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BEAUTY CONTEST - The rules of behavior we all have to follow in Neopia just aren’t
enough when it comes to successfully winning over potential voters… There is an
understood, separate set of rules which you learn only by participating. But since
learning these rules is an unnecessarily long and boring effort, I’ll save you
some of the trouble.
The most important area in which to make a good impression is the Beauty Contest
chat. Although some people choose to advertise in other ways, this is perhaps
the best way to become familiar with the ins and outs of the Beauty Contest.
However, if you stumbled upon the chats without knowing what people expect of
you, it may be difficult to get anyone to pay attention or even look at your
BC entry. So, I have made a list of the five most important principles that
you need to know to gain some level of likeability and attention. Following
these principles will improve your chances for getting more votes and perhaps
winning a trophy in the Beauty Contest.
1. Don’t say or imply anything negative about other people’s artwork unless
asked to do so.
Yes, there is a Neopets rule about personal attacks - however, sometimes people
target their competition in more subtle ways. Avoid a species contest rival
who posts on your advertisement boards with their URL in tow… if they do this
repeatedly, it’s likely they are trying to get potential voters to consider
their pet as well. While it’s not against the Neopets rules, it is quite rude.
If you feel the need to post on your competition’s ad board, then it would be
considerate of you to remove the link in your siggy while you’re chatting on
their board.
The only right time to criticize someone’s work is when they ask for ratings
of their picture. Even then, there are some things that shouldn’t be said. Calling
an artist’s work “stupid” or “bad” without backing it up with some kind of reason
implies that one has the mental capacity of an twig. I also find that even when
a person asks for criticism or ratings, they tend to appreciate a mixture of
positive and negative comments. But make sure that whatever you say is constructive
- in other words, it will be something reasonable which they might take into
consideration to improve their technique or style.
2. Never leave a “free votes” board unattended!
Having twenty or thirty people arrive at your board may seem like a good thing
when you’re advertising; however, if you cried “free votes” only to get people
to look at your picture, be prepared to find twenty or thirty annoyed BCers
who will not vote for you next week.
On a side note, if you’re posting on a “free votes” board in search of that
person’s vote, keep a few things in mind. First, some people like to leave frustrating
rules for everyone to obey in order to get considered for their vote. An example
of this is “post the word […] or I won’t look at your entry.” Personally I find
this very aggravating… It’s vital to be among the first few hopefuls to post
there, so that you can be sure the person won’t get tired and leave before reaching
your URL. They may also include qualifications like “must be hand-drawn.” What’s
important to remember when posting on these boards is that a “please” and a
“thank you” go a long way.
3. Don’t spam.
There are two different kinds of spam: the overly bumpy board and Neomail.
“Bumping” your board to the top of the list every thirty seconds is a great
way to annoy the other people who are trying to advertise. Usually one bump
every ten to twenty minutes is okay. Remember, the Beauty Contest board moves
sloooow.
On to Neomail spam! I have received about a hundred of these, most of which
very creatively try to convince you that they are “not trying to bother you.”
Wrong. This method of getting votes is extremely annoying and bothersome, no
matter how it’s worded. Unless a person specifically states on their user lookup
that it’s okay for you to ask them for votes, don’t even touch that send button.
4. No arguing!
Before I really dig into this principle, I want to explain the difference between
arguing and debating. Arguing involves two angry people who shout at the top
of their lungs (or rather, use lots of angry smilies) for a long period of time,
resulting in even more anger and perhaps even a notice from the Neopets Team
about name-calling. Debating is a calm, rational exchange of disagreements which
generally doesn’t descend into “yeah-huh” and “nuh-uh.”
Since arguments never get us anywhere, and only serve to produce groans from
those not involved, there’s really no point in provoking your fellow Neopians.
Arguing can also scare off people who might actually vote for your pet.
One thing that seems to bring all arguments into one big messy pile of similarity
is that neither side has logical ideas for how to fix the situation. And usually,
the person who’s provoking the argument is doing it out of frustration over
something that they believe unfairly happened to them. But please remember,
nothing in existence is ever really fair, and if we nitpick at little things
in the Beauty Contest without having real solutions we’ll likely make things
worse than they are.
5. Complaining will get you nowhere…
It may seem that joining in the howling that accompanies 7:15 on a Friday night
is not such a bad thing to do… It may seem that the person whose drawing placed
above yours didn’t deserve it. It may also seem that you wasted a whole week
only to get no trophy. But complaining only makes you seem bitter. Most people
win trophies in the Beauty Contest because they try again and again and sometimes
even fail miserably…
Complaining also has some unexpected side effects; while we may all be able
to agree on why the Beauty Contest is less than fair sometimes, the changes
that are made probably aren’t what most had in mind. Four month ban, anyone?
The main thing to remember about competing for votes is that if you’re nice
to people, they’ll be much more likely to take a look at your art and maybe
even vote. The occasional “please” and “thank you” certainly can’t hurt your
chances either.
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