Hello everyone,
The FSE Forum team will no longer be allowing such community contests on our forums. I have written a short list of reasons why for you all to view in case of anger or resentment.
1. At its base, these contests work on a flawed premise, that being the 'best' can be ascertained through voting. I do not think that is possible. At best, it is a contest in who can generate enough buzz, or has the most friends, or the largest community backing them. Who wins these contests can be congratulated for doing the above, but that is not what they are claimed to be. This style of voting has led to the following two issues.
2. Regimental Drama. Because there wasn't already enough silly arguments in our community, here comes the mother lode of passive aggressive back and forth hogwash. It was most seen in the 'Champions of Europe' thread, where the overall attitude was less than desirable. As such, we will no longer allow yet another means by which the community can bicker amongst themselves. I would encourage doing such activities in a less than public place, where it won't make you look as childish perhaps. And, compounded from this and the previous reason, is our last one.
3. It leads to breaks in forum policy and more work for FSE and the forum team. We have had several instances now where people would create duplicate accounts (dupes) to vote in these contests multiple times. This is unacceptable. The forum team has been called several times to help try and crack down on this, and we have decided simply to remove the source all together. These threads are filled with spam posts which are specifically against forum policy.
These forums were created to be a place of positive and thoughtful discussion about our products, as well as a place where the community can come together. These threads have proven to be the opposite, being filled with spiteful, negative, and vapid posts that have only divided our community more than before. This will no longer be tolerated.
In future cases, if you have an idea for a competition that relies on the elements above to function, please discuss the matter with a member of the moderation team (Deofuta, Blobmani, Refleax) prior to posting, to allow us to give you prior approval.
Thanks for reading,
FSE Team
