Member of the Month: How can we improve it?

So, as you all know, we usually have a monthly "Member of the Month" contest, where you guys get to nominate your fellow users and vote on them to determine who was the member of the month for that month. The winner would receive a little tag for their signature, and the pride of knowing that they were a significant part of the community that month.

Now, that's all fine and dandy, but when you have something good, you occasionally have to ask:
"How can I improve this?".
That's what this topic is here for. I'm going to work with some of the staff, with input from the members themselves, on making a new and improved Member of the Month contest every month. So, if you guys would be so kind as to answer a few questions for me, that would be lovely!

Should Moderators be allowed to be nominated/voted on to win Member of the Month? If not, should they get their own Moderator of the Month contest?

The process of nominating five members, then voting on whatever five get the most nominations, how can that be improved to add more consistency?

How can we make the contest more of a legitimate scale of a members impact on the community, as opposed to a glorified popularity contest?

Would it be preferable if the contest began on the final week of the month, or the first week of the next month?

What type of reward do you think would be reasonable for the winner? (A tag, a spot in a Hall of Fame so to speak, extra name change, usertitle change, etc.)


Feel free to leave any other comments regarding the matter as well, every bit of feedback helps!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jinx

Should Moderators be allowed to be nominated/voted on to win Member of the Month? If not, should they get their own Moderator of the Month contest?

The process of nominating five members, then voting on whatever five get the most nominations, how can that be improved to add more consistency?

How can we make the contest more of a legitimate scale of a members impact on the community, as opposed to a glorified popularity contest?

Would it be preferable if the contest began on the final week of the month, or the first week of the next month?

What type of reward do you think would be reasonable for the winner? (A tag, a spot in a Hall of Fame so to speak, extra name change, usertitle change, etc.)

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1) No to the first part, yes to the second.
2)Consistency? I don't know. But a glaring flaw is people voting for the same 5 people every month, maybe make it so if a person wants to vote, they have to submit different people each time? idk D:
3) Have people explain their reasoning for picking each person, also see above answer.
4) First week
5) User Title change for a month.

meme

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wumbo

1) No to the first part, yes to the second.
2)Consistency? I don't know. But a glaring flaw is people voting for the same 5 people every month, maybe make it so if a person wants to vote, they have to submit different people each time? idk D:
3) Have people explain their reasoning for picking each person, also see above answer.
4) First week
5) User Title change for a month.

meme

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wow same

User title change ye. I could get behind that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wumbo

1) No to the first part, yes to the second.
2)Consistency? I don't know. But a glaring flaw is people voting for the same 5 people every month, maybe make it so if a person wants to vote, they have to submit different people each time? idk D:
3) Have people explain their reasoning for picking each person, also see above answer.
4) First week
5) User Title change for a month.

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The only difference I have with Wumbo's ideas is that there should be examples given on why a person explains their reason for picking a person.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Super Brine Bros.

The only difference I have with Wumbo's ideas is that there should be examples given on why a person explains their reason for picking a person.

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i.e "I picked Wumbo for MoTM because he's been very active, and I especially love his artwork as seen here: http://gyazo.com/f25cb42d3d4f4b8018ba87fc7760a5cb , here: http://gyazo.com/83f24a0630a42fb430909ecbec9e7cb1 , and here: http://gyazo.com/fce4b90c83dff33ad87f828879aba0bd "

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wumbo

i.e "I picked Wumbo for MoTM because he's been very active, and I especially love his artwork as seen here: http://gyazo.com/f25cb42d3d4f4b8018ba87fc7760a5cb , here: http://gyazo.com/83f24a0630a42fb430909ecbec9e7cb1 , and here: http://gyazo.com/fce4b90c83dff33ad87f828879aba0bd "

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yea

also...you forgot meme

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wumbo

i.e "I picked Wumbo for MoTM because he's been very active, and I especially love his artwork as seen here: http://gyazo.com/f25cb42d3d4f4b8018ba87fc7760a5cb , here: http://gyazo.com/83f24a0630a42fb430909ecbec9e7cb1 , and here: http://gyazo.com/fce4b90c83dff33ad87f828879aba0bd "

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Exactly. And if we state it clear enough in the "rules" of the contest, then we can have it where non-specific/nonsensical explanations aren't counted (i.e: I vote for Clemi because he's French, or I vote for Top because he's cool)

I agree with Wumbo.

So, I made a set of banners last night, for each month. I was gonna leave them secret until it got to the point of September's being posted, but I want some feedback on them.. soooo here's Septembers banner, thoughts?

http://i.imgur.com/dB1CmHF.png