Re: Post Event Quibbles

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

On Fri, 15 Nov 2002, James Purchase wrote:

> If Robert H. wants to limit HIS event to planted tanks, that is his right.
> But I don't see why THIS event ought to be so narrow minded.

I agree 100%.  My continual point to all four of these guys is that the 
judge should really be the one to decide in this case what's a biotope and 
what's not.  We have never yet disqualified an entry, and I really hoped 
to keep it that way.

> The inclusion or separation of "Natural" and "Biotope" aquascapes is (I
> believe) purely one of convenience based upon the number of entries received
> in those categories.

Good point, really.  Do you suppose that if we had 22 entries in the 
category we'd even have the complaints?  Naw, we probably would have split 
them.  But with three entries, it's almost not worth judging them.

> A beautifully aquascaped tank can still make quite an
> impression if it isn't 100% accurate to a specific biotope. Lumping them
> together runs the risk of failing to do justice to either. As well, I wonder
> how many hobbyists REALLY know what a lot of "natural biotopes" actually
> look like? How many have actually been there to see for themselves,
> first-hand? Is it not more a case of people attempting to create their own
> personal "impression" of an aquascape or a particular biotope?
> 
> "I think the AGA should take a lesson learned that you have tried to
> broaden the scope of the event too far off base.  The new categories added
> this year by James is proof of that."
> 
> So shoot me for trying something new. If the general consensus is that the
> new categories didn't work, for whatever reason, they can be easily dropped.
> See my comments above.

You're right, of course.  I think he just pulled that out of the air
because he wanted to give some example of decay & knew I didn't like the
new categories.  They COULD have diluted effort had we bothered to follow
through on them, but we (me and David Vanderwall, doing the PR) chose not
to follow through, instead concentrating on the core.  At worst, they were
a minor annoyance to me for setting up the entry form and website.  I do
beleive we should remove them next year, the pond because there ARE
venues, pond clubs, etc, who already have seasoned keepers and judges;
illustration/photo because I think it belongs in another contest.

> "I also believe a statement saying this event was never about being a
> contest is naive. While true the motives behind it may be pure, there is
> competition involved in something like this."
> 
> Where is the nearest wall, so that I may bang my head for a few minutes?
> Call me naive. I totally understand the "greed factor" and realize how much
> anticipation a rich prize pool can elicit. I also understand the enormous
> amount of effort that is required to solicit, store, divvy up and trans-ship
> such a cache of goodies. And, to my shagrin, I know only too well how
> mistakes can happen when prizes get mixed up or go astray in the mails. If
> Robert H. (or anyone else) wishes to step up to the box and offer to
> coordinate and undertake this colossal task, fine, but it ain't no piece of
> cake. During Year #1, I spent many, many hours, over many, many months
> putting the prizes together. Unfortunately, this past summer saw me spending
> more time flat on my back, ill in bed. Its a colossal job that takes a
> healthy person to carry out properly.

That is essentially what I wrote back to Robert.  I cannot remember the
actual draft I finally sent, but I pointed out that I cannot do everything
for every person, but I had essentially gotten no complaints to date other
than Frode Roe's valid point of never receiving his prize money (still
tied up at the banks, but end in sight!), and ROBERT HIMSELF who posted
several complaints last year about the lack of prizes, and then never 
entered or sponsored.  So I was a little bit surprised at having four sets 
of critical comments lobbed at me in a 24 hour period, until I realized 
that they're essentially coming from the same pool of people.

I also suggested that the way for people to improve the contest is to 
volunteer and follow through when it comes down to having to do some of 
the dirty work.

> "Only when you are
> confident that this has been done can you simply dismiss people's comments
> as being sour grapes."
> 
> I don't think that anyone is viewing Robert's input as "sour grapes".
> Indeed, it is valuable to read and consider alternative points of view. It
> can cause you to look at the real reasons why things have been done a
> particular way in the past and hopefully can make the event better and
> stronger in the future.

I also pointed out that I took all the comments seriously, forwarded them
to the list, and took a look in great detail.  My conclusions were, no,
the tank sizes are still OK, but maybe we need an explanation & possible
change for how we distinguish them next year; and no, we shouldn't
disqualify rockwork tanks, but instead let the judges choose this.

He was probably keying off one paragraph at the end of one of the e-mails
I sent which sort of said I get a little bit dismayed at having all these
negative e-mails lobbed by apparently disgruntled winners, and it really
has me questioning whether I want to run this thing again.  I was
positively EXHAUSTED at the end of last year's, and the ONLY reason I took
it on for a 3rd time was because I got so many positive comments at the
convention from entrants and such... they didn't give a whit whether we
had prizes or not!  We sent a simple ribbon and copy of the CD-ROM to each 
placer, and sent a simple prize to each 1st place.  But not ONE complaint.

  - Erik

PS: Thanks James & Karen for your other comments.  And I *did* ask for 
your feedback!  Otherwise it's just me talking to a wall here.

-- 
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com

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