Mild rant: Can't you READ THE CRITERIA?!?

This is really geeky, but I’ve gotten into this thing called “web page awards”.

You’ve probably seen them on some sites - people show off these nifty web graphics that say “This site won the ‘Sammy’s Cool Site Award’ or ‘Best of the Web 2001’” or something like that. Well, I do that. I give out awards on my main domain site. I figured out the secret - anyone can give out awards, and when it’s done with the right intentions, it’s nice, and rather fun!

Applying for awards are like getting a little “free critique” on your web design and web authoring skills from an objective stranger. You submit your “pride and joy” web site to an award-giver, and they usually give you a “Gold” “Silver” or “Bronze” award, based on their criteria. Judging sites is fun too - because you get to look at other people’s sites with an objective eye, and it feels good to give out those nice shiny awards, which give fellow web authors a nice ego boost.

The criteria of an award program is very important, since every award giver makes up their own. Usually they are simular - “No porn”, “Can’t take too long to load”, and so on. Most award programs that have any credibility have detailed and specific criteria, and they expect all applicants to read the criteria. It’s a good idea, since the applicant will find out if they even want to bother applying. If the criteria states that only personal sites qualify, then there’s no point in submitting a business site - it’ll just be ignored. And so on.

Anyway, I started a nice little awards program, offering pretty, shiny award graphics, and writing detailed, but relatively lenient criteria. All I asked was the the applicant READ the damned criteria, so they’d understand what I was looking for. I even went so far as to hide a “secret word” in the text of the criteria, that only someone who’d READ the criteria would know. I repeated, over and over again that I would disqualify anyone who didn’t read the criteria. OVER AND OVER.

And what happens? People apply for the award. In the box on the application form where I ask for the “secret word”? Nothing. Or some lame word they made up. HAVE THEY NO CLUE? What exactly is the point of this? I just delete their application. Why are people this clueless? I hear tell that this is a big problem for all the award programs - people just apply, apply, apply, and don’t give a damn if their site is even appropriate for the award.

Oh, I know. I know it’s a small thing. And award programs are rather geeky to begin with. But still, the stubborn cluelessness of some people amazes me. I mean, it’s right there on the application form. DON’T APPLY UNTIL YOU READ THE CRITERIA. And yet they gloss right by that and apply anyway.

OK. Thanks. I got that off my chest. I’m sure this is not the only example of such cluelessness.

Can you set up your application form so that the “secret word” field is required? Then if it’s not filled in, have it pop up a “which part of ‘read this’ didn’t you get the first time?” box? Only meaner?

Or link them to this thread and we’ll offer some choice words for them.

I used to run a wrestling E-fed (role-playing for wrestling fans). We had a similar problem with our applicants. Our criteria specifically demanded “Only original characters”. But over and over, we’d get applicants who’d want to be The Rock, or the Undertaker.

Additionally, there was a criteria for “Please put some effort into good spelling and composition”. Yet, when asked for a sample roleplay, we’d get some unreadable crap with no commas, no periods, and lOtS oF UnNeCesSarY capitalization.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… people are stupid.