of pens that you have (places) prizes for
b. have at least at least 2 more pens than you have (places) prizes for
**Allow me to say something about that. So far as I know, only one contest had 5 pens in the poll and 4 prizes. And while it is an honor to be in the running, to be the only one left out of a group is a tough pill IMO. If there were two people that were left out, it would be easier to swallow.
4. It would be great if we had some way of picking not just 1st, but 2nd, 3rd etc.
There have been a bunch of other great suggestions and comments made so far. The one that sticks out the most IMO is the one about staggering the contests through the month.
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I will write this as a private message instead of a thread post because I don't have a critique of the bash, I ignored it as well as I could, I don't have anything either good or bad to say about how it was handled. I can say that I appreciate those who organize and promote the event, supporting IAP is a worthy cause. I choose to support IAP by sending a cash donation once a year during the bash month and I did that again this year.
While I appreciate bash planners and participants for their efforts in raising funds for IAP, I find that all of the activity surrounding the bash takes away from the the fundamental interchange of knowledge and ideas about pen making that I consider to be core purpose of IAP. If more members would simply send in an annual donation and eliminate the bash entirely, we would have one more month every year that the exchange of pen making knowledge could take place without bash related clutter.
I'm fully aware that I'm likely in a minority of one on this issue, that is familiar territory for me. I understand how the activities and contests promote fellowship among members and that is a most worthy endeavor, just not an interest of mine. Thanks for your work, IAP is truely a .org that is truely worth supporting, I just choose to support it in a different manner.
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I know if I say this out in public I will get slammed for it, thus the PM.
One of our first prizes was won on Feb 1. We got the name and address today. Now I realize that there are hundreds of prizes that are passed out, but if one person would stay on top of the trivia prizes it would look much better to get the prize out sooner and not wait a month. To have a prize won 30 days ago and not be able to ship to the winner just looks bad. I know an announcement was made about this but I am sure not many really read or caught that fact.
Anyway this is how I personally feel about this and I thought this might be the type of stuff that you wanted to here. Pat on the backs are great but do nothing to improve preformance.
mbroberg said:
I liked the fact that it allowed for some modifications. A step above a component pen. It seems that most members don't consider themselves capable of entering the freestyle contest and a contest like this one will make them try something more challenging.
Considering the number of active members we have entries for the contests wasn't terrible. I also get the impression that most members don't turn a lot of pens. Maybe more contests on the easier side may be a good idea. With more contests members may pick a few to enter instead of trying to enter all of them. If you think it is a good idea I wouldn't mind doing an alternative materiel contest next year.
As for trivia, it's purpose is to get people to look around the site not stump as many people as possible. If the questions get harder the people in charge get more PM's. This year was an easy year.
As for prizes, I think most people enter contests because they think they have a shot at winning, not because they want the prize. When people started talking about about contests not having prizes they would want to win and talking about prize swaps all I could hear in my head was my Dad saying, "Smile and say thank you." Start telling vendors winners don't like their prizes and see how much they donate next year.
Last year several members mentioned that they only order pen supplies 3-4 times a year. I think it would be good if we could tell members what supplies they might need for the Bash in early January. Not all the contest rules just a list of contests and kits and other supplies they may need. A month for the Bash sounds like a lot of time but if you enter 2-3 contests and you work for a living 28 days turns into 3 weekends and if you need parts you're pretty much out of the running.
I know this is more than you asked for but you were going to get all of this in the next month or so anyway. Now was a good of time as any to do it. Hope this helps. Have a good day.
