amplificathon 2012: calculating points

[podmod]

because we've been unable to update the audiofic archive with podfic for many months we can't determine the mid-tier (less represented in the archive) fandoms and pairings in any kind of meaningful or accurate way. so we're making a few changes!


the first change is that we're going to use the mid-tier fandoms and pairings list from the 2011 amplificathon. what does this mean? well, any new fandom or pairing that has been posted during and since the last 'thon is still eligible as a new fandom or pairing.

for example, hawaii five-0 was a new fandom last year! several podfics were posted during the 2011 amplificathon and they received new fandom points. this fandom is still eligible as a new fandom for the 2012 amplificathon.

the pairings and fandoms lists are broken down into two sections each: the 1 point fandoms/pairings (the most popular ones), and the 5 point fandoms/pairings (everything else that was represented in the archive as of the 2011 amplificathon).

fandoms/pairings & gen list

if you have any questions about these lists please don't hesitate to ask!



the second change we're making is to the points scheme itself. after 4 years of the 'thon we've received a lot of feedback, both from participants and from each other, about what works, what doesn't, and what we might be able to change to make it work *better*.

the new points scheme for the 2012 'thon is outlined below. please read it through and ask as many questions in the comments as you like! because it's so new we might have missed or forgotten something, so every question is appreciated! the new scheme is definitely a 'try out', so all the feedback you can give us -- both positive and negative -- is valuable. :)



here are the categories you can receive points in and how to calculate their values:

a) your status as a reader
this is your very first podfic: 10 pts
you've posted podfics before: 5 pts

b) recording length
10% of time (where : is treated like a decimal), rounded up to the next whole number

ie:
5:30 = .530, which rounds up to 1 pt
9:58 = .958, which rounds up to 1 pt
10:02 = 1.002, which rounds up to 2 pts
15:40 = 1.54, which rounds up to 2 pts
32:17 = 3.217, which rounds up to 4 pts

if you would prefer fewer decimals, a chart!:

0:01 to 10:00 = 1 pt
10:01 to 20:00 = 2 pts
20:01 to 30:00 = 3 pts
etc

a chart (in both minutes and hours format) showing up to a length of 10 hours.

c) fandoms
highly represented fandom from this list: 1 pt
less represented fandom from this list: 5 pts
new fandom (not on either list): 10 pts

d) pairings/gen
highly represented pairing from this list: 1 pt
less represented pairing/gen: 5 pts
new pairing or gen category (not on either list): 10 pts

e) language bonus
bonus for reading in a non-english language!
non-english language bonus: 10 pts


(a)+(b)+(c)+(d)+(e) = your total points for each podfic.


some examples of how this works can be found in here.

Comments

[bessyboo]

As with last year, are gen crossover points still counted as (fandom1 points) + (fandom2 points) + (fandom1 pairing: gen points) + (fandom2 pairing: gen points)?

[aphelant]

Yep!

[sylvaine]

So if you post a podfic from an unrepresented fandom, and then post another podfic in the same fandom, do you get 10 or 5 fandom points the second time?

[aphelant]

You would get 10 points the second time! The lists don't change as the 'thon progresses, and it doesn't matter if you or anyone else has gotten new fandom points for a fandom; it will stay a 10 point 'new fandom' for the length of the 'thon.

[sylvaine]

\o/

Also, I have another question. Does a series of oneshots all set in the same universe count as one fic, or does each oneshot count separately?

[aphelant]

Hm, fics in a series all count separately, but if you're questioning whether the fics in question are a series vs chapters the mods can review it for you. :)

[sylvaine]

Cool, thanks!

[luzula]

Hmm. This actually rewards podfic length slightly less than the old point system did, because we get 6 points per hour, like we did before (except you've distributed those six points more evenly), but you've scaled up the importance of fandoms and pairings. So yeah, it still very much rewards recording short podfics rather than longer ones. (Er, I'm assuming you're aphelant and you remember the conversation we had about it before.) But hey, you're the mods and it's your call. : )

[aphelant]

The perception is that small podfic was being rewarded more than long podfic, but we knew from doing the math that the points for length were not actually the problem. In fact, the old system gave *more* points to longer podfics, but it was done in a weird scale. However everyone, including the mods, thought the length points were where the problem was. So we've eliminated them as both a real and perceived factor.

The problem lies with the fandom/pairing points. We had a feeling that the old points system may have been discouraging certain types of 'play'. Some people really enjoy hunting down small or rare fandoms/pairings, but others want to make podfic for mid-range fandoms/pairings, and yet others are in one of the top three fandoms/'ship a top 3 pairing so can only get points from rare 'ships, multiple ships and crossovers. So we tried to make a points system that will hopefully encourage people to make all sorts of podfics, and all sorts of length of podfics, while still rewarding those who go after those new fandoms & pairings that this 'thon is all about.

People will still post lots of short podfics, but a) a lot of the fics for small or rare fandoms/pairings are indeed short in length, and b) that is, actually, the best way to get lots of points (except gen crossovers -- you can get tonssss of points for those if the fandoms are rare). There's no way to 'fix' this, except to, for lack of a better word, punish people who post short podfics, ie: disproportionately reward fandom/pairing points based on length of podfic. And that wouldn't be fair (and let's face it, it would also be harder from a points management standpoint).

Hopefully the changes we've made will result in a more even output for the 'thon and a better playing experience for everyone. But we won't know until the end of the 'thon! Give us feedback then and let us know your thoughts? :)

[luzula]

The perception is that small podfic was being rewarded more than long podfic, but we knew from doing the math that the points for length were not actually the problem.

I would love to see your calculations for this, because I still think your chosen 10% factor for length does have a large impact (see the calculations I sent you), and that a higher factor here would even out a lot of the problems.

But all right, we'll see what happens! Thanks for all your work in running the challenge this year again. : )

[aphelant]

Like I said, the previous length points scheme was already weighted in favour of longer podfics (6 pts for the first hour, additional 5 pts for every half hour after that, so 11 pts for 90 min, 16 pts for 120 min, etc) and people didn't seem to be taking advantage of it. Maybe it's because it wasn't presented in a chart, who knows! But if the length points are already supposed to be encouraging long podfic, and there aren't many long podfics being posted, then the problem lies elsewhere.

We like the 10% factor because it's easy, both to calculate and to check. But maybe next year we'll introduce bonus points for every half hour or something? Like, 30 min you get x pts, 90 gets 2x, 120 gets 3x? Hm. I don't know! We'll just have to see. :)

[luzula]

and people didn't seem to be taking advantage of it

Well, that's because the length bonus is too small to offer any advantage. If you're a participant who cares about the points and you're wondering if you should record a couple of 5-minute podfics or one hour-long podfic, it's obvious that the former is much more profitable (you get more points for less recording/editing work). I mean, this is why people are asking questions in the comments above about whether they can count a series as many different fics instead of one long one. If you got, say, 50% of the minute length in points instead of 10%, I think it would even it out a bit more. (This would lead to having to add an awful lot of points, true, but if you wanted you could scale down the whole points system and have the relative sizes between the points categories stay the same.)

But as you say, we'll see! : )

[eosrose]

I'm inclined to agree with you about length needing to have more points. My eyebrows raised a little seeing a 4-minute podfic earn more points than the 1.25-hour podfic I posted yesterday. It's certainly not incentive to record anything longer than ten minutes.

Right now 8 points (5+1+1+1=8) is the absolute minimum number of points you can make with a podfic of less than 10 minutes. 30-40 minutes worth of 8-point podfics will earn you 32-320 points (4-40 podfics).

Right now 29 points (5+4+10+10=29) is the absolute maximum number of points you can make when you post a single podfic of 30-40 minutes.

I think in order to make it worthwhile, every half hour so you would need to tack on 25 bonus points (the equivalent of a new fandom, a new pairing, and the base 5 points we all get just for posting) to make longer podfics even close to worthwhile. 54 points wouldn't beat out 7 5-minute podfics, but it would get us a little closer to even ground.

Drabbles are the way to go, which is unfair. I post a lot of podrabbles myself and I'd still rather see people who record long works rewarded for the extra effort. So, in conclusion: I'm with you on this. And I totally hadn't realized how skewed the points system was until doing all this math! *headdesk*

[reena_jenkins]

So, let's say I've got two versions of a podfic for the same story - one where the text is read all the way through, and one where the text is both read and sung. Do they count as separate entries, points-wise, or do the points only count once? (Run-times are different between the two, but it is the same fic - they're my fill for the "singing" square on my podfic bingo card.)

[aphelant]

The points only count once, and you would use the version with the longer time. :)

[outboxed]

Just about to post my first ever podfic & wanted to confirm whether or not the 'first ever podfic' thing only counts once or throughout the 'thon? I don't want to mess up my count. (:

[aphelant]

It only counts once, sorry!

[outboxed]

No worries. I figured as much but didn't want to sell myself short in case it didn't work that way!

non-english

[kalakirya]

just to check - I have this idea that last year there was a scheme for languages similar to that for fandoms: more if the language hadn't been posted in before, fewer if it had. The relevant link in the sticky post is missing (and I felt silly asking there) - is it just a flat +10 for this year?

Re: non-english

[aphelant]

I think last year it was 10 for unrepresented non-English and 5 for represented non-English? But like the pairings and fandoms we couldn't actually check what was in the archive to use a scheme like that, so this year it's 10 points for a non-English language podfic. (And the entire podfic doesn't need to be in this language, just a portion significant enough that it would warrant an additional language tag. If you aren't sure that the story you've chosen qualifies feel free to ask us about it, we're happy to help!)