Is anyone interested in a LIMS contest for SG-1?

[hsapiens]

ETA: sg1_lims -- We now have enough votes to say that yes, we'll be having a LIMS!! If you wish to participate and haven't answered the poll, please fill out the poll so that I know to track you down and let you know when we're ready to open the community. We're collecting caps, organizing themes, and setting up the community right now!

~~**~~

Is there interest among icon makers for a LIMS contest for SG-1? lantis_lims is a well-run community and I enjoyed participating; I'd really like to see something like it for SG-1.

I used to think LIMS was ego-destroying with its eliminations and reasons for voting, but I found that knowing I'd get feedback spurred me to try new techniques and take risks. It was immensely helpful to me as an icon maker to receive comments, both positive *and* critical.

I've wished there were a similar community for SG-1 for a while. So, is there interest? I'd be willing to mod but I'd like to have either co-mods or, as the lantis_lims has, a bunch of volunteers to help. And, of course, I would like to have participants!


[Poll #1165719]


I'm sure there are lots of things I don't know about running a comm such as this; I've never done it. If you have any helpful suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Also? Please pimp this poll. I would like to reach the widest range of SG-1 fans possible. Thank you. :)

Comments

[replicartertje.livejournal.com]

To be honest I never knew what was going on. You might have to explain how it works in general to me, if you ever start it of course. but it seems people are intrested in it. What is cool :-)

My schedule is very strange, sometimes I work a week then I have a few days off. And then sometimes I have to work 2 weeks in a row and have a week off. It really depends on a lot of things. But if you do it every other week, I might be able to participate. Of course that is a long time in between...

I am sure this will be a sucess :D

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

I'll try to explain, in general, what a LIMS is:

- A pool of icon makers sign up at the beginning of a round.
- At a regular interval, whether it's weekly or every other week, icon makers submit an icon made from caps provided by the moderators.
- A vote is held, with people choosing the most technically proficient and the least technically proficient icons -- and they must explain their reasons for voting.
- At the end of voting, the makers whose icons receive the most votes for "least technically proficient" are eliminated from further competition in that round.
- Icon makers have the choice to ask for their comments. These are given either screened or publicly, depending on what the maker wants.
- The competition continues until there's a single icon maker left.
- Icon makers get one "skip" when they sign up and can get a second skip for pimping the competition in their LJs or in comms. Maybe that would help on weeks when you're too busy? We plan to post the caps at least several weeks in advance, so that, too, might help. You could make several icons when you had the chance and just submit them when they were "due."
- Then, it starts all over again. :)

It *is* a time commitment and but it has one advantage over the usual competition format: feedback. I love knowing what people did and did not like about an icon I made. I used the opportunity to try new techniques and get honest feedback about how I did.

As an example, for one round I entered this:

And these were my comments:
- Ronon looks cold, fierce and dangerous. The background--soft, pastel and innocuous--is an unusual setting for a warrior, which makes for a striking and very effective contrast.
- fantastic, interesting coloring

Of course, comments are NOT always positive, though the comments must be constructive. I hope that helps!

~~**~~

Every other week *is* a long time on LJ and I worry about it losing momentum, but for now that schedule is ahead in the poll. With all the other contests and fandom and real life, we're all very busy. I want to get the most people possible having the most fun possible and making the best icons possible -- which is why I asked about people's preferred schedules. :)

I hope it is successful. I'd love to see an avalanche of gorgeous SG-1 icons like we do whenever lantis_lims is running!

[replicartertje.livejournal.com]

now this better work, LJ just crashed on me 3 times while trying to reply on this comment, so this will probably be a shorter version of my first comment i had written down lol

oh okay that make sense, so you get the pictures in advance not every week other caps. So you can actually work in advance. that does help me a lot indeed :-)

And I love constructive comments, I sure now i do need them. I have a very different way of icon making so I like to know what people really like and what they don't really like about my icons so.

And I am sure it can be successful, there are a lot of great icon makers out there.

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

THREE times?!? I'm honored that you took the time to reply a fourth. I'd have been ready to shove LJ out a window.

Absolutely we'll be doing the caps in advance. Not all LIMS work that way. Not all LIMS give you a choice of caps. lantis_lims is the only LIMS I've done; it's run with lots of caps and she posts the pictures several weeks in advance. I really liked and appreciated the flexibility.

I find the constructive criticism to be very helpful. Of course, it means someone had to think you made the one of the "worst" two icons in the group. :) I enjoyed seeing what it was that people noticed (either good or bad) about an icon because it was almost never what I thought it would be.

There ARE a lot of great icon makers out there. Hopefully, they'll be interested but I don't want people to be frightened off by "big names," you know?