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Posted by: Silas Jul 10 2016, 09:16 PM

The Rules of the Buzzjack Song Contest

Joining BJSC:

The Basics

• Members wishing to join the Buzzjack Song Contest may do so as soon as they join Buzzjack.com.
• For the first 3 months after joining Buzzjack.com you may only take part in our spin-offs. This is a measure aimed at preventing alias countries.
• After 3 months you may progress to the main contest.
• All nations must register before participating.
• You will need a Google account to participate in the Buzzjack Song Contest as confirmations are done via a Google form. You can create an account https://accounts.google.com/signup.

The Details

To register click http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=175309!

When registering we require the following information:

• A name for your nation. (You may change this at any time, but public notification is required. Changing your national thread title, or creating a new national thread will suffice)
• A capital city.

Any other information like languages and flags are also welcomed, but are optional.

Please note

We take the creation of alias accounts seriously. If it is discovered you have used an alias to enter BJSC as a second nation, you will be permanently banned from BJSC. If you are discovered to have an alias on Buzzjack.com but have not attempted to register for BJSC with it, you will receive a 6 month suspension from BJSC that will commence immediately following your return to Buzzjack following your site suspension.

Confirmation of entries:

The Basics

• Every edition of BJSC commences with a confirmation thread. This is when you must submit your desired entry to the host of that edition via the provided link to a Google form.

You may submit any artist/song of your choice, providing it fits the following criteria:

• The song must not have been entered into a previous edition of BJSC or a BJSC spin off. A complete list of previous entries can be found http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=104463&view=findpost&p=2860165.
• The artist must not have finished in the top 3 of the previous edition of BJSC.
• The song must not be a former entry of the Eurovision Song Contest, or currently be in the running to represent a country at the forthcoming contest. Covers of former Eurovision entries are also not allowed.
• Your desired artist must not have been submitted by yourself in the previous contest (i.e. You can't send the same artist twice in a row).
• Artists may not be entered more than 7 times to BJSC.

The Details

• It is encouraged that you enter songs that are unlikely to be well known to other participants.
• Songs can be in any language and can have been released at any time.
• Cover versions of previous BJSC entries are permitted if moderators judge the cover to be significantly different to the version that was entered previously.
• Songs which sample previous BJSC entries are allowed, but songs which heavily sample previous BJSC entries may be vetoed.
• The Buzzjack Song Contest operates a "Confidential Confirmations Process". This means that you are not allowed to reveal your entry before the start of the semi-finals.
• If you wish to gain feedback on your potential entries, you may do so in your national thread.
• Obtaining feedback via PM or through an off-site medium such as plug.dj, Skype or Facebook messenger is prohibited.
• The above three points constitute the Confidential Confirmations Process and violation will result in your suspension from the Buzzjack Song Contest.

Please Note

• Entries are accepted on a first come, first served basis. If your desired entry has already been taken, you will be informed as soon as possible and be offered the chance to submit a replacement entry.
• Artists can only appear once in each contest. If the artist you are planning to send has already been submitted by somebody else to that same contest, then you will be offered the chance to submit a replacement entry.
• All entries will be assessed by the moderating team against the veto framework.
• You will be informed by the host if your entry has been vetoed and you will be offered the chance to change your entry.

Hosting:

The Basics

The moderators will typically invite the winner of the contest to host the next contest. However, this right is not automatic. At their discretion, the moderators may ask another nation to host - this nation will be chosen using the method of selecting a host where the winner is unable or unwilling to host and is detailed below. This discretion will typically be exercised where a nation has won multiple contests in succession. The host is expected to take care of voting and results threads, as well as the collection of entries, through a google form provided by the moderators, and votes. They must also inform participants if their entries have been vetoed. Screenshots of full scoreboards are also encouraged to be posted once the final results have been announced.

The Details

• All deadlines must be 23:59 GMT/BST (which ever applies in the UK at the time of the contest).
• Results must follow within 20 hours of the original deadline. The BJSC moderators will waive this at their discretion for extenuating circumstances.
• You are expected to keep an up-to-date list of Countries that have Confirmed/Voted. We do not expect this to be in real time but frequent updates, especially at the end of the voting window, is appreciated.

Please Note

In the event of the winner of the contest being unable, unwilling, or uninvited to host the following will apply:

• The right to host will pass to the highest finishing nation that has yet to host an edition of the Buzzjack Song Contest.
• If they decline to host the rights will pass to the second highest finishing nation that has yet to host, and so on.
• If there are no eligible, or willing nations, in the final then the rights will follow the previous path of second place, third place etc.
• To have the right to host the next contest, you must have progressed to the final of the current edition.
• If there are no willing nations in the final then a moderator will host the contest.

Co-Hosting:

The Basics

At the moderators discretion, they may allow a collaborative effort to hosting. This discretion will be exercised when the host is willing to host the contest but is unable to host part of the contest due to prior commitments. The moderators expect the 'main' host (i.e. last month's winner) to host the final. If a nation is unable to host the final then they must decline hosting rights and the process above will take place.

The Details

• If you would like to co-host the contest please inform a moderator of your intentions at the earliest opportunity.
• If the moderators approve your request to co-host you may ask the highest ranked nation that has yet to host to join you.
• If they decline the process will be the same as for a full host.

Please Note

If you wish to co-host with an allied nation, you may request this from the moderators. However at the time of the request you must detail what added benefits that co-hosting with this particular nation will bring to the contest. Innovation and prior planning is heavily encouraged. If the moderators decide that there is no compelling reason for you to co-host with a particular nation (ease and/or being msn/facebook friends are not compelling reasons) then your request will be rejected.

If this is your first hosting experience and you would like an experienced co-host to help and guide you, a moderating nation will be more than happy to provide support and guidance up to and including co-hosting with you.

Voting:

The Basics

• All nations must send their votes to the host via PM.
• You are expected to vote in both the semi-final and final, regardless of whether you are an automatically qualified nation or have failed to qualify for the final.

The Details

• If the 12 point system is in use, then they must rank their top 10 entries and award them the following points: 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point.
• If the 18 point system is in use, then they must rank their top 15 entries and award them the following points: 18, 15, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point.
• The point system that is in use for each stage of the contest will be clearly outlined in the relevant voting threads.
• Ties are broken in the semi-finals by the 'most 12s' method. The tie will be broken at first by the number of 12s received by both nations. If the is is unsuccessful then 10s will be used and so on until the tie is broken.
• Ties are broken in the finals by the 'most votes' method. The tie will be broken by the number of votes that the nation receives (i.e. If Ashton receives points from 19 countries and Espen receives points from 17 points then Ashton would win the tie). If the tie cannot be broken by this method then the 'most 12s' method will be used.

Please Note

• If a country does not submit their votes on time, a 33% deduction will be applied to their score.
• If an automatically qualified nation fails to vote in the semi-finals, a deduction of 15% per semi-final not voted in will be applied to their final score.
• If a country fails to vote in the final, then the deduction will be applied and that country will be banned from entering the next edition of the contest. We may be slightly more flexible where countries have put in genuine effort into attempting to vote or has extenuating circumstances meaning they are unable to vote. Where a nation has extenuating circumstances, they should flag these to a member of the moderating team (or have a message passed onto the moderating team on their behalf) as soon as is possible.
• If the deadline is extended before it has passed and a country fails to vote in accordance with the ORIGINAL deadline then a reduced penalty of 15% will be applied to any votes accepted during this time by the host. Votes accepted after this time will be viewed as late votes and will receive the same penalty as a non-voter.
• If the deadline is extended after it has passed and a country fails to vote in accordance with the ORIGINAL deadline then a reduced penalty of 15% will be applied to any votes accepted during this time by the host, however the nation(s) in question will receive a ban from the next contest. Votes accepted after this time will be viewed as late votes and will receive the same penalty as a non-voter.
• Countries that failed to qualify from semi-finals must also vote in the final, or they will also be banned from entering the next edition subject to the genuine effort/extenuating circumstances rule above.
• Revealing your votes before they are officially announced is not acceptable. You must also not post the points you awarded in the semi finals to qualifying countries. Points to non-qualifying countries may be revealed.
• Vote swapping or any other form of "voting deal" is not acceptable and will be severely punished.

Holiday Procedures:

The Basics

• If you are going to be on holiday for part of a contest, these procedures may make it possible for you to still participate in the contest.
• You MUST contact a moderator first so we can keep track of who is using this and that it's being used for genuine reasons. Abuse of the system will lead to it being withdrawn.
• If we find out about you using this system from the host, we won't be happy and are far less likely to bend over backwards to help you. It's basic manners, you come to us with the issue and we'll do whatever we can to make it work.
• If you don't mention anything and then just use these procedures mid-contest without telling anyone it's what you are intending to do, it will be blocked/rejected and you will either sit the contest out (if at the confirmations stage) or face the appropriate penalties (if at the voting stage).

The Details

• If you will be without internet access during the entirety of confirmation week we will allow you to 'pre-confirm'. By this we mean that you will be able to PM the host your confirmation (or gain access to the Google form where possible) before confirmation opens. In the interests of absolute fairness, your pre-confirmation will not be counted until one hour after confirmation opens. This means that for the first hour your entry is fair game and it prevents you from gaining an advantage by confirming early. We advise you confirm with back-ups (via PM to the host) that can be used in case during that one hour your entry is taken, or in case your entry is vetoed.
• If you will be unable to listen to the songs during semi-finals week because of a lack of internet facilities you will be provided with a provisional song list with YouTube links and no country information. This will not be split into semi-finals. You will be able to listen to and rank all of the tracks before you leave and send the list to the host in order of favourite to least favourite. The host will then take the top 10 songs from your semi-final and award the appropriate points.
• If you will not be able to listen to all the songs but will be voting while you are away, you will be given the same access to the provisional list but will be expected to vote for the 10 songs from your semi only and we expect you to listen to any new songs and/or changes that have occurred. If you chose not to participate in this and do not vote then your entry will be subject to a standard deduction.
• If you will miss the week of the final but will have had a chance to vote in the semi-finals then you will be able to submit a vote to the host that consists of a ranking of all the songs. The 10 or 15 (depending on the points system in use) highest qualifiers will count as your votes. Failure to vote will result in a points penalty and a ban from the next contest.

Please Note

• If you will miss both the semi-finals and the finals it may be advisable to sit the contest out. We will decide how we can help you participate on a case-by-case basis. Publicising the provisional list will result in harsh penalties also decided on a case-by-case basis.

Posted by: Bairlas Jul 19 2017, 05:11 PM

Add to the hosting section:

Please also note the wording of the Holiday Procedure. Future arrangements made without moderator approval will be considered null and void.

Posted by: ɥɔʇᴉʍ Oct 16 2020, 01:17 AM

I have a question. I sent the same artist back to back after being absent from a few contests. Does the rule apply to consecutive contests? Because if not then it’s a loophole oop

Posted by: Grim Bréaper Oct 16 2020, 05:39 PM

Exclusively leaking my own veto research from the time

Posted by: ɥɔʇᴉʍ Oct 20 2020, 07:35 AM

Kewl. As long as there’s a gap, it’s fine~

Posted by: dhwe May 18 2023, 02:50 PM

edit: wrong thread