Mykul

Post counts being displayed under our custom titles, hanging out there for all the world to see? Let's discuss how we feel about this. Is it a huge deal? No. Was it almost as easy, in the olden days (as they henceforth shall be called), to click on someone's profile and check out their post count? Yes. One short click away. But is it still kind of annoying? You bet. The numbers [I]themselves[/I] aren't harmful or aggravating in any way. Rather, the annoyance I feel comes from this just being another chronicle in the over-glorification of the post count. This action transforms post-counts from a random tidbit of information, accessible if needed, to an unwanted label. For example, my profile now says this about me: [B]My name is probably Michael. I do not participate in the Otaku Portfolio. Archistrategos is a word that I like. And I am a scrub with just over 200 posts.[/B] I have been around since 8/2/2004. Even though I visit the site regularly to read news, get cool links, and check out interesting literature, random bouts of shyness have kept my post count low. Very low. And none of this would be very bothersome at all, if it weren't for the statement that new titles will soon be accompanying new levels of post counts. I do not feel that this is right. I do not feel that a member's number of posts gives them the right to [I]anything:[/I] not a title, not a medal, not a cookie or a hug. Do I feel that I am as important as a member who has been on the boards for one year, and who has stockpiled 1,000 posts in that one year? Of course I do. And I know that this is an incentive, and that making members care about post counts helps foster discussion and makes for a lively OB. I know that it's important to encourage posting, but is this the way to do it? I don't know. You tell me. This is a discussion in The Lounge, and I've gone on long enough.

Blonde? Morph? Hands in. "No more nitpicking" on three. Ready? 1 2 3

My sentiments mirror yours, Shy. Of all the challenges, I thought this would be the most fun. It's very sad that Mr. Bravo didn't play along.

The voting is still open. However, we have three winners. Congratulations to Sabrina, Chibi-Master, and Anomaly, who advance by default. "Default! Woohoo! the two sweetest words in the English language! De-fault! De-fault! De-fault!" - Homer Simpson It is a very disappointing situation. That is all the commentary I have.

[quote name='chibi-master']Erm...so, if Charlie Bravo doesn't post his story by midnight, do I win by default?:confused:[/QUOTE] Mr. Maul, Monarck, and Charlie Bravo were all PMed last night. I'm going to give them until the end of sunday to respond...but yes. If they don't get anything in, their opponents win by default.

Well, as everyone may have noticed, the deadline for submissions has passed. I've PMed everyone in default. If they don't respond soon, I guess we'll just DQ them and move on. I can't thank you enough, those of you who turned in your stories on time! You're all angels. Next step: VOTING! Let's get some constructive criticism going, some votes turned in, and...kick it old school?

Just a reminder to everyone: tomorrow is the last day to turn in submissions. There are lots of matches with an insufficient number of entries...I'll start PMing everyone tomorrow.

[quote name='Anomaly'][FONT="Garamond"]This might be too specific but I'm a freak for specifics - do you mean rewrite as in what we would have done with the scene instead, or a rewrite as in leaving the events the same but putting our own style into it?[/FONT][/QUOTE] Both. Either. Helpful, I know :confused:. This is basically a prompt that lets you use characters, settings, and subplots that already exist; something the other contestants obviously can't do. Make your own scene with an already existing story, or take a scene that already exists and change it however much you like. Don't sweat the specifics. As long as you use elements of a pre-existing story in [I]some way,[/I] you're fine. Here's an example for you. Rexikat XVI wrote a scene from a war. That would not be acceptable in this thread. However, if this scene was somehow linked to a story that already existed, in any little way, it would be fine.

[quote name='Lrb'][FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Aw crap how did I miss this?! I guess being away over the holidays didn't help. Well, if a spot opens up for one reason or another count me in as your substitute! :animesmil[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE] Sure thing! Also, I'm sure we'll be doing another one of these sooner or later. Feel free to vote on the matches taking place, though. That would be appreciated!

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]That's fine. I can mentally reconstruct you based on what you did give, so it's all good. Next time try pixellating yourself, like they do on America's Most Wanted. Just remember to skip the permanently PO'd voice-overs by that one guy. Whoever he is. I DON' CAR'.[/FONT][/QUOTE] I thought the mask of posterization looked kinda cool. But if you insist. [U][URL="http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=v4tabp&s=5"]Black[/URL][/U]

[quote name='Stephanie'][size=1]Well um.... yeaahh... >.> FACEBOOK FTW! ... okay, now you can shoot me. Hey! I'm relatively normal looking and Vicky talks to me all the time! =[ [url=http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=145149&id=1451977513]Oh so beautiful[/url][.>[/size][/QUOTE] Am I the only one who can't get Stephanie's link to work? [URL="http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=t052xz&s=5"][U]New York[/U][/URL] [U][URL="http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=14ijs61&s=5"]Not New York[/URL][/U]

Two awesome submissions; good luck to you both! Now, let's start the voting!

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial] but if an entry needs more time, more time can always be given.[/FONT][/QUOTE] Yes, extra time [I]can[/I] be given. However, it will be given by me, not by Allamorph. Just in case there was confusion.

To be honest, I didn't think people would stress too much about when they needed to submit their entries. Perhaps it was a little idealistic to assume that everyone would write in as soon as possible? :animeswea Morph is on the right track. Have them in [U]before[/U] saturday the 17th.

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Good to see this contest start. Once again, I'd like to wish you all the best of luck. Also, I edited the DeLarge vs Rexikat XVI and pfisland vs Shy threads, since for a moment there Anomaly and Mr. Maul couldn't vote in two contests beside their own. :p ¡Buena suerte![/FONT][/QUOTE] Ah, thanks Morph! I knew I was bound to forget something...there was more code in those posts than I have ever done in all my previous posts combined.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"][FONT="Book Antiqua"][COLOR="Red"]C[/COLOR]H[COLOR="Red"]A[/COLOR]R[COLOR="Red"]L[/COLOR]IE B[COLOR="Red"]R[/COLOR]A[COLOR="Red"]V[/COLOR]O[/FONT] [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS[/FONT] [B][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="Pink"]C[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]H[/COLOR][COLOR="Wheat"]I[/COLOR][COLOR="Pink"]B[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]I[/COLOR][COLOR="Pink"]-[/COLOR][COLOR="Wheat"]M[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]A[/COLOR][COLOR="Pink"]S[/COLOR][COLOR="Wheat"]T[/COLOR][COLOR="Pink"]E[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]R[/COLOR][/FONT][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except Charlie Bravo and Chibi-Master. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [B][U][SIZE="4"][FONT="Courier New"]The Challenge: Six Fiction[/FONT][/SIZE][/U][/B] Each contestant will compose [SIZE="3"]3[/SIZE] short stories. Each short story must consist of [U]exactly[/U] [SIZE="3"]6[/SIZE] words. Voters will choose their favorite six-word story, thereby voting for the author of that story.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"][FONT="Lucida Console"][COLOR="Navy"][B]S[/COLOR]A[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]B[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]R[/COLOR][COLOR="Navy"]I[/COLOR]N[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]A[/B][/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS [/FONT]M[COLOR="Orange"]O[/COLOR]NA[COLOR="DimGray"]R[/COLOR]C[COLOR="Orange"]K[/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except Sabrina and Monarck. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE="4"][B][FONT="Courier New"][U]The Challenge: 55 Fiction[/U][/FONT][/B][/SIZE] Each contestant will Compose [SIZE="3"]1[/SIZE] short story. However, this short story [U]may not exceed 55 words[/U]. Voters will select their favorite work of the two.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]VI[COLOR="gray"]C[/COLOR][COLOR="Red"]KY[/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS[/FONT] [FONT="Book Antiqua"][COLOR="SandyBrown"]MR.[/COLOR] B[COLOR="Gray"]L[/COLOR][COLOR="Silver"]O[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]N[/COLOR][COLOR="Gray"]D[/COLOR]E[/FONT][/SIZE] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except Vicky and Mr. Blonde. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [FONT="Courier New"][SIZE="4"][B][U]The Challenge: Dying Is Your Latest Fashion[/U][/B][/SIZE][/FONT] Each contestant will write a short story between [SIZE="3"]200[/SIZE] and [SIZE="3"]500[/SIZE] words. The stories can be told in any format, in any tense, from any point of view. However, there is one requirement: in each contestant's short story, [U]someone must die.[/U]

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][U][COLOR="Gray"]MR. M[/COLOR]A[COLOR="Silver"]UL[/COLOR][/U][/FONT] [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS[/FONT] [COLOR="Silver"]A[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]N[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]O[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]M[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]A[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]L[/COLOR]|[COLOR="Silver"]Y[/COLOR] [/CENTER][/SIZE] [CENTER] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except Mr. Maul and Anomaly. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE="4"][FONT="Courier New"][B][U]The Challenge: The Rewrite[/U][/B][/FONT][/SIZE] Each contestant will write a short story. Each story should consist of between [SIZE="3"]200[/SIZE] and [SIZE="3"]600[/SIZE] words. For the essay, each contestant will pick a story that already exists and rewrite a scene from that story. This story can be a movie, book, video game, etc. Contestants may rewrite any scene or completely replace a scene with one of their own.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"] D[COLOR="MediumTurquoise"]E[/COLOR]L[COLOR="SlateGray"]A[/COLOR]R[COLOR="MediumTurquoise"]G[/COLOR]E [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS [/FONT]R[COLOR="White"]E[/COLOR]X[COLOR="White"]I[/COLOR]K[COLOR="White"]A[/COLOR]T [COLOR="White"]X[/COLOR]V[COLOR="White"]I[/COLOR][/CENTER][/SIZE] [CENTER] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except DeLarge and Rexikat XVI. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [FONT="Courier New"][B][U][SIZE="4"]The Challenge: Do As You Will[/SIZE][/U][/B][/FONT] Contestants may write...whatever they wish, provided it is longer than [SIZE="3"]100[/SIZE] words.

[CENTER][SIZE="4"][FONT="Arial Black"]THE GREAT OTAKU PROSE CONTEST[/FONT][/SIZE] Round 1 [SIZE="4"][COLOR="Red"]PFI[/COLOR][COLOR="Silver"]SLA[/COLOR][COLOR="White"]ND[/COLOR] [FONT="Impact"]VERSUS[/FONT] [COLOR="Magenta"]S[/COLOR][COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]H[/COLOR][COLOR="SandyBrown"]Y[/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE="1"]Voting is open to ALL Otaku members except pfisland and Shy. Voters, please state your vote clearly. Also, please give your reason for casting your vote the way you do. [COLOR="Red"]Voting will close on Friday, January 23.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE="4"][FONT="Courier New"][B][U]The Challenge: Sex Change[/U][/B][/FONT][/SIZE] Each contestant will write a short story between [SIZE="3"]200[/SIZE] and [SIZE="3"]500[/SIZE] words. Each short story must be told from a first person limited point of view. Authors, the narrator of your story must be the [U]opposite[/U] gender that you happen to be.

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial] That, and either doing or just being finished with really strenuous physical work. So really, anything that makes me breathe. >_>[/FONT][/QUOTE] I'm going to have to agree. I'm happiest when I"m at the gym or on a run. Plus, there's no greater feeling than the one that sets in about an hour after you finish exercising. Other than that, I'm happiest when my roommate goes to bed, so I can just chill. I hide in the little cave that his lofted bed makes with our futon, and write until I force myself to sleep.

[quote name='Anomaly'][FONT="Garamond"]ME! /dibs haha I need to be more active & I need to focus on some other writing projects for awhile[/FONT][/QUOTE] Savior. Alright everyone, let's do it. I will assign everyone to random pairs. These will be the first-round matches. They should be up Saturday. Sorry I can't have them up tomorrow...second day of classes.

You signed up just in time. Now we need to wait for a number twelve, and I think we should be set. Twelve should be plenty. If anyone has a friend that they think would be interested (or [I]should[/I] be interested), now is the time to start lobbying.

[quote name='Mr. Maul'][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray]I am the even number ten. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE] And so you are. We now have a number with which we may begin. However, I think we should hold out for a little while longer and see if we can't get up to twelve...or more! Unlikely, I know, but still... I'll be PMing everyone to make sure that all is well and that everyone is ready.