<nerdrant>
It's a shame that threads like this always seem to happen, but of course, inevitable.
During the time I was at Atlas Haven Radio, I organized many events. Some big, some small. It's a lot of hard work. A LOT. Sometimes the events go better than others. Sometimes there are problems. But ALWAYS there are complaints. ALWAYS.
The one thing I've learned over the years, however, is that there is no such thing as a perfect event. There are too many possible things that can go wrong. There are too many different rules, cultures, cliques, and expectations. There are too many entitled people.
About 24 hours ago, I heard the buzz in the grapevine about the things mentioned in this thread. I knew what was going to happen. So I wrote to David Dobson and warned him of what was coming. He went to Cyrus and Cyrus had a look at the score cards. To quote him directly (I don't think he would have any problems with my quoting him), he said, "I looked at the scores and [Freyr's] scores are in line with the other judges, so whilst I acknowledge the potential for bias, it doesn't appear to be a problem in this case."
There are many things that could have been done differently, ofc. And there always will be things that could be done differently. For one, a system could have been put in place to where the highest and lowest scores were not counted. Then a person who was trying to influence the results would need an accomplice. But then you need more judges. And quite frankly, nobody wants to judge these things. There are too many sore losers out there to make it worthwhile.
Because quite frankly, everyone who took part did so on a volunteer basis.
From the event organizer .. who spent weeks planning arranging, and choreographing an event for no personal gain whatsoever...
To the judges.. who took time out of their own schedules to give their own professional (and might I add Unbiased) opinions, knowing full well that there would be a shit storm after the event was over, just as there is every year...
To the A-team.. who put their own planet's reputation behind the event, knowing full well that there would be people who would get pissed off at the results (no matter the results) and probably swear off ever going to Arkadia again...
To the participants.. who spent countless time and peds on outfits, planning, dreaming, and walking down the ramp.
To those who won, congratulations..
To those who gave it their all but didnt win, yet had the grace to congratulate the winner and move on, congratulations to you, too, for a great competition, hard fought.
To those who came and watched the competition, I hope you enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun..
And, ofc, to those who have nothing better than to complain, I'm looking forward to seeing the event(s) that you will be doing next year...to the endless headaches that you will endure before during and after it...and to the whine threads that will inevitably appear on the forum afterwards. You ARE planning to do an event next year, right? You know..put your money where your mouth is.. that sort of thing..
just sayin
</nerdrant>