1 vote per IP address.
This by far is the most common question we've been getting today...
Why were a bunch of my votes removed this morning?
Because we were seeing that a lot of students were getting a lot of votes from the same IP address (location) and many raised red flags. Many of these votes were legitimate votes (school computer labs, parents' companies, etc). However....many of these were votes done by cheaters. So in an attempt to make it fair across the board, what we did this morning was take away all votes from a single IP address (location) for a contestant except for one.
THIS IS GONNA BECOME A UNIVERSAL RULE!!!!! Each contestant will only be able to receive one vote from a single IP address (per round). Simple as that. Some high schools share the same IP address which will make it difficult for bringing friends into the computer lab to vote. But this new way of doing it is the most secure and fair way it can possibly be (yup, cheaters always ruin it for the rest) though it may be extremely inconvenient for many of you.
So tomorrow morning....we will be going back to all the votes from today and be taking away every vote that came in from the same IP address (location) for an individual contestant except for one vote (just like we did this morning for some of you). We will be doing it across the board. So if some of your numbers change tomorrow....don't be surprised. We are creating an equal playing field. It's the only fair way of doing it. I apologize to those who legitimately earned those votes and worked hard to get classmates in the high school computer labs, etc. But there were a bunch of dishonest people that have ruined it for the rest of you. The good thing is that you still have plenty of time to get those "lost" votes back.
Word of advice: Tell everyone and anyone to vote from their home computers. Every home has its own IP address. High schools and libraries and businesses often times have a single IP address which means that few people from there will actually be able to vote. It's that simple! It's the safest way to ensure your votes will be counted and seen as legitimate in the eyes of the Zinch Scholarship Committee.
Again...we apologize for any inconveniences. Just get your buddies to vote for you from their homes. You'll see the change in voting scores tomorrow morning.
- Mick
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Posted on March 3, 2008 under March Madness |
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Comments (4)
We're sorry we had to do this, we thought everyone at this point would be honest. If any of you have any questions email us at marchmadness@zinch.com. We want to be open about everything and anything you have questions about. This is supposed to be fun and equal, so i hope you can all feel us in our efforts to keep it fair. Peace.
Posted on March 3, 2008 5:36 PM
Alright Zinch Team, I have a bone to pick with you about this whole "March Madness" operation. Honestly, I think it is neither fair nor in your best interest to award a $20,000 scholarship to a student based on a popularity contest (especially based on a contest that obviously has its flaws). Wouldn't you rather give money to a high achieving student who perhaps exhibits financial need, than to someone who has strong P.R. abilities?
Had you chosen a scholarship winner yourselves, this IP address mess would have never been a problem.
PLEASE consider this next time when you are awarding scholarships.
Posted on March 3, 2008 6:57 PM
Dear Anonymous,
Ever single one of the 200+ semifinalists is qualified and deserving of the $20k scholarship. They were chosen from over 100k students. They are all deserving. That's the point. They all deserve to be here and we will have no problem giving $20k to any of them.
As for the IP address issue.....quite honestly we wouldn't have guessed that so many students would be dishonest. There's only so much we can prevent when allowing for "anonymous" voters.
Posted on March 3, 2008 7:25 PM
It is not a popularity contest anymore or even getting zinch viewed by more eyes, it is the technically savvy competing. It is funny to watch how most kids competing against each other have very close vote Tally's. OPEN YOUR EYES ZINCH!
These kids figured out that they just need to redial when they are using broadband cards or unplug there router for a new IP or go through a "Hide MY IP" program. I am sure I can list a few more ideas. You are ignorant to the ways of the web.
Too funny and I feel bad that you are giving that much money to people who are smarter then you. Or maybe I dont since that is the way the world works now.
Posted on March 18, 2008 7:10 AM