Question

Well GHoK , if I can call you that ! HeeHee
This is something me and IceMan have battled since the beginning.We get alot of members that join to check it out and then only stop in from time to time. We have some members that seem to go with the seasons ( here more in fall and winter and less in spring and summer ). Then some members have alot going on some even have their own sites so they stay pretty busy. We have a core of I would say 20 to 25 dedicated members that show up post, comment and take part in contests. Maybe its the season ( summer vacation in all ) or maybe they didnt like the theme. We are not sure. But here are two things to look at. #1 if you skroll down to just before the "shoutout " box you will find "Forum Information & Statistics" there you can see that just today we had 2 admin, 38 members and 220 guests. Now why didnt those 38 members vote. We have tried to make it as easy as possible giving links or now having one set thread for all voting. keep in mind thats just today. Over the next few days it will go up and down but yet in the end we are happy if we get atleast 25 voters. #2 even when we get say 25 voters they dont all vote in every contest. Like now we have three contests going on that require votes, yet it happens all the time that we will end up with 25 votes in motm, 21 votes for a race in bracket racing and 19 in a nother race of bracket racing. How hard or time consuming is it to vote in all three? the vote totals should be the same in all three.

It's not hard to vote is it, if your looking, you might as well have you 2 cents worth i reckon.

You guys are very welcome, It was our plan IceMan and myself to have just such a site. Now alot of othere site delete unactive members but we feel if they just so up now and then its ok. We try not to delete anyone. We instead like to cater to our core of active members and we really appreciate all of your guys input and questions. Again I would just point out that as of this morning MOTM had 26 votes , race 1 had 23 and race 2 had 22 .

I have to ride along with J Bailey. I vote every time I see a vote poll,and am also on other Forum's,,but I am here most of the time.. This place is also , the First and Only forum
I have entered a Contest with.. and plan to do more..I visit this sight way way more than any other. Fully enjoy the builds ( any and all ) the people , and the sight in general .
Is a great sight and really enjoy it here..
Getting people to vote is tough I know but hopefully it will do nothing but improve..
Thanks to the Makers and all the great people on this sight.. R O C K -- O N ..

Tom (60s era)

You're right that things slow down in Summer. I've seen a general decline of interest on the web e-clubs in the last year or so. Maybe there's burnout, and face it, the hobby is often older guys who are slowing down. New forums take time away from old faves and there's the successful growth factor. If a new forum becomes "hot" with postings and viewer interest, it attracts more interest. If a forum has declining postings, members tend to come by less often, which speeds the decline even more.
As to why not many entries and votes here, I feel one contest may be enuf, M.O.M. tends to be the only one on most model sites. Why so few enter? Those who do fantastic work intimidate builders with less time, money and skills. Contests seem less interesting to me than the fotos submitted with pride by modelers of all skills.
Why don't more of us vote? At this site there seems to be too many contests. I've come by only to find I'd already looked at this particular one contest. I have multiple memberships at numerous clubs and I don't always remember if I'd voted on this or that forum.
Why I don't often vote is the same reason the less skilled don't enter so much. A box stock or minimally modified model just doesn't get the appreciation of many of us, and that's a shame. Also, how does a voter choose a great custom versus a great drag machine? Is a great custom paint job better than a highly distressed weathered paint job? Does someone who makes one's own parts get more credit than someone who bought aftermarket parts? And how much should general appearance be measured?
These are all tuff questions few consider when we take a moment TO VOTE. Maybe most important to remember is for anyone entering a contest, there's one winner and the rest "also ran," dashing hopes in the end. And I should end here. Thanks for your time and efforts keeping this forum running!

Great responses guys, I really appreciate the feedback. I just want to respond to some of the things brought up.

Harron68
1. most sites do only have one contest and I dont know any that give prizes except ours. We do get some donations but the bulk of it comes right from me and Iceman including shipping. I think that makes us a better site.
2.I dont buy the intimidated new builder story. Any contest whether it be at Wal Mart or the Nationals or JsCs they are all the same. They have different age groups but they do not separate by ability . Once you are in the adult class or seniors you compete against everybody no matter how good or bad or how much money the spend. That is how you get better. I didnt win when I was fist starting out heck I have lost alot more then I have won but I study and learn what the judges look for and what things I can do better and I swap ideas with better modelers and thats how you get better. Out of 17 JsCs contests this year I have only won 3 and I am very happy and thankful. You cant be afraid to lose.
3.dont vote because there are too many contests ? two a month every month always at the same time ( bracket race and MOTM ) and about every three months we will have a special contest. we announce it it news letters we used to give links to the polls but now we have located all voting polls in one spot and its the first thread on the home page. How much easier do we need it? If you have already voted you will see your x if no x then you havent voted.
4. how does a voter choose a great custom versus a great drag machine? Is a great custom paint job better than a highly distressed weathered paint job? Does someone who makes one's own parts get more credit than someone who bought aftermarket parts? And how much should general appearance be measured? - these are great questions, first this is why we do themes we try to keep all the cars competing of the same type much easier that way.second the difference between a custom paint job and a weathered paint job is in the eyes of the voter. like all things its what you like. third I try and use as little aftermarket stuff as possible and i do give extra credit to a builder that makes his own stuff vs buying it all. fourth measuring general appearance or WOW factor again its in the eyes of the voter ....to make it easier we have always offered vote sheets in several locations on the site look at the rules.
5. there's one winner and the rest "also ran," dashing hopes in the end. - Whoa I think thats very unfair, we applaud every contestant and every contestant build is saved. I dont think anyone is an "also ran" and I certainly dont think anyones "hopes should be dashed" ,,,,,,come on this is life, toughen up abit. In a contest there has to be a winner. we set rules ( to make it fair ) we ask for specific photos ( to keep it honest ) we offer voting sheets ( to help in making your decision ) and then we give you the members an easy way to vote. Its plan and simple we dont berate anyone and we certainly dont rub it in that someone lost or that their work didnt add up. If you never take the training wheels off your bike you will never know what it is like to really ride.

Hemi

1.My biggest thing with entering is time....At times, I get a lot done, (it seems to me, anyway) then other times, then real life things get in the way and sometimes that makes me question it IF I would get whatever model "done" to be entered into a contest in time to be "entered"....So, I simply don't!
DO the models entered into ANY ONE moth, have to be built for the month, "entered"? I know they have to follow a certain "theme" but if they do, to make up a listing months in advance, would be helpful for me to know! Again, this is that first mentioned "time" thing with me!

1A. ok first off look at MOTM there are several things the Rules, the wip pics, the show cars , ask the judges and THEMES ! look the themes over the are set and will not change. if you see something you like ,say July 2015 start building and follow the rules, then in june of 2015 when everyone posts for july post your build. It was never said that you had to start your build at the first of that month and be done buy the end. Re read the rules and look at the themes.

2.
As far as the contests go, might we think of a first, second, and third place winners instead of a single "winner" to them? As far as listing the winner, then a second place spot and then a following 3rd place spot and ANY or EVERY one left are considered "runner ups".....just a thought.... off to look for voting I haven't yet done!

2a.some times we only have two or three contestants. We dont have the room on home page for more pictures then that of the winners. An like I said before the prizes and shipping for prizes come from me and Iceman we cant do 2nd and 3rd, but let me ask you if you enter a race and get second do you feel any better with that red ribbon around your neck or are you going to go out and train until you prevail and get that blue ribbon ? Oh and please dont say you would just give up .

I think we have the greatest group of builders I have meet. I would put our site against any other site. I believe they are all nice and friendly and would do anything to help someone. If you are a new builder or lets say your skills arent as good as some, ask for help. Look at the tutorials ! practice ! Post pictures and ask for feed back . The only way to get better is to push yourself. Dont let your fears hold you back

Personally, i think it is bl@@dy great that you guys follow through with your build offs, my local forum here in Aus, it is a great forum, and i have spent a
couple of years on it, learning what this is all about, BUT, every time they have a group build, 15 people enter, 3 people finish, sometimes 12 months down the track before they finish,
Then, NOTHING!!!!! No voting no NOTHING!!
So i think this is awsome that you guys put time limits on all your build offs, and vote on it, and the big surprise is, you give out prizes as well, that is just great,
even though that is not why i do it, it is the fun of a BUILD-OFF, and we know what is coming up way in advance, so we can plan for it, pre-build for it months down the track if we want.
It is the PERFECT set up i reckon.
Keep it up guys, and THANK YOU.!!