45 minutes ago, awardinary said:

I'd really love to see something different trialled for a change, but I just feel the current BJSC mods turn their nose up to ideas or suggestions to the main series unfortunately. I've voiced many ideas over the years for improvements and they always fall on deaf ears. 🙃

I’m going to respond to this with grace before another mod gets to it (although I do think it’s a tad rude).

I think it may be time that we open up a thread to let people sound off any ideas. But the reality is - there’s not any other competition on this site that has lasted close to 200 editions, run monthly, kept regular participation. And I think a lot of the reason behind this is the simplicity of it. You pick a song, send a song, compete in a semi and a final and it’s done. The same with Eurovision. When you start adding too much factors, I think things can be overcomplicated.

We did discuss a shorter confirmation window this time round and this may well still come to fruition in future - the dates John provided worked for him and the host is priority really.

However, many people have made polite suggestions in this thread and I wouldn’t like for people to get sick of the contest because it has become stale so I’ll open up a thread for suggestions when I’m at my laptop and if people really think there’s things they’d like to see trialled, then we can take this back to the mod forum and discuss them.

1 hour ago, AllStarBySmashMouth said:

Puppet Sunsun didn't deserve such a small applause but at least it did better than poor little 'SUNFADED'. #EndFictionalCharacterSnobbery

On another note, being in the "wrong semi" might be a bigger problem than voting on the country. Could that be "rectified" for one edition or something? 🧐

In another song contest I take part in, there's the option (it's not required) for people in one semi to vote in the other as part of a rest jury. Then the song that gets the highest score in the rest jury vote that hasn't already qualified through the normal semi vote, qualifies as the rest jury qualifier. (It's just one extra qualifier per semi)

At what point does this all become convoluted though?

It’s simple and to the point. I enjoy reading all the ideas people have but I really don’t think the results will change much, if at all.

I understand going through phases with this, I was fully ready to quit in December. However, I do still think so much is luck, how the semis unfold, and how many songs are fighting for similar tastes — a good dance song (a qualifier on paper) isn’t always going to make it in a semi consisting of 5 other great dance songs, etc.

I stan Elëdan but that’s basically what happened for me this month. I didn’t have the room 💔

If we start adding more penalties and instances to vote then poor Pagasa will never qualify again

I do believe that people vote for the song and not the person behind it. I’ve sent all sorts of styles over the past year and the people who have supported and pointed the tracks have shifted accordingly.

Yes, I think the 'wrong semi effect' is just something everyone has always accepted for the sake of a more simple and straightforward contest.

You go into it knowing that you need luck of the draw on your side sometimes, particularly if you take a risk, and it's up to you if you want to take that risk or send something that sounds more 'safe', even though that can backfire if you play it too safe and it ends up being samey.

There are obviously people that get through every time, and it's a combination of being extremely good at choosing entries with mass appeal (or knowing how to target niches well) and, yes, sometimes luck being on their side with the draw.

People feeling like the playing field isn't as level for them as others is a bigger issue imo, but only anonymity can prove whether it's true or not.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by gooddelta

I also feel that way but I appreciate that might be a bit of a hollow sentiment coming from me.

I don’t see a reason why, I, of all people would benefit from some kind of favouritism. I’ve won one Lounge award in 18 years of being on the site and I doubt I’d be topping any popularity contest, should they still exist. Meanwhile, Jade is extremely loved and has only just had her first qualifier of the year (sorry to drag you through the mud, sis, I promise this is meant to speak on how lovely you are, not making you feel like a flop xx)

Pagasa came 2nd last contest (in reality) - the first time they’ve ever finished top 5 and I think a lot of people were rooting for them for that reason. East Rukahavian top 5 last year for the first time in like… a decade. There’s only 6 countries who have 100% qualification records in the last ten contests.

It has been forever since we dabbled with anonymity though so as I said in my last post, I’m always open to gauging how the majority feel and if that would people some assurance or would give the contest an added excitement for them, maybe we give it a go.

I'd think as well there's not really much reason to vote me over others considering this is the only thing I really tend to use Buzzjack for aside from Club Bizarre and Unknown Pleasures!

Just out of interest, if any countries are/have been favoured, who do people feel they are and in what ways?

Whilst I won’t object to anonymity being given a try, I don’t actually enjoy the anonymous contests as much on the site. It typically kills discussion because you can’t really talk about your own entry and why you sent it etc, and you can’t as easily reply to odds and predictions etc.

I guess I just feel it works well and, you know, if it ain’t broke…

I do get the feeling frustrated if a song DNQs and lots from the other semi seem to like it, and I definitely understand why regular DNQs becomes dispiriting though.

It's the same discussions time and time again, that doesn't mean things need to change in regard to the format of the contest, sometimes you just need to accept the rules etc.

I would be in favour of anonymity but honestly idk how much "bloc voting" that would combat as you're trusting people to keep quiet but you know that probably won't happen off-site, especially among people who might share potentials (even though you're not meant to but I'm sure it still happens).

Being in the wrong semi is a thing but when they're randomly drawn there's not really much that can be done about it. Unless you start introducing genre tags at confirmation and literally have a pop vs alt semi but thats a bit much, a lot of songs can't be put into a box and people's tastes are so much more diverse than that. If I'd have had even one more typical pop voter in my semi this month I probably would have qualified, I knew from the start the odds weren't in my favour based on the amount of known pop fans in the semi but again, what can you really do? Someone has to come 21st 😅

I think it's unfair to say that the mods aren't open to suggestions, I think they definitely are and there is the spin-off forum to trial things as well. People are good suggesting ideas there but not actually taking the action to trial it, it's why there's not a lot of spin-offs these days but that doesn't mean it's due to the mods not being open.

13 minutes ago, RobBot said:

I don’t see a reason why, I, of all people would benefit from some kind of favouritism. I’ve won one Lounge award in 18 years of being on the site and I doubt I’d be topping any popularity contest, should they still exist. Meanwhile, Jade is extremely loved and has only just had her first qualifier of the year.

speaking of these popularity contests… we should bring back the annual one where you’d rate each other as users! Josh was telling me about them and they sounded savage! Bring that brutality back lol

Worth mentioning that BJSC Masquerade is anonymous as the participants are posing as another country, I'm not sure if anyone wants to scour through the points there, but from what I remember of my own, I don't believe my points given or received from certain countries changed much even when not knowing their identity, but hey maybe another one of these will be a good gauge of if things will change x (I would like to see one anyway as it's been a while)

Right, all that’s left to do is to vote for Baby Jane and I’ll host you some kind of anonymous contest next month. Thank you in advance ❤️

There's already a suggestions box thread in the pinned threads for anyone to put anything which I'm about to post in.

The "lets have an annonymous contest" suggestion comes around every 7-8 contests or so and it just feels like such a circular argument at this point. If we were still in the days of popularity contests happening in the lounge on the regular then I could kinda see the argument there but I'm not convinced.

If I were to be blunt about it, I do think there is an unavoidable element of ego in this conversation. You sometimes get so attached to a song you've put in that finding out other people aren't that fussed about it can feel like the only reason it could have failed is due to a dark cabal of sneaky socially awkawrd gays and nerds who are excluding the dear virtuous souls putting in [insert whatever meme I said about seven minute songs with no melodies] and it must be a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top!!!1!11!!!

Luck is definitely part of the fun (or the source of frustration) and I don't want that taken away.

I personally don't care much about my results, stuff happens, I care more if I regret my choice of entries in retrospect...

HAVING SAID THAT, I will be declaring a blood feud on anyone who blanks my song in the final!

I do think the thing that I suspect could be happening (even just slightly) is favouritism/tokenism of the weird / unusual aspects of an entry or the songs meme-ability / in-joke potential, but unsure if that translates to any huge shift in voting on song quality alone vs. it standing out for whatever reason. It only slightly irks because is it on song quality or is it an ironic appreciation or virtue-signalling for different for the sake of different? We have had waves of that in the past so it's not new, it's just a new breed of it, and also we can't police what people take away from songs either

I’m taking away that Aeroche most definitely doesn’t do the washing 😂

1 minute ago, dandy* said:

I’m taking away that Aeroche most definitely doesn’t do the washing 😂

(Love your entry actually don't worry!!)

I'm thinking more about people licking their lips because a 32-minute song has come up before even pressing play on it or hearing someone has sent a blind Taiwanese washerwoman and calling it mother etc.

y’all talking about “let’s have an anonymous contest” but aren’t joining the 8 others that take place outside of BJSC 😂

1 hour ago, RobBot said:

Meanwhile, Jade is extremely loved and has only just had her first qualifier of the year (sorry to drag you through the mud, sis, I promise this is meant to speak on how lovely you are, not making you feel like a flop xx)

Jadakissnia had a qualifier in January!