December best post contest is a go!

November 30, 2011 8:56 PM

It's time again for our annual December Awesome Post Contest!

We've done this several times in the past, 2006 (results), 2008 (results), 2010 (results), and this year will run much like last year's.

There will be four big categories:

• Best Post Overall (winning an iPad)
• Best Single Link Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
• Best Multi-link Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
• Best Megalink (10 or more) Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
• Mod's choice (we each pick a favorite and come up with a prize for it)

About the only other rules are you had to have joined MeFi on or before 11/30/11 (no late bloomers) and any post made between midnight tonight (pacific time) and midnight on December 31st (pacific time) is eligible. We'll mostly be picking the winners based on our gut reactions though we will often use posts with high numbers of favorites as a guide to choosing, so feel free to use favorites to help us sort and filter out the best posts of the month.

Thanks and get ready for some awesome posts!

posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 8:56 PM (74 comments total)

"... And just to make it interesting, we're banning Rhaomi for the month!"
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:26 PM on November 30, 2011 [21 favorites]

For a small fee, I will kidnap filthy light thief and lock him up in the storage shed behind my apartment for the month (but the fee must be enough to feed him).
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:29 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

Do comments count? If so, this is my entry.
posted by mannequito at 10:02 PM on November 30, 2011 [3 favorites]

Er, can I ask for a time machine to roll back 24 hours?
posted by infini at 1:16 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

"... And just to make it interesting, we're banning Rhaomi for the month!"

Hah! I was actually going to ask if I should get a bye this time or something -- it feels kind of tacky to be in the running after just having won last year (and back in 2008), but I'd still like to make some good posts this month when the frigid weather and holidays leave plenty of indoors time for writing.

(I'm typing this at 4 a.m. because a relatively small FPP I was collecting links for lead me to a trove of material that's likely to blossom into something really wonderful. It even has a relevant anniversary later this month! I'm just stupidly happy about it. Stay tuned...)
posted by Rhaomi at 2:27 AM on December 1, 2011 [6 favorites]

Favorited Alvy because it was funny, not because I want less Rhaomi posts.
posted by solotoro at 2:30 AM on December 1, 2011

Begun this link war has.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:25 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

I hope someone famous dies this month. Cuz I'm gonna make the BEST OBIT-FILTER POST EVER!!!!!!
posted by The Deej at 6:16 AM on December 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

It's not too late to do Andrea True. Porn star turned disco queen? It practically writes itself, PLUS you get to do the "more, more, [more inside]" trick!
posted by Curious Artificer at 6:35 AM on December 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

If Rhaomi posts and sets a very high bar for everyone else, that's a good thing.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:58 AM on December 1, 2011

(opens Potential Awesome Post Idea Folder)

(No really there is a literal folder)
posted by The Whelk at 6:59 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm excited about this. Last year Matt gave one of my posts a special mention, which was rockin' even without having won anything. (But yeah, zarq needs to be distracted somehow...)
posted by Phire at 6:59 AM on December 1, 2011

Alvy Ampersand: ""... And just to make it interesting, we're banning Rhaomi for the month!""

Seconding DevilsAdvocate. Rhaomi makes fantastic posts and should continue to do so! :)

No pressure, dude. No pressure.
posted by zarq at 7:07 AM on December 1, 2011

We actually talked a little about the idea of having a like Retired Jersey sort of thing, yeah. Wall of famer's disqualified from winning the big prizes as a rule to just avoid having it feel like a weird situation. I don't know if we came up with any firm plan there or not, I suppose we'll keep talking about it the next couple days.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:12 AM on December 1, 2011

Phire: " (But yeah, zarq needs to be distracted somehow...)"

Ha! Thanks. :)

But fwiw, I don't participate. I mean, I'll continue to post as usual and cheer people on and stuff, but I'm not planning to put any extra effort in and haven't for the last few contests. I'd obsess, and would drive myself nuts.
posted by zarq at 7:26 AM on December 1, 2011

It may not be a post but I did just post my biggest long shot AskMe ever. I feel pride, a little shame. Shride.
posted by The Whelk at 7:34 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

(No really there is a literal folder)

An actual paper folder or a mere piece of organizational sugar supplied by your operating system?
posted by shothotbot at 8:34 AM on December 1, 2011

oneswellfoop: For a small fee, I will kidnap filthy light thief and lock him up in the storage shed behind my apartment for the month (but the fee must be enough to feed him).

You'll have to increase that fee to cover child care. My wife would not be happy as a single mother for a month. And anyway, that little bugger has really put a damper on my ability to hunker down and make ridiculously complex posts. Now they'll only be absurdly detailed.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:56 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

A REQUEST:

Can we have a "best by popular vote" winner? As it'll clearly be a popularity contest (and more than likely overlap with another winning post,) there oughtn't be a prize outside of bragging rights, but I think it'd be pretty fun to find out who the unwashed masses think made the best post.
posted by griphus at 12:51 PM on December 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

I love this idea. There are so many fantastic posts that never make the podcast, for example.

How would you judge?
posted by zarq at 12:58 PM on December 1, 2011

THUNDERDOME
posted by The Whelk at 1:14 PM on December 1, 2011

Harshly and without mercy.

(A week of write-in voting by post ID on a webform?)
posted by griphus at 1:16 PM on December 1, 2011

I think the Retired Jersey thing is a fantastic idea. Not only from an arbitrary "fairness" perspective, but that would also be a super cool honor for that person and would be a really simple way to point new folks towards some good posting models.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:44 PM on December 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

And a fairly diverse set of models, at that.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:45 PM on December 1, 2011

Very clever lure to bring back Dobbs, Artw, LiB, and some more besides. I wasn't necessariy a fan of any of them personally, but they were all outstanding contributers as FPP posters and the site needs more like them.
posted by Elmore at 4:51 PM on December 1, 2011

There are so many fantastic posts that never make the podcast, for example.

Streets of Fire is ruined for me now.

Ruined!
posted by Trurl at 6:08 PM on December 1, 2011

(No really there is a literal folder)

Call me Tolkein obsessed, but I parsed this mithril, which should be in the retired legends shirts.
posted by arcticseal at 12:56 AM on December 2, 2011

Er, can I ask for a time machine to roll back 24 hours?
posted by infini at 1:16 AM on December 1 [!]

Erm, I don't have a time machine, but this should at least get a special mention.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 6:13 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

We actually talked a little about the idea of having a like Retired Jersey sort of thing, yeah. Wall of famer's disqualified from winning the big prizes as a rule to just avoid having it feel like a weird situation.

As much as I would love to take part in the challenge again I think this is more than fair. It's the Peter Sagal rule, "sit on your hands and let someone else have a chance." If the Wall of Famers sit back it will give more people a chance to do some maybe new and surprising things and strengthen the community overall. I may make some posts this month depending on my available time but not in the spirit of competing, so maybe there should be a formal decision to opt former winners out.
posted by Miko at 7:47 AM on December 2, 2011

How would you judge?

monkey knife fights
posted by elizardbits at 8:19 AM on December 2, 2011

I can't wait to find out what the monkey will eat this year!
posted by vanar sena at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2011

Unless pb and vacapinta are also being given a chance to choose their favorites, there are nine chances to win this month.
posted by zarq at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2011

We're only two days in and people are already conspicuously throwing down. It's going to be savage.

I just finished a post for tonight that, under normal circumstances, I would consider fairly brawny. But no way I can hope to remain competitive with four more weeks of the kinds of posts coming in now.
posted by Trurl at 11:12 AM on December 2, 2011

Just wanted to say thanks, Matt! MetaTalk can sometimes be about the tension that exists on metafilter, but I find this to be very seasonal and fun, and reminds me why it's such a great community here.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:56 AM on December 2, 2011

I think that former winners can still play, but can't win again. I'm fine with that, but I have a few big posts I've been working on. I think more interesting posts will make December a lively place.

I could postpone them until January, but I want to rid my head of at least one of them. I find myself mulling over how to format the post in my head, what sources to look for, what I already have collected. This continues until I hit Post, then I have some lingering doubts, and I'll check the post for comments about what I've missed, but I try to stand back. After a few days, my head is clear of the topic. It's an obsession, but I love it.

Anyway, there are some people beyond the "typical" mega-posters who have shared some GREAT posts so far, so I don't think having more competitors is a bad thing, but I understand it's annoying when the same people win. And honestly, the only person who has one more than once in the last 3 contests is Rhaomi, who won the top honors the last two years.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh heck yeah, if we do the Retired Jersey thing that'll just mean no throwing the big awards at those people, not that they're supposed to not post for a month. Go crazy, post what you like and post it good.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:42 PM on December 2, 2011

I actually think uber-posters should still be eligible.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:56 AM on December 3, 2011

I didn't realize we'd already had a multi-winner.
posted by Miko at 8:31 AM on December 3, 2011

Here's a thought: if a veteran winner wins instead of giving them the reward, they get a 'lifetime achievement' award instead of the award they would have gotten, leaving a newcomer the chance to win the category reward.

That way veterans would still be inspired to give their great posts and newcomers won't be intimidated by post ninja's easily winning.
posted by el io at 9:29 AM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

A repeat winner gets a badge of their choice next to their username for 1 year, a la jessamyn's gone-but-not-forgotten gold star.
posted by Think_Long at 2:09 PM on December 3, 2011 [3 favorites]

Don't forget everyone... December 26th... ZELDA DAY
posted by JHarris at 8:16 AM on December 4, 2011

I don't have the time or stamina to put lots of effort into MetaFilter posts the year around, but the best post contest sort of localizes my post-making efforts and gives me a convenient 31-day window which is just the right amount of time to get a serious obsession going.
posted by JHarris at 9:51 AM on December 5, 2011

I'm curious to see what the Retired Jersey would actually look like.
posted by pwally at 6:08 AM on December 6, 2011

I'm picturing a cool late 70s era NFL thing, with some lurid colors like blue and ochre.
posted by Miko at 6:21 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Former winners should still be eligible, but the bar should be set higher for them. So Rhaomi, for instance, can submit a post for judging, but must do so via interpretive dance.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:30 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Annndd I made a Retired Jersey.
posted by pwally at 7:36 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Beautiful, pwally!

Former winners should still be eligible, but the bar should be set higher for them. So Rhaomi, for instance, can submit a post for judging, but must do so via interpretive dance.

My next FPP will be in the form of a toothpick sculpture.
posted by Miko at 7:47 AM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

An iPad? Things are going good at MefiCorp.

When I won Metafilter the first time you had a best post contest, it was like $30. Now there are iPads? Inflation!?!

Such an incentive makes me want to post something. However, since I haven't been reading closely over the last few years, I'm pretty sure I'd make a double-post.



Oh, and I gave the prize to charity, and I'm glad to see that option in this prize list... I hope I maybe have something to do with that established precdent.

Also, I never did get my mefipro account...
posted by dios at 4:55 PM on December 6, 2011

Repeat winners get laurel wreaths and a display case in the MeFi Hall of Fame (admission price: same as in town).
posted by lukemeister at 7:28 PM on December 6, 2011

pwally: "Annndd I made a Retired Jersey."

Needs more unicorn.
posted by arcticseal at 11:15 PM on December 6, 2011

And bacon bits.
posted by infini at 11:37 PM on December 6, 2011

Okay, fixed the Jersey.
posted by pwally at 12:56 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Now that's a Jersey.

Breaking news, pwally is pb.
posted by arcticseal at 6:04 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

The dramatic up-tick in quality posts is really torpedoing my productivity. Damn. You. All.
posted by midmarch snowman at 9:57 PM on December 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

*hunches over hands rubbing with glee*
posted by infini at 11:50 PM on December 8, 2011

Damn. This is a really, really tough field to beat.

I am so, so torn. I have two ideas I'd like to develop --- links I've beeen personally curating for years ---- but I could also delve into what has been submitted. Seriouxly,, dec 7 alone was somewhere around 40 hours of material if consumed serially (which I haven't).


So being torn - - - no. I'll probably sink back under the surface into metafilter obscurity.

Like a shark.

Yeah.
posted by yesster at 8:36 PM on December 9, 2011

There will be four big categories:

1. Best Post Overall (winning an iPad)
2. Best Single Link Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
3. Best Multi-link Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
4. Best Megalink (10 or more) Post ($100 gift certificate or charity donation)
bonus: Mod's choice (we each pick a favorite and come up with a prize for it)

In light of the Mobile Suit Gundam megapost, perhaps there should be an UltraPost category, to separate those posts with 10+ links and 100+ links? Or is that pushing MetaFilter from a Community Blog site into Community Internet Magazine territory?
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 AM on December 15, 2011

the Treaty of Westphalia FPP version right?
posted by infini at 10:44 AM on December 15, 2011

Or is that pushing MetaFilter from a Community Blog site into Community Internet Magazine territory?

Special Advertising Section

I think this contest could benefit from a Charles Schwab Retirement Fund.

Special Advertising Section
posted by griphus at 10:49 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

filthy light thief: " In light of the Mobile Suit Gundam megapost, perhaps there should be an UltraPost category, to separate those posts with 10+ links and 100+ links? Or is that pushing MetaFilter from a Community Blog site into Community Internet Magazine territory?"

How many $100 gift certificates do you think mathowie is going to be willing to give away?
posted by zarq at 11:30 AM on December 15, 2011

No more money needed, just more gold stars.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:15 PM on December 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

So far as I can tell, Rhaomi hasn't posted anything yet this year…

Is cautious optimism warranted?
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:31 AM on December 18, 2011

oh wait right there it is

looks like he felt like going easy on us (though it's still a fantastic post)
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:34 AM on December 18, 2011

I've been très busy (more than I thought I'd be this month), but I am hoping to get some more stuff done. I was aiming for an assortment of posts similar to last year -- a good solid post about a fascinating media phenomenon with lots of source material (à la Starship Titanic), plus a shorter one about a collection of science fiction writing (like the Ted Chiang stuff), plus a short life-related one on New Year's, plus some odds and ends (the Transmet post being the first on that list). And maybe, maybe a round-up link-dump of animation stuff on a theme, like Cartoon Network remixed, but that will be difficult to get done anytime soon, even with the useful guide I've found. But I will try!
posted by Rhaomi at 2:16 AM on December 19, 2011

Good grief, you are the reason people pay $5 to join MetaFilter.
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:21 PM on December 19, 2011

We need a tip jar.
posted by arcticseal at 6:33 PM on December 19, 2011

We need a tip jar.

So did the rabbi.
posted by The Deej at 7:45 PM on December 19, 2011

Rhaomi how are you so consistently incredible

I need to rent O Brother now and it's ALL YOUR FAULT
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:18 AM on December 23, 2011

Last call!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:53 AM on December 31, 2011

Waits three full minutes for 2012 then plans last post
posted by infini at 7:55 AM on December 31, 2011

Somewhere in an island in the middle of the pacific, the Lone Poster sits and waits to unleash the Best Last Post of 2011
posted by The Whelk at 2:04 PM on December 31, 2011

Actually the island in the middle of the Pacific is already in Tuesday
posted by infini at 2:11 PM on December 31, 2011

Okay right before that island, pedant.
posted by The Whelk at 2:13 PM on December 31, 2011

That's Easter, past Christmas
posted by infini at 2:26 PM on December 31, 2011