Author Topic: Overview: The "Find of the Month" on the Classic Rotary Phones Forum (Read 23093 times)

Jim Stettler · « **Reply #45 on:** July 13, 2019, 07:48:35 PM »

The rules are for the poll. We could remove the poll and then It is an open topic.
Maybe I should run a poll to see the consensus.
I could rename the board to "My happy finds" and then any current or past finds (with photos) are eligible . This can be single items or quantity. past and present.
This changes it from a friendly monthly/yearly contest topic to a show and tell topic.
Feel free to post your thoughts on this post.

Jim

RotarDad · « **Reply #46 on:** July 13, 2019, 08:01:37 PM »

I’ve always felt that the find of the month was about two things:

1) Giving forum members a feel for what’s still out there to find as an encouragement to keep hunting.

2) Giving recognition and an opportunity to share to those who have found something interesting or valuable recently.

I think the contest serves those purposes well, and I vote to keep it as is. Members are always free to post other items elsewhere here in the forum. I’d hate to lose that “pulse of the hobby” feel by changing this particular contest... Thanks to Jim for maintaining this thread!

dsk · « **Reply #47 on:** July 14, 2019, 12:52:13 AM »

This is not easy, and I used a lot of time before I did mention this at all. I love to see what people has. I have voted a lot of times, and I have even nominated some of my finds. Pretty often the phone/item I vote for is the winner, so many of us rate things equal. Still I feel that the results are not fair, and I am pretty sure that we have some who do not want to share a pretty good find in fear of loosing. As in every other contest its only one winner, and all the others are losers. Here are actually everybody winners, they have found something they are proud of, or someone is so impressed that they nominate someone else's item. I also have a feeling of that the costs get to much focus, that should by my opinion not be a part of the contest.

We shall not close the contest before we have anything better, maybe never! We need to think about our values and our hobby to not squeeze out members of the more modest kind. Maybe a focus on a share your finds thread, where we could see and show the finds without rating them in a contest.

At last thank you to Jim, you are doing a good job!

dsk

dsk · « **Reply #48 on:** July 14, 2019, 12:57:15 AM »

A little PS
E.g. if a member find a finger-stop he/she has been looking for in a long time, the member would be extremely happy, and want to share it. We do not have any thread I find natural to share this, but for the member it is a great find. It will never win, and does not fit into the contest, but i could be interesting to see what is important for others, whats making them happy etc...

DS

Western Bell · « **Reply #49 on:** July 14, 2019, 02:02:52 AM »

Quote from: dsk on July 14, 2019, 12:52:13 AM

Maybe a focus on a share your finds thread, where we could see and show the finds without rating them in a contest.

Isn't this board exactly for that?

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?board=3.0

Why does the long tradition and history in the Find of the Month board have to be destroyed on a whim because someone doesn't like the long established rules?

countryman · « **Reply #50 on:** July 14, 2019, 02:56:16 AM »

Quote from: Western Bell on July 14, 2019, 02:02:52 AM

Why does the long tradition and history in the Find of the Month board have to be destroyed on a whim because someone doesn't like the long established rules?

I'm new here but I wondered the same thing.
There has been a discussion lately in which month an item should be nominated but Jim moderated this sensibly. The rules could be modified but sooner or later new cases of doubt would occur.
The gallery of "Finds of the Month" is a great showcase of the hobby where each item has been evaluated by experts. "My personal best find" would be another category.

tubaman · « **Reply #51 on:** July 14, 2019, 05:07:23 AM »

For me 'Find of the Month' is a fun way for members to compare recent finds in one place.
The poll adds to that fun, and I find it a bit disappointing that we are getting too worried about the exact rules.
I've entered a few times and have managed to win once - it was a nice feeling I must admit, but I certainly don't worry about if I'll win when I enter. If I think an item is worthy of entering then I'll put it in and take my chance with the rest.
Please don't change or get rid of it.

dsk · « **Reply #52 on:** July 14, 2019, 05:55:15 AM »

Quote from: tubaman on July 14, 2019, 05:07:23 AM

For me 'Find of the Month' is a fun way for members to compare recent finds in one place.
The poll adds to that fun, and I find it a bit disappointing that we are getting too worried about the exact rules.
I've entered a few times and have managed to win once - it was a nice feeling I must admit, but I certainly don't worry about if I'll win when I enter. If I think an item is worthy of entering then I'll put it in and take my chance with the rest.
Please don't change or get rid of it.

The most important thing here is to discuss this, so we know what we are doing, and are prepared if we get signals that this may be an issue. Jim are doing a great job here, and will probably keep on developing this to be a good thing.

If we discuss this now before it is a problem, it will probably never be a problem. I was so extremely surprised last time a conflict escalated in this forum. This is not the best on the internet, it is even more :-) Let us work for keeping it that way, and get the passive members back in activity again. :-)

dsk

HarrySmith · « **Reply #53 on:** July 14, 2019, 04:39:06 PM »

The FOTM is supposed to be a fun thing. Anyone who is happy with a phone they found is a winner. There are other topics on the forum where finds can be posted also.

Doug Rose · « **Reply #54 on:** July 14, 2019, 06:49:44 PM »

Harry....agreed!.....Doug

dsk · « **Reply #55 on:** July 16, 2019, 12:33:46 PM »

Thank you all for considering around the cons, and pres with this. for me it looks like we can go on with this without hurting people.
We can argue with pointing to having discussed this, and why we keep it.
A great thank to the moderators, you are doing a great job.

dsk

TelePlay · « **Reply #56 on:** October 23, 2020, 11:16:06 PM »

A question was asked about what is seen in the polls and when (if logged in or out and after the poll ends) at this topic

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=24270.msg242688#msg242688

There are two viewing options available when setting up a poll:

1) to only let members see the poll voting after they have voted

and

2) to let everyone see the poll voting at anytime

I created 2 dummy polls and found out an interesting anomaly.

1) When setting up a poll and selecting the option to let members see the open poll results only after they have voted (the left side of the image below), if the member is not logged in, box #1 is seen. After logging in, box #2 is seen. They are the same but a bit different and neither shows the voting while the poll is open. After voting, box #3 is seen, the results of the poll at that point in time.

Once the poll is closed, this set up option shows the poll results whether logged in or not, boxes #4 and #5

2) When setting up a poll and selecting the option to let anyone see the open poll results (the right side of the image below), if the member is not logged in, box #11 is seen and it shows the current poll votes. After logging in, box #12 is seen, the current poll votes disappear and the boxes to vote are shown. After voting, box #13 is seen, the results of the poll as seen in box #11 (before logging in) plus the added votes.

Once the poll is closed, this set up option shows the poll results whether logged in or not, boxes #14 and #15

Conclusion, it is best to set up the poll with the "show results only after the member has voted" so the votes of an open poll are not shown until the member votes. That way, a member would not see the ongoing results before they have voted. That would produce the best, the most unbiased blind voting results in each month's FOTM contest. Members who want to vote would not be biased by knowing who is ahead or behind before they cast their votes.

After the poll closes, the final results can be seen by anyone whether they are logged in or not.

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