I'd like to put myself forwards as interested in taking the male models and helping run that side of the contest. I was planning on trying out again for Cycle 3, but that sounds like a really interesting idea and I like the idea of a Pirate Captain wrangling a bunch of male models

I've been watching this thread unfold and have thoughts of my own. So strap in, cupcakes. Cap'n Ty has OPINIONS.

First off, I feel as if a lot of models who got eliminated early felt a little short-changed when they got eliminated having taken 10+ images that would never see the contest proper. So, I suggest rather than sending out the full list of shots, do them week by week. Once models are selected, they are told what the theme is for round 1. When the voting thread goes up for it, they are told what the theme is for round 2. This way there's no "wasted effort" and it also allows the models to better take feedback from the previous rounds. It's in my mind a little more exciting for the models too, as they now have to focus on figuring out their shots in a shorter timeframe, making it more challenging and also distracting them from worrying about votes a little

I would also like to see more detailed critiques from the judges, where the models get to hear why judges voted a particular way. If that's being done now, I've not seen it and so some more public visibility around it would help. I think that giving the judges the opportunity to "play their role" a little more publicly might help encourage involvement and be more entertaining for the 'viewers'. Of course, this requires finding a solid panel of judges who will remain throughout the contest, but I think the prospect of getting to write out an "in-character" judging for the round might help entice people to do it and remain dedicated.

I'd been working on proposing a way to switch things up to where the judges votes determine which model is up for elimination and then the public get to vote on who stays, as I've seen done in some reality shows...but I've not been able to come up with a satisfactory way to make it work with the medium we're in right now. Works well for a call-in vote, less so for forums. All I can see it doing in the end is making two of the models feel awful while one of them waits for elimination...and that's a terrible thing to drag out over a week. I'm not convinced there's -no- way to make it work, but I've not got one yet.

I think that's enough for now...I have some more thoughts on the more technical aspects (such as how to actually get the model shots submitted in a way that doesn't require confirmation emails or forum posts) but I'll hold off on those for now until other, more immediate choices are made. Rongi, feel free to /tell me in-game in the meantime if you'd like to know what I have in mind.