[A] Should rp contests be counted freebies (POLL CHANGED)

[That Artemis]

Well, hello. I was chilling at home this evening and looking through the various mini-event threads that went up over the last few days and noticed that in the rules now there is a specification of 'this counts as your freebie' vs. 'not'.

What exactly is a freebie? I understand that if you don't pay for the pet that that is a freebie. My current issue is with rp contests, art contests, cyo, etc.

In my opinion those are not free. They require considerable effort in the form of time, thought, and skill. This is opposed to a free raffle where all you really have to do is be a body to receive a ticket. I can totally get behind the feeling of unfairness when somebody continuously wins another free pet because they were there and you weren't. However, you can't whip up an rp response in the same 30 seconds it would take you to post 'I'd like a ticket please~'. Nor make a picture from scratch, or even color in the lines of something and have it look nice.

My primary concern is an RP contest. You have to read the prompt, come up with something you deem different from the other hoard of entries, write it with some skill, edit it, probably worry over it for a couple days, post it, worry some more, etc. and not in that order. That isn't free to me, it is actually quite costly when you think about it, just not in the traditional sense.

I'm not trying to stir up anything or cause controversy or even complain about anything. This rule doesn't effect me as it is at the moment nor do I think I have the luck that it ever will. ^^;; I just thought I'd see if other people feel the same.

Summary/My point -

Are/should rp contests and the like fall under the freebie category? Rather, should you be restricted from winning a free raffle that was all luck (or something of the like), and a skill-based contest like an rp contest in the same month?

If you disagree or have a dif. opinion, please post it? :3

EDIT: I'm not saying that you should be able to win (for example) all the rp contests currently offered at once. I think there is definitely a good thing going when limiting the amount one person can win in one month, I just think that RP's, coloring/art contests, and the like (skill based in other words) should have a separate cooldown.

EDIT2:
Prev. poll had:
10 agrees
12 disagrees
1 other
Changed because it was unclear whether I was talking about my thoughts or the thread title.

edit 3:
I give! The whole point of this thread was to see if others thought the same way I do not anything else. I am grateful for the opportunities presently offered by the staff of Soquili and did not want to come off sounding like a jerk. I don't know if I failed in that but my only point was that an rp contest costs something other than gold. Clearly 2/3's disagree so I got the answer I was looking for. :3

Thanks everybody for your feedback.  

[That Artemis]

Maybe a better definition for what I'm referring to would be 'judged' contests. -shrugs- Though again, I was mainly thinking of rp contests when the thought struck.

I'm not sure I got my point across, haha.  

[Andranis]

I suppose an answer would start with - Is it staff hosted, or is it parent-owner hosted? If it's staff-hosted for an event or mini-event, then I'd say, yes, it should count for the monthly freebie. If it's hosted by the owner(s) of the proud parents of a basket, then I'd say no, it shouldn't count, given how often they tend to NOT go up for contest(Not holding this against the owners of Soquili with baskets at all, just stating that it's in fact rare that people don't actually have a third owner in mind for their extra basket, or second owner, or what have you heart ).  

[JadedTiger22]

Your poll: do you mean to ask if we dis/agree with your argument or the title of this thread?

 

[ProphetOfProfit]

I think they should definitely count as a freebie.  

[Juliette06]

Mm...I actrually agree with that. You may not pay with gold, but you pay with creativity, and if you end up winning, then you (presumably) put a lot of hard work and effort and time into it. I don't think RP contests should be counted as freebies, because I believe freebies are things that you're just given or that happen randomly. In a way, with RP contests currency is exchanged--just not money.  

[Faithofthefallen]

-[the Spoof]-

I just think that RP's, coloring/art contests, and the like (skill based in other words) should have a separate cooldown.

This. I think theres a definite difference between your chances at winning a free raffle, where all you have to do is post saying that you want a ticket and spending sometimes hours on coloring or writing, those contests require time, energy, and creativity. The prize doesn't go to just anybody who participates, it goes to the person who has put the most effort into their entries.

Maybe a rule that you can only win one rp contest a month as well as the rule that you can only get one freebie a month?  

[In Good Faith]

I still agree with Spoof. 83 <3
I think that is a great idea, and I do think that 'judged' contests should have a cool down separate from 'freebies'.  

[Kirowyn Love]

Roman Foi

I still agree with Spoof. 83 <3
I think that is a great idea, and I do think that 'judged' contests should have a cool down separate from 'freebies'.

I also agree with this. Don't get me wrong - I love that the staff puts so much time into the shop by offering so many freebies. But lately all of the events have been freebie based. Not a whole lot of auctions or paid raffles or paid flatsales.

While someone winning a bunch of pets is discouraging, I think having 2 separate categories for freebies would be nice.

I spent 4 hours in the scavenger hunt and won a freebie. I am ecstatic about this and I love my little boy. But to touch on the topic of certain prizes being "better" (more edits or complicated coloring) I could have spent the same amount of time on a RP prompt (which imo takes a little more skill than searching through threads) and won a "better" pet.

This is why I think that there should be two categories for freebies. After all, there are more categories for paid events aren't there? You can win 1 flatsale, 1 auction AND 1 paid raffle. I think having 2 categories for free wouldn't be so bad. Judged and non-judged. Things like coloring and RP would go in judged, and things like scavenger hunts and CYOA would go in non-judged.  

[That Artemis]

JadedTiger22

Your poll: do you mean to ask if we dis/agree with your argument or the title of this thread?

xD I meant do you agree/disagree with my argument...or my thought really.

@Everyone -

I'm not saying I think there should be more or less freebies. I'm not arguing for having staff make more pets. What I'm saying is that I think an RP contest is different from a free raffle.

@LydaLynn - I'm pretty sure that was incorrect wording on Faith's part. I know of some people who spend days on an entry and don't win, I agree with you there.

However, you can't deny that there is a certain amount of skill required to win an RP contest, or an art contest. The judge(s) aren't going to pick somebody who can barely string two words together, generally it is somebody who not only has an idea that speaks to them but that can communicate the idea adequately through RP.

----

I didn't make this thread to start an argument or sound ungrateful. I made it to put forth a thought that occurred to me while sitting at home the other evening.

Also, I'm changing the poll since I think I worded it stupid...oTL  

[That Artemis]

Andranis

I suppose an answer would start with - Is it staff hosted, or is it parent-owner hosted? If it's staff-hosted for an event or mini-event, then I'd say, yes, it should count for the monthly freebie. If it's hosted by the owner(s) of the proud parents of a basket, then I'd say no, it shouldn't count, given how often they tend to NOT go up for contest(Not holding this against the owners of Soquili with baskets at all, just stating that it's in fact rare that people don't actually have a third owner in mind for their extra basket, or second owner, or what have you heart ).

See, this is something I wasn't even thinking about/hadn't considered. xD I'm pretty sure this is how it is already. The thought popped into my head when I was looking at all the rp contests for the leaders, I didn't even consider that it was staff run versus owner run.

I'm not sure what I think about that now, haha. I'll think more and get back, <3

edit:

Mmm, I still think that an rp contest is different. No matter who is running it you are still putting in the same amount of effort. Or art, or cyo, or whatev.

And on another note, I do think CYOA counts as a freebie. All you're doing is posting what you think will move you forward.  

[That Artemis]

LydaLynn

Hm. Hadn't thought of that, and wasn't trying to be mean to people who are at those kind of disadvantages either.

Either way, I'm not really hollering for change or anything. I just had the thought and wanted to see if it had occurred to others or what the general opinion was. As an avid fan of rp and rp contests I just feel like there is a difference between that and an effortless raffle. I didn't say that the effort was rewarded all of the time, just that it was there. Whether or not somebody puts effort in and actually wins or not is not my point.

And, the talented aren't constantly winning these contests either. There are usually raffles for secondary prizes in which everybody is included. Sure the 'grand' prize goes to the judged winner, but everybody who entered usually ends up with a chance at a prize too. While this sort of goes against what I said earlier, it really doesn't. In a contest that is judged, everybody who enters puts something into making it look/read nicely. So it is still from a pool of people who spent time on their entry.

edit: but meh. I see that a majority of people disagree, also I am starting to argue just for the sake of it which isn't why I started the thread.

:3 I kinda can't see a situation (other than the current) that this would be an issue anyway. I shall concede the point and go tag my rp's instead.