It's a lovely idea in concept, but think of these three things:

Even if they were all in an anonymous folder, the MOCist would still have to upload the MOC to their online image gallery (brickshelf, flickr, et cetera) in order to send it to the host. People would see the MOC there and know who built it.

Additionally, a lot of MOCists would spread the word about their MOC via PM, IM, signatures, et cetera. Plus, there are stylistic concerns that give MOCs away--for example, you can tell DV's MOCs by their shelf-chests (Sorry DV, I couldn't resist ). There's no way around it; people would know who built the MOCs.

Last, but certainly not least, it would be a nightmare for the poor host! Sorting through 300+ entries crowding her or his inbox, all buried amidst the countless other PMs she or he gets daily...and this in tandem with normal moderating work, which is time-consuming enough! The way contests are hosted right now is stressful enough--I have hosted several contests on this site in the RPG forum, among the smallest contests on the site, and those are hair-pulling enough, I can't even begin to imagine how much work a BBCC is, and I don't even want to think of how bad it would be under this suggested system. ._.

It's a lovely idea in concept, but think of these three things:

 

Even if they were all in an anonymous folder, the MOCist would still have to upload the MOC to their online image gallery (brickshelf, flickr, et cetera) in order to send it to the host. People would see the MOC there and know who built it.

 

Additionally, a lot of MOCists would spread the word about their MOC via PM, IM, signatures, et cetera. Plus, there are stylistic concerns that give MOCs away--for example, you can tell DV's MOCs by their shelf-chests (Sorry DV, I couldn't resist ). There's no way around it; people would know who built the MOCs.

 

Last, but certainly not least, it would be a nightmare for the poor host! Sorting through 300+ entries crowding her or his inbox, all buried amidst the countless other PMs she or he gets daily...and this in tandem with normal moderating work, which is time-consuming enough! The way contests are hosted right now is stressful enough--I have hosted several contests on this site in the RPG forum, among the smallest contests on the site, and those are hair-pulling enough, I can't even begin to imagine how much work a BBCC is, and I don't even want to think of how bad it would be under this suggested system. ._.

Or they could be submitted to the contest host/assistants via IM, since most IM programs(AFAIK), have some sort of image sharing feature.

Well, IMing really can't be regulated, but spreading it around via sigs, PMs, et cetera could be made a disqualifiable offense.

Hmm. I thought that'd probably be an issue, though I don't have much experience with that sort of thing. Maybe have the contest assistants also receiving entries, so that one person isn't doing everything.

The idea has it's flaws, I know, but I'm not necessarily trying to get it implemented. It's just that I've seen a fair amount of favoritism in past contests, and it always bugs me, since people should be voting for the quality of the MOC, instead of voting for the builder.

~D

Or they could be submitted to the contest host/assistants via IM, since most IM programs(AFAIK), have some sort of image sharing feature.

 

Well, IMing really can't be regulated, but spreading it around via sigs, PMs, et cetera could be made a disqualifiable offense.

 

Hmm. I thought that'd probably be an issue, though I don't have much experience with that sort of thing. Maybe have the contest assistants also receiving entries, so that one person isn't doing everything.

 

The idea has it's flaws, I know, but I'm not necessarily trying to get it implemented. It's just that I've seen a fair amount of favoritism in past contests, and it always bugs me, since people should be voting for the quality of the MOC, instead of voting for the builder.

 

 

~D

I wouldn't disagree that favoritism happens, and I'd love to prevent it, too. But that, ay, is the rub.

The IM suggestion is even more arduous than the PMing. Firstly, lots of prospective BBCC entrants don't have an IM program or screenname. Remember, most of BZ's population consists of children, and parents can be very restrictive about things like IMing. In addition to this, how could we ensure that everyone gets a chance to IM the host or hosts? However impossible it may seem, we staffers all have real lives that to which we must attend--nobody can sit in front of the computer with her or his IM open and connected all day for weeks. Timezone differences alone would prevent a large portion of the entries from being submitted. And heck, what is the host has a screwy IM client that doesn't properly receive pictures? Don't laugh, you wouldn't believe some of the crazy things that happen with IM clients nowadays. D:

One of the defining and most important characteristics of the BBCCs is that anyone can enter. Putting entry off-bzp, by IM or e-mail or whatnot, would change that.

Like I said earlier, the idea of having the entrants be "nameless" is a great concept--it's been suggested many times before in the past by many different people--but it'd essentially be impossible to pull off. The real problem isn;t anything with the contest structure, it's with human nature. Unfortunately, favoritism is one of those less-than-pleasant parts of human nature, and despite what we'd like, nobody can extinguish it. The best we can humanly do is discourage it, and to keep the contests themselves fair in structure and hosting.

In a perfect world.....

I have noticed that favoritism is abundant in the BBC contests, but still I think that most of the time the overall best MoC that suits the contest theme does win. It is the people who get lost in the preliminary and semifinal round of voting that are affected the most. You have some nice ideas there but like Smeagol said, it just could not work here at BZP.

I try not to take it that seriously, I mean the whole point of the BBC contest is to have fun right? Expecting to do well in the contest takes that fun factor away somewhat, I have learned after many early exits in the preliminary polls.