MOC Madness Elite Eight Round Starts Today

[Staff]

The field is once again cut in half and the top 8 determined by your votes have advanced to the next round. There are three days to vote in the polls so head on over to the board and pick your favorites. Good luck to all!
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Permalink: http://www.fbtb.net/2011/11/17/moc-madness-elite-eight-round-starts-today/

[Rook]

There's an error.

I'm not in it! :P Congrats to Torque Tellini and the Caperture!

[volumex]

Sorry ROOK, it seems your ship too was maybe not Star Wars enough? Join the rest of us we watch how this unfolds...

[Lazerblade]

Rook, you did good. Next time though?

[Solo]

Your ship put up a good fight though, that was the closest poll in here so far I think.

[volumex]

Yes, the closest... I see one more such battle ahead... great exciting stuff here at FBTB!

[Rook]

Sorry ROOK, it seems your ship too was maybe not Star Wars enough? Join the rest of us we watch how this unfolds...

Not Star Warsy enough? Seems you're just parroting a phrase. If you look at the ship that beat mine you'll notice that neither really looks like anything from the canon universe that I know of. His boasted some unique over sized engines and a better prison hold, personally. But when it comes to design and aesthetics I think mine looked faster, meaner, and more dangerous. I’m actually surprised that I lost that round because his looks more like ground transport than a star ship. But never the less he smoked me and after evaluating my process there were at least 3 flaws that I should have redone, in retrospect. But neither of ours are better than the top 3 ships that are still in, and they will almost definitely win. So persoanlly, we were just fighting for the bragging rights of 4th place.

I was mainly in for the shirt and to give a friend the white Boba. The set would have been bonus but the honor of being in the top 4 two years in a row is want I really wanted more than anything.

[JD4M]

Sorry ROOK, it seems your ship too was maybe not Star Wars enough? Join the rest of us we watch how this unfolds...

They were both very Star Warsy to me

[Chief]

I’m actually surprised that I lost that round because his looks more like ground transport than a star ship. <snip> But neither of ours are better than the top 3 ships that are still in, and they will almost definitely win.

For the sake of good sportsmanship, please try to contain your surprise, Rook. And since this round was such an upset for you, perhaps the winner of this game isn't as guaranteed as you think.

[Rook]

Ok I call bull ship. Two people built the ship that beat mine and the prior entries. And one of was FBTB staff. That means basically two accounts could vote for "their" single entry, at each level which is flat out wrong in my opinion. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lights/630 ... of-lights/

In my opinion that's about the same as having multiple accounts.

[Chief]

That's actually a fair point I hadn't thought about before. There's no rule about multiple builders working on the same entry, nor is there a rule about staff entering contests (but we're not allowed to enter giveaways.) I've never entered a contest since becoming a staff member because I worried about whether or not people would vote for or against a staff entry on the basis of their position, rather than the quality of the entry.

But two guaranteed votes per round? That is something to consider. I guess it's up to Ace and Don to decide as head site honcho and the guy running the contest, respectively. But I kinda figure they were okay with it since the entry wasn't immediately DQ'd. Maybe we add this rule to future contests?

BTW, I wasn't attacking your merits as a builder, Rook. You're honestly one of my favorites. I just didn't like the way you came across in your posts after that last round.

[ImpendingDoom]

There is a good argument here. As far as votes are concerned, it would be no different that I recieve his vote because we are friends. If you want take a vote away from every round, it doesnt change the fact the fact that you did not advance.

[Rook]

As I said in my other posts I think the best I could have done would have been 4th. But having a staff member being a partner in a contest entry could raise suspicion. I believe Lego, since they are providing some of the prizes, would frown on the possible manipulation of a contest so that the "friend" of staff member might have a better chance at winning than other contestants. Through more than just votes but also the building process. It would be like a LUG getting their best ship builder to build ships for/with everyone in their LUG. Which I don't believe is what happened nor the intent. Just a point of order that should be considered in future contests. Kind of like the "new models only" clause. Maybe a no collabertion clause in the future. And yeah I only brought it up because your post seemed like a taught. :/

[Stardusty]

I’m actually surprised that I lost that round...

Tell me about it.

The Caperture is beautifull and it reminds me a lot on of my favorite ships ever, The Broken Regret (that entered
FBTB MOC Madness 2010). I just like those greebles.

How ever, The Eternal Dusk was my favorite in this competition. It reminds me on MF, but looks
much more mean and agile.


I believe it was a fair play, but I'm still a bit disappointed. Awesome ships facing each other.
That's the only bad thing in competitions like this...

[onions]

you need to stop your accusations right there, rook. to accuse the staff of any impropriety is crossing the line. you're on the fast track to pissing me off so don't even go there. and are you that arrogant and egotistical to not think that maybe perhaps the majority of voters liked someone else's model more than yours? to me, it sounds like you were expecting, almost entitled, to getting into the top four and all of your complaints are nothing but noise and static. there are ways to bring up concerns about the fairness of collaborative builds in a constructive manner (which we will take into account for future contests), but to accuse the staff of a conspiracy is something i will not tolerate. i pride myself on the contests we run here, and deciding between using a jury vote and a community vote, the latter is the fairest method. it also allows staff members to enter a contest since the winner is decided by the community. besides, i have no problem telling ryan if something he built sucks. so knock if off.

[madLEGOman]

easy guys, keep in mind this is just a lego contest. some cool prizes, but nothing worth getting upset over. This is just supposed to be about fun and some friendly rivalry.

[onions]

easy guys, keep in mind this is just a lego contest. some cool prizes, but nothing worth getting upset over. This is just supposed to be about fun and some friendly rivalry.

Yes, that is what it is supposed to be: a friendly contest with cool prizes. But once Rook accused the administration staff of cheating and/or a conspiracy, it tarnishes the reputation of this site and the myriad of contests we have. People will be less likely to join and participate if they think we're up to no good. It's libelous and slanderous and completely unnecessary. Rook has more or less called us cheaters here and elsewhere and it's something I don't appreciate. I've worked too hard to make the contests as honest and fair for everyone and the last thing I need is a dark cloud hanging over the site that would prevent people from thinking otherwise.

So yeah, I think I have every right to be pissed. I appreciate what you're trying to do madLEGOman; my ire is not directed towards you. But please understand, I took it VERY personally.

[Solo]

First off,

In my opinion that's about the same as having multiple accounts

No. Two builders collaborating on a ship and supporting it in the contest is in no way similar to an individual breaking the CoC to create multiple account and then shill voting their entry in an attempt to cheat the system. Chief's position as an admin and his involvement in that entry have no bearing on each other. This is simply a case of two good builders who are also two good friends joining forces to make something cool. I can't imagine this being the first time we've had a colab entry, more likely it's just the first time someone has noticed and voiced concern. I can however imagine the loop hole squads getting all excited over the idea of team built entries so we will be sure to address that for future contests.

Regardless, no rules have been broken, bent, or even brushed up against here.

I believe Lego, since they are providing some of the prizes, would frown on the possible manipulation of a contest so that the "friend" of staff member might have a better chance at winning than other contestants.

Again, no. That is simply not the case. The staff votes are worth only as much as any regular member, and there are a lot more of you out there than there are of us. I'm sure a lot of members picked their favorite ships at the start and repeatedly vote for them throughout the rounds. This is no different.

Now, I just want to add that even if this was a legitimate issue, it still wouldn't really be an issue: lets imagine I dropped the hammer and said "no one can vote for their own ship" - the Caperture would still have won, albeit by a slightly narrower margin. Again, you can thank the forum at large for this.

[madLEGOman]

Sorry onions, not my intent to belittle the contest, and I fully realize the reputations of you and your staff is worth far more than some prize. This site is pretty much your baby. That was the only point I was trying to make, that there is no way that lights or anybody else would risk that reputation over a contest. At the same time, I think rook is just too close to the situation with his rep as a great builder... Just try to remember that the only reason he's here is that he's a fan of your site like the rest of us. He even said in one of his posts that the prize he was most interested in was the fbtb t-shirt. (truthfully, me as well). I'm just a noob here, not really my place to say anything anyway. Just trying to diffuse the situation

[bigospedros]

Wow ... just seen this thread. Amazing, although I have to remember the main complainant from previous contests, both here and elsewhere. If he doesn't do well then he'll kick up a fuss. It's as if everything he makes is the best thing in the world and if the votes don't go that way he'll cry foul or whatever to help him get over it.

I wouldn't pay the complain any more than the lip service that you've already done.