Contest Ideas - our first contest...

[moe.red]

This is a question type thread and every reader has a vote, up or down. Lets group source the best way to build an online contest.

We have all seen the Picture Of The Month type contests. POTM has it's ups and downs.

The biggest issue is that the people competing cheat. It has spoiled what should have been a cool thing many times that I am aware of.
Maybe its worth it. Take the bad with the good?

Please post your best idea on how this 2nd contest should be run. The one with the good prizes @TSD mentioned.

As for the first one - who has the best idea here? Highest voted idea gets something good, just not sure what yet

 

[Anthem275]

The greater the prize the greater the chances are somebody will cheat. I've seen people do some pretty fucked up things to win a light when I ran contests on a forum. I've also see vote trading as in somebody only voting for a friend to win one month and the favor is paid back the next. I've also seen people beg for votes and only posting in people's thread to ask for votes.

But those were different forums and different people. From what I see everybody here is mature and there's no snakes in the grass so I think an honor system would work here.
At the same time minimize prizes to nothing more than a sort of badge or title, maybe sticky & pin their grow journal for a month at the top of the diaries...Stuff like that. Reduce prizes to really nothing more than bragging rights and I think that would greatly reduce any desire to cheat a contest.

Bandit
Check out this bud.

 

[Shaded]

The greater the prize the greater the chances are somebody will cheat. I've seen people do some pretty fucked up things to win a light when I ran contests on a forum. I've also see vote trading as in somebody only voting for a friend to win one month and the favor is paid back the next. I've also seen people beg for votes and only posting in people's thread to ask for votes.

But those were different forums and different people. From what I see everybody here is mature and there's no snakes in the grass so I think an honor system would work here.
At the same time minimize prizes to nothing more than a sort of badge or title, maybe sticky & pin their grow journal for a month at the top of the diaries...Stuff like that. Reduce prizes to really nothing more than bragging rights and I think that would greatly reduce any desire to cheat a contest.

I agree. We should limit the prizes to seeds as the most $ material object that can be "won" with the other prizes being badges or titles that people can display on their profiles or throw in their signatures. Small little trophy icon or something.

I know a lot of you guys & gals have some really great seeds and genetics that many of us would love to access. I don't think many of us here need to win free lights or fan controllers.

 

[Amnesia]

Would staff be ineligible to win prizes? If so, then perhaps they could form a panel to decide winners. I suggest this because recognition shapes culture. Winning a prize sends a message, but what that message communicates can be nuanced or unpredictable. Prizes can be a popularity contest, and often are. They can reinforce positive contributions or establish informal leaders. They can be meaningless or result in unintended consequences. They can lead to disappointment and disaffection for the non-winners. Thus, issues such as these invite deliberation regarding what type of culture the leadership wants to create for the forum and us ordinary members.

 

[CannaGranny]

The greater the prize the greater the chances are somebody will cheat. I've seen people do some pretty fucked up things to win a light when I ran contests on a forum. I've also see vote trading as in somebody only voting for a friend to win one month and the favor is paid back the next. I've also seen people beg for votes and only posting in people's thread to ask for votes.

But those were different forums and different people. From what I see everybody here is mature and there's no snakes in the grass so I think an honor system would work here.
At the same time minimize prizes to nothing more than a sort of badge or title, maybe sticky & pin their grow journal for a month at the top of the diaries...Stuff like that. Reduce prizes to really nothing more than bragging rights and I think that would greatly reduce any desire to cheat a contest.

Hmmmmm. Sad that we would negate good prizes for the fear that someone may cheat! I have a few good prizes that I plan to donate to our cause. If this is done like this, then I can’t. These are prizes that would greatly benefit another grower.
A journal would indeed make everyone stand on their own two feet, I like that idea for sure.
As for giving in to and building a basis on a few less than honest people… for me that’s a no.

 

[ninjadip]

Whatever the monthly contest is, limit previous winners eligibility in some way.

I like the potm, but understand the cheating to it. I like the idea of various contest types by @TSD , like have a rotation or something. Maybe around fall have an outdoor only potm, another month coolest edible, maybe a best write-up for the month, biggest fan leaf month, best looking male plant for breeding month, and maybe a crap prize for butthole of the month(some herm seeds)

Just a few ideas, I love the idea of switching it up and looking forward to what *kind of contest the next month will be.

 

[Bandit420]

Hmmmmm. Sad that we would negate good prizes for the fear that someone may cheat! I have a few good prizes that I plan to donate to our cause. If this is done like this, then I can’t. These are prizes that would greatly benefit another grower.
A journal would indeed make everyone stand on their own two feet, I like that idea for sure.
As for giving in to and building a basis on a few less than honest people… for me that’s a no.

The worst thing I ever saw was a guy create 157 accounts and use them to vote then swing the results in his favor. That was for a light contest. I don't think we have people here who would do that plus the guy who did it also plagiarized diaries and pics from other forums calling them his own. He was a special kind of crazy. I don't see that here and I don't see anybody on here just to get online clout but as the forum grows, later on it could be an issue.

 

[TSD]

Yeah prizes won't be anything crazy. Some seeds, some merch with BudBuilders logo, small smoking implemets... etc. Not really trying to get a bad rep doing shady shit ya dig? We'll figure out all those details.
We're thinking staff would be eligible to compete and win, but for clout alone and not claim prizes. We're thinking either save that month's prize and roll it over, give the prize to the first non staff runner up, maybe do a revote for the remaining finalists?
We're definitely going to switch it up and have different types of contests.
I'm thinking we'll make a new thread to vote for the finalists so everyone gets a say. Top 3, top 5? It will depend on how involved people get I suppose.
Great ideas guys, keep them coming!

 

[MDK]

Grower of the year with an nice write up for the winner. Something to let them shine.

I can make a bunch of novelty pipes out of bullshit you'd make pipes out of when you were 12 smokin regs...as sort of a gag gift...foily, socket with tape and metal tube into a 2 liter, 3 liter gravity bongs, steam roller made out of paper towel roll with an aluminum foil screen...real shelf pieces .....all jokes aside kinda got me thinking of some wild stoner art in the homemade dept (to be continued possibly)

 

[Rootsruler]

Maybe it would be best to separate the different "contests". For digital badges there could be milestones, kind of like Boy Scout merit badges. Contests like POTM are subjective and will always have those looking for a way to "beat the system". For those subjective contests I think digital badges only to keep the cheating down to a minimum.

As far as actual gear given out I would like to see companies come in and do raffles like on "other" sites but with the requirement that there be no requirement from the raffle winner. It was nice to get something useful like the light I got from VS. The company can request a diary but no requirement on the winners part. If they want an honest review of their product they can go through admin and admin can decide who will test out the equipment and write the review. I think it would be best to have someone with experience run reviews like that as they'll make less mistakes vs a newb that just joined, entered and won. Of course if the manufacturers product is pointed at a specific group like a newb then admin can assign that to who they think would best fit that criteria. BTW...admin....choosers will always be losers so no winners from Admin staff!

As @Amnesia said, it will set the culture of the site and, after a short time, when people realize there is no monetary gain in the reviews we'll probably see a lot more traffic as most are looking for honest reviews when making gear purchasing decisions and knowing that vendors have no influence on the reviews is a big plus for what this site originally was created for.

Maybe a gear only section where members can post up their experiences with the gear they have, and won if that happens here. It would be a great resource for those of us looking to up our game but not sure what's out there that can get us where we want to go. It can also weed out bad reviews that some of the more experienced can temper if the reviewer wasn't as well versed in the products use as they should have been. Perhaps some of the gear vendors wouldn't even mind sponsoring the gear only section with the understanding that no banners or advertisement apart from a small banner noting their sponsorship and the allowance of competitors in the forum. It could also be a space to do customer support for some of the vendors when members run into issues with their product.

I'm super thankful to the founders for having created this site but I also know that it costs money to run a site like this. If we can limit the advertising maybe to ONLY the gear section at least you know going in what you're getting jumping into that section.

 

[moe.red]

Bandit
Check out this bud. View attachment 7023

Fake news.

This is what we are up against tho. AI created images for people who just have to win…

 

[moe.red]

I'm super thankful to the founders for having created this site but I also know that it costs money to run a site like this. If we can limit the advertising maybe to ONLY the gear section at least you know going in what you're getting jumping into that section.

I’d rather fund the forum myself than give up on the founding principles. We are so young, I still think we can do it the way we set out to.

Maybe there is a way we can buy some of these items wholesale for prizes. Along with the seeds and other things we already have lined up?

I just hate the thought of sponsorships. Sorry if I am being a stick in the mud.

 

[tobh]

I’d rather fund the forum myself than give up on the founding principles. We are so young, I still think we can do it the way we set out to.

Maybe there is a way we can buy some of these items wholesale for prizes. Along with the seeds and other things we already have lined up?

I just hate the thought of sponsorships. Sorry if I am being a stick in the mud.

No, I agree with this 100%. Most, if not all of us here, know damn well what happens when sponsors get involved and the incentives to violate the honor system outweigh an individual's moral inhibitions. Hell, I'll bump my monthly patreon contributions in increments of $10/month up to a point simply to help ease the financial burdens of keeping this place running before sponsorships or ads become a real consideration. Kinda like having VCs inject money into startups -- once that happens, the control is no longer in the hands of the people, but in the hands of the bankroll.

I really dig the idea of a variety of contests, changing every month, or quarterly. On whatever cadence, it doesn't matter. A lot of people here grow all kinds of different things and we have an incredible variety of different talents here, so why not open it up beyond just a POTM? Consider yourself a master rose gardener? Then post up your most perfect blooms and compete with the other rose gardeners. Have some beastly tomatoes? Let's see how they measure up to every other Joe Schmoe's fruits.

Inherently introduce some variety and exclusivity, plus with the variety of contests, it'll never get stale nor encourage the same kind of historical pattern of the same people always cropping up in the top n contenders, and hopefully avoid the motivations of handout seekers. Hell, eliminating even physical prizes but sticking with badges would be just fine in my book.

Just don't encourage me with a butthole of the month contest lol I'll be tempted to take that bragging right every single month

 

[MDK]

@tobh you ain't wrong. I joined another board looking for someone recently and it's pretty much just a bunch of people begging you to start a grow journal or dropping by to flex their "brand"

 

[Anthem275]

Bandit
Check out this bud. View attachment 7023

It looks too good to be true because it is too good to be true. A friend sent me that picture. It was generated using AI software

 

[2Bad]

Stoned Selfie Contest- See who can get the highest/look the highest and that person wins the highest high award icon badge.

 

[Amnesia]

There are models of awards available that we see in other endeavors. I'm thinking of the annual sports awards. In our case, there could be awards for newcomer grower of the year, most improved grower, most inspirational grower, best grower, etc. Maybe that sounds dumb, but it may be possible to borrow some ideas from elsewhere.

 

[Amnesia]

Stoned Selfie Contest- See who can get the highest/look the highest and that person wins the highest high award icon badge.

Only if members were the only ones who could see the pictures.

 

[Rootsruler]

I’d rather fund the forum myself than give up on the founding principles. We are so young, I still think we can do it the way we set out to.

Maybe there is a way we can buy some of these items wholesale for prizes. Along with the seeds and other things we already have lined up?

I just hate the thought of sponsorships. Sorry if I am being a stick in the mud.

I hear ya! I just wish there was a way to unburden the financial costs while still maintaining credibility.

 

[Moshmen]

Dosen't protect the person your sending it to

Red says a computer board fucks with the e ray - and unless you’re sending pounds Moe gives a shot - biggest worry is it getting stolen if they know at the post office !

 

[2Bad]

Only if members were the only ones who could see the pictures.

We could wear our masks from the pandemic!

 

[SweetLeafGrow]

May be a dumb idea BUT what if we approached this a bit different? Think raffle.

What if to enter the contest, you could nominate yourself, but the cost of admission would be something like $20? Nominate yourself as much as you want, 20 bucks each time.

But unlike a raffle, where the winner is drawn random, the community votes the winner. With enough $20 entry fees, we could possibly offer a light or something like that. If there were extra funds, just roll that over to the next month.

Folks could enter if they truly want to win and think they have a chance, but others, like so many in everyday raffles, buy with the idea they most likely will not win but do it anyway to support the cause....a way to support the site at the same time as we're having a contest.

Just an idea to chew on...

 

[Rootsruler]

May be a dumb idea BUT what if we approached this a bit different? Think raffle.

What if to enter the contest, you could nominate yourself, but the cost of admission would be something like $20? Nominate yourself as much as you want, 20 bucks each time.

But unlike a raffle, where the winner is drawn random, the community votes the winner. With enough $20 entry fees, we could possibly offer a light or something like that. If there were extra funds, just roll that over to the next month.

Folks could enter if they truly want to win and think they have a chance, but others, like so many in everyday raffles, buy with the idea they most likely will not win but do it anyway to support the cause....a way to support the site at the same time as we're having a contest.

Just an idea to chew on...

Oooohhh....I like that.

Of course, now the argument will be which light is the best to raffle off!!

 

[tobh]

I too like that idea, but what about instead of raffling off a price, the funds go towards charity. For instance, say a brother bud builder in an illegal state gets hemmed up. The raffle funds go towards their legal defense. Or, a member has a medical emergency in their family, the funds go to support them through their struggle.

Give the whole thing a philanthropist twist. Hell, I'd enter it and say give it all to the red cross simply because that organization helped my mother and I in really big ways after our house burned down.

The problem becomes how to handle the funds in an escrow so that we're not setting up a prime target for any exit scam or other type of theft.

 

[Zen_seeker]

How about we all start a grow journal and everyone votes on the best overall grow journal at the end! So the journal with the most likes, or maybe we can have a poll thread to vote for the best grow thread. Best grow thread will have the best photos, most engagement, most complete descriptions and explanations of everything done in the grow and the best and biggest yield.
Winner gets free seeds or something and a sweet name badge. Since a grow takes around 4 months from dropping a seed to harvest, we have to figure out when to start these and how many to host per year. Maybe like the Bud Builders Summer Grow-Off and a fall growoff?

Literally what I posted.

 

[Zen_seeker]

We could wear our masks from the pandemic!

Wearing a mask while committing any crime is a separate offence.

 

[TSD]

We could also use a lot of these ideas, but at different times... one month a small giveaway, one month a charitable contest for a cause, or an individual if someone is in need, one month a 50/50 raffle with half to the winner and half to the site's coffers, one month a raffle where we buy something cool with the funds and the winner gets the thing, we could even vote on what the prize would be from the best suggestions... one month just for clout and a fun title, one month a masterclass with someone who is a master at something... don't look at me, I'm good at lots of stuff, but a master at nothing lol. We don't need fancy sponsorships here, we have good people with great ideas and we'll make this the best and most fun weed forum the world has ever seen!

Also, I feel like this camping trip @Moe.Red mentioned could actually happen and I would love to meet some of you humans irl! If there are folks actually interested in that, we should start a thread for it!

 

[ninjadip]

I'm down for buying some merch, that's a great way to generate some money for operating costs/contests prizes.

also could have a contest for user artwork that gets put on next month's merch with their user handle/avatar in the corner or something. wouldn't mind a new break-up tray with the bud builders logo and some cool art behind it.

 

[ninjadip]

Also, I feel like this camping trip @Moe.Red mentioned could actually happen and I would love to meet some of you humans irl! If there are folks actually interested in that, we should start a thread for it!

My wife and I are campers and I'm down for it! I value my semi-anonymity(probably a false sense on my part) on here but am def willing to meet some of you guys.

Reminds me of this BBS i got on when i was a kid that had weekly get-togethers. It was like oh you are "orange cat" (my early digital handle) lol

hopefully not like that bob's burgers where bob meets the people from the online forum and finds out they all hate him

@TSD
If you make a thread, can you tag me on it so i see it?

 

[Kopper1013]

What if we just didn’t know what the prize was That could be up to the staff, maybe it’s a badge, maybe seed’s maybe a cool helpful donated prize by CG at least then maybe people would be more apt to do it for the love of doing it. Also like @TSD idea

 

[MysticEpipedon]

I know:

1. Contestants send in their $20 entrance fee.
2. All contestants send in a copy of their 1040 forms.
3. Contestants put their assets into a blind trust.
2. We implant a chip to determine whether the contestant is lying, or if the technology for lie detection does not yet exist, we send a signal to the chip to get contestants to squawk like chickens.
5. Contestants are interviewed, using good-cop/bad-cop techniques.
6. Contestants spend 24 hours in a sensory deprivation chamber.

OK, is this a photo contest? At some point I guess we'll have to look at photos. I'm still working on that part.

 

[Amnesia]

What if the prize were plane tickets so people from other parts of the country could join the cool kids' camping trip? The forum culture is taking shape and there hasn't even been a contest yet. The discussion is also moving beyond practicality or affordability. Why not conduct a poll to assess interest?

 

[Pipecarver]

Idea for a contest, We all need the same seeds, $20 USA entry fee gets us 1 fem seed to pop and grow over a given time period. All soak crack and pop seeds on the same date, what ever method you use for popping. Plant then flip same date and harvest same date with pics updated weekly. A small prize of select seeds bought by entry fee cash go to winner. Someone would have to take charge, gather entry fee, ship selected seeds to participants and figure a way to judge the grown plant and ship off the prize seeds. Details would need to be worked out but that's an idea off my first J of the day....

 

[Pipecarver]

What if the prize were plane tickets so people from other parts of the country could join the cool kids' camping trip? The forum culture is taking shape and there hasn't even been a contest yet. The discussion is also moving beyond practicality or affordability. Why not conduct a poll to assess interest?

I read something about you in the Seattle area. i'm a west coast boy myself I've been through Seattle countless times on the way to Seatac. I measured on Google maps the distance for me to get to the Ozarks near Grannies place then on up to Seattle and we're about equal distance away, a 32hr drive at posted speeds from Nova Scotia.....

Not this year lol & the closest I get to camping now is Motel 6 after reading a bed bug review. I needs a soft bed and power equipment to sleep, the days of passing out around a camp fire are done for us....

 

[moe.red]

I know:

1. Contestants send in their $20 entrance fee.
2. All contestants send in a copy of their 1040 forms.
3. Contestants put their assets into a blind trust.
2. We implant a chip to determine whether the contestant is lying, or if the technology for lie detection does not yet exist, we send a signal to the chip to get contestants to squawk like chickens.
5. Contestants are interviewed, using good-cop/bad-cop techniques.
6. Contestants spend 24 hours in a sensory deprivation chamber.

OK, is this a photo contest? At some point I guess we'll have to look at photos. I'm still working on that part.

Too funny brother.

I've been thinking about the timeframes involved with a grow. If we were to do a picture type contest, one way to get around the cheating is to make it a whole grow. So show the start (seedling or whatever) the veg, flower, and the final money shot, whatever that means to the grower.

This style would lend itself well to 3 contests a year over 4 months each. Something like that. Then fill in the other months with the ideas above.

I also see no harm in folks entering the contest with intentions of winning, meaning you do not need to be nominated by someone else.

I love all the ideas here. @TSD has her work cut out for her!

As for the camping trip - there are so many fun float trips in the MO Scenic Waterways. Floating down the crystal clear water a couple feet deep in an inner tube or canoe while getting blitzed sounds pretty fun to me, I'm in 100% if we figure something like that out. I'll even make a substantial cannabis donation to the effort if it is in MO.

 

[Rootsruler]

Too funny brother.

I've been thinking about the timeframes involved with a grow. If we were to do a picture type contest, one way to get around the cheating is to make it a whole grow. So show the start (seedling or whatever) the veg, flower, and the final money shot, whatever that means to the grower.

This style would lend itself well to 3 contests a year over 4 months each. Something like that. Then fill in the other months with the ideas above.

I also see no harm in folks entering the contest with intentions of winning, meaning you do not need to be nominated by someone else.

I love all the ideas here. @TSD has her work cut out for her!

As for the camping trip - there are so many fun float trips in the MO Scenic Waterways. Floating down the crystal clear water a couple feet deep in an inner tube or canoe while getting blitzed sounds pretty fun to me, I'm in 100% if we figure something like that out. I'll even make a substantial cannabis donation to the effort if it is in MO.

Not to be a stick in the mud but I can easily photoshop a flower to look like Liberace on his best night. Photos are too easy to cheat with. I don't know whow to fix that but I just wanted to put that out there.

 

[moe.red]

Not to be a stick in the mud but I can easily photoshop a flower to look like Liberace on his best night. Photos are too easy to cheat with. I don't know whow to fix that but I just wanted to put that out there.

Ewww why would you want to do that? Liberace weed? Hard pass.

My thought was that you are looking at a whole grow so you kinda have an idea if things are real or not. A 1 pound bud from a plant that is struggling may be a sign something is not right.

 

[smoke]

I also see no harm in folks entering the contest with intentions of winning, meaning you do not need to be nominated by someone else

How about a contest for the tallest tree indoors, that would weed out the cheaters. Just narrowing down my odds lol

I love all the ideas here. @TSD has her work cut out for her!

Yes she does, thank you @TSD

 

[MysticEpipedon]

At some future time, as in not this year, we should have a bud builders cup. We'd all have to transport our butts to a legal state in order to try out the entries, but it should be huge fun for those who can swing it.

We can start with smaller legal state competitions that don't require a lot of travel for participants, unless you want to visit another state.

 

[Doobie]

This is a question type thread and every reader has a vote, up or down. Lets group source the best way to build an online contest.

We have all seen the Picture Of The Month type contests. POTM has it's ups and downs.

The biggest issue is that the people competing cheat. It has spoiled what should have been a cool thing many times that I am aware of.
Maybe its worth it. Take the bad with the good?

Please post your best idea on how this 2nd contest should be run. The one with the good prizes @TSD mentioned.

As for the first one - who has the best idea here? Highest voted idea gets something good, just not sure what yet

I feel like these contest need be fair and give everyone a chance to get in on the fun.

I would first judge based on how engaged the person and how often said person communicate on the forum.
Second I would maybe do a POTM club but maybe make the rules a lil different from the farm.

 

[Doobie]

How about a contest for the tallest tree indoors, that would weed out the cheaters. Just narrowing down my odds lol

Yes she does, thank you @TSD

I will agree to this. I end up growing a 6 foot monster every time lmao. Because of this I switched to 1 gallon pots..