Problem Composing Contests Going Bi-Monthly

[Bill Salot]

The feedback on preferred intervals between contest starting times was as foillows:

• 1 month, assuming shorter voting time and fewer problems per contest (George Hay)
• More than a month to allow judges more time (J. R. Smith)
• 2 months, to synchronize with the ACFB and give Louis more time to compose (John Acker, Chexhero, Roy Little, Louis Cowie)
• 4 months, for leisurely pace and to allow voting by snail mail (Jim Loy)
• Whatever promotes the game in general and problems in particular (Ed Atkinson)

That indicates a strong majority is in favor of extending the current monthly intervals, and some pretty good reasons were cited.

So I am postponing the start of the next contest (#7) until October 1. Subsequent contests will follow at 2-month intervals. And polls will be open an extra week or 10 days.

In order to increase participation, I will then actively start to solicit voting by checkerists who do not have Internet access.

For the same reason, I am keeping the polls open until September 9 for the current contest (#6). I hope this extension, together with a break in the recent spate of face-to-face competitive checker events, will enable more afficianados on the forum to compare the problems in Contest #6 and tell us which one is best by casting a vote.

It is the best way for players to support this important facet of the game.