Disqualified

You might remember that a short time ago I told you all about Writer's Digest selecting my story as one of the finalists for their "Your Story" contest. I then gave directions on how to vote for me, if you were so inclined. Some of you were in fact inclined and things were looking good.

But then today, Writer's Digest announced the winner and it was not me. Here's what it says on the site:

There were more than 1,500 views of the stories, and readers who voted properly helped us pick "My First Job as a Teacher"...

So apparently we didn't "vote properly." Now, there was a warning on the site about previous voting shenanigans and it referenced people who had registered multiple accounts in order to jack up their own vote totals. It said anyone caught doing that would be disqualified. And they should. Obviously, that's cheating. Even the President only gets to vote for himself once.

But it seems to me that soliciting votes is kind of what contests and elections and pretty much anything in which votes are counted is all about. I can't tell you how many Obama volunteers knocked on my door in the run-up to the election. (I think McCain's people were busy drinking coffee at Old Country Buffet.)

But be that as it may, I can accept that Writer's Digest wants its winners selected solely by their forum members. That's fine. But at least say that in your warning. Maybe I'm the crazy one here, but if you hold a contest you should expect the contestants to ask their family and friends to vote for them. And if you won't allow that sort of thing, then you ought to be clear about it.