Everyone's A Winner Challenge/Showcase Thingy FAQ

THIS FAQ WAS UPDATED 9/2/07

THIS IS THE FAQ FOR THE EVERYONE'S A WINNER CHALLENGE/SHOWCASE THINGY

This is not the challenge itself

DO NOT POST SONGS HERE

Quote

The Everyone's A Winner Challenge/Showcase Thingy is open to all.

New challenge themes are announced by 3PM EDT Friday and 6pm EDT Sunday and Tuesday. The new thread for each challenge can be found in the challenges folder at those times.

The purpose of this challenge is to give people a forum to have their songs heard. There is no judging involved and no "winners" are announced. Everyone who participates is a winner. The guidelines are simple.

Quote

EVERYONE'S A WINNER GUIDELINES.

PLEASE READ THESE GUIDELINES AND THE THEME DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY BEFORE POSTING

1. Post ONE OR TWO songs that fit the theme (one is preferred but two are ok). If you have to, you may post a third and final one on the second day of the challenge. You may post a new song or one that was already recorded. You do not have to post a song to participate.

**2. For EACH song you post, listen to at least THREE other people’s songs during EACH day of the challenge and leave feedback. That means, if you post 2 songs you should listen to 6 others each day (12 total). Listen to as many as you wish but make sure you listen to at least three each day per song you post and leave feedback.

Listening is the most important part of this challenge. Supporting and experiencing others is what it’s about.

3. We prefer that you listen to the whole song rather than listening to 10 seconds so there's no need to try to listen to everyone. Try not to listen to the same people every day. Give new people a chance as well. The quality here is so good, you may find yourself doing more listening than you expected.

4. Although you may choose to post a tiny graphic with your comments, we ask that you do not post large glittery graphics as feedback.

5. Come back to the current challenge thread and write about your experiences. Mention songs you heard or anything else that strikes you, suggestions, etc., or not. Completely up to you. And please go back each day and listen to others. That's the most important part of this.

6. You don't need to post a song to listen but you need to listen if you post a song. It's best to post earlier in the challenge. But you can post up until the end. Just be aware that the closing hours of the challenge are better suited to listening than trying to squeeze in a last minute post.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:16 PM Quote

HOW DO YOU POST A SONG IN THE EVERYONE'S A WINNER CHALLENGE/SHOWCASE THINGY?

1. Go to the page of the recording.

2. Highlight the URL address of the song in the top of your browser. For example, on this page the URL address reads http://www.singsnap.com/snap/forum/topic/b02c818

3. Copy the URL address.

4. Go to the latest page of the current challenge thread.

5. FIRST type your comments (ie. This is my song I am posting).

6. Hit Return twice.

7. Type the name of the song you are posting.

8. Hit Return

9. Paste the URL address.

10. Hit Return again.

If you used the wording from #5 above and the address from this page, your entry would look like this. You can, of course, use any wording you wish and you would not use the address from this page.

This is my song I am posting

Song name
http://www.singsnap.com/snap/forum/topic/b02c818

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:18 PM Quote

HOW DO I POST A HOT LINK IN THE THREAD(MAKE MY SONG TITLE CLICKABLE)?

Look at the bottom of this page, underneath the submit box. There are the codes that work in the thread. They are different than the regular html you use on your profile page, on your song page and in your PMs. Click on the blue highlighted "BBCode" to learn more.

If you wish to make your song title into a hot link in the thread, use the "url" tag (the letters url inside a pair of brackets as listed below). I can't print it here because this page will interpret it as a command. So I will spell it out for you.

First type the LEFT BRACKET (looks like a staple with the open side facing right) and the letters "url" followed by an equal sign (=). Next, type the URL (for example, the URL of this page is http://www.singsnap.com/snap/forum/topic/b02c818). Then type the RIGHT BRACKET (looks like a staple with the open side facing left). Next type the name of the song or whatever you want your link to say (for this page it might be "Everyone's A Winner FAQ"). Then type the END TAG which is a forward slash (/) followed by the letters "url" inside a pair of brackets. DO NOT use any quotes or leave any spaces.

It should look like this but without the quotes (") -
"["=http://www.singsnap.com/snap/forum/topic/b02c818"]"Everyone's A Winner FAQ"[/url]"

If you do that, using my examples above, here's what you would get.

Everyone's A Winner FAQ

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:20 PM Quote

HOW DO I ADJUST COLORS AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF MY PRINT?

In the thread, you use the BBCodes (click on link below the Submit box for more information).

On your profile page, on your song page or in PMs (but NOT on the thread page) you use the following

<color="Red">Text goes here</color> Makes text Red. You can choose any color
<i>Text goes here</i> Text will be italicized
<b>Text goes here</b> Text will be bolded

For the thread, you use the same codes BUT instead of "<" and ">" you use "[" and "]" in the code

IN ADDITION, do not use the quotes around the color name (seen above in "Red")

Quote

HOW CAN I PUT A HOT LINK TO THE CHALLENGE ON MY SONG'S PAGE?

To add a hot link (clickable) from your song's page to the challenge thread, do the following.

Put the URL link from the top of page one of the challenge into the following code and paste the whole thing in the description box on your song's page.

<a href="LINK GOES HERE">TITLE OF CHALLENGE GOES HERE</a>

It might look like this

This song is for the

<a href="http://www.singsnap.com/snap/forum/topic/ae2fb88"> Everyone's A Winner Challenge/Showcase Thingy XIX</a>

Come join us! No judging. Just good singers sharing songs with other good singers.

If you type it like that, "Everyone's A Winner Challenge/Showcase Thingy XIX" will appear in blue and by clicking on it, a person will come right to the challenge. The code will not be seen. Be sure to enter the URL for the current challenge.

It will look like this

This song is for the

Everyone's A Winner Challenge/Showcase Thingy XIX

Come join us! No judging. Just good singers sharing songs with other good singers.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:22 PM Quote

HOW DO I QUOTE SOMEONE?

If you want to reprint what someone said, all you have to do is go to their comment and click on "Quote" in the lower right corner.

The comment will be reprinted in your comment box and all you have to do is add your comment. The other person's quote will be preceded by "quote=the person's name" inside a pair of brackets. An end quote (a pair of brackets with "/quote") will be at the end of their quote. Hit return twice then type your comments after the end quote. Then press submit and you're done.

Let me show you below what will happen if I hit the quote button next to this section. Then, after the end quote I will hit return twice, type "Here is an example" and click submit.

Quote

BronxBruce wrote:HOW DO I QUOTE SOMEONE?

If you want to reprint what someone said, all you have to do is go to their comment and click on "Quote" in the lower right corner.

The comment will be reprinted in your comment box and all you have to do is add your comment. The other person's quote will be preceded by "quote=the person's name" inside a pair of brackets. An end quote (a pair of brackets with "/quote") will be at the end of their quote. Hit return twice then type your comments after the end quote. Then press submit and you're done.

Let me show you below what will happen if I hit the quote button next to this section. Then, after the end quote I will hit return twice, type "Here is an example" and click submit.

Here is an example

Quote

HOW DO I QUOTE MORE THAN ONE PERSON?

Sometimes, the person you want to quote has already quoted someone else. In that case, it gets a bit complicated.

If you hit the QUOTE button next to someone's comment that contains more than one quote, you must do a little fine tuning. For example, if I hit the QUOTE button next to the section directly above, in which I have already quoted myself, the resulting entry in the submit box will have 2 sets of brackets containing "quote=BronxBruce" at the beginning.

You need to cut one of those and paste it before the second quote. In the section above, the first quote is the wording inside the box (begins with "HOW DO I QUOTE SOMEONE?"). The second quote is "Here is an example."

After you hit the QUOTE button, go to the copy inside your submit box. At the very beginning, cut one of the sets of brackets with "quote=BronxBruce" and paste it before "Here is an example." If you do that, go to the end (after the final end quote) then hit return twice and type your comments (in this case I'll type "Here is an example of a double quote") then the result will be what follows below.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:23 PM Quote

BronxBruce wrote:HOW DO I QUOTE SOMEONE?

If you want to reprint what someone said, all you have to do is go to their comment and click on "Quote" in the lower right corner.

The comment will be reprinted in your comment box and all you have to do is add your comment. The other person's quote will be preceded by "quote=the person's name" inside a pair of brackets. An end quote (a pair of brackets with "/quote") will be at the end of their quote. Hit return twice then type your comments after the end quote. Then press submit and you're done.

Let me show you below what will happen if I hit the quote button next to this section. Then, after the end quote I will hit return twice, type "Here is an example" and click submit.

BronxBruce wrote:Here is an example

Here is an example of a double quote

Quote

CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING MORE ON QUOTING? CAN WE PARTIALLY QUOTE SOMEONE?

Whatever is between the opening quote tag ("quote=someone's name" inside brackets) and the end quote ("/quote" inside brackets) will appear inside a box in your final result. So, yes, after you hit the QUOTE button, you can just move those around and put them before and after whatever you want to show inside your comment box.

Of course, you can also delete any of the comment you don't want to quote.

Quote

WHAT SHOULD WE NOT QUOTE?

Please do not repost people's song links. It makes the thread more difficult to read. If you quote someone and the quote contains their song link, please delete the song link before hitting Submit.

Quote

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE - WHY DO WE DO IT THE WAY WE DO IT?

Our main purpose is to give people a forum from which their songs can be heard. Many challenges ask that you visit at least 3 others and say hello. We ask that you listen. We prefer that you listen to the whole song. This is a bit more demanding but that's why we're here. To hear others and to be heard by others.

It's also why we discourage folks from leaving generic glitter. Certainly no one objects to a little graphic accompanying your personal comments. We're not here to discourage you from having fun. But some of the glitter stamped on songs can be very large, impersonal, distracting and can actually carry viruses. We ask for restraint and for a more personal touch.

WHY NO JUDGING?
Personally, I do not wish to judge others nor do I wish to be judged by them. I don't believe art should be a competition. That’s not to knock the other challenges on here. Some people like to be in a position to rate others and some like to win a contest every now and then. I say terrific for them. For me? NO JUDGING. That’s my mantra.

I want to hear others entertain me and I want to entertain them. So all that matters to me is to listen and to be listened to. Therefore, there are no winners selected in this challenge.

If you need to win an award, you'll have to look elsewhere. If you do enter a contest, please do it for fun only. If you're looking for artistic gain, you may ask yourself, is the person judging me qualified to make that decision? Are they more talented than me? Or even, as talented as me? Do they have a background in discovering talent? Can they, in any way, guide me to become a better performer? If not, don't let the results impact you in a negative way.

Here we celebrate good singers and find no need to put one ahead of another. We cherish talent and friendship and do not seek to number it. Our award here is the music itself. Thus, everyone is a winner!

Thanks so much for joining us. We are awarded by your presence.

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I EXPECT WILL COME LISTEN TO ME?
First, it is suggested that you post early in the challenge. Many people wait until the last second, and certainly if you post only hours before the end of the challenge, you shouldn't expect a ton of feedback.

Second, the more people you visit, the more people will likely visit you in return. But there is no guarantee of such a quid pro quo relationship to the feedback you get.

Finally, this challenge is a young one. At this point we have fewer, but I think extremely talented, respondents. So here you may not see your page light up instantly with dozens of responses. But you will get lots of excellent quality feedback.

Some of the more talented people here on Singsnap are wary of challenges as they don't want to be judged by people of dubious ability and don't want to be spammed by others. Still others think that if they win an "award" it actually means something. We will continue to grow as word spreads that this is a safe and rewarding place to be and as more people find that they would like meaningful listens and others find they don't need to be in a competition to be appreciated. We have a very warm and supportive group of singers here. People will come and go and we expect our members to take a break or to partake in other challenges. Our main goal is quality, not quantity.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:30 PM Quote

Announcing our chat room

Everyone's A Winner has our own chat room where members can come mingle, chat and sing for each other live!

All we ask is that you follow our simple guidelines.

1. When in the chat room, be courteous and listen to others when they are singing.

2. Wait your turn. There will be a list maintained by the room moderator if one is present. If a moderator is not present, decide amongst yourselves who will keep the list.

3. Maintain a list. The first people to arrive in the room should go on the list to sing first. And so forth. Do not "grab the microphone" or attempt to pass someone in line. As people arrive in the room, add them to the back of the list. The back of the list is marked by the person who just sang before the person who is currently singing.

4. No lewd behavior will be tolerated.

5. Be courteous to others but have fun. We are not going to scrutinize everything you do.

You get to the chat room by clicking here

Everyone's A Winner Live

The next post will discuss how the chat room works.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 6:41 PM Quote

How the Everyone's A Winner Live chat room works

GETTING TO THE ROOM
After clicking on the link above you will be taken to a page that asks you to enter your userplane ID. If you don't have one, you can set one up quickly and free. It's a good idea to have one. You can also enter the room as a guest but with more limited privileges. Once you have your ID and password, click on the "Log In" and "Userplane ID" button and enter them. Once that's done, click on "Chat!"

You are now in the room.

LISTENING TO OTHERS
There is a list on the upper left. That is a list of all the people who are in the room and how long they've been there. You will see your name on the list. IF anyone on the list has an "A" next to their name, they are singing. If they have a "V" next to their name, they are on web cam and can be seen. To hear or see a person, merely click on their name.

USING THE DOCK
When you click on a name in the list (DO NOT click on your own name), you will see a box appear on the lower left, below the list. That box will contain live video or audio or both of the person singing. If you don't hear them, make sure all your audio equipment, speakers, etc. are turned up. Then look under the picture of the person singing and make sure their "A" is clicked on.

Also below their name in that box and to the right is the word "Dock." Click on Dock to move that person into your dock on the far right. You can keep 2 people active in the dock, thereby allowing you to view other people while listening to a 3rd person.

TO SING
When your turn comes, you must activate your audio to sing. On the left of the dock is your picture or live video if you're on cam. Underneath the box with your picture in it are 2 letters. Click once on the "A" to activate your audio. Click once on the "V" to activate your video, if you choose to.

Then call up a song as you would normally on Snap and sing. If you have a mixer, make sure everything is turned on as it would be for you to record. Instead of hitting the record button, hit the play button in the snap player and sing. That's it. Everyone will hear you sing live!

When you are done, immediately click off your "A" button so the next person can sing.

Only one person can be on audio at a time.

Edited on September 2, 2007 at 7:16 PM Quote

THIS IS THE FAQ FOR THE EVERYONE'S A WINNER CHALLENGE/SHOWCASE THINGY

This is not the challenge itself

DO NOT POST SONGS HERE

Quote