MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Should we change 'Prizes?'
Hello!
I was just thinking; Whenever people host contests, it seems that the prize is always favorites on cards, sometimes a trophy. However, I'm sure that people have noticed that there could be something better, but lack of such a thing exists.
I would like to propose an idea:
what if there could be a "win counter" sort of thing on your accounts's forums home page (click my username to go to my page) that could go up with each time you win a contest. there could be a "first place wins" "2nd place wins" and so on. Also, it could be set to where only other accounts can add wins, so that you can't give yourself wins (this doesn't stop people from making other accounts, but that hasn't happened on the main pages either, excluding the Norod incident).
This might not be as good a prize as a favorite, trophy, or a follow, but it's a thing that is more directed towards winning contests. It'd be kind of like getting points.
Just an idea. Any thoughts and opinions?
I was just thinking; Whenever people host contests, it seems that the prize is always favorites on cards, sometimes a trophy. However, I'm sure that people have noticed that there could be something better, but lack of such a thing exists.
I would like to propose an idea:
what if there could be a "win counter" sort of thing on your accounts's forums home page (click my username to go to my page) that could go up with each time you win a contest. there could be a "first place wins" "2nd place wins" and so on. Also, it could be set to where only other accounts can add wins, so that you can't give yourself wins (this doesn't stop people from making other accounts, but that hasn't happened on the main pages either, excluding the Norod incident).
This might not be as good a prize as a favorite, trophy, or a follow, but it's a thing that is more directed towards winning contests. It'd be kind of like getting points.
Just an idea. Any thoughts and opinions?
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
For this idea to work out we'd need some sort of quality-control or a way to "validate" contests, which requires a lot of admin work, which I somehow doubt the site has the manpower for right now.
Not that I disagree at all - I have been an advocate, along with others, about favourites making bad prizes. I just don't currently see a better alternative, considering the size of our community and the resources available to the devs.
Feels a little more rewarding than hollow favourites to me, anyway.
Favorites as prizes don't make much sense to me, I no longer accept them as prizes when they're offered.
It's honestly one of the reasons I don't enter or really try to win, a lot of contests.
Indeed, and indeed. I personally tell people that if they find stuff they want to favourite, they can do so, but I never force them to actually do it. A favourite should remain a "favourite". Like I spoke to @Cryptonight about the other day, favourites are for "exceptionally outstanding cards" - Sure, we can play a bit loose with that and some have a much lower bar for what they find worth favouriting (and please, don't get me wrong on this anyone, I am by no mean condemning doing that. It helps cardsmiths get exposure), which is completely fine. But some people have like 10x their amount of cards in favourites :P
I wish there was another way for people to garner interest on their cards, like a featured-member of the week/month or whatnot. The featured card and the "frontpage" helps, but it's not quite enough, or, well, that's my opinion.
I know I also hand out favourites in my contests, but in very limited amounts, and all from a sub-account meant specifically to give contestants exposure for their cards so that more people may see them in the timeframe that I have to judge them.
Your favourites *are* prizes, ha ha.
The featured member ideas were batted around a bit, but I think they were squashed because it would require a fair amount of time on the part of the mods, and at this point, there's enough exposure to move on to other areas. I imagine it'll be reexamined at a later date, or if the mods find One-eyed Willy's treasure. Money and time prevent me from personally thinking it's a necessary site upgrade, and I think the consensus is there as well.
'Favouriting' to me is a card that is my favourite, literally. Ha ha. I've favourited the entire gamut of cards, made me laugh, potential, flavour, art, unique, so dumb it's gone full circle to being awesome. It's a personal decision to make, I just don't think people should view favourites as a ladder to climb. The Trophy account promotes the idea of recognizing winning smiths and their cards, but tacking on a bunch of favourites just feels like fluff. And more so than that, as a winner, it doesn't feel like a prize to me.
Indeed, a healthy amount of realism is required on this subject. Resources, both financially and manpower-wise, are real denominators here.
Anyway -
If I may paraphrase a tad, in good faith, of course:
"People should not look at favourites as a ladder to climb".
This is a great sentiment. I couldn't agree more. Yes, getting a favourite is an achievement, and it's worth feeling proud over. It is a token of recognition.
The problem is that, how is it that it goes... "When everyone is super, no one will be."
At some point, it becomes like loving a certain type of cake, and then you eat it every day, for every meal and within a week it becomes nothing out the ordinary and you stop appreciating it any more, right?
And indeed, I am quite the Scrooge when it comes to favourites, haha. I think it's likely I have the lowest "Activity:Favourites" ratio on the site, though @Cryptonight might be a real combatant for that too ^^
@MrRansom
I am glad you think so! In many ways, it is a prototype to what is actually being talked about here, a form "win counter" that isn't something you can get by spamming cards or falsifying favourites. Gonna have to earn it
I am happy to maintain it as long as people are happy to participate, even if they don't win.