Well, this is a bit early but it's safe to say we're going to be continuing the contest at least for a few more attempts, so for the next contest (July/August 2012), I'm giving everyone a heads-up that the voting system will be changing completely.
To vote, all you do is order the maps in a division in the order of preference, from best to worst. For purposes of demonstration, let's say that there are four maps in the division: A Zone, B Zone, C Zone, and D Zone, and you liked C, followed by B, A, and then finally D was the worst of the group. You would simply put the following at the top of your voting post:
C > B > A > D
With real zone names, using line breaks instead of ">" symbols is just fine, just as long as the best map is first and the worst map is last. That's all you need to do for your vote to be counted. It's still preferable if you also provide more detailed feedback to the author, but please separate it from the vote list so it's easier to tally the votes at the end. Instead of dropping the lowest vote on your map when you vote on the division you're entered in, you simply put your map at the top regardless of whether or not you think it's the best map in the division. This is the new benefit for voting, and you should always vote your own map at the top. Let's say that the author of map A liked maps C, D, A (his own map), and B, in that order. Author A would vote as follows:
A > C > D > B
Finally, at the end of voting period, the votes are tallied. Tallying votes is now simple addition. For each vote, the map ranked first gets n-1 points, where n is the number of maps in the division. Second place gets n-2 points, third gets n-3, all the way down to n-n (zero) points for last. For the two votes in our demonstration, here's how that would break down:
A Zone: (4-3) + (4-1) = 1 + 3 = 4
B Zone: (4-2) + (4-4) = 2 + 0 = 2
C Zone: (4-1) + (4-2) = 3 + 2 = 5
D Zone: (4-4) + (4-3) = 0 + 1 = 1
Should there be a tie, the votes are calculated again with only the tied maps included (C > A instead of C > B > A > D). If this still fails to break the tie, the tie stands and both maps are winners. Since C Zone has more points than the other maps, C Zone's author is the winner of the division.
I'm sure the question on a lot of your minds is "why?". Why change a system we've been using for just short of a decade? The simple answer is to make the system more fair, while also avoiding some of the drama that has plagued the OLDC voting in the past. The old system relied a lot on everyone voting correctly. Because it worked by averages, a single person voting dramatically differently from the rest of the voters skewed the scores overall quite heavily. In this system, the weight of each person's vote is exactly equal. There is no longer a need to scream at the guy who voted all 9s on the maps he liked and 2s on everything else because his vote will no longer have significantly more weight. This also closes several loopholes in the system that people could exploit if they really wanted to.
However, let's say everyone is, in good faith, attempting to vote correctly and provide unbiased, fair ratings to everyone. Even then, the system has had problems in the past because it's really, really hard to provide a number based on your experience. I'm sure everyone who has voted in the OLDC has had situations where they sit there for a while trying to figure out whether a map is a 7 or an 8, even when they voted every other map in the division a 5 or less. The difference between a 7 or 8 could even make a difference way down the line when the votes are tallied, so not only is it a hard decision, it could even be important. This eliminates the need for such complexities and boils it down to the core question of which map you liked the most. Considering the goal of voting is to determine which map the community liked the best overall, it's time we have a voting system that reflects that.
As a final reminder this does NOT apply to the May/June 2012 contest that starts voting tonight. If you have any questions or concerns, or if I missed something blatantly obvious in my explanation of the new rules, please reply. I want it to be extremely clear how the system works BEFORE we start using it in two months, so the more questions, the better.
To vote, all you do is order the maps in a division in the order of preference, from best to worst. For purposes of demonstration, let's say that there are four maps in the division: A Zone, B Zone, C Zone, and D Zone, and you liked C, followed by B, A, and then finally D was the worst of the group. You would simply put the following at the top of your voting post:
C > B > A > D
With real zone names, using line breaks instead of ">" symbols is just fine, just as long as the best map is first and the worst map is last. That's all you need to do for your vote to be counted. It's still preferable if you also provide more detailed feedback to the author, but please separate it from the vote list so it's easier to tally the votes at the end. Instead of dropping the lowest vote on your map when you vote on the division you're entered in, you simply put your map at the top regardless of whether or not you think it's the best map in the division. This is the new benefit for voting, and you should always vote your own map at the top. Let's say that the author of map A liked maps C, D, A (his own map), and B, in that order. Author A would vote as follows:
A > C > D > B
Finally, at the end of voting period, the votes are tallied. Tallying votes is now simple addition. For each vote, the map ranked first gets n-1 points, where n is the number of maps in the division. Second place gets n-2 points, third gets n-3, all the way down to n-n (zero) points for last. For the two votes in our demonstration, here's how that would break down:
A Zone: (4-3) + (4-1) = 1 + 3 = 4
B Zone: (4-2) + (4-4) = 2 + 0 = 2
C Zone: (4-1) + (4-2) = 3 + 2 = 5
D Zone: (4-4) + (4-3) = 0 + 1 = 1
Should there be a tie, the votes are calculated again with only the tied maps included (C > A instead of C > B > A > D). If this still fails to break the tie, the tie stands and both maps are winners. Since C Zone has more points than the other maps, C Zone's author is the winner of the division.
I'm sure the question on a lot of your minds is "why?". Why change a system we've been using for just short of a decade? The simple answer is to make the system more fair, while also avoiding some of the drama that has plagued the OLDC voting in the past. The old system relied a lot on everyone voting correctly. Because it worked by averages, a single person voting dramatically differently from the rest of the voters skewed the scores overall quite heavily. In this system, the weight of each person's vote is exactly equal. There is no longer a need to scream at the guy who voted all 9s on the maps he liked and 2s on everything else because his vote will no longer have significantly more weight. This also closes several loopholes in the system that people could exploit if they really wanted to.
However, let's say everyone is, in good faith, attempting to vote correctly and provide unbiased, fair ratings to everyone. Even then, the system has had problems in the past because it's really, really hard to provide a number based on your experience. I'm sure everyone who has voted in the OLDC has had situations where they sit there for a while trying to figure out whether a map is a 7 or an 8, even when they voted every other map in the division a 5 or less. The difference between a 7 or 8 could even make a difference way down the line when the votes are tallied, so not only is it a hard decision, it could even be important. This eliminates the need for such complexities and boils it down to the core question of which map you liked the most. Considering the goal of voting is to determine which map the community liked the best overall, it's time we have a voting system that reflects that.
As a final reminder this does NOT apply to the May/June 2012 contest that starts voting tonight. If you have any questions or concerns, or if I missed something blatantly obvious in my explanation of the new rules, please reply. I want it to be extremely clear how the system works BEFORE we start using it in two months, so the more questions, the better.
