by OldCoder » Wed May 20, 2015 10:19
Let's call the Minetest mod competition TestJam. There will be cash prizes. The best mods will be featured in some of the OldCoder worlds. Credits will also appear on the OldCoder world news screens for a period of time after the competition.
The following is simply a proposal. Feel free to suggest changes.
Suggested rules for TestJam:
1. Voting:
1a. Entries will be judged by a panel of senior Minetest people *or* by the community. This is to be determined.
1b. Each voter will be given three points to assign to entries as he or she wishes. All three points may be given to one mod or they may be divided up.
1c. Entries are to be awarded points based on three factors: Originality, clean entertainment or humor, and usefulness. They only need to excel in one category though excelling in multiple categories will mean additional points.
1d. Voting decisions are not final until the competition is closed. In other words, voters can change their minds until the ending date.
1e. If voting is by the community, as opposed to a panel, there must be at least 25 voters for cash prizes to be awarded.
1f. Votes are to be public. This will allow mistakes to be corrected and also help with any questions about fairness.
1g. Challenges to the final results will only be allowed for a short period after the final results are posted.
2. Prizes:
2a. The top three mods, based on points, will be designated Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners. The authors of these mods will be awarded cash and recognition, subject to all of the rules. Lower tier mods may receive recognition as well.
2b. To be paid, a mod author will need to have a U.S. Paypal account. The competition is not responsible for Paypal problems or issues.
2c. Cash prizes will be paid for by donations. OldCoder will match donations by others up to a limit of $200 USD, meaning that total cash prizes may be $400 USD. However, if donations by others do not reach at least $25 USD, there will be no cash prizes and donations will be returned.
If there are $25 USD to $200 USD in donations, then, taking OldCoder's share into account, total cash prizes will be from $50 USD to $400 USD. The Gold winner will receive 50% of the total. The Silver winner will receive 30%. The Bronze winner will receive 20%.
2d. Cash winners may waive the cash part of their winnings. In this event, the amount waived will be awarded to authors below the Gold, Silver, or Bronze level. This will also apply in cases where cash winners can't collect their winnings for other reasons. The allocation system to be used is to be determined.
3. Mod dependencies:
3a. No hard dependencies other than default. Mods are expected to work with both standard minetest_game and Carbone whether or not default is a hard dependency.
3b. Soft dependencies such as bacon? are allowed. A soft dependency means that a mod will work well both with and without the dependency.
3c. Soft dependencies on heavy mods or modpacks such as Technic, Pipeworks, or Mesecons are discouraged.
4. Additional rules for mods:
4a. These are to be new mods, as in not previously linked to in the Minetest forums or mod database or downloadable through information provided therein.
4b. Mods must be non-trivial, rated G, PG, or PG-13 based on U.S. standards, and copyright and trademark clear. Mods that do not meet these standards, or that have appeared previously in the forums, will be rejected prior to judging and will not count towards the dozen minimum.
4c. People may submit more than one mod. If they do so, the mods submitted are expected to be significantly different from each other as opposed to minor variations.
4d. Only mods with Free and Open Source (FOSS) Licenses are accepted. Additionally, reuse of existing code or media is permitted, provided that a mod is largely new, but only mods that properly attribute creators of existing code or media can win.
5. Miscellaneous rules:
5a. The competition will start on a date to be determined and will run until a dozen mods are received or one month has passed, whichever is longer. If a dozen mods are not received, there will be no cash prizes and donations will be returned.
5b. Competitors or their family members are not eligible to judge or vote in the competition.
Some issues to be settled:
Q1. Voting by community vs. a panel of judges.
lightonflux and Chenku vote for community voting. lightonflux suggests: If voting in the forums is used, then have a rule that a valid vote has to come from a account that is X months old. So people don't create new accounts to vote.
OldCoder says: If it's a community vote, we'll need to be able to identify unique voters. Conducting the vote in the forums and limiting it to existing members would address this. But if there are long-term players who aren't in the forums, I'd recommend that they be allowed to vote.
Q2. Length of competition and start date.
Consensus seems to be for a month-long competition. So, should this be for the month of July or should it run from mid-June to mid-July?
Last edited by
OldCoder on Fri May 22, 2015 00:29, edited 19 times in total.