- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
This somewhat belated Week in Review focuses on a new addition to the Bnet community, Seventh Column Contests.
Most tend to agree that the community on the whole is on a decline, becoming less active and less fun. SCC, as is the common abbreviation of the group name, intends to bring a halt to this, by encouraging members to interact in various competitions. It's run entirely by the community, founded by Butane123 and maintained by a resolute band of regulars - it is completely unofficial, for the people, by the people.
Master Forum Ninja stosh started the whole idea with an avatar contest, back in the days this version of Bungie.net was brand spankin'. The competition was a success, with many participants submitting a wide array of interesting and intricate avatars, some of which were uploaded and are now available to all. Until recently, however, no real contests have been held. stosh, again, held a few crazy, short contests in the Underground, and on a larger scale, the fanfic contest.
Things picked up from there. The art contest was held as well as one of now many caption contests.
Eventually, SCC was formed. Immediately, a second fanfic contest was started by the members, and another caption contest or two. What makes the group and it's members tick is a free interaction, where all ideas are welcome and not just shunned aside. Everyone is welcome to join in, whatever they intend to do. Some members have been designated certain roles, such as Organiser, Sponsor, and Judge - each being self-explanatory.
Judges are selected from those who have proven themselves to be reasonably adept at the subject matter and have shown a decent level of responsibility. It's not as harsh a process as ninja selection, but being fair as well as fun is key to successfully managing the position. Again, members have a say in who the judges should be.
Winning prizes is often the aim of entrants, and unfortunately none were received from the fanfiction contest due to a last-minute difficulty. However, a number of dedicated sponsors, who will provide the winners with appropriate rewards, are part of the group. With any luck, they'll be giving that extra bit of incentive to every major competition from now on.
CF managed to catch up with the founder and avid judge/member GodsProphet to ask a few questions regarding the project.
Butane123
Q: Why did you found SCC, and with whom?
A: I founded SCC because I had a good time with the art contest awhile back and I wanted to try to help the community form more member created and sponsored contests. I had a lot of help from the Council Chambers.
Q: How do you manage SCC?
A: I'm just there to help keep the forums running smoothly. I'm going to try to let other members of the community organize and run contests so any member has a say in what they want instead of a small group of people who always comes up with ideas. Basically (if everything works out right), there should be a rather large community led contests every other month or so and more smaller monthly contests like a caption contests. Anyone can join and start contributing.
Q: How successful has it been so far? Are you impressed with progress?
A: Well, I have been rather busy since I have created it and haven't been able to do much with the group, but the people who are in there so far are doing a good job starting to organize contests and come up with more ideas for the future. I am very impressed with what the members are doing in there so far. In the summer, when I actually have some time, things should be running much faster that what they are right now.
Q: Where do you see SCC heading?
A: I would hope that SCC would become a big part of the seventh column where tons of members of B.net can look forward to contests and a chance to win a prize or two. I'm just trying to help members of the forums come together and have some fun.
GodsProphet
Q: Why did you join SCC?
A: Well, i loved the idea of getting the community to be more active and actually doing things. I personally like a good competition and SCC is a great way to get the community active and organising competitions for others.
Q: Do you help in the management?
A: Well, I'm not technically a designated "organiser" at this moment; however I am a judge for an up-coming competition which I have been pretty involved in organisation-wise. I do certainly try to help where and when I can.
Q: How successful has it been so far? Are you impressed with progress?
A: Well obviously the only "major" competition that has been announced is Sir_Brilliant's FanFic competition, so it is quite hard to comment on competition success. However, I do think SCC has been a success in bringing out new and original ideas and we are making good progress in the organisation of up-coming competitions. I am impressed with progress, yes. I know how it can be with the whole "waitng for competition announcements" and such, but people seem to always be posting some cool new idea or contributing to the running of SCC.
Q: Where do you see SCC heading?
A: Forwards. I think SCC will continue to grow as more and more people are made aware of its almighty presence...or so I hope..
Frog Blast the Ventcore!
To conclude this feature, just a final reminder that if you want to help out - sponsoring, judging, just throwing a few ideas into the mix - you're always welcome. Look forward to the unannounced upcoming contest.
There isn't much to report in other news, I'm afraid. The column recently received a new feature - the news formatting. A detailed user's guide is coming to CF soon. We're also recruiting people to work on finding worthy Chapters of the Week and reviewing them - if you're up for it, come visit the thread and tell us.
Remember, CF is always looking for new content to help make the Week in Review a more regular occurrence. If you've any questions, or anything column/community-related you'd like to submit, hit [email]cfounders@gmail.com[/email] with an email or send me a private message. You can even use the chapter if you wish.
This article brought to you by Chapter Founders, the original hawt spot for help with Chapters and all things concerning them. Come visit us for the most in-depth help you can find anywhere on the 7th Column.