hi frank,
thanks for all your feedback. below are my responses:
1. the more points that you have, the more chances you have of winning. the server does a separate drawing for each prize. so on sunday, our server did 159 separate drawings because there were 159 prizes. here's how the algorithm for each drawing works.
a. select list of eligible players. all players are eligible if they meet the following criteria: a) player earned at least 1 point in the drawing period, b) player is not a beat the gmat admin (beatthegmat, beakim, DanaJ, DavidP), c) player didn't already win a prize that has the same type. players can win multiple prizes of different types (e.g., GMAT course and books). but they can't win multiple prizes of the same type.
b. assign tickets to each player. players get 1 ticket for each point that they earned in the drawing period.
c. randomly select 1 ticket using php's array_rand() function to pick a winner.
as a result of this algorithm, a player with 100 points has 100 times the chance of winning a prize vs. a player with only 1 point. but it's still possible for a player with 1 points to win in the unlikely yet possible case that the server picks his ticket.
2. i'm not sure what you mean when you say: "but i know the person who have removed all the feeds after it has been published and have still won grand prize." first, we haven't given out the grand prize yet - that happens in late october. second, if someone deletes all their shares/likes from their fb wall, then they won't be able to win the grand prize. we have made it very explicit in the rules that we are going to verify that shares/likes exist on the winner's wall before giving them the grand prize. we're going to verify it by first becoming a facebook friend with the winner and then checking their wall. if there are a lot of missing shares and likes, then we'll disqualify that player and pick another winner. in addition to making this explicit in the rules, i've also made it very explicit in the award notification.
3. you're right. forum posting and the contest are totally separate for now. we may add some element of forum contribution in the next couple weeks. but if we do so, it'll be very limited. we did this because having a high-stakes contest based on forum contribution creates lot of problems. specifically, many players start gaming the system by creating multiple fake accounts and by posting low quality messages on the forum just so that they can earn points. so then the forum becomes much less useful.
4. i hope that you're not suggesting that we're racist in how we pick winners. but just to clear up any potential misunderstanding, you should know that there's no advantage for having an indian name or not having an indian name. our server simply picks winners based on the algorithm that i described above. the server has no idea or preference about a winner's nationality.
5. a single player can win multiple prizes in a single week so long as the prizes are of different types. in fact, at least one player won 4 prizes in the first week.
david
frank1 wrote:Thanks...
Congratulation to all winners....It is great oppurtunities to many ....really great concept and must thank for it..
But having said that,
I may be totally wrong and i know it is too early to comment on ....from the first round these are are some of my obeservation ...just personal .....i may not be right.Its just my personal opinion.
1)Higher the point greater chance of winning is myth....or it is not as it simple as it sounds.......or even 10 points person does have chance of winning grand prizes....
2)We can remove feeds after it has been published in the facebook from facebook wall.My profile is filled with likes and feeds...lol ...no problems in that...but i know the person who have removed all the feeds after it has been published and have still won grand prize
3)Forum and contest are totally separate.It doesnt matter the wheather the account was just created for this contest.No mimimum forum post is required.
4)Indian names are sometimes good for the contest....Just what i have felt from some contests...lol...may not be true...(i also adhere by the fact that there may be large number of indian participants...but it is not always the case i guess...)
5)Single user can win 2 separate prizes from same draw with in a week....(i dont know if there are totally separate persons as there is no link ...but i could see 2-3 names winning multiple prizes...as on 6th oct 2010 12pm...)
any way congratulation to all winners that their effort has resulted into good colors....
personally i feel bit disappointed as i lost i know winning and losing is part of game....it is good that at least i am learning and that is what i was here for......lol...my name is frank and i have to be frank....
thanks
congratulation once again...
still be still learning through gaming....
