I was going to propose this earlier, but some concerns over the “SDMB awards” ideas gave me pause. However, I thought it was a good idea, to have a one-time (perhaps more) contest to see who is the funniest doper (of the month). The contest would be completely for fun, with no serious value attached. And it would create, hopefully, one damn funny thread. However, I think it should be a blind test with some sort of comparability between posts. With those things in mine, here’s my plan:
Any Doper who wishes to participate would email me. After the deadline passes, we would open it up to other Dopers to get a topic for all participants to write about. I’m thinking the topic could be anything, but it might be best if it is just a two word phrase, with an adjective and a noun. Like “stinky cheese.” All participants would then have 48 hours to write up a humorous post limited to, say 1,000 words or less, related to the topic. They would email the posts to me, and I would post them here. Then we open it up for voting among all Dopers as to which post was the most amusing.
Nobody would know which post belongs to which Doper, and I would hope all participants would avoid mentioning it. They would all have the same amount time, the same topic, and a limit on the words, so it would be fair. Think of it as an Iron Chef for humorous writing.
Now, I would love to see Fenris, Scylla, and Rue DeDay participate (if they have the cojones), but I’d also want anybody else to feel like they can participate too.
So, what do you think Dopers? Is this a good idea? Any suggestions to the rules? Any other ideas? Any nominations for participants for me to email?
Sounds good to me. I’d be glad to judge, but would rather not be one of the nominees. There’s just too much competition and I would be humiliated when I lost…
Sounds good in theory but a contest like this will be difficult to pull off without somebody getting in a snit. Remember it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
(you may consider this post my official submission in your “so subtle as to be almost nonexistant” category)
Sounds cool. I think you should wait till you have at least 10 participants before giving the first topic. May I reccomend topics that don’t refer to bodily functions or foul odors - Improv in general (written improv in this case) is so much better when you don’t go for the obvious toilet level topics.
Will it be the first person to get a certain amount of votes or whoever has the largeest percentage of votes within a certain time?
This could get fun with the blind aspect. People will probably try to figure out who is writing what, which allows the writers to try and spoof(e) each other to misdirect the voters.
What if the topic is in the form of the word that the piece has to begin with and the word it must end with. Like: “Elongated” must be the first word and “Beach” must be the last word. I think the initial words don’t have to be very sensational for a good writer to make it really funny. Making ordinary things funny is the real trick.
I would also change the title from “Funniest Poster” to something a little more in reference to the particular contest. Such a title would have to take in a posters whole body of work on the boards, and this is a once a month thing. Maybe you could pick something unassuming like . . . the winner gets crowned “God of the Multiverse - Master of all that exists, has existed or ever will exist”. Yeah, that’s better.
The thing about judging a “funniness” contest is that you know they’re trying really hard to make you laugh. That, for me, can make it less funny. You’re actively seeking the humour, which means that subtle jokes don’t work as well and obvious jokes smack you in the face.
And I imagine the pressure on the contestants would make humourous writing really hard. Imagine if you had someone pointing at you saying “make me laugh”… you’d find it hard to come up with anything. Or at least I would. I know the contestants would be volunteers, but I doubt these are the conditions under which they’d produce their best material.
Making the entries anonymous is a good idea, but I’m afraid some people have very distinctive writing styles. I (and a number of other people I can imagine) could spot a Rue post at 500 yards, for example. Anonymity out the window.
Also, I’d change it from “funniest poster” to “funniest comic piece” - that way it’s less of a popularity contest.
I disagree with Francesca, at least in theory. I write a humor column (www.ravingsfromdave.com), and people read it expecting to laugh. I have a self-imposed weekly deadline, and I write it expecting to make people laugh. Sometimes I go for a little subtlety, sometimes for the broad laugh. It depends on how I want to treat my topic.
Any poster who doesn’t think s/he is up to the challenge of either writing a humorous essay on a given topic or of not getting in a snit about not being chosen funniest shouldn’t participate. Let’s all be adult about this, okay? It’s all for shits and giggles anyway.
The only thing I would change would be the 48 hour rule. A deadline is fine, but 48 hours seems rather rushed for a 1,000 word essay.
I like the idea better with Fran’s idea of making it “Funniest Comic Piece.”
Still, humor is so subjective, I can’t imagine us reaching any sort of consensus. Some of the funniest things I’ve read here have been the sardonic one-line zingers, which are hard to duplicate in a contest.
If you go forward with this, I’d like to see lieu participate. He’s damned funny. I know there are yet others who are hilarious but who don’t put themselves out there are writers of comic pieces.
I would like to participate. I have a suggestion as to subject matter. We all be asked to respond to a genuine news article.
How do we choose which one? Choose 6 newspapers/magazines, roll a die to pick one, and have us respond to the lead story in the next. That way, even the person picking the magazine won’t know what it will be.
Maybe start with a larger pool of sources, and throw in some more dice, to randomize it further.
Suggestions for the pool: Guns and Ammo, Modern Brides, Vogue, US News & World Reports, People, JAMA, Soldier of Fortune, Scientific American.
Why let people who would act petty ruin a fun time? I am a long time fan of something called “Games”. “Games” usually have a “Winner”. When I play a “Game” I ususally hope to “Win”. And if I don’t, I practice and play harder next time. Otherwise I can gain the title “Sore Loser”. I picked all this stuff up in, oh, I think it was kindergarten. Let’s not act like silly kids about this.
It’s a very cool idea. It’s not just a popularity contest, it’s a game in which creativity and content decide whether you are the winner. It will take skill for sure, and some may fall short. An intelligent doper will only grow stronger from the experience. I’ve partaken in Poetry contests before as well as anagram and palindrome contests. The palindrome contest was for booze. Quite fitting. As a matter of fact, it brings up the issue of “What does the winner get?”. Something creative. . . Whatever happened to those underwear that were traveling around the country?
Ahhh, but this is a good thing!!! It is 1000 words or less!!! Imagine 2 sentences being funnier than another’s laborious 1000 word essay!!
Oh the drama!!!
The daring it would take to win with a few well chosen words while others get excessively verbose!!!
The shame that would come if such an attempt were to fail!!!
We definately need to figure out how the voting works though. Time limit? A week after they are posted maybe?
You think? I think I may be able to trick someone into thinking I’m a poster I’m not. In the parody of these poster’s style I gain another level of humor (of course it does me no good because it would not be revealed until after the vote - but I’m in it for the art not the win). I think we could have some side action bets on which essays belong to which doper! This is gonna be fun!
I like this idea but I think humor is best when your not expecting it. I think the contest should be based on who has written the funniest posts in since the return of the board. That way people arent thinking ‘Ok this is solomon7t’s joke post, lets critique it like a mofo.’ Dopers should nominate threads written by other dopers based on their merits in the field of teh funny. You all dont have to do this contest this way but its my opinion that this is the best way of finding teh funny mastar.
Deciding who is the funniest poster is a whole diffrent animal (requiring you to read the body of work of each potential poster) than a specific topic and 1 specific post per contestant. It is a hell of alot easier to judge and allows for multiple games or “rounds” which allows the title to change hands (monthly?).
I like it the way it is offered in the OP (with a title change). I just wonder how excactly the voting is going to work . . .
First, a huge thank you to dalovindj for first suggesting a change in title, and another thank you to Francesca for helping supply its new name:
Best Comic Piece (Until the Next One Comes Along).
I agree with sentiment that the subtle one-liner posts are sometimes the most funny things I’ve read on the board. But, as dj pointed out, that will be part of the interesting fun for the contestants. (Here’s my two favorites: 1)“You think that’s bad. My fun-sized twix knocked up my girlfriend and stole all the money out of my dresser drawer.” and 2) “Jane Eyre: I did her.”)
However, this contest is now for “Best Comic Piece (Until the Next One Comes Along).”
I’m thinking of getting this started later this week, so I can get a few emails out to some of the nominees (or normanees if you like). One point that Yo La Tengo brought out, is that I would like this to be open for judgment by EVERYONE. One of the problems expressed in earlier threads, was who was going to be judging. My feeling is that we should have a submission deadline, AND a judging deadline. Whoever posts or emails a judgment gets counted, and at the end, plurality wins. I really hope this won’t turn into a popularity contest, hence the blind posting.
Anyone interested in participating, please shoot me an email. I like the idea of getting 10 people, but that would be the upper limit, I think. Also, please continue to let me know of any new ideas, suggestions, or nominations you would like to make. I’m a little stuck on what to offer the winner, so any suggestions would be nice. Thanks Again.
I just sent out a round of emails to those who were nominated, either here, or to me in email. Hopefully we’ll have some idea soon, but there are already a few interested. We may have to go over the 10, but who knows.
If anyone else wants to participate, wants to make a nomination, or has any suggestions (especially as to picking a topic or what the winner gets), please feel free to put it here. Thanks again.
First off, that one about the random article from a periodical is cool, I like that. But I think that a rotating theme would also be cool. Say, respond to an article for round 1, use a set of words for round 2, maybe just a general broad topic, like “shoes” for round 3. You get the idea. I’m not sure if it would work, I’d just thought I’d throw it out there.
Also, is we use the periodical idea. How would the participants get the articles? Not all periodicals have online versions of the articles, and having to type out the entire article is not only tedious, but in violation of copyright laws.