Wikinews

User:Tempodivalse/Writing contest

< User:Tempodivalse

The contest is over. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Tempodivalse's writing contest

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After some discussion at the water cooler, I've decided to create a page devoted to a writing contest I've started. The rules/prizes are below:

Rules
  1. Contestants have to start at least one Wikinews article for every day the contest has been running. For this contest, "every day" means one article for each day of the week, by GMT timezone (i.e. a submission on 00:01 GMT on Thursday and 23:59 GMT on Friday would still count). There's no limit for how many total articles you can submit in a day.
  2. You must submit at least one article per day; however, you can be granted up to three non-consecutive "free passes" (i.e. days when you don't have to write an article) if you write at least two articles the day before. (You can't do this if you have an article debt.)
  3. In order for the article to count as "submitted", it must be fully written and tagged for review before the deadline. This means you can't create a short stub several minutes before midnight GMT, then go to bed and finish it in the morning.
  4. It is possible to join the contest after the March 31st deadline, but you will have accumulated an article debt for the days you have not participated. For example, if you join four days late, you have an article debt of 4 articles. This debt can be worked off over time, but while you still have it, you have to write at least 2 articles per day instead of just 1.
  5. If an article you create gets deleted, then no penalty will be assessed, but the article will not count toward your overall net worth of articles.
  6. Whoever can hold out the longest number of days wins; if there is more than one person who has not dropped out by the certain date (the "finish line"), then the contest ends and the person with the most articles written wins.
  7. If you started after March 20th, the contest opening date, then your "finish line" will be extended for the number of days you were late joining the contest. In other words, if you start 2 days late (March 22nd), for instance, then your "finish line" will be two days later. This is to allow contestants who start late an equal chance at the endurance prize.
  8. There is a separate prize for reviewing articles. You receive one point for every article you review. When the contest ends, the person with the most points gets a trophy/barnstar. (Please note that this does NOT encourage sloppy reviews, you should review articles as you would otherwise.) Any contestant (with the editor permission, of course) can review an article, even if they have been disqualified from the writing competition. You can request the editor permission on this page.
Prizes (probably a barnstar or trophy) will be awarded to those who meet the following requirements Sorry, no monetary prizes
  1. 1st, 2nd and 3rd contributors who "hold out" the most number of days; in case of a tie, then the person with a higher article net count comes first
  2. Anybody who makes it to the finish line
  3. Whoever writes the most articles in total
  4. Whoever writes the most articles in a day
  5. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd users with most reviews

Anyone can start contributing articles for the contest from now until March 31. Once you add your article to the log below, you must commit to writing one article per day. If you start after the 31st, then you have an article debt (see above). When you've written/reviewed an article, please also make sure to fill out the form in the appropriate "Log" section below. The "finish line" is still to be determined. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 14:30, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Oh yes, and one more thing: you can add your articles to the log immediately after you've submitted them for review -- you don't have to wait for them to be published to add them here. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 23:35, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Discussion

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If this happens, count me in. This sounds like a good idea and encourages writing. R.T. 19:20, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

When do we want to mark the end date ("finish line")? A month from now? Two? ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 20:07, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
I think a month, but we could extend it if a lot of users are still in then. Blood Red Sandman (Talk) (Contribs) 22:53, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

How should we record articles we reviewed, as it is noted there is a seperate prize for that? Blood Red Sandman (Talk) (Contribs) 22:53, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

:Simply put it in small text after the article in the log, bolding your username (check the way I did it with your article as an example). ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 23:02, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

I have a better idea. I've decided to make a separate log for reviewed articles. This way, it will be easier to include articles that were written by non-contestants, which won't appear in the article log. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 13:11, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

What do you mean there is no money involved? That the whole reason I got involved with Wikinews: money. Just kidding. This is a great idea for a contest, especially because I think it'll get more writers more involved and maybe even get a few more readers with more stories. I won't be able to participate as a writer, but I've had a bit more time this week as I'm on Spring Break to review articles. I'll try to review as many I can, though I know I won't get to all. Calebrw (talk) 01:14, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

  • By the way, everyone, you can add your articles to the log immediately after you've submitted them for review -- you don't have to wait for them to be published to add them here. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 01:20, 21 March 2009 (UTC)
  • Another question. I am on a different time zone. GMT -6, so the day has ended here on the contest page, but I am still on the same day here in my neck of the universe, and have the whole evening left to go. How do I enter those articles here on the page? SriMesh | talk 01:34, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
Maybe we can all post our timezone? Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 01:50, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
Technically, if the time the article was submitted for review was after midnight GMT, then they should be added to the next day, even if it is not yet the new day where you live. I arbitrarily chose the Greenwich Meridian as the timezone of preference because I thought it would reduce confusion caused by different people in different timezones and the amount of calculations we would have to make. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 02:11, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

Addendum to the rules (please read this!)

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I recently realised that the contest rules have a rather large flaw in them, which is that contestants who start one or more days later than the others will always be at a disadvantage, because their net number of days will always be less than those of users who started even one day earlier. Thus, even if they make it to the "finish line", their chances of winning a prize will be greatly diminished. Thus, I've decided to make an addendum to the rules (although it shouldn't affect any of our current contestants except for Red Thunder and SVTCobra): if you start after March 20th, the contest opening date, then your "finish line" will be extended for the number of days you were late joining the contest. In other words, if you start 2 days late (March 22nd), for instance, then your "finish line" will be two days later. This is to allow contestants who start late an equal chance at the endurance prize. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 13:59, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

Sign up

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If you'd like to join the competition, please sign your name below (like this:# ~~~~); please note that only registered users should join. Feel free to put {{user:box/tempoContest}} on your userpage if you joined.

  1. ♪Tempo di Valse ♪ 19:28, 19 March 2009 (UTC)
  2. R.T. 23:11, 19 March 2009 (UTC)
  3. Van der Hoorn (talk) 00:07, 20 March 2009 (UTC) Not sure if I will join eventually, but signing up in the first place is never a bad idea.
  4. SriMesh | talk 17:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC) Will give it a go!?! I am still very much learning though.
  5. Hunter Kahn (talk) 21:39, 20 March 2009 (UTC) - Suggestion: can someone make a userbox for people who participated in this too? Something like "I participated in Tempodivalse's 2009 Wikinews writing contest" or something fun like that?
  6. Blood Red Sandman (Talk) (Contribs) 22:54, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
  7. SVTCobra 01:18, 21 March 2009 (UTC)
  8. Calebrw (I assume that he intended to sign up, from his comment above?)
  9. RockerballAustralia (talk) 22:39, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Current Standings

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N.B.: Contestants indicated in red have been disqualified from the race.

  • Tempodivalse - 37 articles - 17 days
  • SriMesh - 27 articles - 16 days
  • Hunter Kahn - 28 articles - 14 days
  • Blood Red Sandman - 12 articles - 12 days
  • Van der Hoorn - 5 articles - 5 days
  • Red Thunder - 3 articles - 2 days
  • RockerballAustralia 1 article - 1 day
  • SVTCobra 1 article - 1 day

Article log

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This section is for the article log. For every article you write, insert something like this: 

=== Date ===
'''User''' - [[Link to article(s) written by this user on this day]]

Also, please don't forget to update your count in the "Current standings" section above.

For reviewers, please see the log below.

April 6

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SriMesh is out of the race (you can only take up to three free passes, this was the fourth)

Tempodivalse

  1. Six-year-old Egyptian boy contracts bird flu
  2. Scientist says he predicted Italy earthquake, was ignored

April 5

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Tempodivalse

  1. Massive ice shelf expected to break away from Antarctica
  2. North Korea launches rocket

SriMesh

  1. Manitoba volunteers go to war against Red River flooding
  2. Italian police find 24 children living in Rome's sewers

April 4

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SriMesh

  1. Welsh University announces intelligent robot conducting biology experiments

Tempodivalse

  1. US stocks log gains for fourth week in a row
  2. Boeing 737 makes emergency landing at Vnukovo airport in Moscow

April 3

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SriMesh

  1. G20 Summit plans to inject US$5tn into economy before 2011

Tempodivalse

  1. US unemployment rate reaches 8.5%

April 2

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Tempodivalse

  1. Pirates seize tourist yacht near Seychelles, troops deployed‎
  2. Former governor of Illinois indicted on corruption chargers

Hunter Kahn

  1. Police: Pennsylvania mother drugged daughter, planned her impregnation - awaiting review (just made it, *whew*, lol)

SriMesh takes a free pass

April 1

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Hunter Kahn

  1. State trooper, firefighter save truck driver after New Jersey crash - awaiting review
  • (Note: I might not be able to write one April 2. If I'm not, I'll use one of my free passes that day.)

Tempodivalse

  1. Sixteen people feared dead after helicopter crash in North Sea
  2. ADP says US economy lost 742,000 jobs in March
  3. General Motors automobile sales plunge by 45%
  4. Guinea-Bissau to hold elections this June
  5. Gold mine in Tanzania collapses, at least 20 dead

SriMesh

  1. Chechen and Russian mothers in shock after baby mix up
  2. April Fool's pranks 2009

Blood Red Sandman gives up

I depart for a holiday in a few days anyway, and I did alrigth. Blood Red Sandman (Talk) (Contribs) 23:48, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

March 31

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Hunter Kahn

  1. New romantic comedy film to star Drew Barrymore, Justin Long - reviewed SriMesh
  2. 77 names added to slain journalist memorial in Washington, D.C. - reviewed by DragonFire1024

SriMesh

  1. FDA warning on pistachios after salmonella contamination
  2. Mushroom corals change from male to female and back again

Blood Red Sandman

  1. Forces capture Somali pirates who mistakenly attacked naval ship

Tempodivalse

  1. US home prices drop at record levels
  2. Shipwreck off coast of Libya; hundreds of African migrants feared dead

March 30

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  • Tempodivalse
  1. Eight people dead after shooting in North Carolina nursing home
  2. 4.3 magnitude earthquake strikes the San Francisco region
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Fugitive arrested in connection with January murder in Pennsylvania - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • SriMesh
  1. Volunteers and food needed for flooded Manitoba, Canada
  2. GM and Chrysler receive Canadian loans amid US restructuring ultimata
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. US sergeant pleads guilty to four murders in Iraq

March 29

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  • Hunter Kahn:
  1. Spanish court considering torture criminal case against former U.S. officials - reviewed by Killing Vector
  2. New Jersey officials: Stimulus bill hurting Atlantic City casinos - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Tempodivalse
  1. Volcano near Anchorage, Alaska erupts, airport closed
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Stadium disaster claims lives at football World Cup match in Ivory Coast
  • SriMesh takes a free pass

March 28

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 Van der Hoorn is out after 5 days and 5 articles
Weekends are always bad for time I'm able to spend on Wikinews. :) Good luck to the remaining folks. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 00:00, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Hunter Kahn:

  1. Dozens of cats removed from feces-ridden New Jersey house - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Tempodivalse
  1. Wind-powered land vehicle breaks speed record
  2. Space Shuttle Discovery lands in Florida
  • SriMesh
  1. Robber holds up police chief at officer's convention
  2. Highly contagious Hand, foot and mouth disease killing children in China
  3. Canadian neighbourhood protected from bully for 3 years
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Radioactive part mistakenly sold, melted with scrap metal in China

March 27

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  • Tempodivalse
  1. Parts of US airplane fall from sky in Brazil‎
  2. Dam in Indonesia bursts, dozens killed
  • SriMesh
  1. Manitoba residents receive evacuation flood alerts
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Study of soft cheese wins oddest book title award - reviewed by Killing Vector
  2. New Jersey teen faces child porn charges for posting nude photos of herself online - reviewed by Blood Red Sandman
  3. Courts uphold firing of Pennsylvania cop who lost sense of smell - reviewed by Killing Vector
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. 14 killed in Russian bus-truck collision

March 26

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  • Tempodivalse
  1. US Air Force jet crashes in California
  2. Irish economy sees biggest contraction in decades
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. One day after rescue, six stranded whales die on Australian beach - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  2. Judge refuses to dismiss charge against Barack Obama assassination plotter - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Van der Hoorn
  1. NATO and Iran talk for first time in 30 years - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Somali pirates seize two European tankers, Seychelles yacht
  • SriMesh
  1. Preliminary helicopter crash investigation results released
  2. Businesses and individuals worldwide to turn lights off as part of Earth Hour 2009

March 25

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 RockerballAustralia is out after 1 day and 1 article
 Red Thunder is out after 2 days and 3 articles

  • SriMesh
  1. Canadian seal hunt begins amid protests & import bans
  2. San Diego, pilot city for all-electric carArticle deleted, will not count in overall net worth
  3. Priests jailed for $8.6 million theft
  • Tempodivalse
  1. Four-storey building collapses in Lagos, Nigeria; two dead
  2. Czech president calls Obama's rescue plan a 'road to hell'
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Comedian Stephen Colbert wins NASA space station name contest -reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Van der Hoorn
  1. European Parliament agrees on unified airspace - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Turks and Caicos Islands Premier resigns

March 24

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  • Tempodivalse
  1. US stock markets soar after bailout plan
  2. WHO says Zimbabwean cholera epidemic 'past its peak'
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. New Jersey files lawsuit against federal sports betting ban - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  2. David Letterman marries girlfriend of 23 years - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  • Van der Hoorn
  1. Youth charged with murdering Northern-Irish police officer - reviewed by Gopher65
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Pilots in 16-death crash jailed for praying instead of flying
  • SriMesh
  1. Canadian CNSC conducts study for depleted uranium storage Article deleted, will not count in the overall article count
  2. Canada commits C$127.4 million to fighting tuberculosis

March 23

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 SVTCobra is out after 1 day and 1 article

  • RockerballAustralia
  1. Australian rules football: Clubs threaten to move games interstate
  • Tempodivalse
  1. Aeroplane crashes in Montana, 17 killed - reviewed by Red Thunder
  2. World's cheapest car launched in India
  • Van der Hoorn
  1. Air France-KLM interested in acquiring Czech Airlines - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  • SriMesh
  1. Suncor takes over Petro-Canada
  2. Kangaroos escape in France
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Son of poet Sylvia Plath commits suicide‎ - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  2. "Twilight" DVD sells 3 million copies in first day - reviewed by Calebrw
  • Red Thunder
  1. Longtime New York radio reporter found stabbed to death
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. Japanese ship escapes after pirates open fire in Somalia

March 22

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  • Van der Hoorn
I was away for the weekend, so a late start. :)
  1. Clashes in France after anti-condom speech by Pope - reviewed by Calebrw
  • SriMesh
  1. Western Canadian justice officials to press for criminal code changes
  2. Canadian PM seeks to abandon gun registry
  3. NATO soldiers honour fallen Canadians
  • Red Thunder (late start)
  1. Four Oakland police officers shot, all in critical condition
  2. Early morning fire kills 4 New York group home residents
  • Tempodivalse
  1. Madagascar's former opposition leader sworn in as president
  2. AIG executive bonuses higher than previously thought
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Bouncer stabbed to death in Atlantic City brawl - reviewed by Red Thunder
  2. "Lost" actress Elizabeth Mitchell cast in ABC's "V" pilot - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  3. New Jersey woman identified after fifteen years in psychiatric home - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  • Blood Red Sandman takes a free pass

March 21

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  • Tempodivalse
  1. Two US Navy vessels collide in the Strait of Hormuz; 15 lightly injured reviewed by a non-contestant
  2. US says Zimbabwe government has “a long way to go” before sanctions are lifted
  3. Emirates jet tail strikes runway during takeoff at Melbourne airport - reviewed by Calebrw
  • SVTCobra
  1. Obama apologizes for Special Olympics comment on The Tonight Show reviewed by a non-contestant
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. New Jersey backpedals on proposed bikini waxing ban - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  2. "The Dark Knight" film director's brother arrested for murder, kidnapping - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  3. Rock music church in Pennsylvania allowed concerts under court settlement - reviewed by DragonFire1024
  4. Thousands evacuated after chemical truck overturns in Pennsylvania - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  • Blood Red Sandman
  1. UK's BAA forced to sell three airports - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  2. New Zealand pilots receive bravery awards for foiling airliner hijack
  • SriMesh takes a free pass

March 20

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  • Tempodivalse - I guess I'll start us out, then:
  1. Pink elephant spotted in Botswana reviewed by a non-contestant
  • SriMesh
  1. An update?: Emergency directive for Sikorsky S-92A helicopters
  2. Canadian PM announces funding for US-Canada bridge crossing - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  • Blood Red Sandman - Back to try and defend my title!
  1. Bomb blast damages buildings in Athens - reviewed by Tempodivalse
  • Hunter Kahn
  1. Pennsylvania lost 41,000 jobs in February, a 13-year high
  2. New Jersey real estate investor charged with $2 million theft - reviewed by Tempodivalse

Review log

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This is the log for articles that have been reviewed, please add your name to the list alphabetically. This is how you should format it: 

;Name of user
# Article One reviewed
# Article Two reviewed
# etc.
Tempodivalse
  1. Canadian PM announces funding for US-Canada bridge crossing
  2. Bomb blast damages buildings in Athens
  3. New Jersey real estate investor charged with $2 million theft
  4. Google removes street view images
  5. UK's BAA forced to sell three airports
  6. "The Dark Knight" film director's brother arrested for murder, kidnapping
  7. Thousands evacuated after chemical truck overturns in Pennsylvania
  8. Four Oakland police officers shot, all in critical condition
  9. Early morning fire kills four New York group home residents
  10. New Jersey woman identified after fifteen years in psychiatric home
  11. Four police officers shot in Oakland, California die
  12. Air France-KLM interested in acquiring Czech Airlines
  13. 14 killed in Russian bus-truck collision
Blood Red Sandman
  1. Portions of Wikileaks, Wikipedia blocked in Australia
  2. Emergency directive for Sikorsky S-92A helicopters
  3. Girls in Florida sell pink lemonade, donate money to breast cancer research
  4. Parts of US airplane fall from sky in Brazil
  5. Preliminary investigation results released on Canadian helicopter crash
  6. New Jersey teen faces child porn charges for posting nude photos of herself online
Red Thunder
  1. Aeroplane crashes in Montana, 17 killed
  2. Bouncer stabbed to death in Atlantic City brawl
SriMesh
  1. New romantic comedy film to star Drew Barrymore, Justin Long
  2. UN agency condemns new Afghan "Shia family law"
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