These are the general rules and a bit of explanation to either refresh your minds or to help the ones who never have seen this before. Please note that some competitions have their own rules as well and you are expected to follow those as well as the ones in this thread.
How it works:
Each Host will create a sign up thread. In this Thread he/she will also announce the Theme. You can sign up for a contest and after you did you can work on your entry. You get three weeks to sign up and finish the entry and once you are finished pm it to the host.
Once the Host received all entries he/she will create a new thread and add a poll. In this thread he/she posts your entries and then the members of ZD will vote. The one who has the most votes will win and get a reward. Voting lasts for one week.
The Reward:
The prize will be a real award which will appear below your username. No matter if you win once or twice or maybe 30 times, you will get an award for winning the contest round(s)
The Rules
Of course there are rules. To make sure everything goes fair and smoothly we applied the following rules:
1. You are NOT allowed to vote for yourself
If you do so your vote will not count. If you did vote for yourself your vote will be taken from the final result. If you received like 15 votes and one is a selfvote it will be taken away so you will have 14 votes. Furthermore, entrants are always anonymous to prevent voting bias. Only the host knows which entry belongs to which member, and discussing who is who is not allowed. Names will be revealed after voting has been concluded and a winner selected.
2. You should not use old work
Don't use old work, keep it up to date. It is fair and better and see how much your skills have changed over the years. Your entry must have been created specifically for the competition you are entering it in.
3. Do not cheat or commit plagiarism
It is strictly forbidden to use work created by others and claim it as your own or to ask someone to create something for you. When you "steal" others work you not only risk the person who created it to cause you troubles but it is also cheating. Especially with accounts like DA it is not advised to use their work and claim it as your own. In general this is not something we encourage and it is still cheating. So people who do this will at first be disqualified for that round and if it happens again it will lead to a ban from the contest for one round going up each time you do this.
For graphics contests, if you use Google to search for an image to edit, you must make sure it is not someone else's fan-created work before you use it. You can ask for assistance in locating sources if you aren't certain, or you can take your own screenshot from the source media yourself if that's what you need. Official artwork and concept art is always fair game.
For non-creative competitions, you must employ good sportsmanship and participate fairly. This means you must succeed following the methods outlined in the competition. Using outside exploits or methods is forbidden.
4. PM your work in time before the deadline falls
In order to keep things going pm your work in time to the host and if you cannot make it pm your host in time as well so he/she can withdraw you. We advice this so we can keep the contest going. In case of no entries from a participant after the deadline we will start with the ones who did sent them in time.
5. Everybody is a winner
Don't feel like you have no talent. Don't feel like your entry is weak. Because it is all for fun and everybody is a winner. There are no losers. Just don't give up and show us your creativity. That is what counts and not if you win or not. Show the other members your talent and make them jealous (hehehehhe).
6. The Hosts are allowed to participate
Hosts are allowed to participate and the rules apply as much for them as any other person.
Feel free to PM Azure Sage, Spiritual Mask Salesman, or any Moderators or one of the hosts if you have any questions.
Good luck!
How it works:
Each Host will create a sign up thread. In this Thread he/she will also announce the Theme. You can sign up for a contest and after you did you can work on your entry. You get three weeks to sign up and finish the entry and once you are finished pm it to the host.
Once the Host received all entries he/she will create a new thread and add a poll. In this thread he/she posts your entries and then the members of ZD will vote. The one who has the most votes will win and get a reward. Voting lasts for one week.
The Reward:
The prize will be a real award which will appear below your username. No matter if you win once or twice or maybe 30 times, you will get an award for winning the contest round(s)
The Rules
Of course there are rules. To make sure everything goes fair and smoothly we applied the following rules:
1. You are NOT allowed to vote for yourself
If you do so your vote will not count. If you did vote for yourself your vote will be taken from the final result. If you received like 15 votes and one is a selfvote it will be taken away so you will have 14 votes. Furthermore, entrants are always anonymous to prevent voting bias. Only the host knows which entry belongs to which member, and discussing who is who is not allowed. Names will be revealed after voting has been concluded and a winner selected.
2. You should not use old work
Don't use old work, keep it up to date. It is fair and better and see how much your skills have changed over the years. Your entry must have been created specifically for the competition you are entering it in.
3. Do not cheat or commit plagiarism
It is strictly forbidden to use work created by others and claim it as your own or to ask someone to create something for you. When you "steal" others work you not only risk the person who created it to cause you troubles but it is also cheating. Especially with accounts like DA it is not advised to use their work and claim it as your own. In general this is not something we encourage and it is still cheating. So people who do this will at first be disqualified for that round and if it happens again it will lead to a ban from the contest for one round going up each time you do this.
For graphics contests, if you use Google to search for an image to edit, you must make sure it is not someone else's fan-created work before you use it. You can ask for assistance in locating sources if you aren't certain, or you can take your own screenshot from the source media yourself if that's what you need. Official artwork and concept art is always fair game.
For non-creative competitions, you must employ good sportsmanship and participate fairly. This means you must succeed following the methods outlined in the competition. Using outside exploits or methods is forbidden.
4. PM your work in time before the deadline falls
In order to keep things going pm your work in time to the host and if you cannot make it pm your host in time as well so he/she can withdraw you. We advice this so we can keep the contest going. In case of no entries from a participant after the deadline we will start with the ones who did sent them in time.
5. Everybody is a winner
Don't feel like you have no talent. Don't feel like your entry is weak. Because it is all for fun and everybody is a winner. There are no losers. Just don't give up and show us your creativity. That is what counts and not if you win or not. Show the other members your talent and make them jealous (hehehehhe).
6. The Hosts are allowed to participate
Hosts are allowed to participate and the rules apply as much for them as any other person.
Feel free to PM Azure Sage, Spiritual Mask Salesman, or any Moderators or one of the hosts if you have any questions.
Good luck!
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