Zero is up for Kitten of the Month!

[louse76]

And the end of the month has come!! It looks like Zero has won by a landslide!! It's not been officially announced at the link yet though, maybe later today.

And on another note, he has won the caption this drawing too! What a lucky kitten he is!!

 

[chelle]

KEWL!! congrats zero!!

 

[Anne]

Congratulations Zero!!!

I can understand the website's team frustration at the accusations that someone is cheating. We get that all the time on Meowhoo. It's really difficult to stop people from cheating if they really want to. We use both cookies and IP verification to prevent cheating and we still get complaints.

Just wondering - how do you people feel about subscribing to their newsletter being part of the voting system? Has anyone not voted because of that? I see the overall number of votes there isn't too high. On Meowhoo we get over 2000 votes a month. I wonder if asking people for their email addys means that less people are voting.

 

[rapunzel47]

I don't have any particular problem with such a requirement, in principle. I think it's a simple and reasonable way of ensuring that nobody votes more than once, and I'm prepared to subject myself to the control, in order to have it in place for those who would not play fair otherwise.

BUT.

I think it's really important that [1] right where that requirement is stated, there be a specific assurance that this information is required only as a control on votes; that it will be used in no other way; that it will be traded, sold, or otherwise shared with nobody, for any reason; that the subscription may be cancelled at any time, and that request will be honoured; and [2] that there be a link to the full privacy policy of the site at that same location [the specific assurance could easily be an excerpt from that policy, followed by an invitation to view the full document].

I think a statement that makes this clear without having to go anywhere else to find it would reassure many people. I would not be inclined to cooperate if I had to work too hard to get that assurance.

Dear me! Almost forgot to congratulate wee Zero!! ZERO!! CONGRATS!!

 

[louse76]

Thanks guys! Zero is loving it! Too bad he got a little bump on his noggin yesterday though...

This is A BUNCH OF CRAP! They're showing Zero as the RUNNER UP!!

 

[superkitty]

OOOOK....I don't get it. Last month the popular vote was considered first, THEN the mods pick. I wonder why it wasn't consistent, and Zero, as the popular vote placed first, then the mods pick. Oh well. Never visited that site before, so dunno anything

Well, Zero's a First Place Kitty to me. Congrats.

 

[louse76]

Thanks

! Anyhow, I'm not exactly mad about it. It's really silly if you think about it. (As I told them) it's kind of like selling candybars or giftwrap for your school to win a little prize. The real reason is to get people to sign up for the newsletter, as many people as possible... which is why they say to send the link to as many people as possible to kick up the votes for your kitty...

Below is a copy of the email conversation I had with them (excuse what look like typos, it has to do with some kind of formatting with my email client or something). I just basically wanted to let them know it was unfair without being rude.

Dear Mr. Wilbur,
The idea of the monthly photo contest is to provide a fun activity for our
customers and website visitors while also providing a place for them to
showcase their favorite felines. I wouldn't say that by winning the popular
vote you are also losing. If the staff were to choose the same cat as the
popular vote, then the winner and runner up would be one in the same.

Very best regards,

-Melissa
Retail Sales Associate
---------------------------
Jay Horwitz, President
Cat Connection
14233 Inwood Rd.
Dallas, Tx. 75244
972-386-MEOW (6369)
---------------------------
Check us out on the web at:
www.catconnection.com


From: "Arthur Wilbur" <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 10:33:25 -0500
To: "'Cats-Cat Connection'" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Photo Submission for Cat of the Month

I can understand that, but by winning the popular vote, you are then
automatically losing, no? And as for being a popularity contest, isn¹t the
whole point really to get as many people to sign up for the newsletter as
possible, in a sense like selling chocolate for one¹s school? I don¹t mean
to be argumentative and I thank you for the prize he has won, but it seems
kind of silly.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cats-Cat Connection [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 10:01 AM
To: Arthur Wilbur
Subject: Re: Photo Submission for Cat of the Month

Good morning Arthur and thank you for your information. Regarding the
"Runner Up" award for Zero, please note the following copy as posted on our
website:

---------------
How is the Winner Determined?
Beginning January 1, 2004, the Winner will be chosen by the Cat Connection
Staff. While uniqueness of photo and your kitty's cuteness will certainly
factor into the equation, the winning photo selection will be based heavily
on criteria such as photo quality (focus, lighting, etc.) and composition. A
Runner-Up will also be determined by popular vote via on-line voting and
awarded a prize.
---------------

It used to be the other way around where the popular vote determined the
"Winner" and our staff chose the "Runner Up". However, we were inundated
with emails from unhappy owners who felt it was too much of a popularity
contest and not enough about the photo quality.

Best regards,

-Melissa
Retail Sales Associate
---------------------------
Jay Horwitz, President
Cat Connection
14233 Inwood Rd.
Dallas, Tx. 75244
972-386-MEOW (6369)
---------------------------
Check us out on the web at:
www.catconnection.com




From: "Arthur Wilbur" <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 19:56:29 -0500
To: "'Cats-Cat Connection'" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Photo Submission for Cat of the Month


Arthur Wilbur
1041 Matterhorn St
Deltona, FL 32725
407-641-4109
Also, not to be rude, but I do not understand how Zero was awarded ‘runner
up when he absolutely demolished the competitionS



-----Original Message-----
From: Cats-Cat Connection [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 4:05 PM
To: Arthur Wilbur
Subject: Re: Photo Submission for Cat of the Month



Congratulations! Zero has been voted the Cat Connection's "Cat of the Month
Runner Up" by Popular Vote for our January photo contest. We would like to
send Zero a small congratulatory prize so please reply with your address and
contact information at your earliest convenience. Thanks!

-Melissa
Retail Sales Associate
---------------------------
Jay Horwitz, President
Cat Connection
14233 Inwood Rd.
Dallas, Tx. 75244
972-386-MEOW (6369)
---------------------------
Check us out on the web at:
www.catconnection.com



From: "Arthur Wilbur" <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 17:10:57 -0500
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Photo Submission for Cat of the Month


My Name: Arthur Wilbur

His Name: Zero

Age: 6 months

Breed: Domestic Shorthair

Bio: Zero was the last of his litter to be adopted from the local shelter.
He got off to a bit of a slow start due to a kitten cold, but since he has
healed he has been as feisty as ever! He is purely an indoor cat and an only
Å’child? at this time. He loves to be as high as he can be and his absolute
favorite thing to tear apart would be all types of paper. If Zero had a
choice to eat only one thing for the rest of his years it would be? TUNA!
Zero looks forward to many happy years growing with his new family and hopes
to one day acquire a new playmate!

I'm thinking by now that what would really be 'fair' would be that both would be considered winners, one voted and one picked, not a runner up. As I told them, Zero AUTOMATICALLY LOST by winning the popular vote, because that automatically makes him the runner up.

 

[wellingtoncats]

Ahhhh.. Louse I think I can see your address in there, please don't share it here on the internet, who knows what could happen.

CONGRATS to Zero.. IMO he's the winner!

 

[yayi]

As they said, it was more of a photo contest and not a popularity one. Maybe they should find another word than "runner up".

 

[louse76]

Hey guys! It looks like they decided to change things around and they made Zero the 'On-Line' Winner and their choice the 'Cat Connection' winner.

I can go for that!

Now I wonder when his collar is coming?

 

[jeeperscat]

Hey guys! It looks like they decided to change things around and they made Zero the 'On-Line' Winner and their choice the 'Cat Connection' winner.

That sounds much fairer

 

[dvanguilder]

Just scrolled the pics on Image STation. What a cutie!!! Love the tuna can pics. He looks like my Mayo. Since I got Mayo she was already grown it was really fun to see pics of a kitten. Mayo is a ham and has done alot of the things Zero has.

=) Purrs, Dorina

 

[louse76]

Mayo, what a great name for a white cat! I've heard so many funny ones, the only other I can think of off the top of my head is 'Swiffer'. He was named that because when he was a kitten his owners brought him home, he came out from under the couch covered in junk like a swiffer!

 

[dvanguilder]

I love the name swiffer!

I cannot take credit for the name Mayo. When I adopted her that was the name the rescue org had given her. I fell in love with her and the name immediately! =)

Heres a pic of my Mayo.

 

[debby]

Mayo is beautiful!!! And I am so sorry I didn't get to vote for Zero...I just now saw this thread and was going to go vote till I read they had already decided. Sounds like Zero did very well, though!

 

[dvanguilder]

Mayo thanks you for the compliment. =^..^=

I just found this forum thread myself and went to vote for Zero too! It was fun seeing the kitten's pics. When I brought Mayo home she was all grown up. Now I can imagine the cuteness and wonder how someone could have gotten rid of her. Well....I'm making up for it, she is very spoiled! =)

 

[louse76]

Mayo is cute! I love those eyes!!

Zero still hasn't recieved anything from them. What's with that? Oh well, he probably wouldn't wear it anyhow.

 

[dvanguilder]

Mayo is a character -- loves to swat at me in the shower and has just started to cuddle with me on my lap - I even get to rub her tummy. I've had her almost a year now. It took her a long time to trust me. Its nice to see her now so happy when I call her name.

Zero doesn't need the distinction of being Kitten of the Month from a website. Zero is tops every day in your home and that is all that matters!

 

[louse76]

Just an update... they did send him a prize! It was a nice comfortable collar that's purple with little sharks on it... pretty cute really... and a bag of 12 mice!! I'll have to get pics up soon!

 

[dvanguilder]

=) I'm glad he got his prize. I'll bet he loves those mice more than the collar. If it is one of those little furry mice of rabbit fur....my Mayo goes crazy for them! Hides them all over the house! Even opens the drawer where I keep them to try and get more.

Congrats to Zero. Mayo sends her purrs.