Sep 19 2008
Contest #12: Finalists
This week was amazing. In addition to the excellent variety of villain-based limericks, we were also treated to an epic 3-way poetry battle between Greg, Jakutz, and Stevel Knievel. Neither Greg nor Jakutz made the finals, so the awesomeness that infuses their cells and makes them slightly luminescent in low light will have to be their only reward. The week also saw the release of what is, thus far, my favorite set of merch: MM’s Portmanteau Collection.
There are plenty of users to recognize this week who didn’t make the finals, but were nonetheless noteworthy (either for being popular or MM Staff Favorites). There were Zabo’s Skeletor, Padma’s Bush, Greg’s Drunk Driver, Drewbert’s Bush, Dawson’s Narnia, Brendan’s MM Contest Villains, and Jim Pettit’s Wicked-ass Witch. Lastly, Alex, also in the finals for another poem, wrote an interesting limerick composed mostly of unrhymable words.
Your top five limerickists for Contest #12 are Alex, Stevel Knievel, Gig, Shiradee, and Sherry Baker (who has the chance to be MM’s first 2x winner). The poll will be open until 5pm EST on Sunday, the winner will be announced shortly after that.
Vote for your favorite entry into Contest #12: Villainous Limerick
- Shiradee's answer
If Clark Kent had battled Lex Luther
He'd have ended up an ex-toother
So Superman stepped in
With his winningest grin
Now Luther is quite a bit couther (33%, 19 Votes) - Sherry Baker's answer
The Witch from the West lights my fuse
And that East witch could drive one to booze
But More evil than *they*
Is Glinda, I say.
That scheming bitch still has my SHOES!
(as told by the Wicked Witch of the South) (31%, 18 Votes) - Alex's answer
He stands before a small cave;
Don't be fooled by the size of the knave!
He'll tear you to bits
Ere you land any hits:
He's the rabbit that guards Joseph's grave!
('Here may be found the last words of Joseph of Arimathea. He who is valiant and pure of spirit may find the Holy Grail in the Castle of aaaaaagggh'.) (14%, 8 Votes) - Stevel Knievel's answer
this villain is really a prick.
he always shows up when you click
on the youtube movie
that you'd most like to see,
but instead you just get roll'd by NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP,
NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN, NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND DESERT YOU,
NEVER GONNA MAKE YOU CRY, NEVER GONNA SAY GOODBYE,
NEVER GONNA TELL A LIE AND HURT YOU
(gotcha, suckerz) (12%, 7 Votes) - Gig's answer
Old Adolph collected the Jews
Took the gold from their teeth; art and shoes,
On his last day to think,
He poured Eva a drink,
Took his pill and lay down for a snooze. (10%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 58
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September 19th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Should I stop mentioning when a previous contest winner has a shot at becoming our first 2x winner? Am I cursing them? Do people root for or against previous winners? I wonder…
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greg reply on September 20th, 2008 4:34 am:
Geesh, I wish you hadn’t asked this.
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September 19th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
It looks like he slaughtered both of us, Greg.
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Stevel Knievel reply on September 20th, 2008 12:53 am:
no. you were slaughtered by the SYSTEM. god i’m pissed.
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September 19th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Yes, but need I remind you that we are luminescent at the cellular level…like that scary shit at the beach.
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September 19th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Good luck, Stevel!
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September 20th, 2008 at 12:15 am
i’m going to smoke you all. mwah hahaahahaa
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September 20th, 2008 at 12:52 am
okay, what the hell? WHY ISN’T GREG’S DRUNK DRIVER ON HERE? It got the fifth most votes, underneath mine, mine, mine, and mine. Why do we even have the thumb system, if it MEANS NOTHING? Plus, why did my Rick Astin limerick get on here, when it was a bad joke and definitely not my best?
f*ck, i’m not voting! no, wait, i’m putting in a write-in vote for Greg.
Greg’s Drunk Driver: (AWESOME%, 1 Vote)
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ThatGirl reply on September 20th, 2008 2:59 am:
I agree! Monsieur Kneivel’s Phantom and Witches were superior. But in the spirit of protest, I will write in for Greg also.
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Jakutz reply on September 20th, 2008 8:46 pm:
Greg’s was really clever.
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September 20th, 2008 at 3:12 am
yeah. greg gets my vote too.
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September 20th, 2008 at 4:32 am
Come on, guys. We knew that there were several components in putting up the list of finalists, like judge’s pick, trying to offset early vs. late entries, and trying to determine which entries would make better merchandise. I think that what Stevel is doing is cool, and I appreciate that he likes my limerick almost as much as his four (!), but I don’t want to take away anything from the people who were really put on the ballot this week. I’m okay with just having zillions of people buy a shirt I wrote! (It could happen…in some dimension…or a dream…)
Thank you! (I feel like Juan Peron.)
At least it wasn’t Eva…wait! No one did an Evita limerick? A tragic oversight. We could have set them to music and … no, it’s been done.
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greg reply on September 20th, 2008 4:45 am:
…would that be peronious villimericking?
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greg reply on September 20th, 2008 4:48 am:
definition – accidentally forgetting Eva Peron when charged with the task of writing villainous limericks.
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September 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I realize this is a rebellion against us, but I can’t help but like it. We always want to hear feedback on our methods. Our current feeling is that there is no better system for determining finalists than the one we have now. As Greg mentioned, we have to compensate for early/late entries, people’s friends voting them up, and entries being within the rules for that week’s contest. With such a subjective system, individuals are bound to disagree with our choices. We understand that and are happy to hear constructive criticism.
Stevel, I can understand your frustration, but I think the final five this week are very strong. Greg’s limerick’s were fabulous, but they didn’t make the cut this week. The level of talent on this site is so high that every week we have outstanding entries that don’t make the finals. You may not have thought your Rick Roll limerick was your best but it many people thought it was clever and found it humorous.
From your comments it sounds like you were under the impression that this was a straight highest-votes-make-the-finals system. Maybe we haven’t done a good enough job of making it clear exactly how the system works. We’ll add a few notes to the contest rules.
How does everyone else feel? Are this week’s selections not representative of the best of the entries?
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greg reply on September 20th, 2008 7:39 pm:
It’s hard to explain to someone how something “fabulous” doesn’t cut it. A subjective system should not mixed or confused with an objective system. Objectivity carries the burden of having to be demonstratable and quantifiable. Show me the numbers. For a subjective system to work, you must have trust and respect between the folks making the decisions and those who are affected by those decisions. Their subjective take on things must be accepted as “among the best.”
As for my drunk driving limerick, I know that it follows the rhyme scheme and does so with a fairly unanticipated (if not downright sophisticated) end sound. I also know that it followed the rhythm pattern of a limerick (and quite a few didn’t), but could be read in error with a different (and wrong) beat. And I know that the limerick had a “Bang” at the end that came as a surprise or revelation. Objectively, it would get an “A.” But subjectively? Other limericks were way more funny. They were way less “weighty.” Other limericks were much more current, or specifically not current on purpose. Other limericks kept it light. And the most important of all–there are a bunch of others that will sell long before a message about driving sober could ever hope to sell.
Lastly, are you after finalists that are “representative of the best”
or do you want the best? That’s a choice you’ll have to make because it will be reflected in the way you run every aspect of your business.
It all leaves me with a sort of weird feeling about the contests. I suspect (or was I told?) that what we write on this forum, it becomes the intellectual property of MentalMagma.com, and as such you are free to harvest what you will from everything we write. The prize for each week constitutes the “payment for our creativity” and we willingly have fun providing better and better stuff for the guys with the start-up cash (and who will appear on the morning news shows if it’s a hit) and the ones who stand to reap a return on their investment.
And I’m not complaining. I’ve had a business and it was hard enough without a partner, it must be four times worse with too many generals.
My preference for the contest? Call it a Challenge instead, randomly award those people who’s stuff you can or will use, and keep it fun.
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September 20th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I feel Stevel’s Rick Roll limerick was one of the most creative and timely entries. But I understand his shock. I, too, prefer my other entries (Freddie Krueger and The Joker) to my Lex Luther ditty, which made the finals.
What this proves is that we, the contestants, as elected representatives, know nothing and should gratefully submit to the will of the Mental Magma Overlords, the Amer’can people and The Lord Jebus.
However, once we get to the finals, if the peeps and Jebus are busy and/or prone to mischief, could a panel of unaffiliated judges be engaged?
ps. I also thought the one about Simon Cowell was quite good.
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September 20th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
make cookies mandatory, and randomly select a group of users to vote on the finalists to win. you may have to wait until there is a larger user base before implementing this in order to prevent ties due to small numbers of voters.
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September 20th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
cooly is no fooly!
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September 20th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I feel that there is a simple solution to this problem. In my view, MM needs to decide just exactly how it wants to run, like an administration with adherents, or like a somewhat unorganized collective.
The collective approach supports a looser system in which the creation of the material and selling of crap is paramount, and the actual winner, tangential.
The administrative approach would, however, support a well-defined system of choosing those specific entries that are “best” and awarding the true “winners”.
The latter approach creates a greater prestige in winning, which will motivate many to be more creative. However, it also can be seen as stifling due to its rigidity and therefore squelch creativity.
I think that the majority of MM contributors would likely term themselves intelligent people, and would like to see a logical system for choosing winners, so support an administrative view, however they recognize the main goal of creativity and the importance of flexibility, and so would like the final say in creating these rules and having the ability to change them.
Can anyone smell Locke’s treatise on government yet? Yes, the Social Contract. I’m saying that if MM acts vaguely like a democratic government, it can be most successful and enjoyable for all.
Personally, I, as a concerned and civic-minded citizen propose to define the finalist choosing process by stating that some “x” number of finalists be chosen by picking those highest rated entries by the thumb system, while allowing only one entry per user. The remaining finalists shall be chosen by some contingent of judges (whether these could be secondary entries of users already chosen or not would have to be decided). In order to remove the date of entry issue from the thumb system, I would say that the deadline for entry simply be moved slightly earlier (thursday, perhaps), and friday used for primary voting, with the same finalist run-off system over the weekend, that way no voting could occur until all entries were present. This makes the creative time slightly shorter, and the time investment for voting more compressed and calendar-limited, but eliminates the bias towards earlier or later entries.
I encourage others to propose solutions and take ownership of this Democratic Administrative Collective that is MM by supporting, discrediting, modifying, and otherwise commenting on my ideas and submitting their own. The best way for this forum to grow and prosper is for its contributors to take collective ownership in it and participate fully in it. I welcome comments on the truth of these statements by Gabriel and others in the “Powers that Be” category of MMers, and can’t wait to see what the hell happens to this place!
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Gabriel reply on September 20th, 2008 11:18 pm:
Zabo, your motion is quite intriguing. We’re definitely willing to entertain the notion of ceding control of finalist selections. I’m curious as to why you only want the top “x” finalists chosen by the votes and not all of them. Is that just to work in the guest judge concept or do you have other rationale?
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Jakutz reply on September 20th, 2008 11:43 pm:
…I have no idea what you guys are talking about.
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Gabriel reply on September 21st, 2008 12:04 am:
After giving this some more thought I’m convinced it wouldn’t be practical as written. Most users visit the site several times over the week and rate as they read entries. Imagine surfing over to MM on Friday and having to rate the 60+ entries all at one time. I think we have a minority of users who would do that, but I believe the average user would rate a few (probably whichever entries were at the top) and move on. People just aren’t willing to dedicate that kind of time chunk to a website.
Although I recently argued against it, moving to a 5-star rating system could mitigate the early entry advantage (because it’s an average instead of something cumulative). We’d have to set some minimum number of ratings an entry would have to get in order to be eligible for the finals. We could still move the deadline for entries back a little (maybe moonoon on Thursday) to give adequate rating time.
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Zabo reply on September 21st, 2008 6:48 pm:
I kind of assumed that my idea would be unacceptable for these reasons, but perhaps simply overlapping voting and entering less could work(i.e. don’t change the deadline, just start voting on say Wed.), or the American Idol system of entering for contest 2 on the same week that we vote on contest 1′s entries, though I’m not certain that would help. Also, I feel that levels of rating (five stars, double thumbs, etc.) would very much help in deciding just which ones to vote for (since we could vote with different weights). I like fooly cooly’s idea of randomly chosen judges, but that would pin responsibility on users randomly, perhaps in weeks that they would not want it, or maybe all users wouldn’t want to be judges, so this could be come more complicated than it seems on the surface.
For as much crap as we’re throwing around, I’m glad it’s happening, means somebody cares :P
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fooly cooly reply on September 21st, 2008 7:56 pm:
I’ve considered this, and it’s why i don’t think my idea is practical until the user base expands
fooly cooly reply on September 21st, 2008 7:58 pm:
see, if 20 people were chosen at random out of 60, and only 15 ended up voting, it would be no big deal. but if 5 people were chosen at random out of 15, you really need them all to vote, or at least almost all of them
September 20th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hey everybody. If you guys decide to overthrow our Mental Magmasters, will you consider putting me in charge? I have an IQ of like 8 billion.
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Gabriel reply on September 21st, 2008 12:10 am:
on the nanoIQ scale. :)
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greg reply on September 21st, 2008 12:33 am:
ouch
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Jakutz reply on September 21st, 2008 1:35 pm:
pwned :( lol
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Stevel Knievel reply on September 21st, 2008 12:46 am:
frick man, 8 billion?
OVER NINE THOUSAND???
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Jakutz reply on September 21st, 2008 1:33 pm:
Holy shit! I just watched that for the first time like 8 hours ago. If you’re stalking me, you should probably know that I carry mace in my purse (the kind used to bludgeon noob’s heads).
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Stevel Knievel reply on September 21st, 2008 11:36 pm:
jakutz… i know you’re a dude, man. you shouldn’t be carrying a purse. you know better than that.
Jakutz reply on September 22nd, 2008 12:47 am:
I know, I know. They’re just so damn convenient. I mean what else am I going to carry my mace around in?
September 21st, 2008 at 12:42 am
i still think my suggestion is good, because it deals with the problem of friends voting each other’s entries up. i don’t think this is a problem currently, but if and when the user base expands, it could definitely become one. an extreme solution to this problem would be one or a combination of the following: making the entries anonymous, and getting rid of the thumbs completely. as i see it, the thumbs really are only there for moral support to let someone know others like their entry without them having to write a comment saying so.
i think that ideally, a group of x users would be notified by email that they have been randomly selected to choose five finalists. their lists would be compared, and the most frequently occurring entries would be selected for the finalists. this being a privately-owned website, mental magma should reserve the right to tell the x random users if an entry is unacceptable as a finalist, due to marketing or rules reasons, or any reason they want.
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September 21st, 2008 at 3:55 am
totally off-topic and back to the fun. Some the pix in the collage have me stuck. Do you have a list?
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September 21st, 2008 at 9:35 am
Wow, I miss a couple of weeks here at Mental Magma and all hell breaks loose!
*makes a note to stick around and monitor the situation*
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September 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
what if you just made everyone register, like on a normal forum, and then each user could only vote once? that would eliminate what I call “harvesting IP addresses”, something I have sneaking suspicions about…
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fooly cooly reply on September 21st, 2008 3:59 pm:
it would be easy enough just to make multiple accounts
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Jakutz reply on September 21st, 2008 6:14 pm:
True, but at least they would have to go to more trouble. They’d have to set up different email addresses and such. Maybe we should make a photo ID mandatory for distinct member verification.
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Stevel Knievel reply on September 21st, 2008 11:38 pm:
well, you could make it so only registered users could vote… and then also make it so an IP address can’t vote twice.
then it would be WAY too much trouble to create multiple accounts AND find different computers to vote with.
that way it stands now, creating a crowd is easy! for instance, Jakutz and I are the same person… I can just change the name and email address in the reply box whenever i want. I need to be stopped!
Jakutz reply on September 22nd, 2008 12:49 am:
See, it’s just this simple.
Gabriel reply on September 22nd, 2008 12:58 am:
I know that is the real Jakutz because of the unique image generated for his IP address that shows up next to his name.
Of course, he could post from a computer other than his usual one and we couldn’t be certain of his identity.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 am
We’re going to put some of these ideas to a vote later this week.
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September 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 am
So if I switch the letters in my name, do I get a different image?
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September 6th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
I rarely see an option to place an image in a blog comment like this, I’m surprised no one, not even me, took advantage. Guess I missed the contest..oh well….nice blog though
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