The Book of Masks Homepage

The Unpopular Gets Its Chance

Well, yesterday's voting results were no surprise, which is why I had "Invalid Item"  (public) / "The Guy Who Would be Queen of the School"  (interactive) ready to go. But it was a surprise to see "Pick Steve Patterson" do as well as it did. I guess he has his fans. (I'm one, I confess.)

* * * * *

Meanwhile, I've been getting a few comments privately that grumble ever so slightly at the recent poll results. The familiar (senior-level people like Cindy and Steve and Kelsey and Seth) is popular, and that's okay. But a few people would like to see something new, like was promised in some of the other choices.

I'd like to oblige them, but I'd also like to keep obliging the majority. (And for the record, I've been enjoying writing these chapters in these familiar settings; I'm more than quite happy with the choices that you guys are putting to me.) It's a hard square to circle.

Meanwhile, I got a related suggestion from a commenter: Instead of weighted voting, why not open votes up to bidding? That way the really ardent voters, by putting GPs up, would be able to get what they want, even if it's not a popular choice.

Well, that idea (even offered as a semi-joke) didn't appeal to me. It seems a recipe for resentment: "Pay to get things to go your way" plus "No return on investment if you lose." Ugh.

But I started thinking about it, and I think I see a way it *might* work. I wouldn't want to do it regularly, but it might be fun and interesting as a one-off.

So here's the deal: I've set up a bidding contest for a storyline to be written ... at some point. Maybe after the current storyline, maybe the storyline after that. But the competing choices are for the lowest-scoring choices thus far in this branch of the story. That's right: the stuff that has only been popular with a few people is the stuff in competition. Here's a chance for the minority to vote their passion.

To bid for one of those storylines, go here: "Invalid Chapter" . Then click on the choice that you want to vote for. In that chapter, scroll to the bottom and send me a tip.

Whichever choice brings in the most tips, that's the one that gets written.

But I'm not going to keep the GPs. The people whose choices lose will get their GPs back. And they'll get more than that back, because I will also divide the remainder (tips from winning votes) equally among the losers and pass it back to them as well.

So, if your choice wins, you pay the GPs and get your preferred storyline. If your choice loses, you get back more GPs than you paid in.

Hmm. Those of you uninterested in the voting but who like to gamble might still want to bid, because it might pay off in GPs if you pick a loser.

Note: Only one bid (the highest) per user will be accepted. Others will be returned and not counted when making the final tally.