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ESCCHAT SONG CONTEST: Positive Reform

  1. calrisle Scrutineer

    (Thanks for the title of the thread, Ollie!)

    Hi everyone,

    As you all know, we've had a rough couple of weeks here and I definitely want to put it all behind us and move on. One way I think we can get closer and have more fun is if we decide *together* on a set of rules for our contest. So, in advance of what promises to be an amazing Edition 7 from Davis Island, we've all got to decide what we liked about how the contest worked, what we didn't like, and how we think it could be made better for everyone.

    This isn't the time for 'me first', because it's definitely in the long-term interest of our community that we all realise that we need to take decisions that are as good as possible for the greatest number of people possible. Whilst some things may not be perfect for an individual, the rules we settle on have to be as positive as they can be for as much of the group as possible.

    So, if everyone would be kind enough (as part of my series of random tasks for you all) to post up here some things you liked, some things you didn't like, some things you think could be improved, and maybe even some new things you'd really like to see in the contest, it'd be really great.

    Ideas are what's going to make our contest great - and the sooner we can fix what's broken and improve whatever we can, the sooner we can get on with our contest!

    I'm going to start things off with a few thoughts of my own:

    *LIKE*
    I like the recap videos - they're a real chance for the host to show their own personality in the way they're arranged, and they can be a great chance for us to have a cool similarity to the actual ESC. Plus, I'm a flag geek - it's brilliant to see everybody's flags in one place :)

    *DISLIKE*
    The negative groove - it's a fun contest, and there was a time where I myself could have been accused of taking it too seriously. Admitting your own faults is key to being able to move forward, but I genuinely stand by my actions at the time, because I was only trying to play fair and adopt the spirit of the rules. The future of the contest surely depends on the positive vibes that surround it, and if we keep it light hearted and play by the rules, there's nothing that's gonna stop that happening!

    *IMPROVEMENTS*
    Tightening up the rules to make sure there's no loopholes for people to use when a situation arises in which they could be seen to be playing to their own advantage. Obviously, this can be helped along by my next suggestion...

    *NEW IDEAS*
    I'd really like to set up our very own version of the EBU! I think a central rulemaker and problem-solver would be a huge benefit to the contest. Some permanent members should be on the team of the EscChat Broadcasting Union (ECBU), including the site admins and a mod or two, but there should be a steering group just like the real EBU where members are elected to positions in the organisation so that decision-making can be fair and actually involve members of the site! Also, the ECBU can have a website with resources, help and information for everyone. Flags, logos and graphics for hosts, statistics (courtesy of Kots!) and loads of other info can all be in one place!

    This site is for everyone, and the contest and its decision making process should be no different. Getting everyone involved is the best way possible of keeping harmony and getting all the best ideas!

    Please, everyone - post post post! We need your ideas to make this as cool as possible for as many of us as possible!


    TIMETABLE: I'm going to leave this thread open for about a week so that everyone can get their suggestions in. From there, we'll discuss and consult on any new rules for another week or so before settling on a new look rulebook! After everything's settled, I'll announce the dates for the next edition of the contest. I hope evryone agrees that it's important to get all of this stuff straight before we move on with the next contest, and I also hope everyone thinks it'll be worth the wait!!!
  2. ollie2283 jedan sam čekao je ovdje!

    POSITIVE REFORM OMG DAVID I LOVE YOU :D

    i agree with what you have said however a IF a recap video is made - it should be released like 2 days AFTER the release of songs so people have no choice to listen to the compotition!

    it should be made MORE clear of the no esc / jesc / asia vision songs
    i loved kots edition as many others did - as it was clear that was effort made so for hosts to make effort makes it a nicer more fun expierence
    david i think that if a site version of the ebu is created i think the following things should happen (member wise of the ecbu)
    1. all admins
    2. two mods that are changed every 5 editions
    3. however many non mods *note the non mods who are making rules and such should be equal or more than the amount of mods in there*
    4. non mods are also swapped on 5 edition basis
    5. the mods and non mods are choson by the host at that time
    the reason i say 5 editions is to prevent repetitive ideas staying through the threshold
    that should be it for now :) i agree with the rest u have said
    NOTE TO ESTE - WHO IS CLEANING ALL THE THREADS - PLEASE IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO MAKE A THREAD JUST FOR THE CONTEST OR SOMETHING MAKING IT EASIER TO ACCESS CONTEST STUFF!!!!!!!

    i just had an idea, i know we were against theme editions but i think it would be so cool if every 10 editions we did a intrumental edition - where all entries must have no lyrics to it - its just a suggestion though!
  3. Mina Member with a "past"

    Well, personally, I don't care about the recap and to be honest I rarely watch it all (shame on me:o).
    I agree with Dave on the 'negative groove' thing..it's a contest for fun, people. Some of my closest friends on this site rarely vote for me (or me for them...lol) and yet I never felt that I was treated unfairly..it's music, it's songs, someone likes a song and someone doesn't.
    I like the ECBU idea and I think everyone should have a say on the members of it..and personally I believe that the people chosen should remain the same because I think it would be too much trouble to go through that process for every single edition. We can just make sure we do it when most people are here (and that is, in my opinion, after mid-August, when members/mods/everyone will be back from their holidays).

    The host of every contest should have the most power regarding rules and stuff.
    For example when I host (if ever:P) I plan on presenting the songs as songs, without flags..but I don't want to impose that as a rule to everyone...it's just my own idea of how the contest would be more interesting and fun.

    Also we need very clear rules as to who can participate so as not to have problems like the recent ones we all remember...and specific dates would be great, too. For example 7th contest: 15-30 july for example, 8th contest: 1-15 August..and so on.

    One last thing: it would be cool if we could have a rule about people being away when songs are sent....we could allow them to vote if they're back before the end of the contest.
  4. CTP Jass hater

    I like some of the ideas so far that have been suggested.

    Firstly, with regards to some sort of "reference group" I think the group should be relatively static for 3 months? or some similar amount of time. There is little practical reason to change too frequently, unless someone leaves or is busy and cannot be part of the group. As to how it is picked, we could simply swap members every 3 months or so with other long-term participants who haven't been involved. I think the reality though is they wont be making that many decisions once we're appropriatley set up, and any big changes will have to be via community poll anyway.

    I admittedly don't use the recap either, however, I know a few people find it useful, so when possible, I still think it should be made. As for releasing it a few days after all the other songs, I don't see the point - if you want to listen to part of a song then skip it, you can do that anyway.

    Specific dates gets a big tick from me. Everyone then knows when they have to have their song in, and when they need to vote by.

    Themes - I think a few once off competitions with specific themes, like best Eurovision song remix, or best instrumental, best song in Swahili or best barking dog impersonation or whatever might be nice. I think they should be kept separate from this contest however. Maybe we can approach people who haven't won before to put these together if they wish. If we do consider these though, they should be held 3 or 4 months apart, or certainly not as regular as normal contests.

    A sub-forum from the main forum just for the contest might be nice. Then we could have sticky threads etc. with rules and contact details etc.

    And a list of songs already "used" might be useful especially for newcomers.

    As for entry eligibility, sure, you need to be a member of the site, but if we end up with 200 members trying to enter, we might have a problem :P

    Anyway, this is long enough :o
  5. kotsios Call me Kots. Potter Kots

    I agree with most of the stuff that was written here... And mina is right... It would be a lot of trouble to decide for different members of the ECBU for each edition... But I don't really think that it would be any better to have the same ones all the time. That would just mean that a lot of people aren't getting involved as much as others and it will be very unfair to them. So maybe only the mods can change in one edition and in the next edition only the non-mods will change (I hope you understand what I mean). This way the members will have the opportunity to work with more people.

    As for the procedure of choosing them, imo the members of the ECBU should not be allowed to apply for becoming a member of the ECBU at least for the next 2 editions (unless they win and get to host). This way it won't be the same people all the time and more will get the chance to be members.

    And here are 2 ideas that I have:

    Do you remember "Congratulations"? We could host a contest to determine the best songs of every 10 editions perhaps!

    and

    About the themed contests: we could separate them from the actual contest and have them live. This is what I mean by live: The participants should spend 2 hours of their lives and during that time we could use livestream.com to show the songs of the participants. A recap video should also be created and shown there to help with the voting process. The participants will have 15 minutes to send their votes to the host and during that time the recap will be shown again and again. The host will use escnation to produce a scoreboard easily and quickly and they will share the link with the others as soon as they finish it.
  6. kotsios Call me Kots. Potter Kots

    oh... i didn't see ctp's reply before posting mine so forgive me for any replications
  7. Mina Member with a "past"

    I love that idea:D
  8. I agree with most of the things you suggest :) For instance, specific dates (15th-30th, 1st-15th) would be a good idea. I have nothing to add for the moment.

    Usually I don't watch the recap either. Last time it didn't work properly so I had to skip it.
  9. calrisle Scrutineer

    You guys are right on the ECBU membership thing - I forgot to mention that my intention was for people to be selected for membership of the 'steering group' with a term lasting five editions.

    Also, Mina's idea for a fixed timetable is something that I'd been trying to work out in my head, but couldn't quite sort out in time for it to have made it into my original post! It's a great idea Mina, and I was thinking something along the lines of a three-week cycle: week 1 would be for submission of songs, week 2 would be vor gathering votes, then week 3 could be an 'off' week, where the new host prepares for the beginning of the next contest. That way, we would know firm future dates for all of the contests and people can sned songs and votes in line with their vacations, or even decide in advance if they'll have to withdraw because of not being here... :)

    Kots! I REALLY REALLY love your 'Congratulations' idea, and perhaps we could work it into the new rules that in the same way as songs in the top ten used to qualify directly to next year's final at ESC (in the good old days!), we could say the top 3 songs from each edition qualify to the Congratulations contest!

    Also, the ideas about themed contest being separate from the actual contest is a good one - I think they'd make a fun addition, but not necessarily within the structure of the contest...

    Ooh, this is exciting! I love all this energy, because it's obvious that we all want the same things from the contest: a fun, relaxed journey through musical discovery and friendship! Amazing!

    Keep it coming my Euro-lovelies! :D
  10. Jonny Ginger Tory Witch

    Dave you euro-god :D

    OK well it seems alot of people already have alot of this covered but I wanna put my 2 cents in anyway :P

    Likes: I love it when people send more quirky entries. I'd rather people send entries that they like and not worry about whether it will do well, and the majority ofcourse have been doing that but there have been a couple of occasions where i've wondered if people are sending entries purely to do well. So I think it'd be great if we encourage people to just send songs they love, and not think about the results (Btw I think Mina is the queen of this because nobody understands her songs apart from her which shows just how unique and cool her songs really are! :D)

    Dislikes: SERIOUSNESS!! It makes me so angry when people take the contest seriously and worry about the results, because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. And I don't mean that in a dis-respectful way but its just for fun (as alot have already said) and I want it to be fun! The first few editions had a really friendly air about then but then after that there was always arguements about bloc voting and whatnot and it was so sad that something I breached to allow us to have more fun, went so sour. Unfortunately this really came to head at the end of the last edition and I don't want that to happen EVER AGAIN!
    So overall, I dislike seriousness and sour attitudes, however I think that may have changed for the better already now :)

    Changes: I don't know if there is anything i'd like changing ... the only thing is to guarantee we dont have anymore arguements about it. Which kinda goes with the fact i'd like to see less accusations about bloc voting as tbh I think they're completely unfounded .. in my opinion I can trust everybody here now to vote fairly and squarely and I hope you all can to :)
  11. Jonny Ginger Tory Witch

    GUILTY AS CHARGED lmao :D Mina everytime we vote for each other we should definitely throw a party :P
  12. Mina Member with a "past"

    LMAO..thank you..I think! :P
  13. Haha Mina, I thought you were referring to me :D

    I may be stupid, but I thought everyone sent songs they liked regardless of the results :P

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