How do you vote?

I look through the entries and try not to base my vote on the best picture. Some folks are better photographers than others. So I go back through the cook threads and narrow things down on creativity, effort, degree of difficulty, adherence to rules, etc. , basing my vote on those items rather than a single picture.

And I never vote for my own entry. If it gets a zero, so be it. I'll figure out what wasn't appealing and try to correct it. It's a throwdown, put together for fun. Its not like we're being voted off the island.

lunchman said:

I look through the entries and try not to base my vote on the best picture. Some folks are better photographers than others. So I go back through the cook threads and narrow things down on creativity, effort, degree of difficulty, adherence to rules, etc. , basing my vote on those items rather than a single picture.

And I never vote for my own entry. If it gets a zero, so be it. I'll figure out what wasn't appealing and try to correct it. It's a throwdown, put together for fun. Its not like we're being voted off the island.

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I here ya. I only entered one TD, was surprised you could vote for yourself. I guess at the time i thought it would be grayed out or a popup would say something like you can't vote in this poll. I know other forums have vote restrictions. Lesson learned.

SmokeRingsMatter said:

I here ya. I only entered one TD, was surprised you could vote for yourself. I guess at the time i thought it would be grayed out or a popup would say something like you can't vote in this poll. I know other forums have vote restrictions.

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*The pic has to catch my eye in the first place for me to want to consider the entry at all
*If the pic is interesting enough I'll usually go to the cook thread to help compare entries
*Count me in the camp who thinks it's poor form to vote for yourself. I generally avoid voting for folks who regularly vote for themselves

I’ve been entering TDs here for years..
In fact it’s been years since I’ve won one.

I still love entering them and I also enjoy sponsoring them upon occasion. (I enter them and I don’t mind supporting them)

My photography skills have improved because of the TDs, but they are still nowhere near some of the folks here.

I always vote for the entry that I’d most like to eat (even if that’s my entry) and I base that judgement on both the cook thread and the entry photo.

Thanks to the TD moderations that donate their time for our enjoyment.

Long live the TDs!!!

Ps: I like the current format

I vote for the cook way more than for the picture. Something that is technically challenging, creative, or just something other than the norm always get my attention first. On the flip side, something simple that is executed absolutely perfectly will also get my vote more times than a pretty picture.



As for voting for yourself, its kind of a testament to the friendly nature of the TDs that its come to be widely considered poor form to vote for yourself. No one will really judge you if you do, but the fact that most guys will give it up to another competitor and recognize that they did something really good says a lot about the TD community. I remember a TD when I first started, and it came down to me and smoke dawg. Neck and neck all the way through.. I think the final vote was 31-30 or something.. and he voted for me! In the end there were no hard feelings, actually he became a really good friend as a result of that TD. Good sportmanship goes a long way, especially when its not just about winning.

You know, in truth I have voted for myself in the past. I mostly did this as I was not expecting to garner any votes. I have stopped though and see that it is in bad taste to vote for ones self.

- G