Padding Votes in the Photo Contest

[subiemommy]

The other day I was within about 3 votes of being in slot #12 (after those with 2 winning pix were put together) and making it in the calander, huge suprise for me. So I text Eric to tell him I was actually close to making it and he said, "hahaha Did you recruit people to join the site just to vote for you?!" Yes, that is what I did and still didn't actually make it, thanks babe! haha

I'm actually not telling many people to even come look at the pix before the 16th because I don't want someone to get the idea to join only to vote. I do know people that would do that for me and it is not cool! haha

[MoN]

No its not cool, more like cheating if thats the case we'd all have a million votes.. I think next yr admin's should put a block on members voting who havent made X amount of postings. I know we did talk at the last car show we got together at, about doing the same for members wanting to enter in the calendar, they will be reqeuired to have made a certain amount of postings before entering. But thanks for not cheating Amy! U did a good thing! If it makes you feel better I voted for your pretty flower pic!!

[gizzmo]

I voted for group pics only for that reason. I just joined and didn't want anyone to think that's the only reason I'm here. We have minimum post counts for a few things on our local forum (which you're all welcome to join) indianaimpreza.com I'm not sure what all the admin has minimums on but I know posting in classifieds is one.

[WhtRexGrl]

Very cool of you!

[subiemommy]

It's April and I hate cheaters! haha Had anyone joined and voted for me just to vote and I did find out I'm sure I wouldn't be talking to them for awhile! It drives me nuts that people would do that.

I think having minimums would be cool, just in case.

I just thought it was funny Eric thought I asked people to vote for me and I'm not even winning. I must not be doing a good job padding my votes if I'm not winning! haha

Thanks to those that did vote for me on your own! haha I really don't care if I make it, I just like that I got a few votes, I'm easy to please like that! ;-)

[xxthat girlxx]

Typically I would be VERY excited of the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE influx of members that have joined but most of them are male and I am unable to stop them from voting. I'm sad that it is the only reason they are joining, but there is nothing I can do.

Thanks for those who have stayed fair. I haven't posted anywhere about this contest.

[WhtRexGrl]

I didn't post anywhere else either Sarah - I'm with you!

[Bugichic]

As much as i would love to have my picture in the calendar.. This calendar should have the best pictures in it, plain and simple. I have been in a rut for the last couple of weeks after my car got hit. But now she is better than ever =) I didnt even realize the contest was going on till yesterday haha

[Pearl07STI]

I will confess that I voted just recently after joining. I did not join just because of the calendar and trying to help anyone win, I just thought the calendar was an excellent idea and wanted to throw my votes in there. I think that all the pictures are awesome and its too bad all of them can't make it to the calendar. The reason I joined is that I had heard about subiegirls.com and never really checked out the website until recently and from what I could see by being a guest, I thought it was really cool and wanted to become a member. Understanding that there are other male members I hope I didn't make us look bad for any reasons and I apologize.

[Brumble]

Typically I would be VERY excited of the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE influx of members that have joined but most of them are male and I am unable to stop them from voting. I'm sad that it is the only reason they are joining, but there is nothing I can do.

Thanks for those who have stayed fair. I haven't posted anywhere about this contest.

i did NOT vote after joining, mainly because i know no one here and in situations like this i prefer to vote for friends.

[subiemommy]

Typically I would be VERY excited of the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE influx of members that have joined but most of them are male and I am unable to stop them from voting. I'm sad that it is the only reason they are joining, but there is nothing I can do.

Thanks for those who have stayed fair. I haven't posted anywhere about this contest.

I didn't notice the influx of members, not very observent I will admit it! haha I really hope that isn't the reason so many have joined. Eric was just giving me a hard time because my car is far less superior to the rest here (but that will change in time! haha) so he was shocked I had any votes! But there are GC lovers here so I can see where my votes came from. He's just a goone!

[RagDoll]

How is promoting this calendar contest outside of SubieGirls a bad thing? 99% of the Subaru community is dudes, most of whom are on other forums. 90% of those who will be BUYING these calendars will be dudes, most of whom are on other forums.

How anyone could be butthurt about not getting enough votes because you didn't try to get more votes is beyond me. I was hoping this calendar would generate a lot of money for this forum, and get our name out there.

It's a contest. Whenever there is a contest involving votes, what do we do? We vote for ourselves, and we get our friends to vote for us. That's not cheating, that's just how it's done. And I don't recall reading any rules saying we couldn't. Why do presidents have campaigns? If your friend or sister was in a competition, would you not vote for them? Hellooo :p

But if we're really going to act this way because we're sad we got outvoted... Then this is just silly. It's not about who's in the calendar, it's about promoting the site and spreading the word about girls who love their Subarus. These calendars are gonna be hanging up in dealerships and shops.

If anything, those of us who posted links for voting on other sites should be THANKED for promoting SubieGirls! Thanks to me & others, SubieGirls is gonna make bank from calendar sales! I mean, hello? :lol:

And if we're gonna promote the sales of the calendars on other sites once they're printed, there should be no reason people on other sites shouldn't be allowed to vote. This is just beyond silly.

[cyber_nicco]

Hi,

I'm a guy, new, and did vote on the calendar pictures. Truthfully, I thought to come over because I did see a post by Christine on another site. I'd heard of subiegirls.com before, but being a guy I wasn't sure if I was welcome here. Now that I'm here, and I think it's okay that I'm a guy, I'll probably be hanging around. It seems that this website has a supportive community (much like 3gwrx.com, where I came from), and helpful resources.

So, in short, I think that Christine is right. But that's just one guy's opinion.

-Nicco

[JJ2006WRX]

please everyone keep in mind this was for fun...and be supportive of each other...no catty stuff going on!

[Superwomanchick]

I did tell some of my friends but they're supporting subiegirls by buying the calendars. Plenty of my friends said they wanted ones for their shops. I completely agree with Ragdoll. It's human nature to want to win. And I love how subiegirls is getting more known.

[xxthat girlxx]

How is promoting this calendar contest outside of SubieGirls a bad thing? 99% of the Subaru community is dudes, most of whom are on other forums. 90% of those who will be BUYING these calendars will be dudes, most of whom are on other forums.

How anyone could be butthurt about not getting enough votes because you didn't try to get more votes is beyond me. I was hoping this calendar would generate a lot of money for this forum, and get our name out there.

It's a contest. Whenever there is a contest involving votes, what do we do? We vote for ourselves, and we get our friends to vote for us. That's not cheating, that's just how it's done. And I don't recall reading any rules saying we couldn't. Why do presidents have campaigns? If your friend or sister was in a competition, would you not vote for them? Hellooo :p

But if we're really going to act this way because we're sad we got outvoted... Then this is just silly. It's not about who's in the calendar, it's about promoting the site and spreading the word about girls who love their Subarus. These calendars are gonna be hanging up in dealerships and shops.

If anything, those of us who posted links for voting on other sites should be THANKED for promoting SubieGirls! Thanks to me & others, SubieGirls is gonna make bank from calendar sales! I mean, hello? :lol:

And if we're gonna promote the sales of the calendars on other sites once they're printed, there should be no reason people on other sites shouldn't be allowed to vote. This is just beyond silly.

Too be honest, I feel this is the most "butthurt" comment in this thread so far. So, let me start at the top.

Promoting the calendar outside the forum is not bad. We know the car community is mostly male and obviously on other forums. And this calendar is marketed to men - we get that...

I see all the people joining this forum and where they are from. So I can logically deduct who advertised this contest in other places. So let me say that I think it's funny that two people who entered this contest started posts on other forums. Two. Out of all the people who entered. So I think most people saw that the contest was for us/members. If we wanted anyone to vote, we would have found a way for none members to do so. Which is something that was considered and something that will be considered again in the future.

No one said people who who got others to join to vote was cheating.

I have always been very grateful for anyone who volunteers and spreads the word about Subie Girls. I put a lot of work and effort into this website and ANY help I can get is greatly appreciated. We hope to be able to raise money with this calendar. And spreading the word will need to be viral in order for it to be successful!! The difference between saying "vote for me" and "buy this calendar I'm in" are pretty big differences. (I'll explain later).

If the those entering the contest feel that people other than members should vote than we will explore that option or the next go around.

-----------------------------------------------

Here is my explanation:

You guys may call me boss lady, but I don't pull that card very often. I work my tail off and I don't get much in return for it other than some new/good friends, a warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy and a bunch of smiles. When people join the forum for the wrong feeling it bums me out a little bit. We formed this forum as a place for women to feel welcomed and comfortable. While we do welcome men, we don't want leg humpers, testosterone based comments and the like. So far we've been pretty lucky. It's been just over a year and we've been really successful and have gained quite a bit of respect.

Simply put, I would rather have 3 people join our community in a week and be active members than have 15+ people join in 3 days just to vote in this contest and never post again. I feel like most people in our community would agree.

Perfect example: Scoobies for Boobies was ALL OVER THE INTERNET and gained us great national/international coverage. Without counting, I think I can say that a similar amount of people have joined this forum since this weekend than in the whole month of October during the fundraiser.

We want to be recognized, respected and supported. I think my explanation covers that.

If anyone has ANY questions, feel free to PM me.


P.S. Thank you to our new male members (whether you voted or not) for being active members since you have joined. You know who you are.

[Superwomanchick]

I never though of it as padding votes, I honestly did not even think of it like that. I figured i'm sure everyone else was telling there friends about it I might as well give an explanation to why I had pictures like that added to my album. From what i've seen the same pictures have always been getting votes and most people have multiple photos entered anyway. I know I personally didn't think of it in a sneaky i'm going to win way because I think there are lots of good pictures. I know I wanted to let people know about this site and yes I would like one of my pictures in the calendar. I guess some people just looked at it differently. I apologize if I offended anyone.

[xxthat girlxx]

There is no one offended. I think subiemommys first post was taken more serious than meant, that's why I responded heavily. We didn't think you were "padding votes" just to win. Let's be real, most of the women on this website think you and your car are hotties and you have great pictures, so you're friends voting don't mean that much. ;)

I think you get what I'm saying though. Again, we appreciate the you spreading the word on the website. :D

[Superwomanchick]

Thanks, yeah no idk I just didn't think of it like that, I assumed everyone was talking about it, I know I was talking about it to all of my friends.

[gizzmo]

I was linked here from another forum by a female member who isn't even in the running for the calendar. I'm here to offer any insight I can from being a Subaru owner for 5 years, a parts guy for 10 years and a Subaru parts guy for a year and a half. I knew as soon as I saw the link on our forum that there would be some leg humpers. I figured there would be "dibs on ___" called. I KNEW a few would head this way after I saw the calendar being announced. I hope that this forum flourishes. I have every intention of buying a few calendars once their printed. I'm here to help out where I can. Feel free to PM me with any subie related questions.

[JJ2006WRX]

I didn't mean to sound terrible either....I love this site and how close everyone seems to be here...I just don't want this awesome calendar idea to go terribly wrong if someone doesn't get into the calendar...Everyone did amazing and ALL the pics look great...I know I voted for everyone that I could whether in a group or individual....I tried to include everyone...I just hope this doesn't turn into a catty ordeal...please be supportive of one another!

[BadgrlSTi]

:popcorn:
























YES i finally get to be the one to post the popcorn thingy!!!!!


And my 2 cents...i didn't know padding votes was possible cause my husband can't even vote for some reason. He's been a member in for a while now. AND the voting instructions were very vague, NO OFFENSE i know there was a lot of work put into this, but i'm just sayin as an outsider, and yes i was the one person out of the group to screw up my vote.
And really, if something like a calender contest was easy to put together and execute...they would be done all the time by all kinds of people. :p

[subiemommy]

Wow! I really didn't mean to start shit with this and I didn't think anyone was padding their vote. Really my husband was being a goober telling me I was begging friends to join simply to vote for me since I had any votes at all! He loves my car and I love my car, but lets keep it real out in the street no one will even notice my car if parked next to anyone else's here! haha In fact if one more person, including Subie owners, tell me I drive an Escort or Prizm I might scream! haha

I did think it was going to be a current members voting, but it never actually stated that, so I can see where others would think otherwise.

As far as being butt-hurt because I'm not going to make the top 12, far from it! I have been beaming since I saw that I had votes. And everytime my numbers go up (even though never enough to put me in the top 12) it just makes me that much more excited, not that I will make it in the calander, I really couldn't careless about that at this point (but for the 2012 calander when my car is nice, THEN watch out! LoL) but excited that I'm not the only GC lover out there. And that after I get a few more mods and even out my paint my car will kick ass!

Without seeing the calender picture entries I do have at least 7 guys that I know want a calender for sure, not including the one I will buy for myself. After voting is finished I will be promoting this thing like crazy! Whether or not I actually make it, as all the girls are very attractive and the cars are bitchin!

We really shouldn't let a photo contest break the group up, there are too many wonderful women with great cars and the car-smarts to back them up!

[MoN]

First of, sorry April.... not Amy :o lol

Second, Advertising for the sales of the calendars is def a good thing for Subiegirls, the charity, and just getting the name out there. I hope everyone wants to do the same after the voting is closed and the calendars are put together :D

I felt that the calendar contest was intended for existing members only, who have contributed to the forum. And I didnt want to have people sign up just cuz I wanted a vote because I knew that most of those people would not contribute to the forum afterwards.

I understand why this whole issue was easily misunderstood. Vague voting rules due to lack of time to get the whole thing together to then create them, and manage the thread to follow them. I mean this whole calendar thing kinda came out of nowhere real fast, and we were pushing to have them printed by the date of the WBM.

But like Sarah said, we can take a vote in the yr to come to see what people think about letting non-members/new members vote for future calendars and see where it goes from there :).

[Pearl07STI]

All in all I think the pictures are great and I can't wait to buy a calendar or 2, just let me know how, when the time comes...

Maybe there can be just a page at the end with some of the pictures that didn't "make the vote" so they can be recognized as well? Just a thought

[starlightluvsu]

Wow! I really didn't mean to start shit with this and I didn't think anyone was padding their vote. Really my husband was being a goober telling me I was begging friends to join simply to vote for me since I had any votes at all! He loves my car and I love my car, but lets keep it real out in the street no one will even notice my car if parked next to anyone else's here! haha In fact if one more person, including Subie owners, tell me I drive an Escort or Prizm I might scream! haha

I did think it was going to be a current members voting, but it never actually stated that, so I can see where others would think otherwise.

As far as being butt-hurt because I'm not going to make the top 12, far from it! I have been beaming since I saw that I had votes. And everytime my numbers go up (even though never enough to put me in the top 12) it just makes me that much more excited, not that I will make it in the calander, I really couldn't careless about that at this point (but for the 2012 calander when my car is nice, THEN watch out! LoL) but excited that I'm not the only GC lover out there. And that after I get a few more mods and even out my paint my car will kick ass!

Without seeing the calender picture entries I do have at least 7 guys that I know want a calender for sure, not including the one I will buy for myself. After voting is finished I will be promoting this thing like crazy! Whether or not I actually make it, as all the girls are very attractive and the cars are bitchin!

We really shouldn't let a photo contest break the group up, there are too many wonderful women with great cars and the car-smarts to back them up!


I voted for you subiemommy!! I thought ur #2 pic was perfect for this calendar and sooo cute! I actually used to own a 99impreza which ur pic reminded me of it.. I miss it :(

... but anyways, honestly, I'm gunna have to agree that people have padded this contest. I know everyone wants to win, including me, but I'm just too lazy to get my friends to create an account, or make a fake accounts. lol Ive showed the pics to my friends, and they said that some of these on here that do have a lot of points arent even that good looking or special..then again, it also is somewhat of a popularity contest.. I know I'm new to this site, but I still hope that this doesnt bring the girls apart. its just a contest!

[Superwomanchick]

I don't think that's true, i've been watch the votes since it started and the same pictures have been ahead the whole time. Yeah there are more voters but each person has 16 votes. And many people posted multiple pictures. No one was making fake accounts, and I think to say that some of the ones that are winning aren't even that good is a little too much.

[starlightluvsu]

u mean each account is allowed 16 votes.. doesnt mean everyone'll use all 16 of their votes. hence, (since i'm azn im inclined to do math), currently there are 78 voters, and only 807 votes totaled. if everyone did vote the max 16, then there should be 1248 votes. 1248-807=441 non-votes...so who's not to say that some pple created accounts and only voted for a specific person?.. plus, theres a huuuuuuuge influx of new accounts since the calendar, as xxthat girlxx said. I'm not the one who's saying that the ones who are winning arent good. ur pics are amazing to me, which I def think its one of the top 3.. but its all opinionated, and that's just my 2cents.

[rick moranis fan]

and I think to say that some of the ones that are winning aren't even that good is a little too much.

I agree, there is no need for discouraging comments. You ladies, all around, did an excellent job with this. Everyone looked like they were having fun and enjoying themselves, and that is the most important thing IMO. :)

I'm a guy and naturally am bound to be a little biased for something like this, but I did my best to spread my votes around to everyone.

As far as vote padding goes, the admins can view who voted for what on polls, so if need be I'm sure some trimming can be done to keep the votes in-line and consistent with the actively participating members here.

[Superwomanchick]

I know but you see that's the thing, I don't think anyone on here would purposefully want their friends to just vote for themselves. I think the people (including me) told them to go vote because we were excited. I've been telling all my friends AND my mom about this calendar for weeks because i've been excited about it.

[xxthat girlxx]

^I set the contest so we can't see who voted for who, so not even I can see that.

All and all I think April's thread was misconstrued so I'm closing this thread. It is a lot of hard work to make a calendar and raise money and we've all gone out of our way for great pictures. So I'm closing this thread on a positive note.

subiegirls.com rules!!!!!!