  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: Texas Belle  
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You can tell that Spring is in the air because the weather is warmer, birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and a new round of contests are popping up. I truly love running contests because it is one of the best ways to expand your friend base here. This newsletter isn’t going to deal with running a contest but more with setting up a way to increase contestant interaction without cluttering your contest forum.
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In the theatre, there has been a long standing tradition that all theatres have a “greenroom.” Though one could debate which theatre started the tradition or why it’s referred to as “greenroom” even when it’s painted blue matters not here. It’s the purpose of said gathering place that is the topic of this week’s newsletter. The greenroom was an area just off stage where actors waited for their eminent call on stage. In some venues, it’s more of a lounge (especially with the talk-show circuit) where actors can relax and visit between scenes. So, what does this have to do with running a contest?
Those who’ve run a contest know that no matter how many times you read and reread instructions there are always questions, and no matter how many people you have edit the contest forum you will always miss something. Or maybe, after you post the contest and receive few entries you realize some part of the contest needs to be changed. The point being no matter how hard you try you inevitably end up with conversation interspersed between entries. From a contestant point of view it can be very frustrating to weed through OT to find the next prompt. From a judging point of view, it’s time consuming to weed through the conversations to find the entries. Finally, from a contestant who’s asked a question, it can be frustrating wading through entries looking for the response post. Don’t get me started on when “Re:s”! It’s true with the addition of the mouse-over and string components the reader is able to quickly locate needed posts; however, including conversation and entries does hamper the entrants from getting to know one another. Thus I give to you the joy of the contest greenroom forum! I wish I could say I came up with this idea but it was another member who developed it’s use. If I can’t be the inventor I will be the advocate.
I know that some members have limited port space and the idea of using up precious slots may turn them off to the idea. Bear with me, and at the end of this I hope you’ll find that it’s possible regardless of port size.
GETTING STARTED
 You’ve done all the difficult work needed to set up your contest; rules, regulations, expectations, and a really catchy name. At the end of the header portion write in large brightly colored letters: All questions, comments, encouragements, and basic falderale must be posted at "The Coffee House" [18+]. For those left-brained folk in the audience you may use different wording. The idea is to place this notice in the header because everyone completely reads, or should completely read, the header at least once.
Next, place the same, or similar, message in your WELCOME post. This way if the entrant didn’t get the notice in the header, it can be seen in this post.
 Generally, I will allow chitter-chat until the beginning of the contest. If you choose to do this then be sure to place this in you WELCOME post, ex. We can talk in here until January 21st but after the first prompt is posted we all have to take the fun over to the chat forum!
One last note before we leave to talk about the forum, as the start date draws closer be sure to post reminders that all conversations must be held in the chat forum, ex. “We can talk in here until January 21st but after the first prompt is posted we all have to take the fun over to the chat forum!. Oh, and don’t forget to include the link!
The greenroom, or chat forum, is set up the same way as the contest forum. The only difference here is that no entries are posted: “This is the place to post all your questions, concerns, hopes, dreams, joys, and basic falderal regarding CONTEST NAME.”
Keep it light and be sure that you are a continual presence in the forum to answer questions and make everyone feel welcomed. Most importantly ENJOY the camaraderie you’ve worked so hard to establish.
One last thing. I, personally, establish upfront that any non-entry will be deleted from the contest forum. It’s up to you, of course, but if you chose to follow suit then make that requirement abundantly clear from the beginning. I haven’t had to delete many but there have been some, I also send a nice gentle reminder note privately to the entrant and then post another reminder in the CHAT forum.
For those with limited port space, create the forum in a Word Document and save it to your computer. Also, recycle it, change the font color and some different emoticons and you’re all set. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel unless you’re making them steel belted (I don’t know what that means, my Muse came up with it.)
If multiple judges are used, the contest administrator can set up a similar forum for judges.
Finally, the advantages are multiple. As a judge you can simply follow the thread for the prompt and quickly review and access entries. As a contestant you have a place where not only questions can be asked and answered but discussion is open to a wider audience. For the contest administrator it provides a cleaner and more professional look to the contest forum plus a separate place to interact with the contestants. For the Newbie it offers a great place to get to meet other members.
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Here are some contest and activities that you might find interesting:
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Contests & Activities: April 02, 2008 Issue [#2310]
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