Attention all CH compers!  Many of you know this, but it’s been a while since we talked about it, and there are so many new users who are uninitiated, it seems like a good time to bring up voting again.

The last couple of days have seen a small smattering of spam, which for some time was completely eradicated.  Alas, as is a fact of the internet, spammers are extremely resourceful, and Competition Hunter is an appealing target.

We of course have a number of systems to prevent spam and filter submissions, based on a whole range of factors.  But it is impossible for any system to be infallible.

Voting is an important function of the site.  It lets you tell other users what you think of a competition.  Is it a competition submission well described, accurate, appealing or worthwhile?  Surely it’s worth a vote up!  Is a submission misleading, inaccurate or dodgy looking, or, indeed, spam?  Vote it down!

We often see spam voted up, which is a little frustrating, and it is because, of course, voting earns you Karma points, like everything else.  But you get the same Karma voting down as you do up – so take a second, and think of how your vote may influence other users.

Most importantly of all, a downvote on a submission indicates to the system whether something may be spam.  The system “knows” if something is spam based on the frequency of downvotes.  If something gets downvotes in quick succession, it will assume a spam status and remove the submission.  Don’t be scared about voting something down you don’t like, you’re making a valuable contribution, and helping fellow users.  Voting down a genuine competition that you don’t like the look of is completely encouraged too, it’s not just the preserve of spam submissions.  Enough downvotes for a dodgy or inaccurate competition, and it will be removed also.

It’s been our feeling for some time that voting and your individual vote (as you can only vote on a submission once), needs to be afforded greater power.  And, as I’m sure it said in some movie or other, with great power, comes great responsibility.  We’ll be trialling a totally new system soon with a view to getting some robust feedback from you all.  Keep your eyes peeled for that – you’ll be briefed beforehand!

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