Turner's Monthly Assignment Forum

[Jeff Moffett]

There seems to be a lot of interest in turning assignments/contests, but SMC isn't organized in such a way to facilitate them very well. I'd like to propose a new forum called "Turner's Monthly Assignment". Here's how it could work:

A new or existing moderator would be assigned to this forum. He or she should be a respected, advanced woodturner who would not be permitted to enter a turning in the monthly assignment.

At the beginning of each month, the moderator would post three sticky messages:

"Vote for Next Assignment" - This message would allow each SMC member to vote for next month's assignment using the voting functionality. It would also provide a thread for people to post suggestions for future monthly assignments. The moderator would use those suggestions to setup the voting categories for the following month.
"Vote for Winner of Previous Assignment" - The moderator would select the best entries as finalists. The number of finalists would be up to the moderator each month and could vary based on the total number of entries and the quality of submissions. Pictures of each finalist along with voting buttons would be included in this message. Each SMC member could then vote for his or her favorite.
"Winner of Past Assignment" - After accumulating a month's worth of votes, the moderater would annouce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in this message.During the month, SMC members could submit an entry into the contest, but the turning must have been created during the month of the assigment. Each turner would only be allowed to submit one entry per assignment. Replacing an existing entry is fine. To be considered for the monthly assignment, the subject line of each entry must be in the following format: "#21: Title", where the number is the monthly assignment number and the title is the name of your piece.

I've seen this format work very well in a photography forum and figured the same organization could work on SMC as well. Since each entry has it's own thread starting with the assignment number, things stay pretty well organized. I also think this would be an attraction for new turners to join SMC. I joined the photography forum specifically so I could enter shots in the monthly assignment. PM me if you'd like to see the photography forum for an example.

Is this something you guys and gals would be interested in? If so, any additional thoughts?

[Ben Werner]

Sounds great!!! excellent idea! I second the motion!! :D:D:D:D:D:D

I think you hit the nail on the head (or in turners terms... how about "got the piece of wood dead center!!!!) lol
Ben

[Scott Donley]

I think it is time for every one to sit down, take a deep breath, and quit trying to change what has been a great forum. If people don't like it they can join another forum. Jeff, I am not picking on you, really, I know change can be good but really not necessary when what you have is already good. This forum has been like the Cheers bar, a great place to visit, brag a bit, ask for help. Not a place I have had to worry if I was going to offend someone, measure up to someone else's idea of what is good or not. I posted my first pens, goblet ( I even got 4 votes in that challenge, made my day ) box and bowl, I posted those because I was so dang happy just to have been able to it do and knew the folks here understood. If I wanted structure in my life ( they never had it at Cheers :) ) I would go back to work ! The impromptu challenges have been great, I have learned a ton, the ideas from seeing others turnings are almost overwhelming. We all joined SMC for a reason, take the time to enjoy the waters before trying to change it to be like all the others. Again Jeff, I apologize to you for saying all this on your thread, I just really did not want to start yet another thread this week about what we need or don't need on SMC, OK, you can all take me off your buddy list, I am done.

[Keith Burns]

Scott, I agree with you on your comments. And Jeff I too hope you are not offended. Besides I was raised in Gardner, KS just a few miles down the road from you:) .

Besides, I heard Stu was having a beer party and we are all invited....:D

[Andy Hoyt]

Jeff gets a big "Huzzahhh" for thinking about and then sharing his thoughts on how to keep our branch of the creek flowing with fresh water.

Scott gets one too, for being able to say what I felt but could not articulate.

Sorry, Keith. I'm fresh outta "Huzzahhs". How about a Moxie?

[Cecil Arnold]

No moxie Andy, lets all go to Stu's.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Good thought put into your idea Jeff, really, but I'm going too be busy with a beer party, sounds like :D

Do you guys want bottles or on tap? :D

Cheers!

[Don Baer]

Do you guys want bottles or on tap? :D


Yes.......

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Remind me to teach you about the three flavors of bottled beer, Don, all from the same bottle... :)

Jeff, my opinion on your idea, although it is a good one, is that it wouldn't quite fit within the organizational structure of the Creek. Given, the Turner's Forum is the only SMC forum which I regularly view, however the Creek is divided up by specialty and/or topic. Having a separate "Challenge" forum would, IMHO, detract from the organizational scheme of the Creek.

What you are suggesting, however, is not impossible within the confines of the turner's forum:

1) Announce the contest in a new thread. Make the thread sticky.
2) Have each entrant submit their entry in a separate thread. Since we tend, as a group, to display our pieces in new threads, this would be nothing new.
3) The contest coordinator would then update the contest thread with a link to the entry.
4) At the end of the contest, a new thread, with voting turned on, would then be created to allow for public judging of the pieces, assuming a public judging. The original contest thread would lose its sticky bit, and the sticky bit would be set on the judging thread.
5) The winner would then be announced at the end of the judging period, either in a new thread or in the judging thread.

If the contest were to be privately judged, there would be no need to create a new judging thread. The contest thread could be used to post the results.

Jeff, you have a great idea. I simply happen to think it should be adapted to live within the confines of the Turners Forum, or whatever specialty forum applies to the contest.

[Jon Eckels]

Jeff, you have a great idea. I simply happen to think it should be adapted to live within the confines of the Turners Forum, or whatever specialty forum applies to the contest

Not for nothing... you could very easily have Jeff's forum as a subforum of the Turner's forum. It would only show up at the top of the thread list for the Turner's forum, and wouldn't at all interfere with the cleanliness of the main forum listing.

Not that i'm an authority on turning or SMC anything, I just don't know if anyone else knows that subforums on VBulletin BB's are possible, and would work very well in this instance.

[Reed Gray]

I don't think that it can be done over the internet, but our club (Beaver State Woodturners, and Umpqua Woodturners, and Willamette Valley Woodturners) use a different challenge system. There is a monthly challenge turning, usually related to the demo from the month before. Any one who brings in a challenge piece gets a raffle ticket for a gift certificate from Craft Supplies. This way more people enter. The monthly show and tell has a lot more variety, and more entries.
robo hippy