[DarkeSword]

Hi everyone. In the past two or three years, competitions have gotten kind of a shot in the arm here at OCR. With the advent of the tournament style competitions like GRMRB and WCRG, more and more people are taking part as remixers and voters. Because competitions obviously get people really fired up, there've been some issues having to do with fairness and sportsmanship that I and other competition organizers feel need to be addressed.

I've also updated this post to include information for those of us that run competitions as well. This information is less about conduct and more about running a competition in general.

I want to lay out a couple of basic guidelines that people should be following when participating in OCR's competitions and tournaments as runners, competitors, or voters.

Runners
If you want to run a competition, here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Have a clear, unique concept. This can be anything from focusing on a game series, requiring collaborations, combining source tunes, or doing original music.
• Stick to your concept. For example, if you're doing a collaboration competition, you shouldn't allow solo remixes just because a person couldn't find a partner. If you're doing a Mega Man tournament, you shouldn't allow Castlevania remixes just because you like music from that series. You created a concept that people are buying into; don't throw that away.
• Think hard about your format. Some competitions work better as weekly or monthly events, whereas others work better as tournaments or longer events; tournaments generally require a lot more commitment from people too.
• Don't over-complicate things. Especially with tournaments, there's a real danger of trying too hard to make things really elaborate. Keep things straightforward.
• Have a clear schedule, but be flexible. Weekly competitions are easier to manage, but longer tournaments can get crazy. Competitions are more fun when people are able to participate, so try to be accommodating.
• Generally speaking, don't restrict anyone from entering your competition; competitions should be open to all people of any skill level. Restriction should only occur in cases where a person has repeatedly violated the Code of Conduct.
• For competitions that use voting, be clear to voters about the criteria you want them to use when evaluating entries.
• Minimize drama. Competitions are for fun, not for people to get angry with each other. If you see people behaving in an unsportsmanlike way or violating the Code of Conduct, call them out and put an end to it. If you need help keeping people in line, ask a moderator to step in.
• Most importantly: be fair, but firm. If you have an issue (deadline extension, suspicion of vote-stacking, etc.), get the people affected involved. Consider all sides of the issue before making a decision; if you're having trouble, catch me on IRC and I can help you.

Competitors
As competitors, we should always remember that while winning is awesome, OCR's competitions are more about making great music, improving as an artist, and to a certain extent, helping each other improve as well. To that end, here are some guidelines and rules to follow:

• Don't fixate on voting patterns and behaviors. If people aren't voting for your entry, that's their decision. Don't criticize voters because you disagree with how they are voting. It's not your job to make sure people are voting "the right way."
• Don't campaign for votes or instigate vote-stacking/ballot-stuffing. Your entry to a competition should be all you need to garner votes. Don't use your social media accounts to tell people to vote for you, and don't contact people in private to make a case for your entry.
• On the flip side, do encourage people to visit OCR, listen to entries, and make their own decisions about the entries they want to vote for.
• Don't badmouth or belittle your opponents. Good-natured ribbing and light trash talk can be a fun part of any competition, but avoid making snide remarks and acting indignant when things don't go your way. This includes making comments about whether or not a remixer is posted to OCR or not. Competitions are for people of all skill levels.
• Respect the decisions of the competition runners. When you sign up for a competition, you're agreeing to abide by the rules the runner lays out. It's okay to bring up issues if you think they're affecting fairness, but the runner always makes the final call. If there's a really serious issue with how a competition is being run, we can look at it and take appropriate steps to rectify the situation.

Voters
Most competitions on OCR use some kind of voting system to determine winners, so they end up depending on a lot of people to vote. Voters also have a couple of things they need to keep in mind when participating.

• Follow the voting guidelines laid out by the competition runner. Most competitions will tell you what to consider when making your vote (things like arrangement value, production, etc.). As a voter, you should try to adhere to that, rather than just picking what you like for your own personal reasons (e.g. "I like rock music better than techno so I'm picking this one").
• Don't campaign for votes on a contestant's behalf. Make your own vote and encourage people to visit OCR and make their own decisions.
• When writing reviews, be polite and constructive. I have seen some pretty bad examples of negative reviews over the years ("shitty vocals," "ear rape," etc.). You can express your opinions of a track without being a jerk. We don't need internet tough-guys trying to bolster their criticisms with needless hyperbole and profanity.

These are just a couple of things I want people to keep in mind when participating in competitions. I'll add more when the need arises, but we'll stick with these for now.

[Benjamin Briggs]

all excellent rules. nice work

[HoboKa]

How's about encouraging a little less emphasis on production and more-so on composition?

Also...Shariq I appreciate it very much that you're attempting to fix things up a bit, but...

How do we enforce these things?? Telling people to be courteous and good sportsmen is one thing, but, that's tricky. Anyways, I always do my best to vote fair and try to tone down my grumbling when I lose =p

EDIT - when we do have issues with a certain member of the forum, it often falls on deaf ears - I won't name any individuals, but there are a few who trash talk and get on their high horse all the time =/

[Gario]

This sets a site precedent - now if people are upset they will officially be breaking rules, which give DS the power to take action, when needed. That's what these rules are for.

[HoboKa]

Originally Posted by Gario

This sets a site precedent - now if people are upset they will officially be breaking rules, which give DS the power to take action, when needed. That's what these rules are for.

Right...didn't read the fine-print =p - good news indeed

[Prophecy]

Sounds good to me.

[ectogemia]

I'm alright with all of that, as long as the hammer doesn't come down too hard or too often on trash-talking, assuming it's not outright derogatory.

... and even then, I'd be ok with it, but I understand lines have to be drawn to prevent butthurt.

[Damashii!!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...w255CGkk#t=29s

Originally Posted by DarkeSword

rather than just picking what you like for your own personal reasons (e.g. "I like rock music better than techno so I'm picking this one").[*]Don't campaign for votes on a contestant's behalf. Make your own vote and encourage people to visit OCR and make their own decisions.

you know, they way you put it here it seems like common sense, but i didn't realize before how bad of a genre bias i had.

[SuperiorX]

Originally Posted by Sir Jordanius

you know, they way you put it here it seems like common sense, but i didn't realize before how bad of a genre bias i had.

Well, after all, music is entirely subjective, so naturally people may gravitate to what they prefer, so I wouldn't feel bad about it. I think the rule is more of a suggestion that people shouldn't exclusive judge music in the competitions just based off genre. It's important to look at arrangement, production, instrumentation, etc., in combination with genre.

[DarkeSword]

Originally Posted by SuperiorX

Well, after all, music is entirely subjective, so naturally people may gravitate to what they prefer, so I wouldn't feel bad about it. I think the rule is more of a suggestion that people shouldn't exclusive judge music in the competitions just based off genre. It's important to look at arrangement, production, instrumentation, etc., in combination with genre.

Well that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that when you're voting, use the criteria that the competition lays out.

Example: in the versus style tournaments, one of the biggest criteria is, "How well does this piece incorporate BOTH themes?" An entry can have good arrangement, production, instrumentation, etc., but really only use one of the themes. That's important to consider when voting.

Also a competition can be set up when the PRIMARY criteria is just arrangement. Maybe it's an arrangement competition and the runner doesn't care as much about production. Voters should respect that and tailor their votes accordingly.

I mean, look, the criteria could very well just be, "Pick the song you like the most." In that case, genre preferences are just fine. How else would you pick what you like the most?

That rule is not really about eliminating genre-bias, but making sure that voters understand and take into account what the competition is really about.