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Should we continue Tractor of the Month?


SmilinSam

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There seems to be a all around lack of interest in the TOM contests, as evidenced by very few entries (some months none) as well as a lack of regular input by half the members of the committee.

Should we just shut the contest down?

Are we on the committee doing something wrong?

What could/would make it work better?

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Sam. Don't think the committee is doing anything wrong. I'd hoped that new members would take to it. Didn't happen. It appears TOM suffers from low participation (entries and voter turnout).

The Club's heart and soul (my opin) is collecting, working, repairing and maintaining the equipment we have passion for. The Club actually goes further in being a site where education and honest communication between club members & participants build relationships of trust (lacking in many sites). I am not the contest entering type though.

What about featuring a different member each month or every two months or even quarter. Start with Kent, work in demographic mixture of members including two wheeler, fdt, rbt, 90's and even 2000's models, equipment, memorabilia collectors as well as newer and longer term members. Set XXX word and X picture limit. Let them tell their story. Not a contest, open to whatever the featured wants show and tell. Could be interesting. Just a thought.

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Maybe try moving it to Talking tractors. Then there may be more participation if all members could enter instead of just the paying members.

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quote:Originally posted by RayS

Maybe try moving it to Talking tractors.


id="quote">
id="quote">I think Ray's onto something. The Talking Tractors forum definitely gets a lot more traffic than any other forum.
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In my case I just have a couple of hard workers that look like they were rode hard and put away wet, nothing shiny or pretty enough. I would suspect that might be a reason for the sparse participation.

Good club though, keep up the good work.

Jim

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Moving to TT would be Ok. I assume you are talking about letting more than just dues paying members participate.?.

Being the party that's writing this stuff up month to month, the only thing I would ask in that event would be to address a technical question I have asked before, but got no answer as yet.

The polls at this time only have room for 8 entries. what if we get more than that in a given month?

Any way to increase that number?

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Working tractors are more than welcome! I have one that is somewhat shiny, everything else has scratches, rust, dent's, etc.

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Or perhaps, tractor of the season. 4 times a year instead of 12. There would be more time to prepare and less work to administer it. And if it gets rolling, we might look forward to the (for instance)"Spring" tractor each year. Different categories (best over-winter restoration, best ground preparation for planting, etc). Just a thought......

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Well, we could move it over to TT in 4 days starting with the Feb contest.

Someone would have to add me to the moderator list over there so I can manage the contest in that forum.

As to the limit of 8 entries, we could just limit each contest to the first 8 entries made, unless or until such a time comes that the polls can be made to accommodate more entries. What do you think?

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quote:Originally posted by SmilinSam

Moving to TT would be Ok. I assume you are talking about letting more than just dues paying members participate.?.Being the party that's writing this stuff up month to month, the only thing I would ask in that event would be to address a technical question I have asked before, but got no answer as yet.The polls at this time only have room for 8 entries. what if we get more than that in a given month?Any way to increase that number?


id="quote">
id="quote">It would require a programming change to the base Snitz forums code. How about you simply limit it to the first 8 nominations, as you suggest? Given the low level of interest/participation, having to set a limit seems like a nice problem to have, and might prompt people to act a bit more quickly...Adding you as a moderator for the Talking Tractors is quick and easy... just PM me when you're ready to do that.
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OK, the thought of TOM going away has inspired me. The weather is going to be warm this weekend so I will pull my winter workers out and take a pic or two so they can be entered. As for where it should be the more that can use it the better. All of my toys are workers or donors and I try to use each one of the workers some every year. None of mine are what I would call a showpiece that is why I normaly would not bother to enter one.

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quote:Originally posted by Kent

How about you simply limit it to the first 8 nominations, as you suggest? Given the low level of interest/participation, having to set a limit seems like a nice problem to have, and might prompt people to act a bit more quickly...

Adding you as a moderator for the Talking Tractors is quick and easy... just PM me when you're ready to do that.


id="quote">
id="quote">

Sounds like a good plan to me.

If there is no opposition from the other committee members we can just move it over there beginning with the February contest submission period on December 15th.

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Sam,

I have no answer as to why so few entries, but I enjoy the TOM and do vote each month. I would also enter more but I did have to sell all but two of my tractors for the move to Iowa last spring, and my new garage won't be built until next spring. Then I will have room to start over. I hope all the details can be worked out to keep it and make it more attractive for more members.

Steve

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I never really fit the categories or else by the time I see it then it's too late to get something put together. If we had a category for non-runners, junk in the weeds, or sitting the longest under a pile of stuff, then I might be able to put something togethersm00 I admit I have been a slacker in the voting process as well.

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quote:Originally posted by steve-wis

Sam,I have no answer as to why so few entries, but I enjoy the TOM and do vote each month. I would also enter more but I did have to sell all but two of my tractors for the move to Iowa last spring, and my new garage won't be built until next spring. Then I will have room to start over. I hope all the details can be worked out to keep it and make it more attractive for more members. Steve


id="quote">
id="quote">New name change to Steve-Ia ?;)
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the biggest problem i noticed was it was so difficult to actually see all the nominees under one heading. this last attempt seemed to clear that up. I'd like to see it continue but as a separate topic where all the information is together.

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quote:Originally posted by boox

the biggest problem i noticed was it was so difficult to actually see all the nominees under one heading. this last attempt seemed to clear that up. I'd like to see it continue but as a separate topic where all the information is together.


id="quote">
id="quote">Cant really combine two topics into one, that's why I have been posting links in both the nomination topic and the vote topic to each other so you don't have to go looking for them.The only real technical problem I have to deal with at this time is that the votes don't stop once the poll topic is locked. While no one can make a reply after its locked, apparently people can still vote. My solution thus far is to post the vote count at the time the poll is locked and that is the final verdict. Any further vote count after that point is not held as valid.
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quote:Originally posted by RayS

Maybe try moving it to Talking tractors. Then there may be more participation if all members could enter instead of just the paying members.


id="quote">
id="quote">Would probably also get more voting going on too. Average from contest to contest is only around 28 to 32 voters with 2 - 4 entries.Would like to see 4- 6 entries a month with 50 - 60 voters. would make for a better contest. We will have to see how it does.
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I'll respond as someone who never votes or even looks at the results. To me fixing and running tractors is not a competitive activity. I enjoy seeing what others do with and to theirs and getting hints for mine, and the forums give me plenty of input for that. Talking tractors and show and tell allow anyone to display their efforts in a less judgmental atmosphere. If TOM interests others and is worth the effort, keep and enjoy it. It's not for me though.

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quote:Originally posted by PGL

I'll respond as someone who never votes or even looks at the results. To me fixing and running tractors is not a competitive activity. I enjoy seeing what others do with and to theirs and getting hints for mine, and the forums give me plenty of input for that. Talking tractors and show and tell allow anyone to display their efforts in a less judgmental atmosphere. If TOM interests others and is worth the effort, keep and enjoy it. It's not for me though.


id="quote">
id="quote">I came up with the idea of TOM and ran the idea through the channels needed to make it happen. I never thought of it as a competition amongest members. Nor was it ever intended to be received that way. It was never intended to make one think "My tractor is better than yours".The idea was conceived to bring more interest in the club and possibly increase membership. I just think it is in the wrong forum to do that.
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