# The SDMB Poetry Sweatshop, Jan. 2010 - Anthology thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327 "2010-01-17T16:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/21 "2010-01-19T15:50:03Z")
I :smack: :smack: :smack: for missing this, but what a bunch of great submissions! I’ll admit, there was more than one vying for my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/22 "2010-01-19T17:52:12Z")
Exactly 14 minutes before the poll closes, and we have a tie. I just wanted to bump this to encourage folks to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/23 "2010-01-19T18:12:35Z")
The submissions were all outstanding. The Hamster King’s poem, however, was voted the favourite of an excellent collection. My heartiest congratulations! Congratulations and thanks to all of our poets. I’m hoping folks will be interested in another Poetry Sweatshop in a month or so. Meantime, my best wishes to all of you. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/24 "2010-01-19T18:19:49Z")
Thanks - that was fun! I’m honored to have tied for third. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/25 "2010-01-19T18:29:52Z")
Wow, thank you! I’m particular honored considering the field I was competing against. It was a lot of fun doing it too. I can’t wait until next time. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/26 "2010-01-19T18:58:57Z")
Congratulations to Hamster King! Bring on the next one! ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/27 "2010-01-19T21:33:37Z")
Damn. I always miss voting in these polls! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/28 "2010-01-19T23:30:20Z")
Nipped by a hamster king at the wire? I like it! Congratulations, HK! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/29 "2010-01-20T17:27:04Z")
Random question: Is there a reason that the voting time is so (relatively) limited? Not everyone is online all the time–some have certain days or times that they prefer (or are able) to post. The submissions are always so great, I think it might be interesting to try extending the voting period to give them more exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/30 "2010-01-20T19:25:01Z")
Suits me. Stretch it out to a week, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/31 "2010-01-20T19:45:27Z")
I don’t think that would be excessive. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/32 "2010-01-20T19:52:42Z")
I’d be in favour of this, too. Luckily, I think the win in this case was well deserved (congrats, **The Hamster King**!), so I don’t have to complain because of a too small sample size, but I think more people should get the opportunity to vote for their favourite. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/33 "2010-01-20T21:26:59Z")
Sure, I’ll be happy to try that for the February one. I’ll make it a week and see what that does. (Someone please remind me in February.) I’m pondering what to do to improve the ratio between ‘views’ and ‘votes cast in the poll’. (Meaningless statistic time - for the first one, it has been viewed 1978 times and there were 39 votes. Second one - 1301 views and 13 votes. This one, there were 482 views and 16 votes, meaning for every 30 people that viewed the page, one voted. I can’t do the calculation for the other two, because the view count has probably gone up since the poll closed.) I know some people don’t care for poetry, but I’d have thought those folks just wouldn’t click on the thread. I’m not sure how best to encourage those who do read to vote other than enthusiasm. Ideas welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/34 "2010-01-20T22:46:44Z")
Edit the first post to be headed with the words: HEY MORONS, FUCKING VOTE ALREADY in bolded red capitals in a large font once the poll is open. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/35 "2010-01-21T00:09:48Z")
Apparently I don’t spend enough time poring over the SDMB, if you can believe it. I was looking at the “What do you get out of poetry?” thread recently and searched up some old posts of my own about poetry, apparently _completely unaware_ of this entire contest, the results, or the voting. Five minutes ago is literally the first time I’ve noticed this; I haven’t even had time to read all the entries yet…and it’s over. 😛 AND I have been looking through the forums thinking about poetry _this week._ :smack: I’m _baffled._ ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/36 "2010-01-21T00:46:19Z")
If you append “PLEASE VOTE NOW” to the anthology thread title it might prompt a few extra votes. You might even talk a moderator into making it into a sticky for a day, though I’m not sure how the SDMB mods feel about stickies. I’d also like it if you posted the poems without attribution, at least until voting is done. As I become more familiar with posters here I find myself reading the poems in a certain “voice”. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/37 "2010-01-21T01:14:35Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > (Meaningless statistic time - for the first one, it has been viewed 1978 times and there were 39 votes. Second one - 1301 views and 13 votes. This one, there were 482 views and 16 votes, meaning for every 30 people that viewed the page, one voted. I can’t do the calculation for the other two, because the view count has probably gone up since the poll closed.) Adding to the meaninglessness of those statistics – they’re unique views, not unique viewers, so if one person (who may well have voted) looks at the thread ten times, that will click up ten views. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/38 "2010-01-21T01:52:02Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > If you append “PLEASE VOTE NOW” to the anthology thread title it might prompt a few extra votes. You might even talk a moderator into making it into a sticky for a day, though I’m not sure how the SDMB mods feel about stickies. I’d have to ask; I’m not sure if stickies would be a problem or not… > [@](#): > > I’d also like it if you posted the poems without attribution, at least until voting is done. You had suggested that, and I haven’t responded yet. This time around, I was already concerned about all the poetry being posted under my name. I was particularly worried that it might look like I was trying to claim authorship of all the poetry, and I was also worried that it might skew the voting in my favour. Hence the names both at the bottom of each poem and as the first line item in the poll. In retrospect, I’m not sure either fear was justified. For the next one, I could try identifying each poem solely by its reply number and title, if any, calling everything else ‘untitled’. No mention of authorship until the poll is closed. I’ll mention it in the February logistics thread and see how participants feel. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/39 "2010-01-21T01:53:16Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Adding to the meaninglessness of those statistics – they’re unique views, not unique viewers, so if one person (who may well have voted) looks at the thread ten times, that will click up ten views. [Johnny Carson voice] I did not know that.[/Johnny Carson voice] ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/40 "2010-01-21T02:01:19Z")
Aaargh! Missed the edit window. I’d also like to ask what people thought about the e-mail vacation reply format. I quite liked it (despite having nightmares on Saturday night about accidentally deleting the entire contents of my inbox at 12:01 on Sunday!!!) and I’d like to continue with that system. What do the rest of you think? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327.md?page=3)