Don't know if it's really a good idea to keep track of this, but I'm hoping to boost interest in the Song of the Month Contest, which has been steadily decreasing.  The idea is that the author with the most SOTM points over the course of the entire year (assuming the contest continues that long) could be branded the Author of the Year, so everyone else can jealously hate them even more.  Sounds like fun, eh?

The standings so far:

Spaff.com  58 Points
Claude Prez  35
John Jenkins 34
2nz  34
Rick Duncan  33
Merry and Pippin 24
Phil Alexander  24
Ethan Mawyer  17
Guy DiRito  13
MooRocca  12
Johnny D  11
Jake A. Ralphing  10
Jared    7
Jeff Reuben    7
neminem    5
Paul Robinson    5
Charlie Decker    4
Agrimorfee    3
Mari Duncan    3
Rice Cube and Watt Daddy    2
Adagio    1

If anyone hates this idea, please say so.  It's quite possible I'm putting too much emphasis on the competition aspect but that's just my Capitalist nature; I believe in rewarding excellence to encourage more of it.  Also, I've been meaning to mention that since the contest didn't start til March we could have makeup contests for Jan and Feb if enough people expressed interest.

I think we should just crown a Parody Author of the Year right now, today, based on current vote totals.

Heh heh. While I like the idea of tabulating votes throughout the year, the drawback I see is that new authors who come along mid-year would have to start out several months behind the pack. But if no one views that as a grave concern, I suppose I could be convinced to get over it.

As for Jan and Feb SOTM contests, I'd be happy to play along.

xoxox
Spaff

  Yeah, right, Spaff...you are already in 1st place... ;D.  At least on this, I got 1 point.  :)  Where are the total scores taken from? ??? (Never mind the question...I just reread your post, Claude).  I had forgotten that votes were being tallied, so maybe just a reminder that can be read in comments will increase the interest again.

As for the Jan. and Feb. make-up months I'm for that.

I don't know Claude... Spaff raised a val...


so everyone else can jealously hate them even more.


Ok, I'm in.  Never let it be said that I passed up an opportunity to let you do all the work while I sit back and do absolutely nothing but  let my blind jealous rage build.  ;D

10 authors below me, 10 authors above me --- I'm the HAPPY MEDIAN!  ;D

Okay, I'm in!

Sure, I'm in

Woah!  We actually got points?  :o

Hehe  ;D

Woah!  We actually got points?   :o


You'd better have some points or I'll be demanding a recount!  ;)


Subject: Re: MARCH 2004 SOTM VOTING
Written By: MooRocca on 04/08/04 at 10:00:58

3 points to Spaff
http://www.amiright.com/parody/70s/anniecast0.shtml

2 points to Rice / Watt
http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/beatles173.shtml

1 point to John Jenkins
http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/allansherman5.shtml

I'll make like Rosie O Donnell six years ago and be 'In'. (really scraping the barrel here)

IDEA: For those newbies who started entering SOTM late (cough cough) you should get an average score regarding the total score accumulated over the year divided by the number of months they entered. Eh? MEH?!

Now there's an idea.  Then, those poor newbies *loud, obnoxious hacking* will get a more fair-er chance. 

Or maybe we could calculate the average for everyone.  You know, to measure consistency. 

IDEA: For those newbies who started entering SOTM late (cough cough) you should get an average score regarding the total score accumulated over the year divided by the number of months they entered. Eh? MEH?!

That's definitely a thought.  My only hesitation is that if someone enters just one month and happens to do really well, they would have an inflated average, like a baseball player who's hitting .500 because he's only had two at-bats.  We could resolve it in the same way by having a minimum limit of months participating to be eligible (like in baseball, where you need a certain number of at-bats to win the batting title).  But if we're going by average, that actually could incentivize some people to not participate in months where they don't think they'll do well, and I'd rather encourage people to participate more, not less.  If you see what I mean.  Any additional thoughts are appreciated; I'm not sure how to solve this one.

Yes well remember some aren't noobies they just can't come up with a new song every week like most  ;). How about reseting the tally every 3 months, then at the end of the year have the four winners square off with the songs they won to be author of the year. That way people who NEVER GET VOTED ON AT ALL will still have a small chance of getting through. Also for those select few that happen to have a gift beyond all compare and end up winning multiple settings, then just have the 2nd highest, or if that person has already won the 3rd, ect. be the candidate for AOTY for that 3 month setting. Makes sense to me.  ;D Or something else i just thought of, along the same lines except reset every month then for those that do happen to only enter 1 month but have an awesome song can have a better chance of being AOTY. Just another thought.

In effect you're talking "Author of the Quarter" as well as "Author of the Year"... IMO, we could get overwhelmed with stats like that.  Given that you only get three choices, I'd say *anyone* who appears on the above list has something to be proud of, whether they've got 1 point or 100.

I agree with Philbo.  I like what Claude is doing and I think that something might get lost if much slicing and dicing is done with his score sheet.  But you've gotta love the positive attitudes of the "newbies" for thinking that if Spaff didn't have a 3 month head start they might be able to catch him!

I also want to point out a small disadvantage that other parody writers have.  Rick and Mari Duncan have imposed on themselves a rule not to vote for each other.  I suspect that, if they were voting honestly without this restriction, Rick would be in second place and Mari would also have more points.  Since Claude is initiating this AOTY competition, RAD and MAD, you might want to rethink your voting.

A more subtle disadvantage is for the teams.  Merry and Pippin submit one parody per month and two votes per month; but, since they can't vote for themselves, the number of votes available to them is smaller than for the rest of us.  (This also would apply to Rice Cube and Watt Daddy, except I don’t think that WD is voting.)  I don’t think any rules should be changed, but I want to commend Merry and Pippin for not complaining about this disadvantage.

I also agree with Claude about capitalism being far superior to any other system because it rewards quality.  But Claude, doesn’t it work best when the rewards are tangible?

A more subtle disadvantage is for the teams.  Merry and Pippin submit one parody per month and two votes per month; but, since they can't vote for themselves, the number of votes available to them is smaller than for the rest of us.  (This also would apply to Rice Cube and Watt Daddy, except I don’t think that WD is voting.)  I don’t think any rules should be changed, but I want to commend Merry and Pippin for not complaining about this disadvantage.


Well I never even gave it much thought, but then I am very bad at math! ;D

Our actual biggest disadvantage is that being a team and being in different planetorial spheres, we can't just whip out a parody and submit it - we have to have lots of time to argue inbetween... :) So we don't submit as many per month which gives us less good ones to choose from... ;)

I agree with Philbo.  I like what Claude is doing and I think that something might get lost if much slicing and dicing is done with his score sheet.  But you've gotta love the positive attitudes of the "newbies" for thinking that if Spaff didn't have a 3 month head start they might be able to catch him!

Heh heh.  I wasn't gonna say anything; glad you did.


I also want to point out a small disadvantage that other parody writers have.  Rick and Mari Duncan have imposed on themselves a rule not to vote for each other.  I suspect that, if they were voting honestly without this restriction, Rick would be in second place and Mari would also have more points.  Since Claude is initiating this AOTY competition, RAD and MAD, you might want to rethink your voting.

I've always felt they should vote honestly, but I certainly understand and appreciate their wanting to avoid any possible controversy.  I do suspect they'd each have more votes, though, and I doubt anyone would question it.


A more subtle disadvantage is for the teams.  Merry and Pippin submit one parody per month and two votes per month; but, since they can't vote for themselves, the number of votes available to them is smaller than for the rest of us.  (This also would apply to Rice Cube and Watt Daddy, except I don’t think that WD is voting.)  I don’t think any rules should be changed, but I want to commend Merry and Pippin for not complaining about this disadvantage.

Me too.  To be honest, I only expect one of them to vote each month, but it's certainly welcome that both do.  In fact,when this contest began, I felt like they could each submit a song and compete against each other, because I think a lot of their stuff is primarily written by one or the other (like Lennon/McCartney).  With the votes being used for Author of the Year, though, that would definitely give them an unfair advantage, so I guess it wouldn't work.


I also agree with Claude about capitalism being far superior to any other system because it rewards quality.  But Claude, doesn’t it work best when the rewards are tangible?

Definitely, but I ain't springing for no prize money.   :)

In effect you're talking "Author of the Quarter" as well as "Author of the Year"... IMO, we could get overwhelmed with stats like that.  Given that you only get three choices, I'd say *anyone* who appears on the above list has something to be proud of, whether they've got 1 point or 100.

Absolutely agree.  Bottom line is that any system will have flaws, and I think breaking up the year would have negative unintended consequences (not to mention that the same person probably would win each quarter).  I already feel like this thread has rebuilt some interest in the SOTM so I'm reluctant to mess with it.  For now, I think we should just focus on writing the best stuff we can because I have a feeling Spaff is only gonna add to his well-deserved lead with that Madonna song.

In effect you're talking "Author of the Quarter" as well as "Author of the Year"... IMO, we could get overwhelmed with stats like that.  Given that you only get three choices, I'd say *anyone* who appears on the above list has something to be proud of, whether they've got 1 point or 100.



Well i'm not saying have them go at it at every quarter either, just whoever happens to have the most points wins. And like i said before should someone happen to win mulitple settings then the next person in line would be the winner for that month. Or possibly make like the ABC contest and once a person wins for that setting they can't enter anymore, aside from honerable mentions. Anyway just another thought.

how about 6 of the 12 months to be eligible. sounds fair to me. then average.

AAAAARGH!!! You've all lost me!!! I have no idea what is happening any more, the very thread of civil voting systems is unravelling at an exponential speed!!!! Just put all these ideas in a hat and pluck one out!!!!!!!!!!! ...oh, here's my straightjacket :-X

Or, have a six month contest and a 12 month contest.  So the "newbies" are still in for the 2nd half of 2004, but Spaff and others don't get penalized for "artist of the year".

How can anyone hope to attain the status that Spaff has already?  Why bother?  :-\\

How can anyone hope to attain the status that Spaff has already?  Why bother?  :-\\


Quite right, Agri.  Without Spaff, none of us would be here in the first place.  ;)

Quite right, Agri.  Without Spaff, none of us would be here in the first place.  ;)

I know you're not being serious, JD, but you should realise that some of us see Spaff as a talented newcomer who's yet to prove himself...

:D

I know you're not being serious, JD, but you should realise that some of us see Spaff as a talented newcomer who's yet to prove himself...

:D


I ;D know ;D you ;D know ;D I'm ;D not ;D being ;D serious, ;D Philbo, ;D because ;D I ;D know ;D you ;D know ;D I ;D had ;D in ;D mind ;D the ;D urban ;D slang ;D definition ;D of ;D "Spaff" ;D when ;D I ;D said ;D that ;D none ;D of ;D us ;D would ;D be ;D here ;D in ;D the ;D first ;D place ;D without ;D Spaff: ;D

;D ;D ;D http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spaff ;D ;D ;D

Hehe, JD, one that I get!  "Spaff"  ;D

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spaff

Well I never... you learn something new every day.  I guess the description of Spaff as "talented newcomer" takes on a whole new meaning, then. :D

      ;D

I'm not sure how Claude's lovely proposal degenerated into a discussion of Spaff, but, for the record:

Spaff, as I use it, is short for the family name Spafford, which predates the Urban Dictionary by at least a thousand years. I'm sure you're all duly fascinated by this, so feel free to read up on it here:
http://users.aol.com/gamelbar/

Of course, you can find "other" connotations for any name, as I'm sure John Small has learned.

As for my need to prove myself, OK, you win; please watch this week for my parody of "Blinded By the Light" (which I consider to be the parody writer's Mount Everest).

xoxox
Spaff

 In fact,when this contest began, I felt like they could each submit a song and compete against each other, because I think a lot of their stuff is primarily written by one or the other (like Lennon/McCartney).  



Heh Heh.... sometimes close to true! But can you tell which is whose...? ;D

Of course, you can find "other" connotations for any name, as I'm sure John Small has learned.


Ohhh touche, my friend Mr. Spafford, touche, touche !!

Yes indeed ... my real name is John Small, and I attended an all-boys private school, so Mr. Spafford is quite correct.....trust me, I've heard 'em all......and that past experience has undoubtedly subconsciously and Freudianly inspired some of my jokes-about-manhood-size parodies!

And at that all-boys school, coincidence would have it that one of our teachers was a man named Spofford Woodruff.

;D

I'm not sure how Claude's lovely proposal degenerated into a discussion of Spaff, but, for the record:

Spaff, as I use it, is short for the family name Spafford, which predates the Urban Dictionary by at least a thousand years. I'm sure you're all duly fascinated by this, so feel free to read up on it here:
http://users.aol.com/gamelbar/

Of course, you can find "other" connotations for any name, as I'm sure John Small has learned.

As for my need to prove myself, OK, you win; please watch this week for my parody of "Blinded By the Light" (which I consider to be the parody writer's Mount Everest).

xoxox
Spaff



Mr. Spafford,

I wish to state publicly, for the record, that as far as I'm concerned, my lame attempts at joking about bogus urban slang versions of the word "Spaff" are now permanently over and done with --- no more shall originate from John SMALL !

Spaff, I apologize to you for the unpleasantness and sophomoric stupidity of my lame attempts to make joking references to your pen-name.  Believe it or not, Spaff, I actually did think --- I really did believe --- that you were intentionally using the nick-name "Spaff" because of its urban slang connotations.

That says nothing about you, but that says volumes about me --- volumes that surely come as no surprise to you or to anyone else who's glanced at a few of my parodies.

Peace, Mr. Spafford.   The jokes stop here!

John Small / Johnny D

As for my need to prove myself, OK, you win; please watch this week for my parody of "Blinded By the Light" (which I consider to be the parody writer's Mount Everest).

xoxox
Spaff



" Blinded By The Light " ?  The parody writer's " Mount Everest " ?

Hmm...

" Blinded By The Light " ?  The parody writer's " Mount Everest " ?

Hmm...




Hmm... says me as well. Haven't heard it, but the name at least gives me a couple ideas. The most amusing at the moment being "Blinded By Your Site", about badly designed web pages ;-).

Spaff, I apologize to you for the unpleasantness and sophomoric stupidity of my lame attempts to make joking references to your pen-name.

Don't sweat it, Mr. Small. I've heard it before. I occasionally get email from people who think spaff.com is a porn site.

Since you've read some of my parodies, you know I'm not exactly a paragon of virtue anyhow. If I were, I wouldn't give people nicknames like "Johnny Dangle."

xoxox
Spaff

    !!!!!!!!!!! YIKES !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/movies-soundtracks/96573.html

"BLINDED BY THE LIGHT", by  Manfred mann’s earth band

Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin,
The calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong,
Play the song with the funky break
And go-cart mozart was checkin’ out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside
And little early-pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tired
She’s gonna make it through the night
She’s gonna make it through the night
But mama, that’s where the fun is
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Mama always told me not to look into the eye’s of the sun
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
Says, dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in it’s funny bone,
That’s where they expect it least
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner,
Watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin’ with his frozen zone, reminding him of romance
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Madman drummers bummers, indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin,
The calliope crashed to the ground
Now scott with a slingshot finially found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not said daddy’s within earshot save the buckshot, turn up the band
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong

I wish to state publicly, for the record, that as far as I'm concerned, my lame attempts at joking about bogus urban slang versions of the word "Spaff" are now permanently over and done with --- no more shall originate from John SMALL !


I wish to state publicly, for the record, that I'm VERY sorry I forgot about the other meaning for "spaff" during that whole "Uranus" thing.

All right, then, back on topic, shall we?  To briefly summarize, the concerns are that using the straight point total system would be unfair to people who haven't participated every month, and that using averages could discourage people from participating some months.  Here's my idea:  We use the straight point totals, but we only use the points from each author's seven best months.  Someone who hasn't yet participated would still be able to get seven month's worth in at this point, and there would be no inherent risk of blowing your average by participating in any given month.

Additionally, I'm sensing a little despair among some of us so I'd like to shine a ray of hope in that direction:  What if we had a "Wild Card" round at the end of the year?  It would be open to anyone who hasn't come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in any of the monthly contests, and they could enter any song from this year.  Voting would be open to anyone who's participated in any of the monthly contests, points would count toward your AOTY total, and the top three songs would automatically be entered in the "Song Of The Year" contest along with the monthly winners (I have mentioned the SOTY contest, haven't I?)

So that's my solution; let me know what you all think.

That sounds fair.

Sounds fair to me, too.  :)

Here's my idea:  We use the straight point totals, but we only use the points from each author's seven best months.  Someone who hasn't yet participated would still be able to get seven month's worth in at this point, and there would be no inherent risk of blowing your average by participating in any given month.

Additionally, I'm sensing a little despair among some of us so I'd like to shine a ray of hope in that direction:  What if we had a "Wild Card" round at the end of the year?  It would be open to anyone who hasn't come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in any of the monthly contests, and they could enter any song from this year.  Voting would be open to anyone who's participated in any of the monthly contests, points would count toward your AOTY total,


Molly Coddler.  ;)
   
Seriously, I like your straight points idea.  Only one person is going to win no matter how you do it. So, if everyone who isn't named author of the year feels slighted and discouraged from playing along, instead of encouraged to give the front runner (or winner) a run for his/her money, you still end up with just one contestant by the time the Jan 05 contest begins.  I'm fine with seeing it go to someone who wrote excellent parodies every month, who entered the contest every month, who read, rated, commented and voted fairly on the contest entries every month.  Who won gracefully and lost gracefully.  It didn't take many posts to suck every last drop of fun and good sportsmanship out of a simple little "hey, since we know how many points everyone has, why not call the author who gets the most points our author of the year?" suggestion.  But, hey... I'm not in it to win it, I'm just in it to have some fun.  So, don't consider this a vote on how to do it... I just wanted to share my thoughts.  :) 


and the top three songs would automatically be entered in the "Song Of The Year" contest along with the monthly winners (I have mentioned the SOTY contest, haven't I?)


Get out of my brain, man!  ;D  Seriously, I was going to suggest a SOTY, earlier today, but by the time I got a chance for a break, I was without power due to storms.  Neato keen idea.  Can't wait to see how it gets spoiled.  ;D  (Just teasing!!!) 

Molly Coddler.  ;)
   
Seriously, I like your straight points idea.  Only one person is going to win no matter how you do it. So, if everyone who isn't named author of the year feels slighted and discouraged from playing along, instead of encouraged to give the front runner (or winner) a run for his/her money, you still end up with just one contestant by the time the Jan 05 contest begins.  I'm fine with seeing it go to someone who wrote excellent parodies every month, who entered the contest every month, who read, rated, commented and voted fairly on the contest entries every month.  Who won gracefully and lost gracefully.  It didn't take many posts to suck every last drop of fun and good sportsmanship out of a simple little "hey, since we know how many points everyone has, why not call the author who gets the most points our author of the year?" suggestion.   But, hey... I'm not in it to win it, I'm just in it to have some fun.  So, don't consider this a vote on how to do it... I just wanted to share my thoughts.   :)   


Believe me, I'm with you on this.  Bottom line is that I believe the best songs tend to do well in the monthly contests, and the best authors will do well in the AOTY ("well", of course, is relative, considering how many excellent authors we have here).  Most of us seem to know that this is just for fun and the important thing is to have your songs reach an audience, and contest votes are all gravy and all that, but I can see how that could be seen as easy for someone who actually is getting some votes to say.  I see a wild card round as a good concession to sort of reward those who participate month in and month out but don't ever seem to quite make anyone's top three.  It'll be a competitive round; I have no doubt about that, and I know I plan to vote even though I'm already ineligible to enter.


Get out of my brain, man!  ;D  Seriously, I was going to suggest a SOTY, earlier today, but by the time I got a chance for a break, I was without power due to storms.   Neato keen idea.  Can't wait to see how it gets spoiled.  ;D  (Just teasing!!!) 

I'm sure I don't know what you mean  ::) 

I think the only fair thing to do is to tally the vote counts, then adjust each person's vote total by:

1. the number of months they've actually participated in the SOTM contests

2. level of AmIRight experience (determined by the average number of parodies submitted/month)

3. the amount of time each person is able to spend online actually writing and voting (determined by connection speed, employment status, marital/partnership status, classwork load (if appropriate), and number of children living in the household

4. age (exempting EmiLoca, who's clearly precocious).


I'm sure someone can develop a fair algorithm.


You forgot blood type in the equation...lol

:) I think we should make awards for everybody so no one feels left out.  :)

*spreads sparkle rainbow joy*

You're ever so welcome, "Most Likely To Secede!"! And after that, we can start the
"AmIRight Fund for World Peace and Such"!  Who's with me? 

I'm in your head.


Now THAT little Freudian-slip-double-entendre made ME blush! 

You???  Will wonders never cease?  ;D

I'll just sit here and watch from a safe distance. 

I'll just sit here and watch from a safe distance. 


Sounds like a good idea to me :)

I'll just sit here and watch from a safe distance. 


The Universe is a hologram.  There is no "safe distance".  I am he as you are she as you are me and we are all together.  We are the egg man.  We are the walrus.  We are the granite boogers in Mount Rushmore's Presidential noses.  Coo coo AHHHH-CHOOOO!!!!