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This is an appeal to TD for a major overhaul of the voting system. Extremely talented people are leaving, or have already left, because the system is so easily manipulated ... brilliant drawings have been shunted out of their rightful place in Top 5. Luna says she's leaving ... I sincerely hope she doesn't. Grahame left because of the way votes were being used to oust drawings that deserved Top 5. Please stop the rot, TD ... this is a superb and generous site in every other way.

DMarcella

It has become a haven for people with narcissistic personalities because they can hurt others and keep up their ideal self thinking they are better than and "deserve" special treatment/rewards above others. Hence the voting down of others so their drawing(s) get top billing in their own minds because they can't face any hint of feelings that they aren't better than all so they have to keep the ideal going at all cost because no one matters but them.

DMarcella

This voting down is coming from sick people not from someone that has a sense of humor and ran with it too far at one point, don't confuse the two. I know there will people that will not agree with me that is OK, I just need to say what is on my heart. This is what I've wanted to say all along and didn't have the words to say until now. If you don't feel the narcissistic personality with ways to puff up themselves they will go elsewhere to feed their needs it is as simple as that. Fix the voting system and you will get healthier people here and they would feel no need to leave. Even those that are still here want to leave in their hearts, enough pain and hurt has gone on, but we all love what ThinkDraw could be.

DMarcella

That should read if you don't feed the narcissistic personality with ways to puff up themselves ....

kmkagle

Why announce top 5! Everyone knows who it's going to be. I've seen enough with it! It goes on, nothing done about it. If I leave, it certainly bother anyone! One thing is said and another is done!

midnightpoet

A thought...

What if you take away the anonymity of placing a vote? Make it so that people can view "Who Voted For Me", possibly even "Who I Voted For". I think this would highly discourage anyone from going around and 1-voting beautiful work...and if it happens, you'll know who it was. Also, it's always nice to see who's givin' ya love!

I've seen this done on other sites that involved voting, and it worked well...

DMarcella

There is no use for the 1 vote at all to begin with. If something should be taking off the board for any reason it can be flagged and reported to Rachel. I think the votes should go on some version of this: Votes numbering, 5, 10, 15, 20, and allow two votes per person. And we shouldn't know who drew the drawings. We can all have an anonymous page of our own and then comment and reveal on a given day.

DMarcella

This would allow these for our vote options per person: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40.

DMarcella

Someone do the math to see if this idea has a prayer.

DMarcella

People with this personality see things as either black or white with no shades of gray. All things are either all good or all bad so to feel good about themselves they have to be above everyone to feel they are all good. It took me a long time to figure all this out, a Christian counselor lead me to the books to read to aid my healing from having someone like this in my own life. I'm still on the journey and this thread is part of that healing for me to share what I've learned.

LadyO

I noticed the manipulation early on ... I finally had to just ignore the votes ... it's nice to have a winning piece of work, but if my ego depended on having a popular drawing on a website, I'd question my mental health ... it's a shame people feel compelled to leave because of some immature actions of some emotionally-needy people.

I just draw and submit and enjoy your collective talent ... even the primitive attemps make me smile ...

It's the fierce competition that ruins it for me ...

Qsilv

I "just draw and submit" and live with the results, and to me those results include some of the feedback and also the wider communication.

BUT... there's no denying that the current system brings out the worst in some people.

AND... a straightforward add-up with a 5 max (which Marg is requesting) WOULD DO NO HARM to anyone (...er... except of course poor ol' Rachel, getting stuck implementing it... and perhaps it hurts HER inside to be fored into changing the treasure she created)

I personally urge you, users, to vote "1" as marg asked on her picture... and you, Rachel, to kindly make that change.

Thank you,

Qsilv Weatherwax

DMarcella

LadyO, you said it so well, "if my ego depended on having a popular drawing on a website, I'd question my mental health....

I just got my drawing voted down from first page in the showcase, I think it was because I wrote this here. One person I know that is voting people down each showcase we have is crying foul big time like they are not the one doing it and they know I know. I get votes from others so I know it was liked but the people that do this kind of thing think they have crushed us. That would be true if we saw things as black or white like they do. I know someone with that is Borderline, one form of this type of personality but I give her credit, she goes for group counseling, or did. She has excepted she has this and does not lie to herself or others.

kmkagle

I don't think it's so much the voting system, it's someone manipulating it. It's greed.

DMarcella

Marg's idea is basically to keep the old system but to start using 1-5 system that was intended. If that worked I don't think we would of come to where we are now. We all have things we would like to fix in our drawings; when someone doesn't vote for one of my drawing or I don't get many votes I know they is a flaw I know of or may not know about, it makes me feel that people are being very critical of each other. We need a system where we can vote whether the drawing is barely good all the way to a WOW without having the drawing voted out. The current system can't do this that I can see.

kmkagle

Getting in top 5 isn't the end of the world for me. Fairness is the most important thing. There is none. I see pictures that are not even worthy of the honor in there.

DMarcella

Midnight, you idea is a good one. I don't believe it would work with the current system but may be the ticket with a new system in place.

DMarcella

KM, sometimes cleaver ideas and feelings for a certain person play into people's reason for voting. This is normal human interaction of bonding with others and having love for others. That's why it would be best, I believe, that our drawings be submitted as anonymous.

DMarcella

This may sound funny or it may be a, "Oh I can see that", to others. When I had drawings up and people didn't know who I was I actually did much better drawings!!

LadyO

Dmarcella, you're right about cleverness or feeling coming into play with the voting.

I often vote for a drawing because it's clever, or cute, or conveys an emotion or image to which I can relate -- not because it's technically superior.

Just like real-life art. Is a Jackson Pollack or Grandma Moses or a tribal carving or a child's drawing taped to the fridge any less worthy of admiration than a Rembrandt or Picasso?