1,000,000 Post Avatar Contest Rules

[Mr. Anderson]

1,000,000 Post Avatar Contest

MacRumors Forums is approaching its one millionth post. To celebrate, we are having an avatar-creating contest. Avatars are the images you see under the names of some MacRumors members who have reached 500 or more posts. They can be created with almost any graphics or image editing program. Even if you don't have 500 posts to display an avatar, you can enter. Winners with less than 500 posts will get avatars.

Winners will be chosen in three categories:
* Best Animated Avatar
* Best Static (non-animated) Avatar
* Best "Million" Avatar (containing a reference to the number 1,000,000)

The moderators will select the finalists. Winners will be chosen using polls, with all members eligible to vote.

Contest Rules:

Please read through these, they'll answer most questions that will avoid having you post questions that will only be answered with did you read rule number X.

1. Eligibility. Any MacRumors member with any member status can enter. You can submit as many entries as you like. They must be your own work. Avatars must follow the guidelines for the current avatars: jpeg, gif, or png files, at most 75x75 pixels and at most 40,000 bytes (39.1KB). Oversize avatars will not be eligible.

2. Submission. To submit an entry, click here to create a new thread in the Avatar Contest forum. The thread title must be your MacRumors member name and a unique number starting at #1, to make it easy for others to know who has entered. Attach your avatar to the first post. You do not have to say which of the categories it is for. The numbering system is important if you submit more than 1 entry, so please remember this to avoid confusion. Submissions must be new work done by you, not seen on the MacRumors boards previously.

3. Comments. When posting your entry, you can add your own comments about it if you like (e.g, to tell what gave you the idea or what software you used), but this will not affect judging. Anyone can post comments to anybody else's contest entry thread to talk about that entry, but these posts will not affect judging. If you have comments or questions about the contest itself, post them in this thread.

4. Suitability. Keep it clean. Avatars should not be political, offensive, tasteless, profane, X-rated, etc. If you even question whether or not an entry is appropriate, do not submit it, or PM a moderator and ask about it first. Members posting something unsuitable will be dealt with as per forum rules.

5. Entry period. The period for contest entries has started as of this post. It ends the moment of the 1,000,000th post. This should give the contest an entry period of about a week, but this depends on the posting rates over that period. There will be an announcement here when the entry period is over.

6. Finalists. The MacRumors moderators will select 5 finalists in the Animated, Static, and "Million" categories, based on creativeness, craftsmanship, and/or humor. There will be at most one avatar in the finals for a given MacRumors member across the 3 categories, so exactly 15 different members will be finalists. Decisions of the moderators will be final. The moderators will not be eligible to be finalists but may submit avatars.

7. Voting. There will be three polls:
* Best Animated Avatar (5 entries)
* Best Static Avatar (5 entries)
* Best "Million" Avatar (5 entries)
Any MacRumors member can vote, at most once, in each of the three polls. The polls will be open for at least 3 days. Ties, if they occur, will be handled as co-winners.

8. Prizes. Finalists get enviable bragging rights. Winners get even more enviable bragging rights, and they may use their winning entry as their member avatar, whether or not they have reached 500 posts.

9. Legal mumbo jumbo. There is no legal mumbo jumbo. We're doing this just for fun! When in doubt, we'll use common sense.

To see the contest entries as they accumulate, click here to display the contest forum.

Good luck!

[winky!]

Ooooh! Finally, the long awaited contest that you're always talking about.....

How long till 1,000,000 posts?

[Zenith]

About time!

Avatar contests are very much fun, and as a former winner I'd like to say good luck to all submitters!

[neut]

... i've noticed all the avatars around here are getting quite good; there will be some stiff competition.

ok everyone, stop posting so i have more time to make a new avatar!


peace.

[mkaake]

will the winner be able to actually use the tar if they are below the 500 count (for those of us who read more often than write)? thought it would be kind of funny if the winner of the avatar contest couldn't actually use his avatar...

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally Posted by mkaake

will the winner be able to actually use the tar if they are below the 500 count (for those of us who read more often than write)? thought it would be kind of funny if the winner of the avatar contest couldn't actually use his avatar...

It was stated twice in the rules that the winner *would* get to use the avatar even if they didn't have 500 posts.

I hope I don't have to keep answering this question. But if you want an example, look at Zenith's post count

D

[jsw]

Originally Posted by Mr. Anderson

Avatars must follow the guidelines for the current avatars: jpeg, gif, or png files, at most 75x75 pixels and at most 40,000 bytes (39.1KB). Oversize avatars will not be eligible.

My limit is 20,000 bytes. Does this mean that there's a new limit coming - or that my limit will bump up if/when my 'paid' status is updated?

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally Posted by jsw

My limit is 20,000 bytes. Does this mean that there's a new limit coming - or that my limit will bump up if/when my 'paid' status is updated?

hmmm - we'll see about that. Not sure why there is a difference. Might be higher for Demi's - so if you win you can use it.

We'll get back to you on that.

Thanks,

D

[edesignuk]

Nope, I'm a demi, and 19k limit. I think this has come up before, it seems mods/gods are the only ones who get the 39k limit

[Doctor Q]

Even if regular avatars are limited to 20,000 bytes, the contest tars are allowed up to 40,000 bytes and the winner will get to use their entry as their member avatar.

This is an incentive for members who already have a tar!

[anjaki]

When is the million post likely to be posted?, I mean what is the last post number now.
Sorry for asking, but it's a bit like waiting for Christmas.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally Posted by anjaki

When is the million post likely to be posted?, I mean what is the last post number now.
Sorry for asking, but it's a bit like waiting for Christmas.

Your last post above is #995825

You can find out by looking at the link to the post. If you want to find out the current post count, go to the forums main page and select New Posts. Click on the top post and see that number. They're you go!

As for when #1000000 hits? We're thinking sometime early next week. So get busy, you only have a few more days before the contest ends.

Good luck,

D