UBC VoterMedia Awards Terms

Participation by voters and contestants is subject to these terms. We (the awards administrator, which as of September 2008 is Mark Latham) may change these terms at any time. Contestants and voters may stop participating at any time if unwilling to accept then-current terms. Current terms are posted at http://votermedia.org/ubc/terms.html. Notice of changes in these terms posted at http://votermedia.blogspot.com is deemed sufficient notification to voters and contestants. Contest void where prohibited by law.

For each contestant, we try to find a member of that contestant's team (or organization) who will faithfully represent the interests of the team in this contest. We follow that representative's instructions in paying out any awards won by that contestant. This usually means that we pay awards to the representative, who then takes care of any distribution within that team. Representatives are listed at http://votermedia.org/ubc/index.html. Please let us know if there is any problem with a representative. We are not required to change award payments that have already been made, but will try to pay future awards appropriately.

Experimental Contest

This is an experimental contest. We disclaim all warranties of any kind. We will not be liable for any damages or costs. The contest may evolve through time and produce various results and effects, expected and unexpected. Contestants and voters agree to accept such evolution, results and effects without recourse, including such possibilities as these:

(a) information technology systems may malfunction;
(b) information technology services may be interrupted;
(c) the voting process could be corrupted by improper influence or people voting multiple times;
(d) some votes may not be counted, or may be under- or over-weighted;
(e) some votes from people other than UBC students may be counted;
(e) people may vote in unexpected ways for unexpected reasons;
(f) voter turnout may be very low;
(g) the sample of votes received may not be representative of all UBC students’ voting preferences;
(h) contestants may get higher or lower rankings than they deserve;
(i) rankings may fluctuate excessively through time;
(j) contestants’ reputations may be harmed;
(k) the contest administrator may make mistakes.

Administrator Discretion

So as to effectively manage this experimental contest in response to various possible unexpected eventualities, we may at any time, with or without cause:

(a) add any new contestants (which may be individuals, groups or organizations, at UBC or elsewhere, including politicians, electoral candidates, political parties, unions and corporations) to any places in the ranking;
(b) reject any suggested or applying entrants to the contest;
(c) disallow any contestant name, for example if it may be misleading or confusing;
(d) remove any contestant from the contest;
(e) change the contest terms;
(f) change the voting system, tallying and ranking update methods;
(g) change the layout and number of ballot pages;
(h) change amounts, distribution and timing of awards;
(i) terminate contest awards;
(j) terminate the contest;
(k) choose a new administrator;
(l) accept donations and/or sponsorship from any source;
(m) accept advertising on contest web pages;
(n) discuss the contest and contestants publicly, including in ways that may be considered biased in favour of or against one or more contestants;
(o) change the contest's name.

Vote tallying and updating of ranks are not audited, and may involve our subjective discretion. We need not disclose the vote tallying and ranking update methods, nor the vote totals. If anyone believes that we are acting unreasonably, their only recourse is to stop participating in this contest and/or to participate in a different contest.

Participant Discretion

Contestants and voters may stop participating at any time. Contestants may compete in any way they choose (subject to any applicable laws). We are not responsible for contestants’ media content. Voters may vote on whatever basis they choose.

We refer to contestants as “media” or “bloggers” and call this a blog contest based on what we think contestants will do, but we do not actually require contestants to act like media or be bloggers. This contest is designed to benefit the voting community, and many types of benefit are possible. We think contestants will win votes by providing such benefits as blogs, websites, newspapers and broadcasts giving insight on UBC student issues, especially those decided by vote. This includes not only elections but also this contest itself – contestants could publish evaluations of each other.