Emi may have a legitimate excuse depending on when the tree limb fell - waiting until an hour or two before the deadline and something happens that causes a person to miss the deadline is not an acceptable excuse to me.  Also those that wait until the last minute to comment and vote seems unfair like congress voting on bills that they never even read.  The others who have not responded yet may have legitimate excuses but lets get real.  It is now 24 hours past the deadline and not a word from the others.  How long do we wait Matt before you rule?


Well 24 hours if that deadline was Thursday, but for the second or third time Matthias has posted a different date than day of the week, Red Ant asked for an extension, which is up to Matty--the extension was requested before the date posted passed, which was the 7th. . .and extensions have sometimes been granted in the past. . .it is up to Matty, I personally just hate seeing so many DQ's, I agree with you Guy, I just wonder what's going on and what happened . . .Stu has never missed a deadline. . .if the extension is granted, then he still might not.

As for the deadline being posted as Thursday the 7th, we all make mistakes, but things like that need to be corrected sooner, from this date forward I will check the posted deadline and clarify with Matthias which date he actually means so that it can be corrected.  It is unfair to post it like that which confuses entrants as to what the actual deadline is, especially those who may be new to the contest or have been away for awhile. . .

I say go forth with the DQs.  Everyone who has admitted disqualification has done so apologetically and with acceptance.  It's better to set a precedent of "no exceptions" in my opinion. 

Additionally, the fact that my legitimacy is being questioned is really surprising to me.  :-\\  If you want proof that it happened before the requisite two-hours-needed-to-comment-and-vote-fairly, I have timestamped pictures.

I don't care... Fine I'll allow it people have the weekend to vote, but as soon as Monday rolls around the people who haven't voted are still screwed out of luck.
I seriously don't know what happened to the contestants in this round... Are people actually having... What's that word? A life?  ;)

I say go forth with the DQs.  Everyone who has admitted disqualification has done so apologetically and with acceptance.   It's better to set a precedent of "no exceptions" in my opinion. 


I agree with this. I'll take my DQ. And I'll comment on those parodies whose author commented on mine.

Thanks for the extension, Matt, but I should have requested it earlier. See you all in the Os round.

Ant

I say go forth with the DQs.  Everyone who has admitted disqualification has done so apologetically and with acceptance.   It's better to set a precedent of "no exceptions" in my opinion. 

Additionally, the fact that my legitimacy is being questioned is really surprising to me.   :-\\  If you want proof that it happened before the requisite two-hours-needed-to-comment-and-vote-fairly, I have timestamped pictures.

Emi - I'm sorry for what happened to your house and it was my bad for not stating that I was happy that you went unscathed.  Your name was mentioned in one of my posts above where I stated that anyone who attempts to meet the deadline when there is insufficient time to do a true assessment of each and every parody and misses the deadline should have no excuse because it is unfair to those who are in the contest.

Another contestant who was racing the clock actually told me in my parody comment that they didn't know the OS to my parody and didn't understand it at all and didn't have time to even listen to the youtube link in order to give the parody fair consideration.  I would have rather this person just lied to me and said anything except that they did not have time for my entry.  This is what prompted me to make a point of last minute, beat the clock, commenting and voting.  More than ample time is given to get this task done.  But this is not about me - I used this example to explain what I meant in my comment about late voters.  You have a great record for voting early and I do not consider you to be one of these rush-to-it vote.  Jack Flesher was decent enough to realize that running against the clock and he being tired would impair his judgement on the voting and DQed himself.  Jack sets the example. 

  I used your name and mentioned all the others who did not even post that they were missing the deadline in the interest of fairness.  I even gave those who were missing the deadline the benefit of the doubt that they too may have a legitimate excuse for missing the deadline - it may be that they had no way of communicating that back to the rest of us.  If you look back a few posts to the one right after you gave us the news, I was the first and only person that gave my vote to excuse you from DQ.  I never doubted your honesty - I just know how it goes out here as one makes a statement and another finds a flaw and carries it a bit further.  My intention was to try to stopgap anyone from carrying it further.  Using your name in my example, in retrospect, was not a wise thing for me to do.  You already are bummed out about your house and I'm sorry for the way you perceived what I said.  Please forgive the blunder as I pull my foot from my mouth.  I like you Emi and I meant no ill will toward you and I surely in my mind had no thoughts that you were using deceitful tactics.  If you were trying to pull something off you would have asked for an excuse for a DQ.  I knew this going in.  I would never believe you capable of doing something like this.  And I'm cannot appreciate how your life must be upside down now and how long it is going to be before the disruption to your life will level out. 

I'm glad that Matt has decided to extend the deadline and I really hope you get the chance and the time to use a computer if you feel that you still wish to participate in the comps.  But your home comes first.  And no you should not even be DQed for the next round.  I come to you with foot in mouth and hat in hand and beg forgiveness.  I do not wish for any ill feelings and I leaped before I looked. 

Jack Fletcher was decent enough to realize that running against the clock and he being tired would impair his judgement on the voting and DQed himself.  Jack sets the example. 


Appreciate it, Guy. All the people who actually voted in time set the best example. I'm still tired now, and wouldn't have made my extended deadline anyway.

If I can make one request to Matt: if you could put the deadline date in the header of the voting thread, I think we'd see less DQs. This isn't the first round I've realized that it was the last day to vote, just the first where I only did so with 15 minutes left in the day, and didn't have time left to vote.

Anywho, congrats to the winners, whoever they are  ;), and I'm heading to bed now.

Ant

Appreciate it, Guy. All the people who actually voted in time set the best example. I'm still tired now, and wouldn't have made my extended deadline anyway.

If I can make one request to Matt: if you could put the deadline date in the header of the voting thread, I think we'd see less DQs. This isn't the first round I've realized that it was the last day to vote, just the first where I only did so with 15 minutes left in the day, and didn't have time left to vote.

Anywho, congrats to the winners, whoever they are  ;), and I'm heading to bed now.

Ant


Thanks, Jack - and since there was a SNAFU in the expiration I think that at this time everyone including you should be allowed to participate in this round without being DQed unless they fail to meet Matt's final deadline.  I'd love to see all 14 contestants place their votes.  It would so sharpen the competition if all who entered voted and finished the process.  If I had Matt's address I'd send him a calendar so he could match the date with the day.  ;D  Instead I will do the next best thing and submit a link here for an online calendar:  http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/  And Jack get some rest.

Emi:
Sorry to hear about your house; hope things work out with that. 

Whatever is decided on contest, I'm OK with.

Matthias - got my laugh of the day from your comment questioning whether people may actually be getting a life.  I heard something similar to that from some around me.

Great songs all and thanks for comments,

Timmy1k

I do apologize as this thing called life came knocking on my door one or two times this phase.  Ultimately, I didn't make the time for voting.  Sorry.

1st Place (20 Points): Mark Scotti with "My Boss Is A Hemorrhoid"
1st Place (20 Points): Leo Keough with "Must Shop"
3rd Place (18 Points): Guy DiRito with "Mike Hunt Quite Tagged Is He"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4th (16 points): Timmy1000
5th (14 points): Below Average Dave
6th (13 points): Matthias
7th (5 points): Silver Power
8th (3 points): Agrimorfee
9th (4 points): Conqueror_of_Parodies
10th (0 Points): Max Power

DQs: Emiloca (26), Stuart McArthur (6), Red Ant (5) and Medemia (HM)

Guy - I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.  Pardon me for being so hasty to make assumptions.  It's been a frustrating couple of days and I understand you were only speaking in the name of fairness, so absolutely no hard feelings.  I happen to like you too! 


I don't care... Fine I'll allow it people have the weekend to vote, but as soon as Monday rolls around the people who haven't voted are still screwed out of luck.


::)  Was this another "August 7th", or were you actually going to let us vote over the weekend?
I'm fine with it either way, but I wish you had clarified - I was prepared to comment and vote tonight now that things have calmed down around the house.

Guy - I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.  Pardon me for being so hasty to make assumptions.  It's been a frustrating couple of days and I understand you were only speaking in the name of fairness, so absolutely no hard feelings.  I happen to like you too! 

::)  Was this another "August 7th", or were you actually going to let us vote over the weekend?
I'm fine with it either way, but I wish you had clarified - I was prepared to comment and vote tonight now that things have calmed down around the house.


Emi - I realize your frustration at what I said earlier and I am in your debt for your forgiveness.  Glad there are no ill feelings between us.


I also thought that you, Emi and the others would have been given the opportunity to vote within the new deadline that Matt proclaimed. I don't know why it would have been said that everyone had the weekend to vote and then abruptly and quite unannounced the vote totals showed up and the contest ended.  I do not accept my 3rd place podium because you, Emi had at least 21 votes by my count when Matt extended the deadline and no other votes were cast before he ended the contest prematurely after he extended it.  I recognise you as the winner of the gold with 21 votes and I declared an exemption for you not to be DQed but there was no second to that motion.  This contest was a complete trainwreck.  Here is what Matt said on Reply #24 on: August 08, 2009, at 06:09:48 AM.

I don't care... Fine I'll allow it people have the weekend to vote, but as soon as Monday rolls around the people who haven't voted are still screwed out of luck.
I seriously don't know what happened to the contestants in this round... Are people actually having... What's that word? A life?  ;)


Emi had a completely legitimate excuse for missing the deadline and had she been allowed in I most likely would not have gained 3rd place depending on how she voted.
The next post on Reply #31 on: August 08, 2009, 07:50:24 PM which was also posted by Matt simply ended the contest with no explaination or warning. This comp should be declared null and void in accordance with the knowledge that I now possess about it.  If there is a good reason for this change up then Matt needs to come forward and explain it to all of us. So until these actions are justified I DQ myself only for this round and reserve my right to particpate in the next round which I may or may not withdraw from.  Give my 3rd place to whoever is next in line - I cannot in good conscience take a medal in this round when at least one action was taken where no rule covered that action and that was when an extension was granted and then that grant was reneged upon.  I feel that the contest was handled unfairly and I will have no part in this.  Fairness means way more to me than some silly podium prize,  Sorry but I cannot abide by this.

Guy and Emi, I understand the frustration. The way I see it, the contest results are valid and correct, for the following reasons:


Remember, by date time stamp, those who have not voted have 1 hour and 11 minutes to vote.  . .


Regardless of the initial error of when the contest was to end (Thursday or Friday), BAD was correct when he made his post. All posts after that were after the contest ended. My request for a 12 hour extension was made after the contest was over, and so were Matt's extension and subsequent retraction - all of those posts, while interesting and drama causing, were null and void, because of this rule:

ALSO
Under no circumstances will a vote that missed the voting deadline be accepted (even by 1 second)

iirc, Stu wrote that rule into ABC2 or 3 to prevent any problems with host impartiality coming into play with late votes. That rule trumps all - the only circumstance I can see where it *might* be arbitrarily overridden is if amiright or inthe00s was down for like a week, where voting could not take place. Such was not the case here. The person hosting the contest (in this case, Matthias) cannot set this rule aside no matter how many people are about to get DQed (granted it was a lot this round). Something similar re: the rules happened recently as well.

The request for an extension (mine) was made late, and not granted until after the contest had officially ended (11:59:59 on Aug 7th). The contest results are valid.

Losing a sure podium or being on the podium because of DQs well, frankly it sucks, but with 4 people getting DQed the top 6 spots could have mathematically been completely different than what they were - we can't argue or debate "what-if's" after the fact.

Congratulations to Mark, Leo and Guy, and I'll be checking out all the parodies I missed sometime later today.

Ant

Jack - Thanks for the congrats but save it - I refuse to acknowledge the 3rd place award.  I have asked to be DQed from the "M" round.  NO matter what the rules say the posting that the contest was extended should have never been put to print.  Once it was posted it should have stood no matter.  Rules and regulations should never be so rigid that the spirit and intent becomes stifled and set so deep and hard into stone as to not allow for flexibility in extraordinary circumstances.  

Also the fact that no explanation was given for the sudden ending of the comp. shows a lack of concern.  And why are you the person explaining this when Matt should be explaining his actions?  It makes one think that there may have been some private collaboration on the matter when it should have been posted on the board for all to see.  You were in the military - You were told that it was not a democracy but this is not the military and a democratic process should been have conducted.  And I'd like to “thank” you all for not making an exception for Emi.  With a tree launched through her roof into her kitchen the last thing she would think about would be making the deadline for the "M" round and making sure that she asked for a get out of jail free card.  Yes it was too late when she explained what happened to her but that could very well be that when she thought of it was right after the drama with the tree became overcome by events.  This to me would be an extraordinary circumstance and the spirit and intent of the rules should have been considered.  As for the rest who missed, well they missed and they have made so far no extraordinary circumstance for consideration.  You may think of me or call me a "drama queen" if you want but my value system and sense of fair play brings out this passion on this matter.  

Now, I want to be proactive and offer a suggestion for a solution on the time issue of when exactly a competition ends - please read on:

It seems that we are all having problems determining just when a contest ends.  There is an easy solution to this.  Use Greenwich Mean Time  UTC/GMT or as we called it in the military Zulu time.  I found an excellent website that will convert ones local time to UTC/GMT.  Here is the link:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

If all contests were set to UTC/GMT then there would be no questions as to how much time is left before it goes Cinderella.

One last thing - Stu has never missed a deadline in any comp he has been in.  Has anyone heard from him?  Does anyone know how to reach him?  I hope he is OK.  If anyone has been in touch with him please post - If not... Stu, drop us a line and let us know that you are OK.

NO matter what the rules say the posting that the contest was extended should have never been put to print.

I agree with that.


Once it was posted it should have stood no matter.

Had the extension been posted while the contest was active I could see it. The extension was not; hence it was invalid in the first place. Matt cannot extend a contest after the fact anymore than I can build a bridge to Jupiter.


Also the fact that no explanation was given for the sudden ending of the comp. shows a lack of concern.  And why are you the person explaining this when Matt should be explaining his actions?

I'm not trying to explain or defend Matt's actions: frankly, I don't understand them myself.


It makes one think that there may have been some private collaboration on the matter when it should have been posted on the board for all to see.  You were in the military - You were told that it was not a democracy but this is not the military and a democratic process should been have conducted.

I haven't talked to either BAD or Matt nor PMed either of them, nor anyone else in this competition*. My thoughts on the matter are my own, and may be off-base. I realize I don't run ABC anymore and haven't for a long time: what I previously posted was what I think should be the outcome, based on the existing rules.

*I just now sent Stu a PM asking if he was okay, and for him to weigh in on this thread. I see he was online recently, so I don't think anything bad has happened to him.

Rule changes to the ABC are done democratically, but they are not done in the middle of a contest. Any proprosal can be submitted for voting by the next thread's entrants.


 And I'd like to “thank” you all for not making an exception for Emi.  With a tree launched through her roof into her kitchen the last thing she would think about would be making the deadline for the "M" round and making sure that she asked for a get out of jail free card.  Yes it was too late when she explained what happened to her but that could very well be that when she thought of it was right after the drama with the tree became overcome by events.  This to me would be an extraordinary circumstance and the spirit and intent of the rules should have been considered.  As for the rest who missed, well they missed and they have made so far no extraordinary circumstance for consideration.

Emi already spoke to this point:


I say go forth with the DQs.  Everyone who has admitted disqualification has done so apologetically and with acceptance.  It's better to set a precedent of "no exceptions" in my opinion. 


As for my own extraordinary circumstance, I don't normally air out my own personal business over open boards, and not to make light of Emi's situation, but I'd much rather have a tree in my kitchen than being diagnosed as bipolar, which I was this past week. My tiredness of late has been due to a depressive episode (I guess that's what it's called, all this stuff is new to me). I've known for a while that something wasn't right with me, but to have it named as *that* really shook me. Still, I had two weeks, like everyone else to vote, and didn't get to it in time. I've accepted my DQ, and the last thing I want is special consideration (time extensions in contests, specifically) or sympathy of any type for my problem. It wasn't proper of me to ask Matt for an extension so late in the first place, so to him I apologize for that.


Now, I want to be proactive and offer a suggestion for a solution on the time issue of when exactly a competition ends - please read on:

It seems that we are all having problems determining just when a contest ends.  There is an easy solution to this.  Use Greenwich Mean Time  UTC/GMT or as we called it in the military Zulu time.  I found an excellent website that will convert ones local time to UTC/GMT.  Here is the link:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

If all contests were set to UTC/GMT then there would be no questions as to how much time is left before it goes Cinderella.

lol at the Cinderella line! Great idea, Guy.



One last thing - Stu has never missed a deadline in any comp he has been in.  Has anyone heard from him?  Does anyone know how to reach him?  I hope he is OK.  If anyone has been in touch with him please post - If not... Stu, drop us a line and let us know that you are OK.


See above. I do hope Stu is okay and just got tied up with life - this is his first missed contest ever.

Ant

I agree with that.

Had the extension been posted while the contest was active I could see it. The extension was not; hence it was invalid in the first place. Matt cannot extend a contest after the fact anymore than I can build a bridge to Jupiter.

I'm not trying to explain or defend Matt's actions: frankly, I don't understand them myself.

I haven't talked to either BAD or Matt nor PMed either of them, nor anyone else in this competition*. My thoughts on the matter are my own, and may be off-base. I realize I don't run ABC anymore and haven't for a long time: what I previously posted was what I think should be the outcome, based on the existing rules.

*I just now sent Stu a PM asking if he was okay, and for him to weigh in on this thread. I see he was online recently, so I don't think anything bad has happened to him.

Rule changes to the ABC are done democratically, but they are not done in the middle of a contest. Any proprosal can be submitted for voting by the next thread's entrants.

Emi already spoke to this point:

As for my own extraordinary circumstance, I don't normally air out my own personal business over open boards, and not to make light of Emi's situation, but I'd much rather have a tree in my kitchen than being diagnosed as bipolar, which I was this past week. My tiredness of late has been due to a depressive episode (I guess that's what it's called, all this stuff is new to me). I've known for a while that something wasn't right with me, but to have it named as *that* really shook me. Still, I had two weeks, like everyone else to vote, and didn't get to it in time. I've accepted my DQ, and the last thing I want is special consideration (time extensions in contests, specifically) or sympathy of any type for my problem. It wasn't proper of me to ask Matt for an extension so late in the first place, so to him I apologize for that.

lol at the Cinderella line! Great idea, Guy.


See above. I do hope Stu is okay and just got tied up with life - this is his first missed contest ever.

Ant


I wonder why you haven't talked to me to be honest. . .I've been waiting to hear from you over stuff mentioned in the previous post

I have not heard from Matt in 5 or 6 days, the sudden end came as a surprise to me as well

For the record I was hopeful that the weekend extension would allow people real time to vote, this whole round was odd, and I'm not sure where Matthias is right now, we haven't talked in a while like I said and it's not my contest, so I'm not upset that my name is brought up, but I promise you I have nothing to do with any of the sudden end decision.

This has been an interesting, albeit mishandled round.  Everyone who's contributed to the discussion has made excellent points, and I want to thank those of you well-wishers regarding the rogue conifer.  (By the way, after a few days hard work and mercenary heavy machinery, all that's left is a pleasant pine aroma and, um, a new skylight.  See, these things work out.)

I think the best solution is to leave it be for now (not to condone, mind) and make sure it doesn't happen in the future. 

I agree with that.

Had the extension been posted while the contest was active I could see it. The extension was not; hence it was invalid in the first place. Matt cannot extend a contest after the fact anymore than I can build a bridge to Jupiter.

I'm not trying to explain or defend Matt's actions: frankly, I don't understand them myself.

I haven't talked to either BAD or Matt nor PMed either of them, nor anyone else in this competition*. My thoughts on the matter are my own, and may be off-base. I realize I don't run ABC anymore and haven't for a long time: what I previously posted was what I think should be the outcome, based on the existing rules.

*I just now sent Stu a PM asking if he was okay, and for him to weigh in on this thread. I see he was online recently, so I don't think anything bad has happened to him.

Rule changes to the ABC are done democratically, but they are not done in the middle of a contest. Any proprosal can be submitted for voting by the next thread's entrants.

Emi already spoke to this point:

As for my own extraordinary circumstance, I don't normally air out my own personal business over open boards, and not to make light of Emi's situation, but I'd much rather have a tree in my kitchen than being diagnosed as bipolar, which I was this past week. My tiredness of late has been due to a depressive episode (I guess that's what it's called, all this stuff is new to me). I've known for a while that something wasn't right with me, but to have it named as *that* really shook me. Still, I had two weeks, like everyone else to vote, and didn't get to it in time. I've accepted my DQ, and the last thing I want is special consideration (time extensions in contests, specifically) or sympathy of any type for my problem. It wasn't proper of me to ask Matt for an extension so late in the first place, so to him I apologize for that.

lol at the Cinderella line! Great idea, Guy.


See above. I do hope Stu is okay and just got tied up with life - this is his first missed contest ever.

Ant


Jack - You make sound points but I choose to disagree with you.  And please don't get defensive about the collaboration statement I made.  It was said to make a point about keeping things in the open.  The intent was not that of accusation.  I have NO conspiracy theory working here.  And about spirit and intent - how many times have you been hampered by some military regulation that has failed to take into consideration some special circumstance?  What did we do when we found ourselves in this situation?  We found a way around the reg. by means of interpreting the spirit and intent of the reg.  This is quite simply the point that I am trying to make.  The matter should have been boarded for everyone to weigh in on it and a decision rendered.  There is nothing that I know in the ABC rules that says the comp. of a preceding letter must be completed before the next letter in the comp can be started.  We had time to air it.

Note where I highlighted your statement above in RED.  Are you saying that the contest was still running after the expiration?  What I quote below appears to conflict.  In one statement you allude to the fact that the contest was over and the other statement you allude to the fact that the contest was still in play.  Which way is it?

Your words:

Had the extension been posted while the contest was active I could see it. The extension was not; hence it was invalid in the first place. Matt cannot extend a contest after the fact anymore than I can build a bridge to Jupiter.

I’m confused by what you are telling me because of the contradictions. 

OK - This was just a really bad round and we are all human and we all make mistakes.  Let’s just chuck it up on the FUBAR shelf and move on - but I still do not feel that I earned 3RD place and I feel that the entire comp should be rendered null and void.  I do not accept my podium finish.

I'm sorry to hear about the bi-polar disorder.  It's one thing when someone else is diagnosed with it - it's a whole different kind of animal when it's you that is given the diagnosis.  There are a lot of people with this disorder who live normal lives.  There are excellent medications for this affliction.  Look at it this way, at least you know what was wrong with you - it could have been way worse.  I fight depression but I live with it and I see a doctor and I take meds for it.  I manage mine and so you will manage yours.  Fret not friend. 

Jack - You make sound points but I choose to disagree with you.  And please don't get defensive about the collaboration statement I made.  It was said to make a point about keeping things in the open.  The intent was not that of accusation.  I have NO conspiracy theory working here.  And about spirit and intent - how many times have you been hampered by some military regulation that has failed to take into consideration some special circumstance?  What did we do when we found ourselves in this situation?  We found a way around the reg. by means of interpreting the spirit and intent of the reg.  This is quite simply the point that I am trying to make.  The matter should have been boarded for everyone to weigh in on it and a decision rendered.  There is nothing that I know in the ABC rules that says the comp. of a preceding letter must be completed before the next letter in the comp can be started.  We had time to air it.

Note where I highlighted your statement above in RED.  Are you saying that the contest was still running after the expiration?  What I quote below appears to conflict.  In one statement you allude to the fact that the contest was over and the other statement you allude to the fact that the contest was still in play.  Which way is it?

Your words:

Had the extension been posted while the contest was active I could see it. The extension was not; hence it was invalid in the first place. Matt cannot extend a contest after the fact anymore than I can build a bridge to Jupiter.

I’m confused by what you are telling me because of the contradictions. 

OK - This was just a really bad round and we are all human and we all make mistakes.  Let’s just chuck it up on the FUBAR shelf and move on - but I still do not feel that I earned 3RD place and I feel that the entire comp should be rendered null and void.  I do not accept my podium finish.

I'm sorry to hear about the bi-polar disorder.  It's one thing when someone else is diagnosed with it - it's a whole different kind of animal when it's you that is given the diagnosis.  There are a lot of people with this disorder who live normal lives.  There are excellent medications for this affliction.  Look at it this way, at least you know what was wrong with you - it could have been way worse.  I fight depression but I live with it and I see a doctor and I take meds for it.  I manage mine and so you will manage yours.  Fret not friend. 




I agree we should move past it.  . .but for the database, I have to put in the actual official results when I get to this letter. . .and as posted, Guy, you are the third place person. . .It's unfortunate the way it happened, but I don't think any of us wanted it to happen this way.  My top 5 finish is an * too . . . but it is what it is, let's just make sure this doesn't happen again . .

Did Emi have an N entry?  If so I'd like to cast a very obvious sympathy vote to allow her in, for the record with this round I'd do that for anyone, but I know Ant wasn't entering "N" and I'm not sure if Stu or Medemia did, with the situation though  anyone who wanted to enter the N round, I'm casting a sympathy vote for. . .

Sheilds are down Guy - nothing defensive here! Maybe I need some smileys to illustrate the point..  :)

Anyway, I see the contradiction I posted: allow to me to try to clarify. imo, the contest was over at the end of Friday, but the rules governing the contest were still in play. While the contest was over, the existing rules apply until they are changed by proposal and subsequent "yay" votes. Granting an extension (and cancelling it) after the contest is over (original deadline has passed) violates at least two of the existing rules, and would require a vote and passing of that vote to allow it. In essence, the host of the contest does not have the authority to make such a change, and even a democratic vote (as expedient as it may be here) to such a change cannot affect a current contest.

If the deadline to a contest is extended by request before the contest is called/scheduled to end, I don't see a problem with that - there is no rule against extending the deadline while the contest is running. If the deadline is not extended, or is extended after the contest is over, then all votes after the deadline are not counted, per current rules

You're right, I know all too well about military inflexibility and ridiculous rules. The deadline rule for ABC does seem very ridgid, but iirc Stu worked long and hard on making that rule, and with good reason. I don't remember what threads it was talked about or why it was written exactly as it is, but I do agree with it. I usually detest rules that have no flexibility, but that rule has prevented more problems than it has created.

I hereby give a sympathetic "thumbs up" for Stu, Emi and Medemia to participate in the N round.

You're right, Guy, this round did wind up a SNAFU. I understand your wanting to null-set the results, but that is not fair to Mark or Leo. No matter what is done with this contest, no one is going to wind up 100% happy with the results. And that sucks because these are supposed to be for feedback and for fun.

As for the BP, if you could PM me we can delve into that kind of stuff more in private.

Ant

I agree we should move past it.  . .but for the database, I have to put in the actual official results when I get to this letter. . .and as posted, Guy, you are the third place person. . .It's unfortunate the way it happened, but I don't think any of us wanted it to happen this way.  My top 5 finish is an * too . . . but it is what it is, let's just make sure this doesn't happen again . .

Did Emi have an N entry?  If so I'd like to cast a very obvious sympathy vote to allow her in, for the record with this round I'd do that for anyone, but I know Ant wasn't entering "N" and I'm not sure if Stu or Medemia did, with the situation though  anyone who wanted to enter the N round, I'm casting a sympathy vote for. . .


Right on BAD - I agree and second the motion that no one be DQed in the "N" round.  So now it's official - all are welcome.  You know Dave, I really think Emi would have taken the gold on the "M" round if all 14 would have voted.  In my mind she has.  And I'll consider rescinding my negative acknowledgement of place 3 podium if Jack will un-DQ himself for the "N" round.  

And I'll consider rescinding my negative acknowledgement of place 3 podium if Jack will un-DQ himself for the "N" round.  


I didn't enter the N round, but I did, provided I get the "thumbs up" from another person. Dave and you have already given it. And I won't fault Matt at all if he doesn't allow my late entry into the N round, though late entries are typically accepted if no one has voted yet.

Ant

I didn't enter the N round, but I did, provided I get the "thumbs up" from another person. Dave and you have already given it. And I won't fault Matt at all if he doesn't allow my late entry into the N round, though late entries are typically accepted if no one has voted yet.

Ant


I've talked to Matt since my last post, you have a third thumbs up. . .Matt has asked me to step in on the ABC duties, he said he is just too busy to run it and that he thought someone told him to post the results. . .so at least at the moment, I will be hosting all 4 major contests, but with help from the community as always.

Just in case, thumbs up to everyone who needs it.

I've talked to Matt since my last post, you have a third thumbs up. . .Matt has asked me to step in on the ABC duties, he said he is just too busy to run it and that he thought someone told him to post the results. . .so at least at the moment, I will be hosting all 4 major contests, but with help from the community as always.


Dave - My job and a lot of other things keep me really busy but the same applies to most of us out here - with that in mind I will help you when I can with ABC.  i don't know a lot about some of the other comps you run so I don't feel qualified to do so.  You can find my email address on my messageboard public profile.  Email me whenever.  If you run into a jam you can contact me.  Not sure I would not SNAFU the thing if I ran it once in a while but I'm willing to lend a hand.  Jack showed me that there are a lot of rules that I do not or may not completely understand so I'd be a bit behind the learning curve when dealing with the rules, but there is always you, Stu Jack and Matt to consult with to keep me honest and to keep the ignorance factor down to a manageable level.

No comment.

Emi, hope your house gets repaired soon. Thanks to everyone for working things out while I was away. Good luck!

er whoops.  My humble apologies.

In my befuddled head I had thought there was another week to go, and only realised my mistake at the last minute as I was heading off skiing for a week, with limited internet access.  I've just got back this morning.

I'm horrified that I've destroyed my perfect record in never missing a deadline, but I knew it would happen one day.

It's bizarre that my indiscretion coincided with so many other indiscretions.  As someone on the thread said (Jack, I think) the reason I put the midnight-sharp, inthe00s-standardtime, no-exceptions deadline into the rules was to prevent any such angry debates emanating from subjectively different viewpoints.

I think if the rules are adhered to as written, there should be no problem, so I don't think anything should change (except adherence) nor that there's a need for change.

I'm out of the N Comp, so I'll see everyone in the one after

:) :)