Best post contest for December is a go!

November 29, 2010 5:54 PM

December's Awesome Post Contest is a GO!

So yeah, what we talked about recently is going to officially start tonight at midnight (pacific). Here are some basic rules:

- Posts made any time in December of 2010 are eligible (pacific time reference, again)

- There will be a single best post crowned for the month, picked by cortex, jessamyn, and myself on a podcast we'll record the first week in January.

- We will have three more official categories: best single-link post, best multi-link post (think 2-10ish), best megalink post (think giant wikipedia style dump of 25+ links).

- We'll have lots of silly one-off categories we'll make up for favorites that fit the bill (think "best single link youtube post that actually makes single link youtube posts OK to like", etc)

- We'll award a new iPad (or a $499 contribution to a charity of your choice) to the best post

- We'll award $100 gift certificates to the winners of the other three official categories to a store of the winner's choosing (think Amazon, Apple, etc) or a charity of their choice.

That's about it, sound good?

(also, we're turning off the ordering for t-shirts in a few hours, so get on that quick if you haven't made an order yet)

posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 5:54 PM (43 comments total)

Midnight tonight will still be November, though.
posted by Gator at 5:58 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

FINE THEN TWELVE OH ONE IT IS!
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:01 PM on November 29, 2010 [12 favorites]

Long hail December- the month without Israel/Palestine posts!

here here!
posted by hal_c_on at 6:02 PM on November 29, 2010

Someone have his heart medication on hand. His face is turning red and puffy.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:02 PM on November 29, 2010

Thanks math owie!!
posted by nomadicink at 6:03 PM on November 29, 2010

TWELVE OH ONE WILL ALSO STILL BE NOVEMBER BECAUSE TOMORROW IS NOVEMBER 30TH AND IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER AS THE FIRST POINT OF THE CONTEST ELIGIBILITY RULES REQUIRE!
posted by Gator at 6:11 PM on November 29, 2010 [10 favorites]

Yeah, he means December first.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:12 PM on November 29, 2010

Yeah, I really thought today was the 30th! Blame it on all the automated "end of the month activity is about to happen..." emails I've been getting today.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:15 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

If this November/December confusion means that Miko is somehow in the running, I'M FOR IT.
posted by danb at 6:20 PM on November 29, 2010

If my best effort gets deleted, is it still entered in the contest?
posted by Short Attention Sp at 6:35 PM on November 29, 2010 [5 favorites]

What, is Miko out of commission? Cool, more iPads for me! No, I kid. Miko is worth more than an iPad. She's worth a bunch of iPads--like four or something!
posted by Mister_A at 6:36 PM on November 29, 2010

Miko already won, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:48 PM on November 29, 2010

If Miko's post can't be in the contest then she ought to get some kind of honorary prize to mark the awesomeness that was that post.
posted by lilac girl at 7:23 PM on November 29, 2010

Does anyone else hear the theme from the Thunderbirds?
posted by gomichild at 7:59 PM on November 29, 2010

No, no, no honorary prizes! Last year was veddy veddy good to me and Thanksgiving was something to celebrate the day, not prize-focused. This year I plan to sit on my hands and read all the other awesome posts, feet up on the desk, with a good cigar. Well, not a good cigar since I quit smoking, but the equivalent in relaxation. Good luck to all and happy readin' and clickin' to the rest of us!
posted by Miko at 8:05 PM on November 29, 2010

I would now like to thank flapjax for not waiting until Wednesday to post this.
posted by Joe Beese at 8:09 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

If I'd known there'd be prizes, I would have saved my latest, which was so amazing it thawed item's icy heart. Now I got to go find an all new amazing link? Bah humbug.
posted by juv3nal at 8:32 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

icy?
posted by item at 9:42 PM on November 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

I mean, yeah, it's cold and all, but icy?
posted by item at 10:12 PM on November 29, 2010

Yeah, I really thought today was the 30th!

Strangely, so did I.
posted by shelleycat at 10:25 PM on November 29, 2010

As the time draws nigh, glooming, a cloud,
A dread beyond, of I know not what, darkens me.

Only one hour and a bit until the MetaFilter Singularity of Awesome Posts!
posted by lukemeister at 10:54 PM on November 29, 2010

Awesome, thanks!
posted by SpacemanStix at 10:54 PM on November 29, 2010

There should really be something special for the worst (non-deleted) posts December has to offer as well. Not 'prize' in the traditional sense, but maybe more like 'unprize'. Obviously we can rule out acts of physical violence, as the mods are too spread out to be able to inflict this - unless the 'winners' are in Portland or near wherever the Cider House that jessamyn lives in is. Mail bombs are too unreliable & unstable, as the Unabomber taught us, as is something like anthrax envelopes.

The worst post-makers could be forced to take on undesirable usernames: Texans for Tea Party, u.n.owen, RonPaul2008, Kings_of_Leon_Fan, LGFconservative, somelongusernamethatsnotreallycleverbutits allmashedtogetherandispossiblyametafilterinjokefromsixmonthsagoormaybeitjustvaguelymakessensebutinanycaseitsreallylong. The problem with this is that the 'winners' might be coyly ironic types and actually enjoy their 'prizes'.

A permanent banning seems too harsh, too, as then the site'd be deprived of a number of future crappy posts, thus upsetting the delicate balance of the Mefisphere. I suppose a fair 'prize' would have to be temporary bannings, maybe starting at a week and working up to a month or two for the absolute worst post. Hive mind, special snowflakes, please hope me?
posted by item at 12:22 AM on November 30, 2010

I've been thinking about making a spiritual sequel (on a similar-but-different topic) to my big Cartoon Network post that won a few years back for quite awhile now, even making laughably futile attempts to hold myself to it with vague public pledges. I've amassed a respectable collection of links, but it's easy to procrastinate on the actual composition part, and I've twice blown through a relevant anniversary in September as well as the one-year mark after the original post last Christmas.

Would it be weird to try finishing it for the two-year mark, in context of the contest? I would have at least attempted to do it regardless, but since it's going to be of a similar topic and format, I don't want to seem like, "Oh, a contest! I'll just do the exact same thing as last time." Seems unoriginal.

I've got a lot of other ideas, and plan to try posting as many of them as I can do justice to. But should a semi-follow-up post like that be one of them? Or would it maybe be better to leave it for later?
posted by Rhaomi at 1:23 AM on November 30, 2010

Hive mind, special snowflakes, please hope me?

You could make them moderate Tea Party/climate change/Middle East posts for a month. That would teach them.
posted by londonmark at 4:58 AM on November 30, 2010

Oops ... last night I too somehow decided it was November 30. Such is the mathowian power of suggestion.
posted by lukemeister at 5:20 AM on November 30, 2010

There should really be something special for the worst (non-deleted) posts December has to offer as well.

A wingsuit and a ladder.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:38 AM on November 30, 2010

I once turned the front page inside out with a single Unicode character in a feeble attempt to win. No pony. I really wish that thread could have stayed backwards in the archives without breaking parts of MeFi.

Holy crap, has it been four years?
posted by loquacious at 5:44 AM on November 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Can we post crappy links again on January 1?
posted by wheelieman at 7:11 AM on November 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Damn, now I'm going to have to spend the whole day digging through internet videos to find something cute enough to base a post around.

Oh well, pay-scale determining employee reviews can wait. I've got kittens to look at!
posted by quin at 7:59 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-AHAHAHAHAHAHA!


practicing!
posted by The Whelk at 8:21 AM on November 30, 2010

"or a $499 contribution to a charity of your choice"

Aw, man. Now I'll feel bad about taking the iPad.

No expectation of winning, so it's a moot point
posted by howling fantods at 9:29 AM on November 30, 2010

I own an iPad, so if I win, I'll give everything to charity.

Just..throwing that out there mods.
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 AM on November 30, 2010

Whelk owns an iPad, so if he wins, he'll give it to me.

Just..throwing that out there mods.
posted by Think_Long at 9:51 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I own an iPad, so if I win, I'll give everything to charity.

Man, what I could do with two iPads.

I could duct tape the backs of them together, and have a double sided iPad. Or just on the hinge, so I could have an iBook. I could have an iPad for each side of the bed. I could run two programs at the same time. I could have one for my four year old daughter, so there would be no more peanut butter smudges on the screen.

Actually, I'd be pretty happy with just one iPad.
posted by SpacemanStix at 10:09 AM on November 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

Thanks good people, I needed this. It's time to start giving...
posted by ouke at 12:42 PM on November 30, 2010

Thank you mods, for doing this! I won't win, of course, but it'll kickstart me into putting posts together and I'll get to enjoy all the good posts this month.
posted by orange swan at 9:33 AM on December 1, 2010

Is a two sided IPAD like a pushmi-pullyu?
posted by josher71 at 12:21 PM on December 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

The quality FPPs are coming thick and fast.
posted by fixedgear at 2:51 PM on December 2, 2010

If there was going to be an ipad for the best first post attempt I might give it a go, no wait, how about a consolation prize for the most pathetically lame but well intentioned first attempt at posting that was deleted quickly to mitigate the posters embarrassment?
posted by sammyo at 7:20 AM on December 4, 2010

how about a consolation prize for the most pathetically lame but well intentioned first attempt at posting that was deleted quickly to mitigate the posters embarrassment

May I suggest a Zune?
posted by enn at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

The downside of course is trying to keep up with all the awesomeness on the front page. But I've always felt sleep was overrated anyway.
posted by Sailormom at 7:09 PM on December 17, 2010

I can't even tell the front-runners, there has been a flood of Awesomeness recently.
posted by The Whelk at 7:11 PM on December 17, 2010