Brotherhood of Steel contest results

[nobuo]

Well I must say that I'm disappointed that I didn't win, but I'm excited that my entry made it in the top 7. Assuming there's no other "Russo" who was in the top 7. Glad you folks enjoyed it, I had a blast writing it. Thanks again for holding this contest! Posted in the Fanfic thread.

Kirby Go's was my favorite with his really unique perspective/style.

 

[Ravager69]

This is fucking outrageous. Why isn't my entry event mentioned!? You guys cleary have no taste at *all*.


Now srsly, I know my piece of "art" was half-assed, but I had serious troubles getting myself to do it, I was waiting 'till I had a good idea (and I hadn't).

Anyway, congratulations to the winners and those in top 10 and I hope there will be some similar contest in near future. Thumbs up for the whole idea!

 

[welsh]

Well to be honest, I'd like to see all the top seven stories posted on Fan Fic. All were quite good and it was tricky making the pic.

All contestants should feel free to post in Fan Fiction, but I would really like to see all the top seven posted.

Section 8, you should post yours as well. It was an interesting take.

 

[Soulforged]

Wow, not even close!! Well at least it was fun to write the short story.

Thanks and congratulations to the winner.

 

[Brother None]

At the behest of welsh, we switched from one story-thread to a temporary story forum. here.

I already moved the previous submissions, but let me know if you wish the thread to be named differently.

And everyone else: comment!

 

[SuAside]

hopefully i'll have some time to read them this weekend (got the monday off, so that should help).

gratz to the winners!

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

I guess little Timmy will have to keep on limping his way to the train station every day..

 

[Per]

I guess little Timmy will have to keep on limping his way to the train station every day..

Instead of using a rolled-up Defonten poster for a walking stick?

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

I guess little Timmy will have to keep on limping his way to the train station every day..

Instead of using a rolled-up Defonten poster for a walking stick?

Oh man that was HILARIOUS..

 

[Per]

Oh man that was HILARIOUS..

Your submission wasn't free of hilarity, either.

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

Oh man that was HILARIOUS..

Your submission wasn't free of hilarity, either.

Yeah, I just figured that in the context of absolute seriousness, a little bit of humor wouldn't hurt.

 

[alec]

I didn't enter the contest for one simple reason: the word limit was a friggin' joke. Telling a story in 1200 words or less is possible, of course, there are lots of nice examples in literature, but if someone else tells you what the theme needs to be and you need to follow a certain train of thought, you're basically screwed. The quality of everything I've read so far is mediocre or (most often) even less than that.
Keeping in mind that one had to give a certain explanation for the BOS's presence without fucking up the canon, Tucker's story ain't bad, but its literary merits are nowhere to be found. The style is a joke, reminiscent of cheap SF paperbacks one can purchase in gasstations or airports, it's lifeless and predictable. All in all, I wouldn't really call that a story. More like an idea, if you ask me.

If I had been in the jury (but wow, who would have wanted that, eh... ) Defonten's poster would have stayed at Kinko's.

I'm really sorry to say this and I don't really want to sound rude or anything, but next time you guys organize a contest of this kind, it wouldn't hurt to think it (= the contest) over a little better. You could have given people a wordlimit of 3000-5000 words and taken a couple of weeks more time to read all the entries. As it is now, the contest and the "stories" are nothing more than the work of amateurs.

Anyway: congratulations, Tucker. Aaron Moyer's style is superior to yours, though. Yours is just forced fake literary. My two cents. But I think I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Brother None]

I'm really sorry to say this and I don't really want to sound rude or anything, but next time you guys organize a contest of this kind, it wouldn't hurt to think it (= the contest) over a little better. You could have given people a wordlimit of 3000-5000 words and taken a couple of weeks more time to read all the entries. As it is now, the contest and the "stories" are nothing more than the work of amateurs.

Hindsight has 20/20 vision. Yes, we already came to the conclusion that next time, more words and more time is a good idea. To imply that this means we didn't think it over well enough is ridiculous. Give us a break, it was our first time.

And given that, and the limitations, you're being way too harsh on the winners. With the given limits, they did very well.

 

[alec]

Hindsight has 20/20 vision. Yes, we already came to the conclusion that next time, more words and more time is a good idea. To imply that this means we didn't think it over well enough is ridiculous. Give us a break, it was our first time.

Dude, did you just sell your sense of logic to Lucifer or something? "To imply that this means we didn't think it over well enough is ridiculous"??? Duh, Sherlock. That's exactly what it means. You didn't think it over well enough, be it your first time or not.

And given that, and the limitations, you're being way too harsh on the winners. With the given limits, they did very well.

No, they did not. You give the medal to some amateur who thinks that pretty words make a story. I edited my previous post just now, after reading Moyer's story. That's your winner, right there. The way I see it, you guys were (as usual) more preoccupied with the canon than with the actual quality of the writing.

Really, Kharn, I'm not saying this to piss people of. You guys did a lousy job and you know it. I think it's a sad thing for the runners up, that's all.

If you organize a contest, you either do it in a professional way or you just don't do it at all.

Jesus. Think twice before you pull another stunt like that. And give Moyer and the other runner up a poster as well. God knows they deserve it.

 

[Brother None]

Dude, did you just sell your sense of logic to Lucifer or something? "To imply that this means we didn't think it over well enough is ridiculous"??? Duh, Sherlock. That's exactly what it means. You didn't think it over well enough, be it your first time or not.

Oh yes, because you can generally expect people who do something for the first time to get everything right? There was a certain logic to the word limit, but yes, it was the wrong logic. I'm not saying we did right, I'm saying that for a first-time contest this went pretty well.

You standing on the sidelines and declaring your inherent superiority changes absolutely nothing.

The way I see it, you guys were (as usual) more preoccupied with the canon than with the actual quality of the writing.

No, we had to consider canon, quality and other things. That was in the contest rules. There were entries that were really well-written but simply not ok because they went way over the word limit or didn't really deal with the subject matter well.

You guys did a lousy job and you know it.
(...)
If you organize a contest, you either do it in a professional way or you just don't do it at all.

Yes, we did not do a perfect job and we admit that. And we will use that experience for next time.

Other than that: fuck you. This is a volunteer site, run by a bunch of guys who just do this for their love of it. We do a really good job in most things, but that doesn't mean that the first time we do a contest in the site's 10 year existence you have any right to sit on the sidelines and declare we really suck for trying and failing. I suggest you seriously consider shutting up or at least thinking before you spout off that kind of unappreciative nonsense.*

Because I don't see you going through the effort of doing a contest like this. Fuck, you couldn't even bother to submit an entry. You're acting like the whiny kid that won't organize a game or play along with any organized ones, but instead has to ruin everyone's fun by standing on the sidelines ragging on everyone else. Real classy of you, right there. (if you were implying that you should've been a jury-member above, I hope that's a joke)

And give Moyer and the other runner up a poster as well. God knows they deserve it.

Oh yes, because Frith knows we're just swimming in money, and can easily afford giving away poster prints.

Seriously, we would be happy to give the top 3 posters, but we simply can't afford it. This is a donation-driven site, we can't spend more than we have.

* not actually a suggestion

 

[Briosafreak]

The way I see it, you guys were (as usual) more preoccupied with the canon than with the actual quality of the writing.

Not a literary contest Alec, you are forgetting that. Different context, what was asked is different from what you are implying.

And more prizes are indeed deserved, but NMA doesn't have the funds for it. I donated money for this to be setup, if you do the same maybe one day NMA could send some extra prizes.

 

[alec]

You standing on the sidelines and declaring your inherent superiority changes absolutely nothing.

Kharn, don't pull that El-ahrairah attitude on me. You have writers on this forum. SNorth, for instance. And yes: me. The only reason I was/am on the sideline is because you made the choice to have your jury consist of mods and admins. Welsh wa s a good choice. Per as well, 'cause his walkthroughs clearly show the guy knows how to write. I do not think the rest of the jury was really competent to actually see the literary merits of the stories. And that's got nothing to do with what you seem to call "superiority", no, that's just common sense. It was a writing contest, wasn't it? Then you add writers to your jury.

I suggest you seriously consider shutting up or at least thinking before you spout off that kind of unappreciative nonsense.

You want me to shut up, eh? That says enough, doesn't it?

Because I don't see you going through the effort of doing a contest like this.

There is a good reason for that. I don't "rule" this forum. I can't tell people to shut up and dance like a puppet when they disagree with something that is worthy of disagreement.

You're acting like the whiny kid that won't organize a game or play along with any organized ones, but instead has to ruin everyone's fun by standing on the sidelines ragging on everyone else.

All you had to do was ask. And you know I would have helped you guys out.

Oh yes, because Frith knows we're just swimming in money, and can easily afford giving away poster prints.

Seriously, we would be happy to give the top 3 posters, but we simply can't afford it. This is a donation-driven site, we can't spend more than we have.

Fair enough. I understand that.

I'll leave it at that, but if I were Moyer, I'd be pissed off. And rightfully so.

Now you can vat my posts, so I do not disturb the order of your little universe. Jesus, man, if you're going to react like this everytime someone criticizes your actions, you're in for a couple of big surprises during your lifetime.

-- alec, over and out

 

[Brother None]

Kharn, don't pull that El-ahrairah attitude on me.

...Don't get your mythology mixed up. El-ahrairah is benevolent.

The only reason I was/am on the sideline is because you made the choice to have your jury consist of mods and admins.

What? The jury consisted of 3 admins and Murdoch and Ausir. Neither Murdoch nor Ausir are mods or admins.

Welsh wa s a good choice. Per as well, 'cause his walkthroughs clearly show the guy knows how to write. I do not think the rest of the jury was really competent to actually see the literary merits of the stories. And that's got nothing to do with what you seem to call "superiority", no, that's just common sense. It was a writing contest, wasn't it? Then you add writers to your jury.

It was a writing contest, but not a literary contest. You have your values messed up. There was never a primacy of style over content intended here, you're just applying your own preferences. Which aren't ours.

You want me to shut up, eh? That says enough, doesn't it?

About what?

You seem to be missing something; the fact that we made mistakes in our rules when it came to word length and timespan for submissions were already admitted. We knew we did wrong there, and will fix those mistakes next time.

Enter alec. You make a post that insults the contest jury and writer, people who put some effort into this while you just lazily sit on the sideline, without adding any constructive criticism we didn't think of ourselves. You're being offensive, not constructive.

Gee, you figure the problem isn't that your critical, it might be that you're being an asshole? You act as if we - a bunch of volunteers - have some kind of personal obligation to you to do a better job. Get real.

You also know damned well I'm telling you to shut up to protect you from yourself, because you're going to wake up next morning and regret how much of an ass you're being. And you know that.

There is a good reason for that. I don't "rule" this forum. I can't tell people to shut up and dance like a puppet when they disagree with something that is worthy of disagreement.

The fuck does that have to do with anything?

All you had to do was ask. And you know I would have helped you guys out.

You were free to submit an entry. As in helping out for NMA's articles and actions, you really shouldn't be surprised that you're not on our list of people that help out on stuff like this. If you really want to be a constructive member a la SuAside or Murdoch, it's you who needs to change your attitude, not us.

Now you can vat my posts, so I do not disturb the order of your little universe. Jesus, man, if you're going to react like this everytime someone criticizes your actions, you're in for a couple of big surprises during your lifetime.

 

[Mord_Sith]

Holy shiet.

That wasn't criticism alec, you just blew up all over BN there, bloody super nova if you ask me!

I probably couldn't write my way outta a paper bag, and me not trying for this proves it.

That means I have no bloody right to criticize them because I didn't have the stones to try it myself.

Alec, if you're such a literary marvel as you proclaim here, why didn't you try to win it, lord knows that with the ego you're touting around in your last few posts you ougtta be able to draft the next big wave in Sci-Fi.

Another word comes to mind, elitist, it may be defonten's art, but it's a bloody poster, it's not like they gave away a damn Ferrari or a million dollars US cash prize.

There's really no reason to get so bent outta shape about this one simply because the caliber of people who entered don't match up to your standards.

I have no bloody idea about how well you write, but you're acting like an egotistical elitist prick right now, and that is just uncalled for.

 

[McRae]

Alec, if you're such a literary marvel as you proclaim here, why didn't you try to win it, lord knows that with the ego you're touting around in your last few posts you ougtta be able to draft the next big wave in Sci-Fi.

He has already said why=>

I didn't enter the contest for one simple reason: the word limit was a friggin' joke. Telling a story in 1200 words or less is possible, of course, there are lots of nice examples in literature, but if someone else tells you what the theme needs to be and you need to follow a certain train of thought, you're basically screwed

I think that everything has already been said. So let's go back to the purpose of this thread ;I'm sure that next time the contest will be much better. btw congratulations for the writers (all of them), and the jury (totally voluntary!).