The Most Choosiest Time of the Year! MeFites Choice Awards 2013

November 20, 2013 8:06 PM

December is the Fantastic Post MeFites Choice Contest run by you, the users. Sign up to offer prizes. Use the fantastic flag to vote for your favorites. We did this last year (see winners). We're doing it again. Weekly prizes! User participation! More! Inside!

Here are the outlines of the rules

1. This is for FPPs on the blue only.
2. Vote with the fantastic flag.
3. We'll tabulate top fantastic-getters weekly and announce winners and runners-up
4. Mods and other MeFites will sign up to offer prizes for top vote-getters or other topic-specific criteria.

Weeks, loosely outlined, will be

Dec 1-7
Dec 8-14
Dec 15-21
Dec 22-31

Please sign up on the new blank wiki page to offer prizes. Hit us up on the contact form if you need help with wiki editing. Questions? Concerns? Comments? Let us know.

Some other minor details....

Must be a MeFite as of November 30 to win.
Each MeFite can win once for the month.
Winners will be determined by a counting of fantastic flags; we'll try to announce them in a timely fashion
MeFites who agree to provide prizes also agree to ship prizes. Contact us if the cost of postage is an issue.

posted by jessamyn (retired) to MetaFilter-Related at 8:06 PM (117 comments total)

Everybody, I need a favor - no one is allowed to post in December except for me.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 PM on November 20, 2013 [6 favorites]

I am offering a prize. This blew by me last year, I hope to win something and give a prize away this year!
posted by Miko at 8:49 PM on November 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

where's that markov script for the front page i think i need some ideas
posted by klangklangston at 8:49 PM on November 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you didn't write "most choosiest" knowingly, I feel bad for you. If you did, I hate you. It's not big, it's not clever, and by Christ it isn't cute.
posted by Decani at 11:33 PM on November 20, 2013

Can one of the prizes be actually receiving a prize won in a previous contest? That would be a cool prize. ಠ_ಠ
posted by Rhaomi at 11:47 PM on November 20, 2013

I finally just sent Bunny Ultramod the Love of Jojo Sriracha he won from me last year. (I'm pretty bad, but it's not all my fault; it wasn't available for shipping on the Etsy site every time I checked, until I finally stopped checking. Until now!)

I'm in for giving a prize, but I haven't decided what yet. I might wait to see who my prizewinner is.

I hope it's Decani, because I know of something he'll like alot.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:28 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

I think she meant to type "Moist, Chewiest."
posted by empath at 2:22 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

I choo-choo-choo choose you. Traaaaaains. If you havin train problems I feel bad for you son 99 problems and a caboose ain't one.
posted by infinite intimation at 2:27 AM on November 21, 2013

Any chance we could get a banner on the Blue once the contest starts to remind us to vote?
posted by Rock Steady at 4:44 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Decani, what for do so better than jealous can skill than linGuist of jessamyn since choosiest aboard clever from vocabulary with, user! cRazypants per lesser rage outside sense through Christ between cute knowingly most written. Big stupid regarding bad feels silly onto you hate? SoRRy for you feel I.
posted by Blasdelb at 4:49 AM on November 21, 2013 [7 favorites]

Is it intentional that the randomly capitalized letters spell "GRRR"? I think that is awesome. GRRR!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 4:55 AM on November 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

"Choosiest" is a typo. Really jessamyn was typing "Choose I EST," but her space bar got stuck. Considering she lives on the East Coast, choosing Eastern Standard Time only makes sense, and, before you get all up in arms about the grammar of that sentence, it's how the authentic hill folk of New England speak. We just smile and nod along at their quaint folkways.

I sympathize with your rage, but it's misplaced. In many ways.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:26 AM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]

I'm in! Chooseisize a good one, mods!
posted by griphus at 5:29 AM on November 21, 2013

Can't we all get together and get homunculus a lifetime achievement award? If we pool our money we can get him something nice like a plinth, some myrrh, or a brown envelope stuffed with cash.
posted by Kattullus at 5:44 AM on November 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'm having a baby. I just wanted to tell you all. Xo
posted by the quidnunc kid at 5:45 AM on November 21, 2013 [35 favorites]

I will happily bite the head off a live roadie for whoever wins the the first week.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:52 AM on November 21, 2013

I sympathize with your rage, but it's misplaced.

I hate it when I misplace my rage. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY!
posted by octobersurprise at 6:27 AM on November 21, 2013 [7 favorites]

Have you looked in the couch cushions? That's where my rage always ends up. The pockets on my khakis are terrible that way. I need a special rage holder to keep my rage in my pockets....
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:33 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Whether or not you find your rage, you'll still just be a rat in a cage.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:01 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you did, I hate you.

Well we've finally got that out in the open then. You're being a tiresome scold. Feel free to go do that elsewhere on the site. Maybe the rest of us can move on?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:06 AM on November 21, 2013 [35 favorites]

I'm having a baby. I just wanted to tell you all. Xo

Vote #1 quidnunc dad
posted by griphus at 7:15 AM on November 21, 2013 [12 favorites]

I like "most choosiest!" It's the bestest. I'm already writing the rest of the song lyrics in my head.
posted by Miko at 7:17 AM on November 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'm in!
posted by phunniemee at 7:24 AM on November 21, 2013

Yay! Good luck, everyone!! :)
posted by zarq at 7:30 AM on November 21, 2013

I'm having a baby. I just wanted to tell you all. Xo

Vote #1 the quidnunc's kid
posted by billiebee at 7:31 AM on November 21, 2013 [12 favorites]

I'm having a baby.

... for dinner.

(It's a cookbook! A cookbook!)
posted by octobersurprise at 7:36 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Sorry for oversharing. Still, baby and mrs quidnunc send their love to you all!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:42 AM on November 21, 2013 [5 favorites]

Oversharing? This is just the beginning. As a new parent, there is so much you experience that you cannot contain all the wonder and terror you experience between you and your partner, so you gush with information and progress of your offspring.

"Little quidnunc made the cutest face today! You have to see it!" [Shoves phone towards strangers]

"Little quidnunc rolled over without assistance! I foresee great advancements in the future!"

"POOP! SO MUCH POOP! EVERYWHERE, IT GOT EVERYWHERE! See? I took a picture!" [Shoves phone towards strangers]

Welcome to parenthood.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:22 AM on November 21, 2013 [8 favorites]

If quidnunc's offspring wins the best post contest, I'm offering him/her up a baby goat as a prize!

Well, not really. I'm just being silly.

It's a voted #1 quidnunc kid kid kid kid
posted by drlith at 8:25 AM on November 21, 2013 [14 favorites]

Hmm. Have baby, offer as prize, profit! I'll put that to the wife, see what she says.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 9:24 AM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]

Ok, she says "no".
posted by the quidnunc kid at 9:24 AM on November 21, 2013 [20 favorites]

Well she's only expressed a view on the whole baby, maybe we could offer a couple of limbs or something.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 9:42 AM on November 21, 2013 [8 favorites]

Wait, now she says no in somewhat stronger terms. Oh well.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 9:43 AM on November 21, 2013 [13 favorites]

Wait, no compromise or openness to discussion? You might need to post a relationship issue to the green.
posted by SpacemanStix at 10:22 AM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]

I think we should wait to see what mefi user Solomon has to say about this.
posted by elizardbits at 10:24 AM on November 21, 2013 [7 favorites]

the quidnunc kid: "Well she's only expressed a view on the whole baby, maybe we could offer a couple of limbs or something."

"Sweetheart, you got a package!"
"Oh, cool! I won that for my Apple vs. Android post on MeFi last month! Quick! Open it up!"
"What the HELL are those?!"
"They're my very own Quidnunc Baby arms! Aren't they cool!? I'm going to use them as quirky picture hangers in the Living Room!"
"..."
posted by zarq at 10:26 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

But honey, it's uterUS, not uterYOU!
posted by phunniemee at 10:27 AM on November 21, 2013

How many Quidnunc Baby arms does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Two! One to screw in the bulb and the other to show support and pose with its index finger raised in the air. Vote #1!
posted by zarq at 10:31 AM on November 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

I suppose I should quit now before people start avoiding me at meetups.
posted by zarq at 10:32 AM on November 21, 2013

Once the baby is born, how will we be able to distinguish which quidnunc kid we are voting for #1? Although it would actually be pretty delightful if we accidentally elected a baby, at least until jgfgjjhtftfhfgjhcfhgfgdhdgfhfghvgnhvdgtuyft!
posted by beryllium at 10:43 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Perhaps our esteemed good friend Mr Quidnunc shall have to hold onto his definite article (and his hat, unless these are one and the same) for dear life, and the smaller and cuter young Quidnunc can be "a quidnunc kid", "the other quidnunc kid", "the quidnunc kid's kid", or, should they wish to assert their individuality while remaining close to the tree, "the quiddity kid", "the quiddling kid", or, as they get older and more strategic, "the quid pro quo kid".

In any case, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Quidnunc and to the one Quidlet, indivisible!
posted by beryllium at 11:03 AM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Surely, any offspring of the quidnunc kid would be the quidnunc grandkid.
posted by Kattullus at 11:15 AM on November 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

the quidam kid? the quondam kid? the quisling kid? the quadrille kid? the quahog kid? the quodlibet kid?
posted by Rock Steady at 11:44 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I love you people. Sorry for self-aggrandising in/derailing this thread.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:04 PM on November 21, 2013

It's fine just sign up to offer a prize. Please. Everyone.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:15 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Just being here with the quidnunc kid is prize enough for me.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:20 PM on November 21, 2013 [6 favorites]

ಠ_ಠ
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:22 PM on November 21, 2013 [9 favorites]

Prize offered! Can't wait to be tortured by candy posts!
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:27 PM on November 21, 2013

OH GOD I forgot that you can pick a category/topic and then offer a prize for that.

like i could hypothetically offer ONE THOUSAND US DOLLARS to the best post about manbooty

that is a thing that i could do
posted by elizardbits at 12:37 PM on November 21, 2013 [9 favorites]

Really jessamyn was typing "Choose I EST"...

Is there a Greasemonkey script to translate Latin to English inline?
posted by wenestvedt at 12:37 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Okay but who's the musical guest for the interpretive dance segment of the best posts which everyone uses as an excuse to go to the bathroom?
posted by The Whelk at 12:39 PM on November 21, 2013

I would happily present the award for Best Manbooty.

"Websters defines Manbooty as the quality or condition of having the booty..."
posted by The Whelk at 12:41 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Damnable self-link rule keeping me from what is rightfully mine.
posted by griphus at 12:45 PM on November 21, 2013

Where's EmpressCallipygos when you really need her?
posted by carsonb at 12:57 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I will sign up to offer a prize! Let me think what/what for.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 1:02 PM on November 21, 2013

Can't we all get together and get homunculus a lifetime achievement award? If we pool our money we can get him something nice like a plinth, some myrrh, or a brown envelope stuffed with cash.

Well, I only posted all those links because I thought that once I surpassed Matt I would be given all the powers of a mod but with none of the responsibility, but for some reason the mods chose not to honor my imaginary bargain. I've had that problem outside of MeFi too, actually.
posted by homunculus at 1:13 PM on November 21, 2013 [6 favorites]

Boy, you must be a manbooty, because you are the quality or condition of having the booty.
posted by Kabanos at 2:09 PM on November 21, 2013 [8 favorites]

Sweet, I think I'll throw in some prize gift certificates at the end of the month for me, jessamyn, and cortex's favorite posts for the month (on the podcast).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:12 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I just wanted to tell you all I am also having a baby. Bcuz I am quidnunc kid 's wife I live in a palace made of clay and I am made of clay.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:21 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Vote number one baby golem
posted by The Whelk at 5:35 PM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]

So the 'vote #1 quidnunc kid' campaign was just gunning for a World's Greatest Dad mug? Awww.
posted by ersatz at 5:45 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

The blood typing system?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:39 PM on November 21, 2013 [6 favorites]

In the heat of the moment I decided to offer two comics in two different categories because I love you guys and also my house is full of books!

I didn't want to clutter up the wiki page, so here's some more info on both of them:

Life Meter 2: an anthology of video game inspired comics was published in 2007 and contains 100 B&W pages of comics and illustrations by a large number of artists. If you're a comics reader you've probably heard of at last a couple of the contributors, and as there's no website I can link to with the full credits I thought I'd post a list of them here!

Editors: Zack Giallongo, Dave Roman, Stephanie Yue

Contributors, in order of appearance: Bannister, Matt Loux, Dan Schoening, Jake Parker, Stephanie Yue, Alexei Martins, Steve Hamaker, David McGuire, Josh Lesnick, Dave Roman, Jacob Chabot, Corey Baba, John Green, Lamar Abrams, Debbie Huey, Michael Vega, Miguel Sternberg, Zack Giallongo, Jeffrey Rowland, Jennifer Moore, Miss Monster, Allan Norico, Sang S. Kim, Jeremy Arambulo, Edward J. Grug, Jess Fink, KC Green, Eric Kim, Abby Denson, Derek Hunter, Raina Telgemeier, Elio, Alison Wilgus, Queenie Chan, Faith Erin Hicks, James Mar, Alisa Harris, Joel Carroll, Shelli Paroline, Christopher Hastings, Carly Monardo, Jodeph Bergin III, Curt Franklin, Chris Haley, Jose Garibaldi and Matt Hawkins

Same Difference and Other Stories was self-published by Derek Kirk Kim in 2003 with the aid of a Xeric Grant. It's since been reprinted by Top Shelf and First Second, but this copy is from that original run. It's gently used and has a few marks on the cover, but it's in excellent shape -- I'm only parting with it because our house also has the Top Shelf edition and it's signed to my husband.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:08 PM on November 21, 2013

Hmm, quick question though: do "fantastic" flags determine the winners for all the categories, or just "best of the week" and "best of the month?"
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:25 PM on November 21, 2013

As I remember, everything is based on fantastic flags, unless for some reason there aren't any (say, maybe choosing best post of X-type of posts?), and then mods choose.
posted by taz (staff) at 1:04 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

I just want to tell you all: good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by xqwzts at 2:05 AM on November 22, 2013

The blood typing system?

Ahhahahahahah. Ha. Hahaha. Haha.




...*weeping*
posted by dogheart at 2:42 AM on November 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

The blood typing system?

BLOOD FOR THE TYPOGRAPHY GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULLFONT!
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:11 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

COMIC SANG
posted by Kabanos at 6:55 AM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

I threw out a prize for a topic-specific post, and with that, there are now 9 topic-specific prizes. Looking at the Fantastic Post wiki page for last year, it's not clear how those prizes were rolled out. Are they given at the end of the month, and then for sake of week-by-week tracking, the wiki is updated to list the post within a given week?


like i could hypothetically offer ONE THOUSAND US DOLLARS to the best post about manbooty

Beware, I have been known to accept challenges for semi-stunt posts, just ask griphus.

Of course, all proceeds would go to a suitable charity, which would in no way be associated with me and my kin.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:20 AM on November 22, 2013

The blood typing system?

That was my first thought, too.

Apparently it's also a reference to something else.
posted by zarq at 7:43 AM on November 22, 2013

I vaguely remember a post about that a while back.
posted by zarq at 7:44 AM on November 22, 2013

I am just not nearly witty enough to win, so I'll just see what I can offer as a prize.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:55 AM on November 22, 2013

The final week of December is getting all the love....
posted by zarq at 7:59 AM on November 22, 2013

Wait now I want to offer an illegally downloaded pdf copy of the Very Virile Viking with the main characters' names changed via find/replace to the names of the winner's choice as reward for the best post on niche erotica.
posted by elizardbits at 8:14 AM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

zarq: The final week of December is getting all the love....

I think awards by topic are separate from the weekly awards, and are simply placed after the final week, potentially causing some confusion.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:21 AM on November 22, 2013

I keep waffling about whether to offer Life Meter as a prize for "best post about video games or gaming culture" or "best post about fancomics and doujinshi." I mostly worry the latter is too specific....

I mean not that anyone actually cares, but it wouldn't be MetaFilter if folks didn't overthink every little thing now would it?
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:26 AM on November 22, 2013

I think awards by topic are separate from the weekly awards, and are simply placed after the final week, potentially causing some confusion.

Ah! :) Thanks.
posted by zarq at 8:48 AM on November 22, 2013

Yeah last year we didn't do theme posts that covered the whole month and I think that was something we could have done better. So instead of having the best post of this particular week about hockey, we could open the whole month up to hockey posts. I'll try to make the wording more clear on that page.

Apparently it's also a reference to something else.

O_O
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:33 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

(can I please just send Jessamyn a prize? ...christ...)
posted by ersatzkat at 9:55 AM on November 22, 2013

I'd love to offer a prize to the best single link post, as I think that is an important part of MetaFilter that sometimes gets overlooked at awards season in favor of link-heavy omnibusses. I can't think of a suitable prize though. Any ideas?
posted by Rock Steady at 10:44 AM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

A single cuff link :-)
posted by the quidnunc kid at 11:33 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

And that's why I can't make a single-link post. They feel so incomplete.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:50 PM on November 22, 2013

Rock Steady: I can't think of a suitable prize though. Any ideas?

A giant #1 foam finger? A single, really pretty rock? One share of some interesting or old stock? (NOTE: I am not vouching for these companies, but I came across it when looking for somewhere to by one share of railroad stock.)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:59 PM on November 22, 2013

as reward for the best post on niche erotica.

* a single crack of lighting erupts over Manhattan's west side*
posted by The Whelk at 1:56 PM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

...written by an edible marine snail....
posted by zarq at 2:38 PM on November 22, 2013

Hard as a marine shell, soft as a pulsating peusdopod
posted by The Whelk at 3:10 PM on November 22, 2013

The Whelk: "Hard as a marine shell, soft as a pulsating peusdopod"

Now listen here, mister. You keep your pulsating pseudowhatever tentacle thingies to yourself.
posted by zarq at 3:32 PM on November 22, 2013

Lightning erupts? My good man, suitable actions for lightning include snapping, crackling, spidering, and fracturing. Erupting evokes the feeling of a mass of forceful, thick liquid, as you would find being spewed forth from a volcano. Perhaps the wrath of gods could be displayed in a broad and terrible eruption of lightning, surging from the heavens, but there is no eruption of a single crack of lightning.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:32 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

My confusion might be due to lateness on a Friday before vacation starts, but is this contest for FPPs etc. in December, or is it from the entirety of 2013?
posted by Celsius1414 at 4:38 PM on November 22, 2013

December only.
posted by zarq at 5:16 PM on November 22, 2013

filthy light thief: Perhaps the wrath of gods could be displayed in a broad and terrible eruption of lightning, surging from the heavens, but there is no eruption of a single crack of lightning.

Last time I was in New York I checked The Whelk's Poetic License. He's fully licensed to mix metaphors.
posted by Kattullus at 6:28 PM on November 22, 2013

(I added my prize)
posted by the quidnunc kid at 3:22 PM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Aw, yay! quark is a lovely and apropos name for a small quidnunc. :)
posted by beryllium at 4:39 PM on November 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

the quidnunc kid is getting closer to being #1 : I see he's now thinking at pre-parental cortex stage.
posted by mightshould at 2:26 PM on November 24, 2013

Added my prize!
posted by Sophie1 at 8:44 AM on November 26, 2013

I finally just sent Bunny Ultramod the Love of Jojo Sriracha he won from me last year. (I'm pretty bad, but it's not all my fault; it wasn't available for shipping on the Etsy site every time I checked, until I finally stopped checking. Until now!)

Got it! And now it wasn't just a prize, it was a SURprise!
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:11 AM on November 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yay!
posted by taz (staff) at 6:06 AM on November 27, 2013

Alright, I'm in for the giving! Posts about theatre, get ready. You'll probably have to start preparing now if you want to beat roomthreeseventeen.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:43 AM on November 27, 2013

Stupid question(s): When do we send out the prizes we have pledged? Do the mods email us with an address or something? Is it ok if the prize goes out a bit late (looks sidelong at Bunny Ultramod), e.g. early January?
posted by Alnedra at 6:06 AM on December 2, 2013

We'll do a weekly announcement for the weekly ones and a larger thread at the end of the contest. We'll let members work out mailing details and we can intervene if there is some radio silence situation. If there's a mod-decision as part of this, we'll do that weekly in an associated MeTa thread. Some mailing delays are fine, just make sure you've communicated with the winner.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:08 PM on December 2, 2013

Thanks, jessamyn!
posted by Alnedra at 4:34 PM on December 2, 2013

So... we're having a contest and MeFi Mall is once again open for business.

Is there any chance notification for both might be added to the sidebar and/or a banner at the top of the site the way it was last year?

Please? :)
posted by zarq at 11:04 AM on December 3, 2013

banner for mall is up top. Cookie Swap and contest are in the sidebar already.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2013

Ah. I see them. Thank you! :)
posted by zarq at 11:40 AM on December 3, 2013

Ok, I've put up my prize, for best post of the month about Art.

Subject-related prizes so far being offered (in no particular order):

- (local) food
- candy-themed
- multi-link retrogaming
- video games or gaming culture
- book/reading/library-themed
- fandom/fan fiction-related
- small press and independent comics
- science fiction-related
- tagged "history"
- tagged "sustainability"
- music
- theatre
- crafts or crafting
- art or art-related
- gay-themed
- slyt of cute animals doing cute things
- deemed to have warmed the mods' hearts the most
- about something the OP didn't previously know before randomly walking through archive.org, (Please include a link to the original "discovery", and include the tag "archive.org")
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:29 AM on December 4, 2013

I have come across a technical issue, periods are not among the limited punctuation allowed in the tags and so a post cannot be tagged with archive.org
posted by Blasdelb at 2:54 AM on December 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh that's nice and annoying. Feel free to just make a post with the tag archive then and we'll muddle through (I'll change the wiki)
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:42 AM on December 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Just a reminder that voting is using the Fantastic Flag. We haven't seen many votes coming in for this first week of entries and folks who are interested in making this a bit of a contest (and not just mods voting because I hassle them to vote) should start flagging posts they really like for this week.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:30 PM on December 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

If I knew there would be a contest I would have held off on the Miley/twerk/Syria post
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:13 AM on December 8, 2013

Week 1 winners have been announced!
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:34 AM on December 8, 2013

What if we want to offer prizes for answers on the green?
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:59 PM on December 8, 2013

That does sound like something that could be really awesome, but I could also see it going really terribly in unpredictable ways with how personal AskMe often is.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:46 AM on December 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

For example, just looking through the infodumpster for my most favorited AskMe answers and Meta comments came up with two that, while I am proud of them and happy to stand by them, would be terrible candidates for a contest winner.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:51 AM on December 9, 2013

Yeah, comments are a different kettle of fish altogether, and many times the ones that get a lot of "fantastic" flags are fairly personal in nature, so we exercise a lot of discretion when spotlighting comments for the Best Of blog, for example. Posts are definitely "hey, hey, guys, look at this thing!" whereas comments can be a lot more intimate and reliant on context and intention, so we wouldn't be looking at flags to arbitrarily pull them out for more attention outside of the thread.

However, if you do notice a great comment/answer that isn't that sort of situation, you can always contact us to recommend it for the blog, in addition to flagging as fantastic.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:30 AM on December 9, 2013

More awards! I started to do a post on the history of candy and ended up posting chocolate awards for posts using the fairtrade and directtrade tags.

Also a bike bell for the urbanplanning tag.
posted by aniola at 2:24 PM on December 12, 2013

Week two!
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:58 AM on December 16, 2013