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How does a non-finalist with only 32% "wow" factor beat a finalist with 64% "wow" factor?

Congratulations to the winners.
What I liked most about these two selections is that both did not require a lot of materials, expertise, etc., yet the results were truly eye catching.

really??
I'm with Steve02 on this.

hmmm

Well, this doesn't seem right....

Yeah. "Most Likely To Be Copied"? Raise your hand if you are planning on decorating your wall with electrical tape. Upholstered Nightstand Project, not me, but probably others. The winner? Come on.

I am [hypothetically, at least] raising my hand. I love the simplicity of the concept and materials, and the fact that the idea could be extended and complicated depending on your inclination. I've appreciated the more complex DIY projects in the competition, but I love the 'duh' factor of the headboard. Plus, it makes me laugh!

Congrats to the winners! I liked the ingenuity of the headboard project...but I agree that the decision process is a little odd.

I love this!

Anyone who entered their project for criticism is a winner in my book.

Aside from that... This is a contest. Lol!
How were the votes were calculated to determine the finalists?
I assumed it was strictly “wow” votes converted to a %.
Or is it “wow” plus “well-done” to figure out the %?
Or is it based on the number of votes and not a %?
If it’s the latter, imo that’s not fair b/c some regions have more readers than others.

Also, why are there two painting categories?
“Best Use of Paint or Finish” aka “Best Decorative Painting”
“Best Decorative Painting” aka “Best Use of Paint or Finish”

Maybe Maxwell was burnt-out trying to make the deadline.

what the??? Each one of those strange “ represents a quotation.

I think the point we are missing is "judges".

Sklose's entry was picked more by the judges not only in the category they won, but overall as well. I am not really sure if the votes count in the overall decision of who wins. Maybe it was something that was brought up in prior contests but I didn't catch it in the rules.

Guys, chill! January Jumpstart is most likely technically a game of chance, not a skill contest. To qualify legally as a skill contest, the sponsor must disclose judging standards explicitly, so as soon as y'all saw the "TBD" categories and no detailed explanation of how entries would be judged, you should have recognized what you were entering. What ever happened to being well-informed consumers?

most clearly written source on lotteries versus skill contests

Congratulations to all the lucky winners!

According to that link, if it's a game of chance, and the contestants paid for materials (paint, glue, fabric, etc.) to enter, then it's technically an illegal lottery. I think it's a skills contest and the formula used to select 1) the finalists 2) the winners should be disclosed.

Yes, according to the source provided, the contest definitely seems to fit the "game of skill" NOT a game of chance or general lottery.

1. In order to enter you would most likely be spending some money, I haven't seen an entry that didn't. Ie. law would have required them to include a free alternative means of entry, such as sending in a postcard with name and address.
2. Entrants expended a reasonable standard of creative skill based upon the target audience.
3. Judges - which wouldn't even be necessary if it were a game of chance.

I don't think any of us are up in arms over the matter, just generally interested what means were used to pick the winners. Especially when one entry faired much better in terms of votes and other did better in terms of judging.

But Gravity's Rainbow, if it's a contest of skill -- and I bow to your greater expertise in this matter -- then the "means" you're demanding have already been clearly posted somewhere in the entry rules, as is legally required. Go read them.

Or is all this "general interest" just the sour grapes of entrants who thought they should have been finalists?

wendy in arizona...
Ummm...that is kind of a weak comment. First of all "sour grapes"? Please.
Second of all...I am confident that I can speak for the rest of the bunch when I say that any valid inquiry into the contest rules is solely fueled by our love of Apartment Therapy and their seemingly non-bias judging on the contests they hold past and present.
I can only speak for myself when I say that I have never entered any of the contests, however, they are a significant part of the website that all participating and NON-PARTICIPATING readers enjoy.
With that said...its a bit hasty to make a "sour grapes" call to your fellow readers.
In a world where we have become jaded, misled, let down and straight up lied to by a large percentage of retail America...it seems only natural to question or challenge something that would interfere with a good honest, non-bias competition.
Wouldn't you agree?
If this site had hidden corporate influence or other (e.g. favoritism, bribe, etc.) involved in the judging process - I would drop Apartment Therapy like a bad tenant (actually in S.F. easier said than done)!
I think we are in favor of KEEPING IT REAL.
You can leave the sour grapes b.s. at the door. Had I entered any of the contests...I clearly would have won.
So there. ;o).

disclaimer: author is excused/not responsible for any typos or grammatical errors w/in this document. these opinions are based solely uopn his/her views and are not necessarily those of the website or its viewers.

Makes perfect sense to me if you think about the title of the category. This project is inexpensive, renter-friendly, easy to carry out, and low risk - if you mess up, you just take down the tape and no harm done. Were there other projects that visually wowed me more? Sure. But many of them were either beyond my skill level or too time consuming for me to even think about trying to copy. So kudos to the winner for a witty & resourceful makeover - the self-toasting with vino in the last step of the instructions was well-earned.

"But Gravity's Rainbow, if it's a contest of skill...'"

I don't know if it is, are skill and chance the only options for a contest? What I know is that this is not a contest of chance, as you state it is and explained by the source you have provided. They would have been LEGALLY required to include a free alternative means of entry. So that scratches out that option.

Not to mention um voting and judges, which does not happen in a game of chance (definition: winner is determined by a chance event, as by drawing numbers or throwing dice.) Are we to believe that with all the "votes" and judges taking the time to pick and comment on entries, that someone picked a winner out of a hat? I think not.

.."the "means" you're demanding have already been clearly posted somewhere in the entry rules, as is legally required."

Duh, that is what we are asking for. Kind of shortsighted to assume just because they haven't explained it must be a game of chance even though EVERYTHING else about the contest fits a description of a game of skill.

How offending to everyone who is wondering a legitimate question, to assume that they have some grudge about not being a finalist. I certainly didn't enter.

Why not take a second to stop and think about why everyone choose this particular thread to be "sour" in. Hmmm one entry had a higher percentage of votes, and another seemed to do a bit better with the judges. Why oh why would members want to inquire about how the winners were choosen?

In addition, I don't think one entry should have particularly won over the other, they were both great projects. However, that does not impede my curiosity of just how the winner was determined.

For the record, according to my list of wow %, all the winners and runners up were part of the high ranking wow's. Except one winner who wasn't a finalist, and one runner up who had a very low wow%. My beef are low wow% who were finalists, while a few high wow% were not. And two painting categories.

I think that the very idea of a "most likely to be copied" implies that the judges must have not only given thought to how delicious the result is, but how many people would find it to be something they could wrap their mind around in order to make it happen in their home.

Personally I'm picturing some pillows accidentally rubbing against that black tape in the middle of the night and make it kind of roll off on the ends, or on the edges.

On the other hand, I can also see that as a useful tool for people to imitate various kinds of patterns that they see on real headboards, so they can "try out" a look before buying, so the idea of imitating that project a little more often than the very individual and specific (albeit VERY kicky) look of that night stand that I love so much.

I'm not a judge, and in fact, seemed to not be able to even keep up with all the entries, so I didn't even see some of them until the voting was over. And I don't know ANY of the judges personally, but I'm just saying that I can kind of see a couple of reasons for their decisions.

However, that does not impede my curiosity of just how the winner was determined.

Legally, that has to have already been disclosed in the entry rules, regardless of whether the contest was skill or chance. What part of that statement isn't clear?

I'm not sure why you're not willing to go read the rules to get the answer you supposedly want so badly. You have tons of time to spend here demanding that someone spoon-feed it to you, but not five minutes to go read the fine print. Do you walk into friends' homes and accuse your hosts of not being straight with you? Geez, people!

Well I myself thought the headboard was brilliant, especially in execution! And I did think it was better executed than the nightstand (even though the nightstand was probably more work).

Not to forget that all this whining about rules and disclosure is taking the contest way too seriously! This isn't the Democratic primary, folks! The fate of the nation does not depend on who is awarded "most likely to be copied" in a contest that got <60 entries and <400 votes per entry!

Yeah, I do some stats on what gets entered and what gets high votes because I'm curious about what ATers are liking these days, as a sort of cultural design barometer... but I've never made a fuss here if my fave didn't win prizes.

No one forced people to enter or to vote. Just take a deep breath, swallow your Valium, and be happy for the lovely designs that won.

Rules Read, thanks. Not a word mentioned of how winners were going to be picked, just what you needed to do to qualify and by when. Says "Prizes will be awarded in 6 categories (which are TBD) with a first place and runner up in each"

Unless we are looking at a different contest information page it still doesn't answer the question as to how 6 of those winners who met the qualifications and deadlines won, which is what we are asking. Perhaps it did on the original Entry Form, but that is not available at present, so it does none of us who are inquiring now any good.

For example, to what extent did our votes count, how did someone get a "finalist" position, to what extent did the judges overall opinion effect who won? Since you seem to know, why don't you stop dragging out this thread and instead link/direct everyone here who is interested to where we can READ exactly HOW the winners were determined.

This is not someones home, this is a PUBLIC contest, in which the PUBLIC was asked to participate , both by entering and by voting, and that PUBLIC, as emilyk already mentioned, have invested interest in the contest.

The entries with the highest number of votes were WVSmith's Gender Neutral Shared Nursery with a whopping 309 votes. Next was Jennifer's Prime Time Kitchen with 250 votes, Shauna's DIY Mirrored Dresser with 236 votes, and Sagesse's Black Chair Reno with 222 votes. On average... the number of votes per entry was in the 150 range.

Why should I spend my Sunday evening going through the site when I don't have a problem with the contest?

No, I don't know the exact rules, and my prior guesses have been embarrassingly wrong; yes, I concede that you're the legal expert on the lottery vs. skill issue. Point is, AT's staff knows that the rules have to meet legal guidelines, and I start from the assumption that AT's people are smart, conscientious, and honest. If you choose to disagree, that's your privilege.

I'd love to see you congratulate the winners and move on, but I suspect that trying to engage you further is just going to feed your indignation, so -- best wishes on having a happier week next week!

Wende who are you to determine what I should care about regardless of it's importance?

Sure AP doesn't forces users to do anything, BUT they sure care if they do. Apartment Therapy cares if users vote and participate, if they didn't then they wouldn't have pumped this contest to get their members/readers interested in both the journey and the outcome.

"Point is, AT's staff knows that the rules have to meet legal guidelines, and I start from the assumption that AT's people are smart, conscientious, and honest. If you choose to disagree, that's your privilege."

Sorry I don't think that is good enough. I am not arguing the point that AT staff is not smart, conscientious or honest or that those who entered didn't do a fantastic job. However, you can't just pump your readers interest in a contest, consistently remind your readers to VOTE for an entry, ie. develop vested interest in the vote, and then expect us to be satisfied in not knowing how they picked a winner!

As far as I am concerned I do think AT will answer the question, because they are smart, conscientious and honest. They just haven't because it's the weekend. Who are you to judge how much and what parts of AT I should concern myself with?

I don't know anything about the drama you all are discussing, just thing those pillows need some friends.

"spoon fed"? Sorry - but I'm sound-bite ticklish and wendy is killing me!
I'm gonna take a brief break from the thread and grab my crystal ball for a sec.....tick~tock~tick~tock.....
Okay - I'm back.
Wendy are you a kindergaten teacher or do you work with small children perhaps in a daycare?
Call me paranoid but was your "READ THE RULES" boldface (very savvy) directed at yours truly?
See wendy...if you weren't popping valium and taking those deep breathes to deal with whatever it is in your life that you appear to be avoiding - you would notice a well rounded, rule reading, SOBER group of Apartment Therapy enthusiasts. (staff - did you catch that?)
Aint nothing wrong with questioning the system wendy.
Look - this is all probably a bit too much for you to swallow with that little yellow pill already on the tip of your tongue...but...
I confidently speak for the group (and your therapist) when I say that "ITS ALL GOOD"!
No one wants you to have to have a problem w/ the contest to participate in the forum. Nor do we want to add to the stresses of your upcoming week and whatever it has in store that forces you to seek out perscription meds to cope (don't forget about those deep breathes!).
Pulling inspiration from your suggestion that we all medicate w/ you...I offer this:
How about benching yourself next time you feel the urge to inevitably force fellow Apartment Therapy enthusiasts into reiterating unneccesary technicalities and over lapping explantions so as to satisfy your off-the-path-kiss-ass-to-the-staff-throw-caution-to-the-wind bantor.
Again, being the unofficial, self-appointed referee/mascot of this thread allow me to also add:
"all comments are welcome and considered, however drug use, or the suggestion of using drugs, for whatever reason will not be tolerated. This is a warning and will be noted on record for future reference if anything on the topic of substances or using them is to come up again."
Whew!
I hope you take this in the most delicate way...it takes all to make the DIY rainbow that is the comment section...w/out you it just wouldn't carry on like it does...and we would miss that...sincerely.
Okay guys - I'm billing you for the next one.
Carry on.

Are Martybird and wendy associated in anyway??

Hey, not looking to get involved in the exchanges here because they're not my cup of tea. I just wanted to say hello to Wende and to express my support for one of the most consistently encouraging, helpful, positive members of the AT community.
See you all on the next thread...
L

I have two little kids running around my living room and cannot possibly focus enough to follow the rules debate. I just wanted to congratulate the winner and runner-up. It was really fun to get a glimpse of all of the January Jumpstart projects, and I thank all of you for sharing with us.

oh for the love, this nonsense is going to put an end to the contests

I'm another person jumping in to express support for wende who has always been a positive force in this community. Though I too would love to see a detailed explanation of the vote-tallying process, I wish the exchanges in this thread had stayed a lot more civil.

Oh dear. I settle in on a Monday morning to enjoy catching up on AT and I find a cat fight? Well, at least one cat is fighting. . . . Emilyk, ad hominem argument's the lowest of the low. Shame on you. I wouldn't care if wende were a jerk--which she most supremely is not--you owe her an apology.

Anyway. Who doesn't love to see all the projects and read thoughts about them? As someone already said, everybody who enters is a winner in my book, and thanks to them all for the good fun.

Wendy posted the great link regarding lotteries and skills contests, which includes the definitions and laws surrounding them. http://www.office.com/templates/page3.asp?docid=51

Wendy's point is... since the information regarding formula used to determine finalists and winners was not published, (a legal requirement for a skills contest), that Jumpstart is more like a game of chance. To get over it, because it should have been known that the contest was not all together to begin with... that questions regarding the counts etc should have been asked earlier.

Gravity is saying it's not a game of chance because there were Judges. It's a skills contest and we have a right to know the formula used to determine the finalists and winners.

We'd like to believe it's a skills contest, and still waiting for the formula used to determine finalists and winners.

Thought I scanned everything thouroughly each day, but I never saw either of these entries. Congratulations to winners. Clever projects and nice results. No time to study the rules or what seems to be an ongoing exchange with Wende, But want to emphasize that as a long time reader, Wende always has helpful insights and open minded observations and when she was away I missed her input.

Would AT like to describe the vote-tallying procedure for determining "top" candidates? Steve02 is correct that some of the finalists are not the top vote getters if one counts percentage of "wow" votes or uses the formula AT has used in the past (wow plus nice minus glad-it's-done). Was the issue that higher vote-getters did not fit neatly into the available categories or that there was cheating in the voting or what?
posted by wende in phoenix on 2008-02-08 09:43:30

I just checked out Wendy's blog. She's more on top of the stats than AT. Now I question why she said she didn't care about the Jumpstart. She posted the same questions asked here on another thread on the 8th! Judging by her blog she's definitely interested! She know's not all the top wow% made it to the finals. Would love to see the "new math"! Maybe this will shed some light on the phenomena. Bottom line, finalists should be determined by wow%! Not selected based on a color scheme for the AT front page, nor professional catalog photography that will match the overall look on the front page.

wow.

The Upholstered Nightstand Project was a DIY project inspired by some fabric I had on hand. Thank you to ApartmentTherapy for sponsoring the contest in a month where the days are short and dark. It was really fun. I didn't expect anything. I enjoyed seeing what everyone else created. This was a competition that inspired some ideas, implementation, participation and basement studio amateur photography. DIY projects are just full of good stuff every step of the way.