I doubt it's going to happen, but when this is all over could FreeOnes release some of the statistics of the voting happened during the contest, at least in a broad way, like how many people there were that didn't have a MyFreeOnes account compared to the people that did, how many of the votes where in the categories based on the years somebody has been a member here, the location that the votes came from broken down by area, and if a large portion were driven here by a non FreeOnes site among any other things. I personally would be interested in how some things came out. It might also be a good way to root out shenanigans with the voting.
It seems this year's contest has the same flaws as last years and despite the fact the powers that by at FreeOnes tried to institute some things to help remedy it, even if it has just amounted to putting a band aid over of fatal wound. It didn't really go far enough. Over all the few extra votes some senior member of the board has over somebody that signed up the day of the contest doesn't really seem like much. About the only difference from last year is the fact Gisele isn't getting screwed over, (as much at least) and Bree Olsen is, thankfully, not really in the running. The top ten of the Miss FreeOnes category is still filled with people that don't belong there with maybe two or three exceptions.
I know this has become more of a publicity stunt than a serious contest, and I know it's probably more to draw people to FreeOnes than finding out who is really the best, but it would be nice if things could change to actually make it more than just a circus it has become the last few years.
Also, I know I've stated this before but FreeOnes really needs to shore up it's definition of how people qualify for each category. It's bad enough having people be higher ranked than they even remotely deserve in a category that makes sense to have them in, but it's even that much worse when it happens in a category they don't even reasonably belong to. The Camgirl category is especially bad with this. You might very well have more people that aren't actually "cam girls" than are. Some of the people in the Euro Babe category really really strain credibility being in their category also. People in the Cam Girl category need to be people that have the majority of their work be from camming and be thought of by the fans of the industry as more of a cam girl than anything else. Euro stars need to be from Europe, live a large portion of the year there, AND do most of their work in Europe. I feel sorry for the real cam girls and Euro stars that are getting stepped on by people that they shouldn't be even competing against. (even sadder because a lot of them are even better than the non-cam and non-Euro people ahead of them regardless.)
Maybe you not only need to tighten up the rules on qualifying definitions with the categories maybe you will just also need to start using judgment calls and tell the OCSM that when sign up for the contest. Hard definitions are better when they can be used well, but this is just might be one of those things where you have to use judgment, common sense, and public perceptions of what the OCSM is, and tell the people in the contest they will just have to respect the decision you make.
The worst is the Best OCSM category though. The way it's set up I don't even know why this category exist. I don't know what to say other than you just really...really messed up with it. The fact that Ashleigh is so low and Alisa ISN'T EVEN IN THE TOP 25 shows how bad it's gotten.
If you care about the category next year I wouldn't even let anybody with less than a year on the messagebord and less than 500 posts or maybe even 1000 posts vote in that category, AT ALL. I would have it sort of like you have it now where people with more time on the board, and maybe next year more posts, get more strength with their votes. Have the contest for two weeks or something like that and have everybody only get one vote where they can place who they think is best on a list of 1 trough 5 or 10 or something with the top person getting more points than the people below them who get progressively less (sort of how most sports do MVP awards) and have that be a multiplier for the amount of voting power that person has. Then when either the contest is over or when the voting period has ended if you want to do it earlier reveal where everybody came out in the category. I know there is no way to compel people to but I would also state that this category be taken even more seriously than the others. Maybe even offer up more money as a prize in it to reward your most loyal OCSMs here.
I thought as long as I'm complaining it was only right to offer advice or some solutions also. Really though I think I probably care too much and it’s turned into something that just isn’t worth bothering with it anymore. Maybe I should start seeing the contest for what it is and not what it tries to be. Still, having the most loyal, friendly, dedicated, and personable OCSMs of FreeOnes getting what seems to be cheated to me is just something that irks me enough I can’t put it aside as easily. If it wasn’t for that I could write the whole thing off.
