Competitions [PM about joining competitions on http://www.thehunter.ga]

[Ak76]

If the rules and description of the competition are everywhere - the statistics will not be complete and I can not make the right decisions for organizing the next competition.

I don't see what value the statistics you're collecting add to the view counter on the forum and the number of registered participants. Without a link to an external site, you effectively know the following:

• Number of people who viewed the thread
• Number of people who signed up for the competition

When linking to another site, you know the following:

• Number of people who viewed the thread
• Number of people who followed the link
• Number of people who signed up for the competition

What you don't know is the number of participants you lost because you forced them to follow another link to read the information they were expecting on the forum, compared to the number of people who just didn't register because the competition wasn't to their liking, or because they were busy or unable to take part for other reasons. I realise with website analytics you get geolocation information, as well as information about the client's browser and how long they stay on the page, etc. However, the number of people who follow the link is not necessarily indicative of the level of interest in the competition, since people are forced to click the link if they want to learn about the competition. If all the information is readily available on the forum, then the registered participants figure serves the same purpose. Plus, the benefit of the forum is that people can ask questions and give feedback, and everything remains in one place.

The harder it is for people to obtain information, the less chance you have of maintaining their interest. There's nothing wrong with linking to your own site, I'm just not convinced it's the most effective way to garner interest. You have to ask yourself whether the statistics are worth the potential cost.

David!

I can give you a link to the statistics of visits and explain what it allows me to see in PM.
I do not think that for the majority of this forum these technical aspects will be interesting.
For most people not it is a problem to go to my site and look at the description of the competition - this is not a factor that in 99% of cases will affect the decision to participate or not in competitions.
People who really want to compete will go through 10 links, just to join the fight.

I can give a brief description of the competition in the topic (reserve, animals, rules) and a link to its full description on my site and hope this will be a compromise which will suit everyone!

[L3M182]

ak76 i think youre shooting youreself in the foot making folk jump through hoops to get the required info to compete and spamming people to join will as this thread has proved, just flag you and the comp up as sketchy for possible players and sponsors.

and my 2 cents on the matter of funding these things is that its straight up wrong to plug and push your own comps looking for sponsors. especially when you compete in said comp yourself and stand to gain.

[Ak76]

ak76 i think youre shooting youreself in the foot making folk jump through hoops to get the required info to compete and spamming people to join will as this thread has proved, just flag you and the comp up as sketchy for possible players and sponsors.

and my 2 cents on the matter of funding these things is that its straight up wrong to plug and push your own comps looking for sponsors. especially when you compete in said comp yourself and stand to gain.

This is your opinion and you have the right to make the competition as you see fit.
I understand perfectly that a host does not have to win his competition.
I showed the result - that's enough.

[BCKidd]

Guys, I understand that now everyone who has not liked the competition will write here and offers different things just to try to "upset" me.

I don't think that is what is going on here at all. This isn't high school. The community as far as I can tell needs community comps, and obviously you have some good ideas. I think folks are simply trying to help you out on how things have always been done. Usually we (hosts) put up a thread on this forum in the "Competition" area, where things get hashed out before the comp starts. This is where most competitors are going to be looking, they don't want to be sent to another website to find the ROE, they want to look here. Once they read your ROE, questions will begin to arise, and will be asked for the host to clarify. There is no issue with getting "sponsor-ship" that is all good, but you shouldn't be advertising comps that need sponsor-ship, that just doesn't sit right with folks. If someone offers up a sponsor-ship, that is totally different then advertising community comps that need sponsor-ship. I'm going to complete your "Light Prey" comp, sure there are a few things that bother some, but every community comp does that. It is to be expected. Don't get discouraged. When it is all over, you might look back at this as a learning experience, and will have gained insight. Hosting comps can be brutal, and a lot of the time there are folks who will speak out, and there will be some that don't, it is all part of the process. Peace.

BCKidd.

[Ak76]

AK76, Nov 13, 14:15 CET:
To: [email protected]
Question: Hello!
I ask for your consult on the following question:
We try to entertain the community by organizing competitions like:
http://thehunter.ga/competitions/light_prey/
If I see from the player's statistics that he is competing, can I send him an invitation to the competition via ingame mail, or it will be perceived by your company as SPAM.
And if I can do this, how many maximum messages per day will not cause questions from the EW?
Thank you!

Ahmed, Nov 15, 12:10 CET:
From: Ahmed [mailto:[email protected]]
Hello there,

We believe the players are free to organize events among themselves as long as it's clear they are not managed by the official theHunter team.

I suggest asking the players you approach on the first message if they want to stop receiving news about independent events. If they do, I'm afraid you shouldn't send a second message.

Thank you for playing theHunter Classic.
Best Regards,
Ahmed

[caledonianblues]

Support may have told you it's fine, but UHC considers it an inappropriate method of promoting your competitions, and I already asked you privately not to do it. Please discontinue this method of communication, or find another platform for hosting your competitions.

[Ak76]

...
I proved that the people who accused me of SPAM - were mistaken!
...

[Ak76]

...
Dear David,
I ask you to publicly answer the following question:
Why does the company UHC (in your person), which is engaged in servicing community competitions, strongly object to the fact that the Hosts attract participants of the competition in any ways that do not oppose the policy of Expansive Worlds? (up to the refusal to serve the Host)
...

[caledonianblues]

Well, first and foremost, the response that you got from support is wrong. From the game's terms and conditions:

You may not market, promote, advertise, or solicit within the theHunter.com game or on the official theHunter.com Web Site.

This is exactly what you are doing. It may relate to the game, and you may be doing it with the best of intentions, but you're still using the game's messaging system to promote your own product/website. And whether you like it or not, you're also dragging UHC into it.

This thread was created because a player received one of your messages and came to the forum to seek advice about the legitimacy of its contents. That means your approach is flawed.

So to answer your question directly, I object to you using the game's messaging system to promote your competitions because your approach is in violation of the game's terms and conditions, and by association you risk damaging the reputation Tod and I have spent a long time building for UHC.

Tod and I have worked hard to create a platform that enables hosts to deliver competitions, and for the community to benefit from them, have fun, make friends and maybe win some prizes. Reputation is everything and I won't have it destroyed because you think the rules don't apply.

Consider this my final statement on the subject. If you can't accept my position on the matter, then you need to find an alternative solution. It's incredible that this conversation even has to happen.

[JackRbbt]

AK76:
1. What David does with his own property (UHC site and all its content belongs to David), is nobody's business. He has fully rights to reject anything that displeases him or is against his principles, without giving a damn explanation. I wonder how you dare to question him!
2. Even if he does not like your current methods, he gave you (twice!) the chance to continue to use UHC platform, as long as you align to the rules. I say this loud and clear: he's a better man than me, doing this. I would never gave you another chance.