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ifcomp · 7 years

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Announcing the IFComp Colossal Fund

Everybody, we'd like to introduce you to the Colossal Fund, IFComp's new cash prize pool. Colossal Fund, this is everybody. Say hi!

Granted, it's not all that colossal at the moment, but we hope you can help us with that. Let us explain...

As you know, IFComp prizes are donated by you, the generous patrons of the IF community. In past years, we've usually had a small handful of cash prizes and a much larger assortment of books, games, art objects, snacks, and other miscellaneous items. (Plus a few prizes on special terms such as the Golden Banana.)

If you're a software engineer with a full-time job, writing IF for fun, then the difference between a $200 cash prize and a cool book isn't very important. But that doesn't describe all IF fans! We see games by students, by up-and-coming indie game designers, by freelance writers, by all sorts of people.

So we'd like to offer a larger and broader pool of cash prizes. Not a giant payout for the top winner, but modest prizes for everyone who does well.

It remains the case that all IFComp prizes come from donations. But as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, IFTF can run a more effective fundraiser than the usual IFComp "hey, please donate" announcement. So that's what we're doing! Launching a fundraiser for the Colossal Fund. Our fundraising target is $6000.

You now have a whole barrel of questions, which we will endeavor to answer.

How do I donate? Go to IFComp.org and push the big blue Paypal button on the front page, under the Colossal Fund header.

Is my donation tax-deductible? Yes, to the extent allowed by law. (Consult a tax professional, that's all we can say.)

What happens to my donation? We will place 80% of cash donations in the Colossal Fund. The other 20% will go support IFTF's management of IFComp.

Wait, 20% to "overhead"? What does that mean? Hosting fees for the IFComp server. Our lawyer's advice on managing IFComp as part of a nonprofit. Renting our PO box. That sort of thing.

Does the Colossal Fund replace the usual IFComp prize list? No! These cash prizes will be in addition to the usual IFComp prize list. Please visit this page to donate objects and services as prizes.

Who gets cash prizes? The top two-thirds of entries. If there are 60 entries in this year's IFComp, then the top 40 will get cash prizes.

How big will the cash prizes be? That depends on how much money is donated. We have a formula! See below. In rough numbers, the prizes will range from a few hundred dollars down to ten dollars.

How will the cash prizes be distributed? Via PayPal. If you can't accept PayPal, we can mail a US check to a US address. If that doesn't work for you, or if you wish to decline the cash prize, we will roll the money into next year's prize fund.

And now, the formula...

The underlying formula is (x-1)2 -- a down-curving segment of a parabola. That seems like a nice curve; doesn't drop off too fast, bottoms out nicely. Easy to integrate.

Then we want a minimum prize value ($10), so we add a constant: (x-1)2+m.

We're stretching that curve horizontally (to reach the top two-thirds of the entries) and vertically (depending on the size of the prize fund). So the formula is really a(bx-c)2+m, but I can hear your eyes glazing over so I'm keeping it simple. The graph above lets you eyeball the numbers.

The exact values -- again, assuming we have 60 IFComp entries and reach our fundraising goal:

1: $331.80 11: $189.49 21: $88.43 31: $28.61 2: $315.71 12: $177.53 22: $80.59 32: $24.90 3: $300.04 13: $165.98 23: $73.16 33: $21.60 4: $284.78 14: $154.84 24: $66.15 34: $18.71 5: $269.93 15: $144.11 25: $59.55 35: $16.24 6: $255.49 16: $133.80 26: $53.36 36: $14.18 7: $241.46 17: $123.90 27: $47.59 37: $12.53 8: $227.85 18: $114.41 28: $42.23 38: $11.29 9: $214.65 19: $105.34 29: $37.28 39: $10.46 10: $201.86 20: $96.68 30: $32.74 40: $10.05

The sum of these numbers is $4800, which is 80% of our $6000 goal. (Again, the other 20% goes to support IFTF operations.)

If you want to see the math, run this Python script. It lets you adjust all the assumptions by setting various command-line options.

Now, I bet you have even more questions.

Why is there a minimum prize? Because sending someone $2.50 by Paypal is annoying, not gratifying.

Why is there a cutoff at 40th place? (That is, two-thirds of the way down the IFComp results tally.) We don't want people to enter lazy two-minute IF games just to pick up an easy ten bucks. Typically you need a score of 4.5 to 5.0 to reach the two-thirds mark. So this scheme will reward entries which are at least trying to be good.

What if you raise more than $6000? All donations beyond that will go to fund IFTF operations.

What if you raise less than $6000? We'll still put 80% of donations into the Colossal Fund, and distribute it according to the formula. For example, if we raise $3000, then the prize fund will be $2400. The top cash prize will then be $156 and the numbers will curve down to the $10 minimum.

What if IFComp has way more than 60 entries? Then the money will be spread out over more winners. It doesn't break the system. (If the entry slate looks really huge, we might adjust our fundraising goal.)

What if you raise less than $500? Below $500, we can't guarantee the minimum prizes ($10 for roughly 40 entries). In that case we will look at the situation and adjust the numbers to suit.

Obviously the formula is arbitrary. There are a lot of formulas we could have chosen. I picked this quadratic and then twiddled the constants until the numbers felt right to everybody. Our considerations:

We were inspired by Etienne Vouga's 2015 donation of a cash prize pool, $1000 distributed among the top 40 entries. Of course, we got more mathy about it.

The maximum prize of $330 is comparable to the top cash prize in previous years (usually around $250). We don't want to change IFComp too much too fast. If the Colossal Fund works out, we'll think about doing a larger fundraiser next year.

The mid-range prizes are still pretty good ($95 for 20th place). That will encourage authors to enter even if they don't expect to win. We hope it will also encourage experimentation and unusual new IF ideas.

Our curve is fairly shallow. That is, the difference between one place and the next is never large. We don't want someone to feel like they lost out on $100 just because their game came in 8th instead of 7th.

You might reasonably ask why we're doing a big fundraiser, but not increasing the top cash prize by very much. Ultimately, IFComp's goal is to encourage more new IF. We feel the best way to do that is a broad distribution of modest prizes, not a few very large ones.

If you have further questions, please contact us at [email protected]. And thanks for your support!

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grumpiestbi · 7 years

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tagged by @craniuum, thank you love! this made me want to pick up another book, I haven’t really had the chance since new years :’>

tagging @clueingforlooks, @cupcakesandtv, and @johnandsherlock, but feel free to ignore this of course. (It’s insanely long, I wouldn’t blame you)

1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

I started listening to a read-along tape with the book Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter when I was four and I listened to it so often I eventually memorized the whole book and tricked my family that I could read that’s how I found out reading was my gateway into being a sneaky little binch

but really it was them roald dahl books man matilda was my heart

2. Where do you usually read?

I like reading in cafes, it makes me feel quaint. sometimes in bed but I tend to get distracted

3. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

i have the shortest attention span so i’m always in the middle of eight different books

4. What is/are your favourite book(s)?

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood.

// I can go on and on about this book I love it so fucking much. The movie alone was so beautiful, but once I read the book I hated the film. Because they reversed the story and made it about a depressed man who improved, rather than a man who should have been depressed (because his live-in boyfriend died, he’s alienated by his neighbours/boyfriend’s family, and his one friend is a burden he doesn’t often have the strength to support) but instead he was always so determinedly alive and eager to experience life in its most genuine form.

5. Do you have a least favourite book?

I really did not enjoy the great gatsby. That might have something to do with the fact that I hated being forced to read books in high school, so I immediately resented every book assigned, but I also felt so frustrated that everyone went on about how they loved it and it was incredible and I just couldn’t find it in me to agree, I thought it was boring and there was nothing about the characters I related to or sympathized with, so much so that I don’t even want to try again to see if my perspective changed

6. What is your favourite genre?

it really depends. I thought it was classic fiction, and I didn’t think I could ever touch nonfiction, but then I sprinted through a handful of memoirs by amazing, inspiring ladies. and now I think my only stipulation is books with gay characters or at least gay coding. is that a genre? let’s make it one.

7. Is there a genre you won’t read?

i’m pretty sure i’m just done with YA. hunger games turned me off, and I think i’m just over adolescent emotions that never mature.

8. What is the longest book you ever read?

fanfiction tbh?? Order of phoenix would be my guess, or maybe the complete sherlock books if you count it as one? I don’t really read long books, I get distracted too easily. I’m still in the middle of The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged is over 1000 pages), and I started that at the beginning of 2016 hoping I could finish it by the end. I'm only a third of the way through.

9. What book are you currently reading?

Nothing at the moment. I mean I do have a handful of books half finished, but I’m not actively reading them. A bit too busy lately, we’ll see in a few months.

10. What was the last book you finished?

Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. It was scary how familiar it all sounded, particularly how people reacted to Hitler’s rise to power.

11. What was the last book you bought?

Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire, because it’s my favourite book of poems and I found it a fancy leather-bound version; Christopher and His Kind and Down There on a Visit by Christopher Isherwood

12. Do you have a favourite book quote?

"I see now the virtue in madness, for this country knows no law nor any boundary. I pity the poor shades confined to the Euclidean prison that is sanity. All things are possible here and I am what madness has made me. Whole. And complete. And free at last."

that was from a batman graphic novel bite me it was so well written

13. Do you prefer library books or buying books?

buying, definitely. I like staking ownership, and I have a habit of writing in the margins to add my own voice and thoughts

14. Where do you buy your books?

The Strand is my favourite place in the world. it’s basically my sunflower mural in pawnee city hall. but there are also a few cool smaller bookstores in the west village and lower east side. Bluestockings is a volunteer-run intersectional feminist bookstore that’s almost intimidating to walk in but it’s such an amazing resource.

15. How many books do you buy a month?

it’s too irregular to gauge. When I do go into a bookstore, I am very likely not coming out with less than three books, but I’ve been keeping myself from going into bookstores in the first place for a few months.

16. How many books do you own?

I’ve got about 125? in my room right now, but a lot of them are unread and at least one shelf is a collection from childhood that I don’t really intend on keeping.

17. How do you feel about second hand books?

i get them if i’m broke as hell and still feel like treating myself to a dollar one on the racks at The Strand, but i prefer not to. I prefer fresh books, I can’t help but feel icky not knowing where the books have been before

18. Do you prefer E-books or physical books?

physical books mostly, but if it’s bulky i’d rather read it on my phone if i’m on the go

19. Do you prefer paperback or hardback?

if given the choice, hardback, because they last longer and i’m an aesthetic ho

20. Do you prefer to read trilogies/series or standalones?

standalones. reading series feels like reading really long books, and as i’ve said, i’ve got the attention span of a teaspoon.

21. What is the weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?

probably like my toe while i was multitasking

22. What is more important to you: characters or plot?

characters, definitely. i really love connecting with a character because then it feels like i’m just reading about myself or what i could be and i’m a narcissistic pos so who could ask for more

23. Do you ever judge a book by its cover?

oh all the time. especially when a book isn’t popular and doesn’t have an adequate synopsis on the jacket, how else are you supposed to judge it?

24. What’s the most beautiful book you own?

I would say my gilted leather bound copy of Fleurs du Mal, it’s gorgeous and I love looking at it. But if we’re talking cover art... ahh it’s hard to say. I quite like the fsg covers of Christopher Isherwood books

25. What is your favorite book to movie/tv adaptation?

The granada sherlock series is a brilliant adaptation it looks exactly how I’d have imagined when reading the ACD canon.

26. What is the best beverage to drink while reading a book?

tea 90% of the time, but i also love macchiatos if i’m feeling indulgent. when reading. they’re so small, but sipping at them between readings feels like a lil reward for finishing a page.

27. Are you looking forward to any book release? If so, which one?

i don’t really read new books. i think part of my enjoyment is reading books like viewing art in galleries; knowing the story behind them, understanding the context within culture/history.

28. Recommend me a book :3

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. I think the message -- to ask more of the people in your life, to trust that people will respond and trust yourself to let them help -- is universal and can really change your life if you let it. Also, Amanda Palmer is a fucking badass and inspiration.

#i do declare #books #reading

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themclisseconnection · 7 years

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Look What You Made MEGA Do!

Tons of MEGA surprises wowed us this week but why do we feel like we also need a little music fix?

Missing the old Taylor? Yearning to feel like high school all over again? How 'bout a little throwback to remind you how it feels like to be young? Plug in your earphones, scan your playlist and let McLisse bring you back to the days when old Taylor could still come to the phone! ^^

1. Today Was a Fairytale

“Today was a fairytale, you were the prince I used to be a damsel in distress....”

Every moment feels like a fairytale whenever they're together. In a world full of chaos, it's still a joy to have a ship like McLisse. You may feel cursed at times, but McCoy and Elisse can easily turn the blues into colorful hues of happiness. Elisse isn't a damsel in distress anymore, and no, she was not saved by his prince. Her prince just helped her to open up to the world and love herself more.

2. Love Story

“We were both young when I first saw you, I close my eyes and the flashback starts...”

We're at the age where everybody is moved by throwbacks. We're consumed by the thoughts of their first Star Magic ball together, Star Magic Ball last year that knocked us off our feet and of course, the Star Magic Ball that's yet to happen next month. A real love story has no ending-- everyone in the room agrees and we just can't wait to be part of many adventures to come!

Baby, just say “YES.”

3. Fearless

“...And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless!”

Everyone in this fandom knows what “Fearless” truly means. It's not just a word, a song or an expression. It's a pivotal point in our journey. A move that no one even dared to predict. McLisse made our September 2016 memorable for a lot of reasons but the night when McMc was introduced to the world was one of our all-time favorites. It's one of the best places in our memory where we always find ourselves coming back and it's something that we'll always bring along with us wherever this roadtrip may lead us.

4. Jump then Fall

“Everytime you smile, I smile and everytime you shine, I'll shine for you...”

Everyone is waiting for the word “fall” to perfectly fall into place. But as we all know, timing is everything. We jump with joy for each blessings the fanmily receives and we also want our ship to fall in love the right way-- not just because of pressure or promotion. The time will come for us and before it does, let's keep our balance to keep ourselves from falling out of love and remember why everything worth the wait is also worth the fight. Diba nga, iba talaga pag mas nakilala mo pa yung taong gusto mo? :)

5. Sparks Fly

“I see sparks fly whenever you smile...”

Yes. To us, McLisse is the only ship that can make us drop everything especially when there are ganaps that we wouldn't want to miss. We saw their connection since day One and sparks continue to fly up to this day. Maybe it's all in their smiles? Is it with the look in their eyes? Or the calmness in our hearts? Sparks fly as we fly our way to success!

6. Mine

“You are the best thing that's ever been mine.”

They're not exactly “Ours.” You see, fans don't own this ship or their faves' lives but they're an essential part of their wonderful journey. We're lucky enough to know that they have each other. They're working and slowly building their dreams together. They're partners and that's what really matters. The careful daughter have learned the hard way. Day by day, she worked hard to be a better version of herself. She decided to move forward with a promise that her future decision will set everyone in this fanmily to move forward. *wink wink* Alam mo na yan, Aling Elisse! Haha.

7. Our Song

“Asking God if He can play it again...”

What's your all-time favorite McLisse song? O Pag-ibig? Sila? Kung Magiging Tayo? If We Fall In Love? Even our entire McLisse playlist will find it difficult to answer that but one thing's for sure, any song that embraces them always ends up embracing us. There are a lot of beautiful songs that will surely come for us in the future, new songs that will capture our feels, new melodies to get stuck in our heads and more charts to conquer. But our “cheers” and words of encouragement will always be the best song that they'll ever hear. The support coming from us will always top the spot and make everything a certified HIT. So, McLisse fanmily, continue singing! Continue sailing!

8. Shake it Off!

“..And haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate...”

Oh look! We even have a song for our secret friends. It's really tiring to see their comments but it's going to be more tiring for us if we'll respond to their words. You know they got nothing better to do, so just do your own thing and make your internet time more productive. Promote, support, like, share and retweet!!!

9. Red

“..Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you..”

McLisse loves Red. Red loves McLisse.

There's no need for us to tell you that Red is the most used color in our palette but we're telling it anyway to remind you how much this fanmily loves this color. McLisse would always show up with “something Red” in some of the most unforgettable moments in their career. The first pictorial in Vietnam, first McDo Ad, first Guillermo Award, first Anniversary with FPJAP at Araneta, FIRST year anniversary at Glass Garden and so on. We can also see Red hearts flying in their first MEGA magazine cover together! THAT COVER. Ang ganda ganda ganda po. It was lit. >>>

10. New Romantics

“Baby we're the new romantics, the best people in life are free...”

Okay, going back to THAT COVER. It's the Second time that McLisse got the “New Romantics” caption (First was with Chalk Mag) Ooh. Taylor owns the song but McLisse pretty much own that recurring caption!! NEW... means something fresh, recent or modern.

and ROMANTICS.... maybe we'll just leave it to your imagination! <3 <3 <3

Thank you MEGA magazine! We're lost for words. Turkey is already a beautiful place but you cared to match it with McLisse's beautiful chemistry. It turned out to be a beautiful, breathtaking and fiery combination of art and passion. Thanks for this opportunity MEGA! Look what you made “us” do! :)

(pics not mine! ctto:)

#McLisse #McCoy De Leon #Elisse Joson #MAKING MEGA TURKEY #MEGA MAGAZINE

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