Suggestions

[quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-04 08:28:16" ] This feels more like opinion stated as fact. But even if that was the case, wouldn't admins still *pick* subthemes they like? [/quote] Yes, but also no? Like, if I'm judging a contest and the theme is "cupcakes," which I don't like, two things happen. First, the entries will be cupcake themed. So I have to pick them even if I don't like them because I have no choice. But also and, I think, most importantly, it forces me to examine my aesthetic biases (to address what youre talking about, maybe it wont help this year but in two or three? Its more likely they’ll notice if they have to literally pick a theme that they've done three "prison" related themes three years in a row because they have to actually articulate what they're doing). This is what an official contest will do, and what I think is needed most. Because for I'd say at least nine of eleven contests it looks like the staff have been in an aesthetic rut for 6 or 7 years. No user-run contest is going to talk them out of that: they have to do it themselves. If users just get together and submit a bunch of cupcakes, I'm not going to go out of my way to pick them. But if it was my own idea to have cupcakes, then I'll at least pick some. Because it was my idea. Additionally, and of second most importance, this let's users know that you don't actually have to submit the same blue Ice accents anymore. You don't have to be limited to what you think I'll pick because I've picked the same thing over the last 10 years. Now you can do cupcakes, which you've probably never done before, and know you have a good chance of winning. That's the goal, really. Because this rut goes both ways. People make the same things because that's all the staff picks, and the staff picking the same stuff because that's mostly what's submitted.

i think folks are missing the sub themes being offered as additional prompts, not the sub theme being the only option? either way, big support for most of op's suggestion. more prompts, more of a skin pool, and more non-fest skin contests please.

So would sub themes mean they do not have to feature an element at all? I can see how that would widen the pool, but I'm not sure they'd really fit the festivals then. Especially as a lot of themes are sort of sub-themes of flights, like sci-fi being a subtheme of lightning. Or warrior a subtheme of plague.

[quote name="Almedha" date="2023-04-04 08:45:23" ] [quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-04 08:28:16" ] This feels more like opinion stated as fact. But even if that was the case, wouldn't admins still *pick* subthemes they like? [/quote] Yes, but also no? Like, if I'm judging a contest and the theme is "cupcakes," which I don't like, two things happen. First, the entries will be cupcake themed. So I have to pick them even if I don't like them because I have no choice. [/quote] But what I mean is that the admins would be the ones setting the subthemes, so if they didn't like "cupcakes" they wouldn't make "cupcakes" a subtheme. [quote] But if it was my own idea to have cupcakes, then I'll at least pick some. Because it was my idea.[/quote] Right, but why would you pick cupcakes if you don't like cupcakes? [quote] Additionally, and of second most importance, this let's users know that you don't actually have to submit the same blue Ice accents anymore. You don't have to be limited to what you think I'll pick because I've picked the same thing over the last 10 years. Now you can do cupcakes, which you've probably never done before, and know you have a good chance of winning.[/quote] But if it's for a Flight Festival, it shouldn't JUST be "cupcakes." It would still be "Ice"+"Cupcakes." So you would still have skins that fit the Ice aesthetic. I don't think the admins don't consider skins outside of the "blue Ice accents." I think they fairly consider any skins that fit the elemental theme. Users shouldn't need a subtheme to know that they can (and should) try to creatively apply the elemental theme. Unless y'all are saying to just ignore the elemental theme altogether. In which case, HARD no support.

[quote name="GODHEX" date="2023-04-04 09:00:23" ] i think folks are missing the sub themes being offered as additional prompts, not the sub theme being the only option? either way, big support for most of op's suggestion. more prompts, more of a skin pool, and more non-fest skin contests please. [/quote] I'm not missing that, I'm just not seeing the *point* of it, because ideally there should [i]always[/i] be something to your skin/accent other than "Wind" or "Fire." There's no reason someone can't already submit a skin that's "Ice"+"Cupcake." But for an elemental festival, I wouldn't want to see someone [i]only[/i] using the subtheme. Yes to more non-fest contests though.

[quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-04 10:45:36" ] [quote name="Almedha" date="2023-04-04 08:45:23" ] [quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-04 08:28:16" ] This feels more like opinion stated as fact. But even if that was the case, wouldn't admins still *pick* subthemes they like? [/quote] Yes, but also no? Like, if I'm judging a contest and the theme is "cupcakes," which I don't like, two things happen. First, the entries will be cupcake themed. So I have to pick them even if I don't like them because I have no choice. [/quote] But what I mean is that the admins would be the ones setting the subthemes, so if they didn't like "cupcakes" they wouldn't make "cupcakes" a subtheme. [quote] But if it was my own idea to have cupcakes, then I'll at least pick some. Because it was my idea.[/quote] Right, but why would you pick cupcakes if you don't like cupcakes? [quote] Additionally, and of second most importance, this let's users know that you don't actually have to submit the same blue Ice accents anymore. You don't have to be limited to what you think I'll pick because I've picked the same thing over the last 10 years. Now you can do cupcakes, which you've probably never done before, and know you have a good chance of winning.[/quote] But if it's for a Flight Festival, it shouldn't JUST be "cupcakes." It would still be "Ice"+"Cupcakes." So you would still have skins that fit the Ice aesthetic. I don't think the admins don't consider skins outside of the "blue Ice accents." I think they fairly consider any skins that fit the elemental theme. Users shouldn't need a subtheme to know that they can (and should) try to creatively apply the elemental theme. Unless y'all are saying to just ignore the elemental theme altogether. In which case, HARD no support. [/quote] As a caveat, I was always assuming that it would be theme plus element. Ideally with the same theme for a whole year. So for example we'd have Fire/Music (ostensibly, a built-in theme for Fire) as well as Lightning/Music (which we don't really see too often - though of course not [i]never[/i]. Now. Yeah, that "why would you choose cupcakes if you hate cupcakes" is why I added a bit about realizing you have three years of x-type things, then you'd pick something else. However, I think this problem would be mitigated by making these year-long themes and also by the simple fact that there's more than one person on staff. And even if these people aren't judging skins/accents, they can easily give input on themes. Just a few people giving input on themes would probably just eliminate that concern. And I can't imagine why that wouldn't happen, to be honest. And, lastly... even [i]if[/i] you're right (which is a pretty big [i]if[/i], in my opinion) about the staff not considering accents fairly outside of the "appropriate aesthetic" for each Flight, it doesn't matter because they pick the "appropriate aesthetic" too often for most people to submit off-theme with a reasonable hope of winning. Like I said, the situation feeds itself.

I just still don't see the point. If there's a subtheme, so it's Theme+Event, does that mean that all the skins need to have that theme too? Because that would be awful (especially if it was for a whole year). If so, that feels like it would just narrow the skins submitted even more. If not, then it doesn't seem like this would serve much purpose.

It feels like this would narrow things instead of expanding them. If folks are tired of Ice Aesthetic, then why would "Ice Aesthetic+Cupcakes" be any better? Plus, even if following the subtheme wasn't required, it feels like this would unfairly weigh against folks who didn't want to do a subtheme, or who didn't want to do a particular subtheme. And if an artist doesn't like the subtheme, then what, they're out of luck for the whole year?

I think the better solution would just be to make new contests

[quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-04 13:12:09" ] I just still don't see the point. If there's a subtheme, so it's Theme+Event, does that mean that all the skins need to have that theme too? Because that would be awful (especially if it was for a whole year). If so, that feels like it would just narrow the skins submitted even more. If not, then it doesn't seem like this would serve much purpose. It feels like this would narrow things instead of expanding them. If folks are tired of Ice Aesthetic, then why would "Ice Aesthetic+Cupcakes" be any better? Plus, even if following the subtheme wasn't required, it feels like this would unfairly weigh against folks who didn't want to do a subtheme, or who didn't want to do a particular subtheme. And if an artist doesn't like the subtheme, then what, they're out of luck for the whole year? I think the better solution would just be to make new contests [/quote] Not at all "out of luck." Like anyone who wants to enter a specific art contest, you either deviate from your own style or you put your own twist on it. And yeah some people might be favored in this system, but... I fail to see how that differs from what we have. Besides, of course, the obvious difference of actually encouraging different aesthetics at all. As for other contests, digital artists are already heavily championed by the fact that there are at the very least 11 contests per year that cater to them specifically. I would not personally like to see any more contests until that's fixed, and it doesn't solve the problem of the festivals already being unfairly weighted (and have been for years) against people who don't fall within one standard deviation of the very obvious "Flight aesthetic" for these 11. So yeah, in the beginning, everything was new and neat. But it's not anymore.

[quote name="Almedha" date="2023-04-04 14:15:15" ] fail to see how that differs from what we have. Besides, of course, the obvious difference of actually encouraging different aesthetics at all.[/quote] That's kind of my point. This just seems unnecessarily complicated to me. to get an even narrower choice in skins for users. [quote]As for other contests, digital artists are already heavily championed by the fact that there are at the very least 11 contests per year that cater to them specifically. I would not personally like to see any more contests until that's fixed[/quote] I'm not really sure how you would "fix" that, beyond possibly having some fiction-writing contests, which wouldn't be a bad idea, but would be more time-consuming to judge. I was thinking of the other contests more as a benefit to all users. UMS and UMA are expensive, and the only choices for site skins are either the ones that look like coliseum critters or festival-themed ones. Having alternative skin contests could make more unique skins and accents more available to players who don't have thousands of gems to throw around.

[quote name="Trix" date="2023-04-06 10:30:19" ] [quote name="Almedha" date="2023-04-04 14:15:15" ] fail to see how that differs from what we have. Besides, of course, the obvious difference of actually encouraging different aesthetics at all.[/quote] That's kind of my point. This just seems unnecessarily complicated to me. to get an even narrower choice in skins for users. [quote]As for other contests, digital artists are already heavily championed by the fact that there are at the very least 11 contests per year that cater to them specifically. I would not personally like to see any more contests until that's fixed[/quote] I'm not really sure how you would "fix" that, beyond possibly having some fiction-writing contests, which wouldn't be a bad idea, but would be more time-consuming to judge. I was thinking of the other contests more as a benefit to all users. UMS and UMA are expensive, and the only choices for site skins are either the ones that look like coliseum critters or festival-themed ones. Having alternative skin contests could make more unique skins and accents more available to players who don't have thousands of gems to throw around. [/quote] How could it be narrower? Each contest [i]on its own[/i] would be narrower, sure. "Encouraging different aesthetics" is the point, and something the current system doesn't do. If you take into account the themes over time, the variety would be much wider. Yes, each individual contest might be narrower (unless, you know, who says it has to be one theme per festival? It could be one of, say, three themes. This year the themes are "cupcakes," "abyss," and "Ice" - replacing Ice with the appropriate element). But year over year, we'd get the "Ice Knights" year, then the "Ice Circus" year, etc. Instead of three Tundra skins featuring ice daggers stabbing out of the fur. How is that... narrower? And how is it even complicated? I don't know how to do any other kind of contest, either, but I don't think we particularly need yet more of that benefit. There's well over 1800 site skins to fill that exact purpose at this moment, adding more at a rate of over 150 per year... The alternative-to-UMAs reasoning is pretty well covered by festivals (eleven. art contests. a year).