Michael,
I've been following this thread from the get-go. I too have participated a few times. And there have been challenges in which I didn't participate. I suppose one finds it difficult to be everywhere at once...:redface:
In my thinking about this thread, there are some things that I think would be relevant in increasing participation in the Challenges. The Challenges forum has a lot of similarities to the Collective Shoots. The CS's have a dedicated coordinator who has worked with the mods to advertise the CS existence - getting stickies posted, changed each week as we move from one theme to the next, etc... Thru a series of meetings, the CS has been "streamlined" with consideration given to our global membership. The shoots run from Thursday to Thursday - creating an overlap on Thursdays - and eliminating downtime between the shoots. So I would say that the Challenges need to be consistently structured from one to the next: Shooting & posting time, Judging time, The results, and then on to the next. I think the Challenges need a dedicated coordinator overseeing things so that they run smoothly.
As the CS coordinator, I keep a calendar that is solely for keeping track of who has volunteered to host for which week, and what their chosen theme is. I do a lot of theme-storming with the hosts many weeks before their scheduled hosting period. Yes - this means a little bit of work, but I do this so that potential themes are kept as broad-based as possible, not limiting with regards to geography, society, etc... It also assures me that a given week has a committed host, and that that person isn't desparately trying to come up with a theme off the top of their heads. I have a "standard reminder PM" that goes out on Tuesdays (also noted on the calendar) to the upcoming host for the next shoot. And every host gets a heartfelt 'Thank You' PM after the wrap-up of their week. It only works because being proactive and each host have played a part in making it work.
Of course, the CS's are geared towards the collective spirit that makes the cafe the wonderful place that we all love. It doesn't have the competitiveness of the Challenges. But the CS's do pull in a pretty consistent average of 10 views for every post made. 900+ views and 90+ posts each week isn't as much as some other threads on the cafe, but we're doing it every week. And the mix of participants is comprised of newbies and veterans, amateurs and professionals, and even the moderators.
And here is where I think you could implement one small change in the Challenges: The Challenges are the only threads that I can think of that don't offer any type of C&C. And isn't that one of the core reasons why we're here? - To gather together, To share the fruits of our labors, And to learn how we might do better the next time. So, one solution to this could be to change the voting to include a C&C by each voter as to why they are picking one image over another.
Here's where I got the idea from: When I showed horses for years, after each class was the time for participants from the previously judged class to ask the judge what they did wrong, could have done better, etc... And in all my years of horse-showing, I don't recall a judge not taking a minute to explain why they placed the participants in the order placed. In fact, most judges were happy to do so because it showed them that the participants wanted to learn.
I have yet to place in a Challenge. And I have yet to learn what I could have done better in the ones in which I have participated. I don't think asking the voters to include a bit of C&C with the casting of their vote would be too much to ask. Keep the structure of posting each vote the same, so that the tally can be done easily. Perhaps add comments below their vote.
Or, wait a minute...perhaps an even better idea: Maybe we could have place where everyone who views a given Challenge thread could post their comments? :wink: Any thoughts on that?
Well, as in anything, those are my thoughts for now. Thanks for reading. :smile:
