----------------------------------------------- BOARDWATCH 100 READERS' CHOICE BBS CONTEST 1994 ----------------------------------------------- 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. ------- CUT HERE ------- 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 SIGNATURE:____________________________________ DATE:______________________ ------------ ------------
Amiga7878