Main Discussion Area > Bow of the Month Contest
One Time LookyLou Members
DanaM:
--- Quote from: Saw Filer on June 14, 2008, 02:19:17 am ---If you didn't have to sign up as a member to see the pictures, I don't think you would see such inflated membership numbers. I like to look at what i'm reading about, as i'm sure most people do.
To post a comment, vote or start a thread, I think one should be required to be a member, but not to simply look around.
Lots of people are apprehensive about signing up for things. I think if PA would let those people see what we have to offer without having to sign up, we wouldn't have so many inactive members and the ones that do sign up would be more likely to contribute to this site. Saw Filer
--- End quote ---
Now that is a genuinely good idear Shannon. I'm done with this and will keep my opinion to myself, that should please some of ya ;)
Andrea S:
I know that after reading everyone's posts on this thread, it seems as if the subject has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb, but I have just a few things to offer up. I consider myself a somewhat level-headed person, so maybe my two cents will be worth the copper.
BOM, to me, is quite enjoyable as a review of what the folks on this board have crafted. Don does a fantastic job of organizing the links and descriptions of the bows to be voted upon, and when I vote, I take the time to look at all the pictures of each one, as well as skimming some of the other user's comments on their observations. I don't do this to follow popular opinion; rather, I lean a bit on the expertise of the more experienced bowyers to pick out nuances in tiller and other factors that I don't quite have the eye to pick out in the pictures myself. I missed voting for BOM this month and I'm sorry I did, but one thing that really helped as a reminder was the mass PM that Don sent out one month. I've been real busy with work and moving into a new apartment, so I haven't been able to visit these forums as religiously as I did at school. A little note in my email box (I've set my account preferences so that PM's are also emailed to me) is great to say "Hey, check out what the awesome folks on this forum have done this month!"
The unfortunate reality of BOM is that by its very nature, it has to be a beauty contest. It's rare that anyone who votes for BOM actually has a chance to shoot any of the bows they're voting on, unless of course it's the one they made (shame on you for voting for yourself! :P) Now, I know the term "beauty contest" has a lot of negative connotations, but that's truly what it is: a contest based solely on images. It is entirely possible that a bow made by one person with a beautiful tiller and fancy tip overlays and a complex handle wrap could shoot like a beast and have handshock enough to make you cringe, while another bow that's done a little more roughly with not as nice a finish and a not-so-perfectly-arced tiller could shoot far sweeter and wonderfully fast. The second bow would have our vote if we could shoot it, but since all we can do is look, we vote for the first one. This does not means BOM is good or bad; it simply means it's what it is.
It's my personal, charged, biased, and highly opinionated opinion that we shouldn't stop contests just because peoples' feelings might get hurt. That kind of 'political correctness' is ridiculous and is no way based in reality. Nothing in life is ever truly fair, and for every situation, there's bound to be someone who can find a problem with it. Hurt feelings or perceived unfairness is no reason to stop what is, in truth, a very friendly and interesting display of a month's worth of fine craftsmanship, where people get to cast a vote to pick which one they liked best. The wonderful thing about this democratic process is that if you don't want to vote or don't agree with the whole deal, you don't have to participate.
As far as getting more people to vote for BOM, I don't think that's really a concern. The people who vote are the people who care enough to take the time to review those bows. Quantity does not always mean quality, and I think it's more valuable to the contest itself to have a handful of well-considered votes rather than several hundred hastily cast.
Take all this with a grain of salt. I'm only 19.
radius:
I think the trouble that Oldbow has with this contest (at least in this thread) is the RATIO of voting and non-voting members. I think that's just something he might have to learn to live with. If people can only see the pictures if they are members, then maybe they will join just to see them, as someone said, and then never come back because they are only marginally interested. That's fine. Let them go.
I believe the membership was recently purged. That's fine, too: why bog down the system with a bunch of defunct listings?
If the RATIO is that important, then perhaps the moderators should be more stringent about the membership. If a person does not post for 60 days, he's outa here. If he does not even log in for 30 days, he's outa here. It's no big deal: takes 2 seconds to sign back in; doesn't cost anything.
BUT...all this will do is narrow the gap between voting and nonvoting members, because it doesn't cause any more people to participate.
koan:
I think you nailed it...your wise beyond your years...Brian
--- Quote from: Andrea S on June 14, 2008, 02:12:40 pm ---I know that after reading everyone's posts on this thread, it seems as if the subject has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb, but I have just a few things to offer up. I consider myself a somewhat level-headed person, so maybe my two cents will be worth the copper.
BOM, to me, is quite enjoyable as a review of what the folks on this board have crafted. Don does a fantastic job of organizing the links and descriptions of the bows to be voted upon, and when I vote, I take the time to look at all the pictures of each one, as well as skimming some of the other user's comments on their observations. I don't do this to follow popular opinion; rather, I lean a bit on the expertise of the more experienced bowyers to pick out nuances in tiller and other factors that I don't quite have the eye to pick out in the pictures myself. I missed voting for BOM this month and I'm sorry I did, but one thing that really helped as a reminder was the mass PM that Don sent out one month. I've been real busy with work and moving into a new apartment, so I haven't been able to visit these forums as religiously as I did at school. A little note in my email box (I've set my account preferences so that PM's are also emailed to me) is great to say "Hey, check out what the awesome folks on this forum have done this month!"
The unfortunate reality of BOM is that by its very nature, it has to be a beauty contest. It's rare that anyone who votes for BOM actually has a chance to shoot any of the bows they're voting on, unless of course it's the one they made (shame on you for voting for yourself! :P) Now, I know the term "beauty contest" has a lot of negative connotations, but that's truly what it is: a contest based solely on images. It is entirely possible that a bow made by one person with a beautiful tiller and fancy tip overlays and a complex handle wrap could shoot like a beast and have handshock enough to make you cringe, while another bow that's done a little more roughly with not as nice a finish and a not-so-perfectly-arced tiller could shoot far sweeter and wonderfully fast. The second bow would have our vote if we could shoot it, but since all we can do is look, we vote for the first one. This does not means BOM is good or bad; it simply means it's what it is.
It's my personal, charged, biased, and highly opinionated opinion that we shouldn't stop contests just because peoples' feelings might get hurt. That kind of 'political correctness' is ridiculous and is no way based in reality. Nothing in life is ever truly fair, and for every situation, there's bound to be someone who can find a problem with it. Hurt feelings or perceived unfairness is no reason to stop what is, in truth, a very friendly and interesting display of a month's worth of fine craftsmanship, where people get to cast a vote to pick which one they liked best. The wonderful thing about this democratic process is that if you don't want to vote or don't agree with the whole deal, you don't have to participate.
As far as getting more people to vote for BOM, I don't think that's really a concern. The people who vote are the people who care enough to take the time to review those bows. Quantity does not always mean quality, and I think it's more valuable to the contest itself to have a handful of well-considered votes rather than several hundred hastily cast.
Take all this with a grain of salt. I'm only 19.
--- End quote ---
Bowbound:
I haven't posted a lot, still voted but yet i do surf the forums daily and am active. I think that many people are almost intimidated by the standard and feel that they are not in the correct position to post because they think athers know more about the craft. Those that post more.
just my 2 cents
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