11 votes
Prevent opportunists (disabling new submissions)
Do not allow designers to participate into a contest (for the first time) during the last 24/48hours of the contests cycle.
I have done this myself (unintentionally) and I think it's unfair... when you decide to enter a contest during the end, it gets much easier for you. The hard work of the other designers, as well as the CH comments and ratings can give you an advantage. I believe it's better to allow only previous participants to be able to submit designs in the end.
note: this limitation would probably be unnecessary if the submitted designs were not visible to other designers.
lachlan
I absolutely understand where both of you are coming from, the open nature of contests can certainly be frustrating in cases like this. We are looking at a number of options, rest assured it's something that is on our radar.
5 months ago
KatiKat
I still prefer that designs weren't visible to others or, as somebody suggested, that only thumbnails were visible to designers. That would be fair instead of avoiding us to participate. I have post my designs at the end because I want to avoid been copied.
5 months ago
mmentis
I still stand by my original point. There tends to be an influx of new designs/designers during the last few hours of the contest. And there's a real chance that they benefit from and overtake the work of longer standing designers. As an alternative, all the submissions can be hidden during the last 24/48hrs of the contest? Or hidden from new designers only? There's a gap in fairness right now.
5 months ago
lachlan
I might find some stats on this, but my guess would be that entries submitted late actually are disadvantaged, as generally the contest holder has decided on a designer to work with when the contest is nearing a close.
5 months ago