The whole hairstyle contest is bogus

[Gizella]

Curious, could anyone with an active account vote? Like the gil sellers or people that just started? What about free trial players? Do you have to be a certain level or anything? Not sure if these answers are in the contest rules but I'm thinking of it as I read all of these responses. Very entertaining. LOL. Was my 1st time ever commenting on a forum. Actually registered just to vote for the hairstyle contest. I was curious because it would be a shame if the bonus items for the voters would end up in the hands of a gil seller or someone that might only play the game for a few weeks and never come back...also would be a shame if people kept making accounts just to cause a favorite hairstyle to win...

[Arashmin]

@Pruviant: Amen to that. And that they'll more actively engage one language side of these forums than the other speaks volumes about the culture, plus it means those who would like to suggest something reasonable on the English side of things gets lost in the rabble. Which means also problems unique to their/different from another's culture may never be addressed.

[Valkyrie-Veil]

These are the community forums. This is a community event. It should be voted on by the community. I fail to see what the problem is, TC?

[Noxifer]

also would be a shame if people kept making accounts just to cause a favorite hairstyle to win...

As far as I know, you need a separate SE account, and an active subscription on that account, in order to register and post/vote on the forums. And I say, if you buy a second game to register to another account (multiboxing), then it's pretty fair to be allowed to vote two times (or more, depending on how many games you buy). SE doesn't really limit such things to "one per real, physical person", after all, but rather "one per subscription".

These are the community forums. This is a community event. It should be voted on by the community. I fail to see what the problem is, TC?

The problem the OP sees is that some members of the gaming community were unable to vote in this contest due to having been suspended or banned from the forums, sometimes well deserved, sometimes due to minor infractions months apart (since the 'three strikes and you're out permanently' seems to take into consideration infractions since the creation of your account, and not, say, per year). And I agree that sometimes it seems strange how some people get suspended for sliding a toe over the line, whereas others seem to jump across with both feet without being reprimanded ^^;
(Of course I have no idea what's going on behind the scenes, nor how accurate that appearance is. It's just how it's seemed to me at times.)