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Moki
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31#
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From: USA 
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 5:29 PM)
Congratulations to all of the winners!! Such beautiful artwork!! Absolutely fantastic!! Keep up the good work. Aimoo is the best there is if you ask me!
Moki
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lin_cher
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32#
|
From: USA
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Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 5:33 PM)
Congratulations to one and all.
WELL DONE !
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MistyBlueEyes
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33#
|
From: England 
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 6:28 PM)
Huge congratulations to you all
and a very special congrats to JacqueG
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QtPie3862
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35#
|
Status:TagGroupAddict
From: USA
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Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 10:55 PM)
Congrats to the winners...all were wonderful...but I for one did vote for the one that won....I wasn't confused....
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JacqueG
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36#
|
Status:Being Me
From: USA
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 11:10 PM)
But.....the one that won DID NOT get first.
The forum with the most votes came in 2nd.
That is where the confusion is by Sandra. I too am wondering how this can be.
I imagine the owner of the Old Glory skin is also confused and wondering why she went from first to second when the votes clearly show her the winner. I feel very very sad for her. The members clearly liked her skin the best. It shows in the votes she got.
Jacque
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Cam4444
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37#
|
Rank:none
Status:Manager
Score:10
Posts:10
From: USA
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/03/2009 11:57 PM)
You Are All Winners!
Terrific Entries!
In My Group We Have Fireworks
As A Skin All Year :)
Top Notch Tags /AKA/ TNT
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Texastskitty0520
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39#
|
Status:BusyBee
From: USA
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Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 2:09 AM)
Congratulations great job on all 15 of them, and awesome work ,,way to go and thank you aimoo for my free 1 month service with you..I really do appreciate it, you made my night as well as my hubby did for he gave me a 6month service to start off with lol..Congrats to Megan for getting into the Hall of Fame with Aimoo Liberary you deserve it, Hugs n Luv to All God bless you Kitty
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MDBones
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40#
|
From: USA
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Reply To JacqueG
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 6:55 AM)
Reply to JacqueG (07/04/2009 12:10 AM)
But.....the one that won DID NOT get first.
The forum with the most votes came in 2nd.
That is where the confusion is by Sandra. I too am wondering how this can be.
I imagine the owner of the Old Glory skin is also confused and wondering why she went from first to second when the votes clearly show her the winner. I feel very very sad for her. The members clearly liked her skin the best. It shows in the votes she got.
Jacque If you go back to the very first post in this thread, as well as the original contest entry rules thread, you will see that the winner was selected based on a combination of votes and an Aimoo staff decision.
I have no idea what criteria Aimoo employed in their decision... all I know is that the winning selection was not based solely on the number of votes they received.
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Angel4Sonia
|
41#
|
From: USA
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 6:58 AM)
Congratulations Auntie Karen and Laura on your fair win in this competion! I am honored to say my Auntie and cousin won this competion! To all of you who are questioning why - ours was not just patriotic but it was the fourth of July which stands for the birth of our great nation and the freedom that the Statue of Liberty represents. Having said that congratulations to all who entered this competion! You are all winners in my opinion! God Bless you all and Happy Fourth of July! Hugs Sonia.
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kcpup
|
42#
|
Status:Funny and Sunny
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 9:07 AM)
So, it is ok, that the winner which was obviously chosen by AIMOO staff, used a copywritten ad on their page? Pbviously, they made a few paintshop adjustments....
Corel is celebrating July 4 with instant savings on our award-winning products! Get up to 40% off software for photo & video editing, graphics, illustration, and office productivity. Limited time only! Shop by 11:59 p.m. July 6, 2009 to claim your savings.
To purchase Corel products by phone call us toll free at 1-877-502-6735. (Mon.- Fri., 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST)
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MDBones
|
43#
|
From: USA
|
Reply To kcpup
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 9:14 AM)
Reply to kcpup (07/04/2009 10:07 AM) So, it is ok, that the winner which was obviously chosen by AIMOO staff, used a copywritten ad on their page? Pbviously, they made a few paintshop adjustments....
Corel is celebrating July 4 with instant savings on our award-winning products! Get up to 40% off software for photo & video editing, graphics, illustration, and office productivity. Limited time only! Shop by 11:59 p.m. July 6, 2009 to claim your savings.
To purchase Corel products by phone call us toll free at 1-877-502-6735. (Mon.- Fri., 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST)
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Actually, it is okay if all they used from it was the image of the Statue of Liberty. Corel has no copy right on that. Besides, the image they used didn't come from the above.
(Message edited by MDBones On 07/04/2009 9:18 AM)
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Badger45
|
44#
|
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 9:36 AM)
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Yogi1
|
45#
|
From: USA
|
Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 10:05 AM)
congratulations to all the winners. Job well done . Hugs Yogi
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BarbieDesignz
|
47#
|
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 10:56 AM)
Congratulations
There all beautiful
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Sassy_Catt
|
48#
|
From: Canada 
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 12:17 PM)
Now I'm NOT DISPUTING the pic used in the winning entry and once again I congratulate them and I understand the voting was a combination of both the members voting and judging by AIMOO itself.
It's a totally different pic, the angle isn't even the same, but I wanted to clear up what MD said, as Corel might very well hold the rights to the promotional picture they used in THEIR ad.
*************
The statue of Liberty itself belongs to the USA & its people. However pictures of it belong to whichever photographer took the picture (unless it's pictures taken of it and posted on a US gov't site, then it's ok to use), so technically if Corel had either taken it or purchased that rights to that picture for promotion from some photographer, then yes, they do hold the copyright to it.
Every picture taken belongs to the photographer or the company that purchased the right to use that photograph unless it's posted to a site and specifically states that the photographer is placing it in the public domain with no permission needed for usage.
That's why it's best to use your own photographs or ones that SPECIFICALLY state they are being placed in the public domain with no need for permission or copyrights to be placed on it.
(Message edited by Sassy_Catt On 07/04/2009 12:23 PM)
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changospirit
|
49#
|
Status:IN THE SPIRIT
From: USA
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Reply To kritiyas
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 1:30 PM)
Reply to kritiyas (07/03/2009 8:43 AM)
Sure big congrats to the winners !
... but, I feel confused seeing the one with the most votes
coming second.
Did we know beforehand that the voting is symbolic in this contest
because the real winner will be what aimoo choose ?
Sema / owner of Happy 4th
I was wondering the same thing... How come the skin with the most votes came in second. If our voting and spending our time was symbolic, I would not wasted my time.
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MDBones
|
50#
|
From: USA
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Reply To Sassy%5FCatt
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 2:09 PM)
Reply to Sassy_Catt (07/04/2009 1:17 PM)
Now I'm NOT DISPUTING the pic used in the winning entry and once again I congratulate them and I understand the voting was a combination of both the members voting and judging by AIMOO itself.
It's a totally different pic, the angle isn't even the same, but I wanted to clear up what MD said, as Corel might very well hold the rights to the promotional picture they used in THEIR ad.
*************
The statue of Liberty itself belongs to the USA & its people. However pictures of it belong to whichever photographer took the picture (unless it's pictures taken of it and posted on a US gov't site, then it's ok to use), so technically if Corel had either taken it or purchased that rights to that picture for promotion from some photographer, then yes, they do hold the copyright to it.
Every picture taken belongs to the photographer or the company that purchased the right to use that photograph unless it's posted to a site and specifically states that the photographer is placing it in the public domain with no permission needed for usage.
That's why it's best to use your own photographs or ones that SPECIFICALLY state they are being placed in the public domain with no need for permission or copyrights to be placed on it.
Purchasing the right to use a photo or image does not give you a copy right to it... it only gives you permission to use it within the limitations and restrictions set forth by the copyright holder. Purchasing the right to use does not allow you to use it however you wish. Usually, the copyright holder will want to know exactly how you plan to use it before he/she gives you permission to do so.
Photos on a government website are not necessarily in the public domain and free to use either. The government has to follow copyright laws as well as everyone else. What you stated is true only when the photographer is employed by a government entity (local, state, federal or military) and his/her job places him/her in any position to be able to take the photo. In that case, the photographer is still given credit for the photo but the photo automatically falls into public domain use.
I believe that I once read somewhere that even a legitimately copyrighted photo can be freely used under some circumstances. One of which being if the photo is altered in such a way as to make it significantly different from the original. Or it may have been referring to using just a part of the original image. It's been awhile since I ran across that so my recollection isn't 100%... so please don't quote me on this.
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DkHairedAngel
|
51#
|
Status:Happy and Satisfied....
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 6:29 PM)
That is correct Bones.... In order to avoid copyright infringements the image, photo or design, being used must be changed 35 % or more. I know this because I am an artist and I deal frequently with copyright. There are many issues that constitute infringement. My original artwork is very special to me ... and therefore I do not post it on the internet, then I avoid people STEALING my artwork without my permission.
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DiabetesCheryl
|
52#
|
Rank:none
Score:3
Posts:3
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 7:27 PM)
Congratulations and a good job to the top 10 our winners!!
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Meagain99
|
53#
|
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 8:14 PM)
Hi All-
I guess it is time to share my two cents and maybe put a new spin on this.
First of all- MDBones, I want to thank you for your perspective and for trying to explain the outcome. While I also thought that "Old Glory" would win due to the higher number of votes- with all due respect, I did not feel that it would have been a fair outcome and that is not to say that I thought I deserved it more, but I did think that popularity had a play in their numbers. Just to put it into perspective- here are some numbers for you to consider from a different perspective.
My first example: Old Glory's group had 95 members at the start of the contest and had 126 votes. Assuming that all members voted for their group, that means that only 25% of their votes would be unbiased, or votes from outsiders.
The top 4 groups are listed first by number of votes. Skin Name
| Member Count
| # of Votes
| % of votes Unbiased
| Old Glory
| 95 | 126 | 25% | Freedom Fireworks
| 32 | 108
| 70%
| Paul Revere's Ride
| 13 (now)
| 83 | 84% based on current member count.
| Happy Birthday America
| 32
| 80 | 60%
| Yankee Doodle
| 1 | 45
| 98%
| American Pride
| 29 | 40 | 28%
| Stars & Stripes
| 1 | 34
| 99%
| Whitehouse Fireworks
| 2 | 25
| 92% | | USA | 31 | 20 | only 64 % of member count voted
|
Based on the above data- the skins with the highest number of unbiased or non-member votes is Stars & Stripes, so my hat is off to Stars & Stripes. Well done!!!
Coming in second would be Yankee Doodle, Whitehouse Fireworks would be 3rd place and Paul Revere's Ride would be fourth, so again- congrats to all of you! A job well done and excellent designs for all of you, even if you did not win the big prizes, I am thankful that you at least got one month of diamond service each. I personally would give up the first place prize to any of these four groups who had a higher rate of unbiased votes.
I also want to say that just as Sema learnt a lot from Jacque, so did I. Not everything by a long shot, but I did learn from Jacque. Both good and bad. I learned all about copyrights from Jacque. Believe me I had my share of time in her penalty box in Jacque's corner.  If you need an education in copyright awareness and you don't mind punishment, her group is a good one to join. They have excellent taggers, some of the best I have ever seen, and they don't think twice about deleting work that is questionable, even if copyrights are correct, if they are not pretty enough- poof! There goes your tag.
I learned how not to treat your members. I learned that rules always take presidence over family values and the health and well-being of members. I learned that she will kick you out of the group, if you are not active enough, regardless of the reasons.
I have also learned now that people will cheat for her group to get votes that are not honest. I have learned that she will go against her grain to make a former member look bad, just because she is a sore loser. I know for a fact that Jacque would never use the "Old Glory" skins in her group as the colors do not match properly. There are different shades of red and the black text against the dark blue background at the bottom of the skins would send you to Jacque's Corner.
As for my use of Statue of Liberty, I did not use what is on the Corel promotion. It is a different angle, and I did not use what is on the "Bing" site today, but now that I have seen both of them, it is a great idea they both have!! lol Last I knew, anyone is allowed to take a picture of Statue of Liberty. Just because I created my own fireworks, doesn't mean that I broke rules. Originality was key too. Oh speaking of originality- wasn't that Penny Parker web set beautiful!
As far as the criteria for selection- The rules clearly state that it should be the theme of Independence Day, Fireworks, Carnivals, Parades, etc. They do not say just Patriotic. Admin also stated that they would make the final decision, so all you have to do is go back and read the rules rather than keep asking why.
Last thing I want to say is that anyone that has competed in this competition is a winner just for having the courage to try, without knowing who or what you are competing against. Congratulations to all of you and now that you have had your taste of skin designing, good luck to all of you on future competitions.
Best regards, Meagain (Karen)
 For the opportunity Aimoo Administration, and for your selection. I am truly honored. God Bless you all and I do hope that everyone is having a wonderful Independence Day. God Bless America!!
Edited- The above chart is not based on scientific evidence, it is only to point out what the results would be "if" every member voted for their own group. The intent of this chart is merely to point out the disparity in the voting based on popularity rather than actual merit and compliance to the rules. My personal opinion is that each entry should be posted in a "new" forum with no members or just the persons who actually created the forum. In doing it this way- nobody has to open up their private group, and every post would be based strictly on merit. I also feel that the votes should be hidden until the end of the contest, perhaps submitted by PM rather than being shown so people have the urge to cheat to bump their numbers.
(Message edited by Meagain99 On 07/05/2009 12:01 PM)
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MDBones
|
54#
|
From: USA
|
RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/04/2009 9:18 PM)
Meagain99... congrats on your skin winning.
LOL... nice stats, but in my case I know of only 5 board members who were even around to vote for mine. But, it makes no difference to me as I did mine for the experience and the fun of it. No sour grapes here... as long as my board likes it, that's good enough for me.
To everyone else...
I have nothing bad to say about any of the entries, but it was disappointing to learn of the ACORN-style vote padding for some entries by people with multiple usernames.
I've kept tabs on the posts across all 3 skin topics during the course of the contest. Many people sat here splitting hairs over individual contest rules. Yet when accusations were made about vote cheating, no one responded... it was dead silence on that subject. Even after Aimoo investigated one claim, found it to be true and subtracted 30-some(?) votes from someone's vote total. That silence from almost everyone out here speaks volumes to me. Shame on you.
I guess for some people, anything goes and they'll do whatever it takes to win at any cost. You know who you and your people are... 'nuff said.
In future contests, I hope that Aimoo does a better job of weeding out illegal votes. They should be making that effort without someone having to point out to them that it's happening. Even if it takes specific voter registration to be able to vote along with IP tracking. Those entries should also be disqualified from the contest if it's found that any multiple username voting is coming from the board with the entry. They should not be "rewarding" them with an Outstanding Designer award and free Diamond service.
Aimoo also needs to do a better job of leveling the playing field for all entries. Small boards submitting an entry have lost before the voting even starts because they can't muster the "bias vote" like the larger boards can. Large boards will always win with those numbers. Maybe next time Aimoo should make every member of a board with an entry ineligible to vote. That would remove the bias and allow all entries to stand and be judged on their own merit. Which is how it should be.
If Aimoo can't do this, then I don't see any reason to waste the time entering another skin contest.
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JacqueG
|
55#
|
Status:Being Me
From: USA
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Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 3:09 AM)
Karen, my goodness, how well you can lie. Since you posted that, how many are going to start wondering about you. Wow! You stats above are not correct. I have 10 members that post and are active. It is by choice that I'm not a huge forum. I didn't even ask my own members to vote for our skin. It was their choice. Of course I would have wanted them to. In fact, they didn't even know I had entered until my admin informed them while I was in the hospital. I knew I had no chance since I have 10 members where other forums have many. Why did you feel it was necessary to pounce on me. I guess you are still very upset because you were banned. How many times did you try to get back in? You just made a total xxx out of yourself.
How many forums out of the 15 did you hit to ask all those in the who's on to vote for your forum and join you. How tacky is that. If you did that, what else did you do? I was hospitalized at the beginning and had no idea your skin was one of the entries until my dedicated members told me you had messaged them to vote for you and to join your forum. That kinda overshadowed the joy I had when I found out I was in the top 15. I had no idea you even had a forum, so by contacting my members to vote for you I found out. I could have said a lot here about the way you won, but I didn't. I did try to find the answer to why Old Glory didn't win. I really was sad for her and didn't think it was right. I'm not the only one that doesn't think it was right.
You were banned from our group after a year of me having to deal with you because you were mouthy and you chose to do it your way plus other things that I won't mention. You were nothing but a trouble maker. I still have all the information saved. You see we had this thread where I helped teach the ones that wanted to learn. It was a thread for questions and answers. I've never been rude to no one ever. I have the patience of Job. Anyone here can ask anyone that knows me. A year prior to your being banned, I had to take your priviledges away from you because you consistently wanted to cause problems. You had a mind of your own. Would you like me to post it. I rather doubt it. I have never lost a member due to anything I did. They have followed me wherever I go. I wasn't going to let this forum know of your tactics and how you got the votes you did either, but because of your rudeness right now, it will all come out. Do you think my members are going to put up with this.
Edited to add.....
This reply is probably exactly what you wanted to cause more trouble. You are probably counting on the fact that I can't let people think bad of me. You are only getting back at me because I had to ban you. You only ban people that cause trouble.
Jacque
(Message edited by JacqueG On 07/05/2009 3:21 AM)
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Karrier
|
56#
|
Rank:none
Status:Eating Marmite on Toast
Score:18
Posts:18
From: England
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Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 3:13 AM)
I kinda knew a load of crap was going to happen with this competion, that is why I didn't vote.
Is it me or are all designs and votes cast by ex MSN members only?
Is this what it was like on MSN?
I am not anti msn or anything, just that we have never had any copyright issues untill the end of 2008, now it is rife.
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Karrier
|
57#
|
Rank:none
Status:Eating Marmite on Toast
Score:18
Posts:18
From: England
|
Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 3:20 AM)
Right, pack it in, I am not putting up with a slanging match here, if you have concerns then take them to aimoo admin, if I see any more posts having a go at another member it will be removed and the thread locked.
You are welcome to slag each other off on your own forums but not here.
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JacqueG
|
58#
|
Status:Being Me
From: USA
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RE:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 3:53 AM)
Karrier, I agree with you. Neither post should be allowed and should be deleted. I would never have responded but it isn't right for me to look bad. I have done nothing, and when someone is telling lies could you sit by and let it happen. That post shouldn't have been allowed to stay. Delete them both to stop any more drama. I don't allow it myself. It only causes problems.
Jacque
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MDBones
|
59#
|
From: USA
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Reply To Karrier
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 9:39 AM)
Reply to Karrier (07/05/2009 4:13 AM) I kinda knew a load of crap was going to happen with this competion, that is why I didn't vote.
Is it me or are all designs and votes cast by ex MSN members only?
Is this what it was like on MSN?
I am not anti msn or anything, just that we have never had any copyright issues untill the end of 2008, now it is rife.
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develish1uk
|
60#
|
Rank:none
Status:might be here, might not be, who can tell, lol
Score:0
Posts:0
From: England
|
Re:Contest Winners Announced!
(Date Posted:07/05/2009 10:00 AM)
I have to say I'm rather saddened by some of the posts here.
This was supposed to be a FUN competition, intended to encourage creativity and get users visiting other's forums to see what was possible. I think some have taken things far too seriously, and as a result we've ended up with all sorts of accusations being thrown around.
As for all the stuff about members voting for their own forum, can I just point out that quite a few entries were done on forums created just for the purpose of entering. Sometimes because the owner didn't want to open up their main forum, and sometimes because they didn't even own their own but were just a member of other peoples. How is Admin supposed to monitor votes received in that case? Do you seriously expect them to check and remove every vote that comes from ANY forum the creator belongs to? Would you want your vote excluded just because the person who created the skin also happened to belong to your forum?
To be honest, considering the behaviour of some members, both during and after the competition, I wouldn't blame Admin if they never ran another one.
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