The Prefects' Bathroom Dilemma, Guidelines and FAQ Options

[evlpez]

In which Harry Potter investigates the Mystery of the Missing Mermaid.



Guidelines:

This is a fan fiction contest in three rounds. The winning submission for round one will become Chapter One, and the mission for round two will continue the story from that point.

Round One: Submissions - noon Thurs. Sept. 9 - noon Tues. Sept. 14, voting until 10am Sept. 16
Round Two: Submissions - noon Thurs. Sept. 16 - noon Tues. Sept. 21, voting until 10am Sept. 23
Round Three: Submissions - noon Thurs. Sept. 23 - noon Tues. Sept. 28, voting until 10am Sept. 30

*Submit early for the best chance to get enough ratings to compete!*

"Ferret Points" will be awarded to the top three stories of each round, according to their ratings from the Project Ferret Voting Booth. The writers with the most Ferret Points at the end of the contest will win 1st and 2nd Place Prizes. Here's how it works:

• The Round Winning writers will get 10 Ferret Points
• The 2nd place writer per round will earn 8 Ferret Points
• The 3rd place writer per round will earn 6 Ferret Points

Earn more points by submitting for each round! Ferrets may submit as many stories per round as they like, but only their top rated submissions will earn them Ferret Points. (If a writer has subs in 1st and 2nd place of a round, Ferret Points will only be awarded for their 1st place submission, and 2nd place Ferret Points will be awarded to the 3rd place submission, etc...)

In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by the writers competing in a special "Tie-Breaker". More details about this will be revealed in the event of a tie.

Here's a new twist on submitting and rating:

All submissions posted in the submission topics will be anonymous. The identities of the writers will only be revealed after voting has concluded and prizes and Ferret Points are awarded. You won't have to do anything special to post anonymously, it will be automatic.




In the Voting Booth:

Voters will rate each submission on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best. The criteria may be different for each voter, but overall you're looking for a winning submission which is:

• creative and engaging
• plausible in the Potterverse
• includes Mission elements
• adheres to the usual rules of spelling, punctuation and grammar
• follows the exisiting story (in the case of 2nd & 3rd round submissions)

Voters may leave comments for the writers in the voting booth and while the ratings are anonymous, the comments are not.

How ratings are calculated:

The Project Ferret Voting Booth software uses a "vote factor" to even the playing field. This factor is equal to the number of votes a story gets divided by the number of votes cast on the most-voted-on story. The average score of each submission is multiplied by this "voting factor" to produce the score. (This way, a submission who has a rating of 10, but only got one voter cannot win over another submission who has a rating of 8 with 5 voters.) For this reason, it is very important that if you vote at all, you should try to vote on each submission entered.

You will have two extra days to catch up on your voting between the end of the subs period and the end of the voting period. It is expected that everyone who makes a submission should rate all the others; it's only fair.



Feeling Funny?

Parody submissions will be accepted, but not be eligible as Chapter Selections. Parody submissions are granted some leeway with regards to following the mission and being plausible in the Potterverse. They'll be accepted in the Bubblehead Charms topic throughout the contest (all rounds/missions, any time), and a separate voting booth will be open for the duration of the contest. The submission with the highest rating will earn the Bubblehead Charm award.

[evlpez]

The Prizes:

Each Round Winner will receive a rubber duckie.


^ Actual duckie may not be exactly as shown.

1st Prize: (most Ferret Points) A Harry Potter towel and a Harry Potter Bath Gel & Shampoo set



2nd Prize: A Harry Potter Bath Gel & Shampoo set



The Bubblehead Charm Award: A thoroughly Bubbly and Pine Fresh prize awaits the highest ranking Parody writer.




For your convenience, missions will be posted here as well as in the Submission Topics.

~ Round One Mission: ~

• Harry is awakened by Dobby before dawn on a Saturday morning with a request for his help. Something is wrong in the 5th floor Prefects' bathroom (From GoF).
• The mermaid is missing from her portrait and many of the taps in the tub aren't working. Another clue is found somewhere in the room.
• Harry decides to investigate, and finds even more puzzling problems. He may or may not ask for help from a friend.
• Appearances must be made by Sir Cadogen, Peeves and a professor of your choice.
• The following words must be used: histrionics, whortleberry, jardiniere, natation

~ Round Two Mission: ~

• Harry is unable to question the mermaid and Sir Cadogen before he's greeted by friends (your choice), whom he takes to the Prefects' Bathroom to show them the evidence and reveal all he knows. One of them has a theory.
• During breakfast, Harry & Co. visit Dobby in the kitcken and ask a favor.
• They meet a creature somewhere (in the Lake? through Hagrid? Accidentally?) that gives an important clue to the solution.
• Appearances must be made by a canon but obscure character (the more obscure, the better), two professors of your choice and three portrait subjects (in or out of their paintings, your choice)
• This chapter ends after lunch but before supper.
• The following words must be used in context: mew (not the sound a cat makes), perambulate, inure, piggin

~ Round Three Mission: ~

• The Trio return to the castle with the intention of telling Professor Dumbledore everything they've learned.
  
  
• They're prevented from doing so by the person responsible for the parchment found in the Prefects' Bathroom (your choice of character). This person may or may not be aiding Umbridge in some way.
  
  
• At some point, the trio become trapped and in danger. Save them.
  
  
• At some point, Umbridge's Plot is revealed and the mysteries surrounding the bathroom clues and the portraits are solved.
  
  
• Dumbledore must make an appearance and say/do something suitably logically illogical as he is wont to do.
  
  
• This is the final chapter. The following additional points must be tied up by morning: What's wrong with Peeves? What happened to Harry's broom from Chapter Two? What becomes of Dobby's mission from Harry? How do the bathroom and portraits return to normal?
  
  
• The following words must be used in context: fetor, eidolon, revenant, thaumaturgy, transmogrification

The deadline for Round Three submissions is noon Wed. Sept. 29.

Good Luck, Fellow Ferrets!



This post has been edited by evlpez: Sep 28 2004, 09:15 AM

[evlpez]

Questions and Answers:

You may ask about missions, guidelines, voting or post any other questions you may have about this Duel in this topic. Questions and answers will be listed here and updated regularly.



Q: What's a Ferret Point?

A: It's just a name for the way the grand prizes will be awarded.

"Ferret Points" will be awarded to the top three stories of each round, according to their ratings from the Project Ferret Voting Booth. The writers with the most Ferret Points at the end of the contest will win 1st and 2nd Place Prizes. Here's how it works:

• The Round Winning writers will get 10 Ferret Points
  
  
• The 2nd place writer per round will earn 8 Ferret Points
  
  
• The 3rd place writer per round will earn 6 Ferret Points

So.. if your submission from round 1 has the highest rating in the voting booth, you have 10 points. If your round 2 sub has the second highest rating, you'll get 8 more points, bringing your total to 18 points. If your round 3 sub comes in third, you get 6 more points... bringing your total to 24 points. At the very end of the contest, the ferret with the most points wins 1st prize - the towel and bath stuff. The ferret with the second most points wins 2nd prize - the bath stuff. We've done this to encourage you all to write for more than one round.

Q: Hey, do you need a title for your submission?

A:Yes. I forgot to mention that. Please give your submissions titles, so we have a title to put in the voting booth choices!!

Q: Just out of curiosity- are you allowed to vote on your own story?

A: REVISED!!We've edited the voting software again, just a wee thing, really. We can see our own subs and the comments left for us, but we're no longer allowed to rate our own submissions (Just like the Potter Project ).

[b]Q: (via PM) Is there a character/word limit to the story?

A: Nope! Your submission may be as long as you need it to be to convey your story and include all the mission elements. We only ask that you don't conclude the story prematurely. Think of it as a chapter. How long the chapter will be can be up to you.

Q: (via PM) Are we to use prose or movie script format?

A: All submissions should be in prose format. We should have mentioned that. I think I assumed that the use of the word "Chapter" as opposed to the word "Scene" might have made that clearer. My apologies.

Q: If I've already voted, will it affect anyone's ratings if I go back into the voting booth to view later comments?

A: The voting booth is set up to accept one vote from each member for each submission title. If you've voted and left the booth, returning to it to read later comments shouldn't have any effect at all.

This post has been edited by evlpez: Sep 21 2004, 06:44 PM

[Riley]

Hey, do you need a title for your submission?

[evlpez]

Yes. I forgot to mention that. Please give your submissions titles, so we have a title to put in the voting booth choices!!

[evlpez]

We forgot to mention in the Guidelines that authors are allowed to use a beta reader before posting their submissions.

PLEASE do not edit your submission after you've posted, and especially not after it has been added to the voting booth.

From this moment on, any submission found with an "edit by" someone other than an administrator for some reason may be penalized.

Also, if you did edit your submission post, your identity would be revealed as its author.

[evlpez]

Heads up - new additions to the FAQ:

Q: Just out of curiosity- are you allowed to vote on your own story?

A: Yes. Nothing prevents you from voting on your own story. We do ask that if you write, and if you choose to vote at all, you should be fair and vote on every submission if you can. Subs get lower scores if they receive fewer votes than others.


Q: (via PM) Is there a character/word limit to the story?

A: Nope! Your submission may be as long as you need it to be to convey your story and include all the mission elements. We only ask that you don't conclude the story prematurely. Think of it as a chapter. How long the chapter will be can be up to you.

Q: (via PM) Are we to use prose or movie script format?

A: All submissions should be in prose format. We should have mentioned that. I think I assumed that the use of the word "Chapter" as opposed to the word "Scene" might have made that clearer. My apologies.

[evlpez]

Round One is now closed to submissions.

Voting will continue for this round until 10:00am Thursday, September 16.



Please proceed to the PBD Voting Booth and rate all seven submissions!



Remember:

• The Round Winning writer will get 10 Ferret Points and his/her story will become Chapter One.
• The 2nd place writer will earn 8 Ferret Points
• The 3rd place writer will earn 6 Ferret Points

Good luck to all of our fine ferrets!

[timeturner]

Question-
I have voted for all 7 stories. If I go back to the voting booth- not the standings and click on the story again (I like to see what peope's comments are) will I be accidentally messing up the ratings? I like to see what people's comments are so I may improve my writing ability and I am curious (aka nosy) to see if others shared my views in regards to other stories. If I do this and then hit the back button on my browser or the return to Main board button would that be ok or would it mess with the standings (I DEFINATELY DO NOT want to do that!) by making the system think I browsed the story and didn't rate it.
I hope you can make enough sense out of this post to answer the question. It sounds like babble to me but I am unsure how to phrase it any better.

[evlpez]

The voting booth is set up to accept one vote from each member. If you've voted and left the booth, returning to it to read later comments shouldn't have any effect at all.

[timeturner]

I think my question was moot. When I try to go back in and click on the stories to see the comments it keeps telling me that I have already voted on the story and won't let me see them. Am I doing something wrong or is this what is supposed to happen?

[cherabela]

Hmm...it works fine for me.

*Check*

Hey no wait! It's happening to me too! <_<

[evlpez]

I think my question was moot. When I try to go back in and click on the stories to see the comments it keeps telling me that I have already voted on the story and won't let me see them. Am I doing something wrong or is this what is supposed to happen?

Gee, you're right. Let me check into that for you.

[anhaire]

Yup, the same thing happened to me, but it didn't start until today.

[StarWalker]

I'm getting the same reaction timeturner is; if I go back now I can't see the stories and their comments. I know I could do this before, during the CoMC, so I presume something has changed.

Late as always. I see everyone is having that trouble!!

V/R
Clyde

This post has been edited by StarWalker: Sep 14 2004, 02:01 PM