Claire;
 
Your message was clear, I thought mine was too.  YES I was suggesting
stuffing the ballot box in order to make it very clear that Gage won by
popular vote and then to see if he was passed over in selection - which
is exactly what I expected to happen based on what has been reported.
 
I thought I also made it clear that this suggestion was to see if the
website was truly rigged and NOT because I'm a dishonest person.  I
really don't need $100 or $250 so very badly that I would lie, cheat or
steal to get it - which is what you suggested/implied of me.  Thank you
for the judgement and implication.
 
(BY THE WAY - Did you see in my original request for support where I said
I hoped he would get 10s, but that people should vote their conscience?
I did not say "hey everyone give me a 10 so I can win)
 
You brought up a good point that I missed and perhaps others missed as
well.  I did not know that after popular vote rated the top 5 pictures
that then some unknown committed picks who they like best.  That to me
is THEM rigging the contest.  Just get your friends and family to enter
their pet's photo and choose that one as the winner so you don't have
to pay the prize money AND at the same time garner the fruits offered by
the advertisers.
 
What I did see is that winners are picked by popular vote.  That is what
they clearly said in their email to me when Gage's picture was posted.
If you like I can forward their email to me so that you can see for
yourself they promote popular vote.  That was clear - not the chance of
a committee picking who THEY like best.  That seems more dishonest to
me.  Like the german shepherd being picked two months in a row.
 
My suggestion was to clearly catch them at it, however with their rule of
a committee there is no way to prove that anything was rigged.  Even if
the same picture wins month after month they can always state that the
committee liked that one best - who can challenge the committe and prove
what was on their minds or in their hearts?  I also did not see whether
a photo could win only once - uh looking - there's no mention of that so
the german shepherd can win month after month and they can post whatever
picture they want to mislead the public.  IF there is nothing wrong with
this contest why don't they post the true winner, why post another
picture to cause confusion.
 
I also must have missed the part that said you can only vote once.  Many
contests including those on the internet allow for multiple voting or
multiple entry for selection.  It is NOT cheating - it is supporting your
favorite.  If AA does not like this and feels it is occurring, then maybe
they should have posted more clearly that each person/email address is
allowed to vote only once.  Things do get overlooked in a crowd, even a
crowd of words - caveat - always read the fine print.  But regardless of
that - multiple voting doesn't mean any nefarious or dishonest activity
was/is going on.  Again thank you for implying I am a dishonest person.
 
Actually I just looked... each person is allowed to vote a max of 5 times
per day - and that rule is protected by a notice to the voter and a
blocker against further votes.
 
"To protect the integrity of the contest, there is a maximum of five (5)
voting sessions per person, per day.  Voters with the same IP address
will receive a message that they have reached the maximum allowable daily
sessions when they have done so." That's their words.
 
On this particular site no one is allowed to see other photos to rate
them in order of "best" unless they first cast their vote.  I don't see
how you can rate photos as best to least best (or in this case as cool
to coolest) fairly if you can not compare those being judged.  I may give
a picture I see a 10 because I really like it then see one I like much
better afterward.  I can not rate the one I like better higher because I
can't go back and rearrange my vote nor can I vote higher than the
highest, in this case 10, nor did I see both pictures together to know
how I wanted to rate each.  Conversely, I may try to be conservative and
give one a 4 or 5 and later determine that it was the best, however I'm
now stuck with the lower vote.
 
Again my interpretation of this contest is that this contest is to pick
your favorite and that popular vote (meaning EVERYONE voting) determines
the winner, not some vague and possibly financially interested committee,
nor do they say at any point or place that I could find that this contest
is artistic - it is popularity - apparently by the committee.
 
So Claire, before you accuse (or imply) someone of wrong doing you might
try to understand what they understood first.  Just as their take on a
situation may not have been correct, neither nessarily is yours.
 
Vicki
 
Vicki Montgomery
Tricks and Treats Rescue
Greater Houston/Galveston Texas
713-472-6599
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"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man
will not himself find peace." ~ Dr. Albert Schweitzer
[Posted in FML issue 5328]