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- BOARDWATCH 100 READERS' CHOICE BBS CONTEST 1994
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-
- The Boardwatch 100 Reader's Choice BBS contest has become something of an
- institution each winter when BBS callers all over the country fax or mail in
- their ballots nominating their favorite BBS for inclusion in the Boardwatch
- Reader's Choice Top 100 BBS List.
-
- This year, the contest will run from January 1, 1994 through June 30, 1994.
- Winners will be announced at the Online Networking Exposition and BBS
- Convention (ONE BBSCON) held in Atlanta, Georgia, August 17-21, 1994.
-
- The Boardwatch Top 100 BBS list and the Boardwatch Top Fifty Forums list
- will be published in subsequent issues of Boardwatch Magazine and distributed
- in electronic form world-wide. Last year's Boardwatch 100 BBS list has been
- widely disseminated electronically, and published in a number of books as
- well.
-
- The 1994 contest includes a new Top Fifty Forums listing the fifty most
- popular online forums, conferences, sigs, or areas operating on an online
- service.
-
- This specific ballot file is for use in voting for your favorite online
- forum or conference residing on any BBS, commercial online service, or
- network worldwide.
-
- PRIZES FOR BULLETIN BOARD OPERATORS/FORUM ADMINISTRATORS
-
- 1ST PRIZE: The forum or sig receiving the largest number of valid ballots will
- be named the most popular forum of the Top Fifty Forums and will be presented
- with an award trophy at the ONE BBSCON held in Atlanta Georgia, August 17-21,
- 1994. Additionally, the winning BBS will receive air fare, hotel
- accommodations and registration at ONE BBSCON for the primary BBS operator as
- the guest of Boardwatch Magazine. Additionally, the forum will be featured in
- a story in Boardwatch Magazine and a free full-page color advertisement in
- Boardwatch Magazine for a period of three months.
-
- TOP TEN: The ten most popular forums/conferences selected by the voters will
- each receive an award trophy at the ONE BBSCON, a story describing their
- system in Boardwatch Magazine, inclusion in a special top ten forums listing
- in the magazine, and a free quarter-page black and white advertisement in
- three successive issues. Additionally, they will be listed in the Boardwatch
- Top Fifty Forums list. System operators from the top 10 who attend ONE BBSCON
- will receive an award trophy in a special awards session.
-
- TOP FIFTY FORUMS: The 50 forums receiving the most votes will each
- be listed in the Boardwatch Top Fifty Forums list. This list will be
- published in Boardwatch Magazine and freely distributed electronically on
- thousands of bulletin boards and online services world-wide.
-
- IN CASE OF TIE. Positions for which an identical number of votes are received
- will be determined by point value established by the date stamp assigned to
- each received ballot. Time/Date stamp values are accumulated for all votes and
- a cumulative score assigned to each forum based on date of receipt of ballots.
-
- Votes receive a date stamp value between 1 and 180 based on the day of the
- contest the vote is received. System with lowest (earliest) cumulative date
- stamp score will prevail in event of tie.
-
- PRIZES FOR VOTERS
-
- All valid ballots submitted by voters in either the Boardwatch Top 100 BBS
- or Boardwatch Top Fifty Forums will be entered in a random sweepstakes
- drawing. As of the opening date of this contest, prizes include five U.S.
- Robotics Courier Top of the line Modems, five Hayes OPTIMA 288 V.FC + FAX
- modems, and five ZyXEL Top of the line modems - and more are on the way. A
- minimum of 15 valid ballots will be selected from all entries and each will
- receive a free modem - from the most popular modem manufacturers in the
- world.
-
- RULES FOR CALLERS
-
- Each voter can vote once, for a single forum. Each ballot
- must be fully completed, and individually mailed by each voter. We will
- verify ballots as necessary. There are two ways to vote:
-
- 1. Complete this ballot and mail to:
-
- BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE
- READERS CHOICE BBS CONTEST
- 8500 West Bowles Ave. Suite 210
- Littleton, CO 80123.
-
- 2. Complete this ballot and FAX to (303)933-0876.
-
- Balloting closes at 23:59:59, June 30, 1994.
-
- This contest is not limited to Boardwatch Magazine subscribers, and no
- purchase of anything is required to participate in this contest. Reasonable
- facsimiles of this ballot are acceptable, so long as all specified
- information is included.
-
- We held this contest during 1993 and it generated over 20,200 votes by the
- close of balloting for some 1,775 different bulletin boards. The TOP system
- received 1,330 votes. Your individual vote can have a tremendous impact on
- the outcome of this contest. Further, the odds of winning a modem in last
- years contest were roughly 1 in 3,340. You won't get those odds in the
- lottery.
-
- RULES FOR FORUM ADMINISTRATORS
-
- While the obvious winners in such a contest are the forums voted the most
- popular, The Boardwatch Top Fifty Forums Reader's Choice contest is designed
- for the callers. This is their chance to note what elements of a forum are
- important to them, and to designate a forum they think the world should know
- about. And they receive the hardware prizes.
-
- But past contests have indicated that the winning bulletin boards do campaign
- a bit. Bulletin Board Operators may encourage callers to vote for their system
- by offering whatever inducements/encouragements they like. There is one rule
- to this contest for operators. YOU MAY NOT HANDLE ANY BALLOT **** AFTER*** THE
- CALLER HAS COMPLETED THE BALLOT. YOU MAY NOT HANDLE IT IN ANY WAY.
-
- BBS operators may provide callers with anything they like, including postage
- paid envelopes, printed matter, solicitations, Jaguar convertibles, etc. But
- once they have completed a ballot, if they touch, handle, or otherwise deal
- with the ballot in any way, their BBS will be disqualified from the contest
- without appeal, recourse, or even notification.
-
- This contest is open to all bulletin boards worldwide. Commercial services
- such as Prodigy, America Online, CompuServe, are considered to be networks
- and not bulletin boards for the purposes of this contest. HOWEVER, individual
- forums, roundtables, or special interest areas moderated by a specific human
- SYSOP on those services and ALLOWING CALLERS TO POST MESSAGES in that specific
- area ARE considered to be bulletin boards for the purposes of this contest and
- may participate.
-
- ONE BBSCON CONTACT INFORMATION:
-
- The Online Networking Exposition and BBS Convention has emerged as the
- annual meeting place for BBS operators and online enthusiasts. The event
- hosts three days featuring over 100 educational sessions on all aspects of
- the BBS community and virtually all the stars of the industry are on hand.
- This year's event will be held at the Atlanta Market Center INFOMART in
- downtown Atlanta, Georgia, August 17-24, 1994 and over 5000 attendees are
- expected..
-
- For more information on the convention or a registration packet, contact:
-
- ONE, Inc.
- 4255 S. Buckley Rd., Ste 308
- Aurora, CO 80013
- (303)693-5253 voice
- (303)693-5518 fax
- (303)693-5432 BBS.
-
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- BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE - 1994 READERS' CHOICE TOP FIFTY FORUMS CONTEST BALLOT
-
- Fax to: (303)933-0876 or mail to: Boardwatch Magazine, Reader's Choice
- Contest, 8500 West Bowles Ave., Ste. 210, Littleton, CO 80123. All ballots
- must be received by 23:59:59, June 30, 1994
-
-
- Title of Forum, Conference, or Area you nominate as the
-
- BEST online or your favorite:_______________________________________
-
-
- Online Service or BBS on which this forum
-
- resides :_________________________________________
-
-
- Voter name:__________________________________________________________________
-
- Voice telephone number:______________________________________________________
-
- Street address:______________________________________________________________
-
- City:______________________________ State:____________ Zip code:___________
-
- Primary communications software you use:_____________________________________
-
- Primary modem manufacture and model:_________________________________________
-
- Highest speed your modem supports:
-
- [] 1200bps [] 2400bps [] 9600bps [] 14400bps [] 19200bps [] 28800bps
-
- Operating system (check all commonly used):
-
- [] DOS [] OS/2 [] WINDOWS [] MAC [] AMIGA [] UNIX [] OTHER
-
- Estimated calls you make per month:_______ Average call duration:______
-
- Estimated investment in hardware and software: $___________
-
- Primary online interest (check all that apply):
-
- [] Mail/Mail Conferences [] Games/Entertainment [] Chat/Social
- [] News/Information [] Shareware (Files)
-
- Do you also maintain accounts on OTHER commercial services?
- (check all that apply)
-
- [] AOL [] Compuserve [] Delphi/BIX [] GEnie [] Prodigy
- [] None [] Other ____________________________________________
-
- AGE:________ SEX: [] MALE [] FEMALE
-
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- SIGNATURE:____________________________________ DATE:______________________
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