New BP.net QUARTERLY CONTEST!!! (BIG Prizes!)

[JLC]

Welcome to the first of our new Quarterly Contests! This contest is NOT photo related. Each quarter we will present a new contest with new prizes.

This first contest will challenge you to write NEW CARESHEETS for publication in our Caresheet collection.

As many may have noticed most of our caresheets are rather old and time-worn...and many rather poorly written or with scanty information. We would love to replace as many of those as possible with ORIGINAL, up to date, ACCURATE information. This is your chance to have your own work become a permanent part of a very important collection of documents that hundreds, or even thousands, of people seek out and rely on.

And what is this special "Big" prize? I'm glad you asked!

2nd and 3rd place will get to choose between two VPI dvd videos: All About Ball Pythons or All About Boas.

1st place will receive Pythons of the World, Vol II: Ball Pythons by Dave and Tracy Barker. This is a huge, beautiful volume filled with history, natural history, care, breeding, and tons of gorgeous pictures of countless morphs. It's a must in the library for anyone seriously interested in ball pythons!

The number of entries actually chosen for publication will depend entirely on the number of quality documents we receive. All published caresheets resulting from this contest will have the author's name spelled out clearly, as well as a graphic stamp labeled "1st Place", "2nd Place", "3rd Place", or "Honorable Mention".

...THE RULES...

1. Members may submit caresheets for ANY herp species except ball pythons.
----A. Species may also include typical non-herp species found in herpers collections such as tarantulas
----B. All species are welcome, but the most commonly kept species are also the most desired. (ie: leopard geckos, crested geckos, corn snakes, boas, etc)

2. Members may submit as many caresheets as they wish, but only ONE PER SPECIES.
----A. Only one prize will be awarded to any given member
----B. Any other published entries will receive the "Honorable Mention" stamp

3. Must be a registered member of the site to participate.
----A. There is no minimum date of membership or minimum participation requirement.
----B. Staff members or members of their family are not eligible to enter.

4. Entries MUST be the ORIGINAL work of the person submitting. The web will be searched carefully and any c&p entries (in whole or in part) will be discarded immediately.

5. Any photos included within the work must belong to the person submitting.

6. Entry must fit completely within a single forum post. (maximum 25,000 characters)

7. By submitting, persons agree to give Ball-Pythons.net full rights to the document and all photos it may contain, to be published on our site, copied, edited, and used as we choose.

8. Authors will be given full credit for all work/photos published or used in any way.

9. Contest will be open for entries for 45 days. Submission deadline is midnight EST on December 17th.

10. Entries will be judged over the next two weeks and winners announced no later than Jan 1st, 2011.

11. Prizes will be ordered and shipped directly to the winners within 14 days of the announcement.

...JUDGING...

1. All entries will be judged by the staff, who may consult with outside experts on the accuracy of information contained within.

2. Accurate husbandry information is first priority

3. Depth and breadth of information is second priority

4. Proper grammar and spelling is important

5. A reader-friendly format is important

6. Overall structure and "readability" is important

Please refer to our Ball Python caresheet as a general guide. You do not have to follow this precise format, but should use this as a guide to consider what type of information we're looking for, and how to make that information reader-friendly.

All submissions can be sent via PM to JLC or e-mailed as a .doc, .docx, or .txt file to judy.clothier (at) ball-pythons.net.

Questions or comments regarding this contest are welcomed to be posted in this thread.

[Adam Chandler]

Awesome prizes, getting to work on a caresheet now!

[loonunit]

Not ball pythons! But... why would you own anything but ball pythons???

[JLC]

Not ball pythons! But... why would you own anything but ball pythons???

LOL...the reason Ball Pythons is excluded is that it is already original to this site. (I wrote it) and reasonably up to date. Any updates needed can be easily tweaked in.

[JLC]

Tossing in a bump for the evening crowd. We want as many people as possible to be aware! So be sure to spread the word...and don't be shy about posting your thoughts or questions in the thread.

[ed4281]

I have 2 questions

1. can you submit more than one care sheet (2 different species) ?

2. can you include quotes as long as sources are sited?

[JLC]

I have 2 questions

1. can you submit more than one care sheet (2 different species) ?

2. can you include quotes as long as sources are sited?

1. Yes...submit as many as you like, so long as they are each for a different species.

2. It would depend on the amount of information being quoted. A specific sentence that is somehow unique to that source might be ok, so long as the source is cited, as you say. But too much copied information could be considered plagiarism, even if it's cited. We don't want to have to ask permission to use someone else's stuff.

[M_MULLINS]

How do the prizes work? Are there only 3 prizes period or are there 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place prizes for each species?

[Beardedragon]

What if we have already Fixed a caresheet 6 months ago, does that count

[JLC]

How do the prizes work? Are there only 3 prizes period or are there 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place prizes for each species?

Only three prizes total. But more than three caresheets may end up being published if we get lots of good ones. The best written ones will win the prizes.

What if we have already Fixed a caresheet 6 months ago, does that count

Hah...no. But the bearded dragon is a species available to write for if you want to revamp the whole thing by writing it yourself.