+PSP - Challenge Guidelines

We welcome anyone who would like to take part in the Wednesday Challenge.

We try to keep rules to the minimum, but one in particular that we do ask you to follow is the one for naming your challenge files. It ensures that your entry is linked to you by your name starting the filename, and it is unique and cannot be overwritten in the gallery by anyone else's entry. So please read the FAQ about filenames very carefully.

Here are the guidelines and FAQs about the Wednesday Challenge.

If you have any questions on how to name or post your images that are not answered here, please contact the Challenge Co-Ordinator. After you have read these guidelines, come to the Challenge Forum and start having fun with the challenges.

WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE FAQ AND GUIDELINES

Click on any one of these references to go straight to the subject.

1) What is the Wednesday Challenge?
2) How do I name my image(s) when I put them on my server?
3) When does the challenge start and how long does it run?
4) What size should my graphic be?
5) Can I use any graphic software to make my graphic?
6) How do I post my image on the forum?
7) What does PlusPSP do with the graphics/images?
8) How do I get to be a Challenger?
9) How many images can I post each week?
10) How do I get my image in the Star Gallery?

Guidelines for Challengers

Guidelines for Voting

What is the Wednesday Challenge?

Each week a +PSP enthusiast issues a challenge in the Wednesday Challenge Forum. The challenge consists of a piece of clipart, or line drawing, or texture, or an idea - whatever the challenger chooses. Those wishing to enter a challenge download the image, if there is one, open it in their graphics program and start creating an image that uses the challenge object or illustrates the idea if no specific graphic object is offered.

How do I name my image(s)when I put them on my server?

You will see in item #6 that before you can display your challenge images in the forum, you must first upload them to your own server. The name you give the graphic when you save it and upload it should be made up like this:

The image filename consists of

Your user name. (That's the name you post under, that we all know you by.)
The challenge number followed by a dash.
The number 1, 2 or 3 etc. for your first, second third etc. entry in this challenge

It is very important that you give your graphics filenames made in this format when you post them to your own website. The thumbnail program we use puts the filename you give it underneath the thumbnail of your image in the gallery. This way of naming ensures that we do not get more than one image with the same name, (which would mean people's images getting overwritten and lost), and everyone can see who created each image when they view the gallery.

As stated above, the graphic filename should contain your user name, the challenge number, and the graphic number... with a dash between the challenge number and the graphic number, but if your server will not allow dashes, then use the underscore. ( _ ) But please use the dash if at all possible.

EXAMPLE
Suppose Topsy submitted 3 graphics for Challenge 25.

Her first graphic would be named "topsy25-1.jpg"
Her second graphic - "topsy25-2.gif"
Her third graphic - "topsy25-3.jpg"

Keep the number sequence for all your images in one challenge, even if the image type changes

When does the challenge start and how long does it run?

The challenge is issued on a Wednesday and members have until 9.00pm GMT (4.00pm EST, 1.00pm Pacific time) on Sunday to produce their graphics in response.

Between Sunday and the following Wednesday we prepare the gallery of this week's graphics, and announce the winner for the Star Gallery and any awards.

What size should my graphic be?

There are no limits to the pixel size of your graphic, but please think about file size, download time and so on when you make your final graphic. We suggest no larger than 80K file size in a normal way, but if that degrades your graphic too much, or hides too much detail if you have to resize it, then you have discretion to make it a few bytes larger, but nothing above 85K and that should be an occasional exception.

Can I use any graphic software to make my graphic?

Yes. We are a multi-program site and we welcome all software in the Wednesday Challenge.

BEWARE - - Sometimes the challenger stipulates certain rules or do's and don'ts for the challenge. If anything out of the ordinary is asked, then you must abide by the challenger's individual rules for that particular challenge. If you do not, then your image would not be eligible for the Star Gallery vote. But we ask challengers not to stipulate particular software that not all members may own, and although most of our members own PSP, we would not wish to discourage members from using more than one program, or other programs, in the challenge.

So the challenger's rules are more likely to be in the field of making sure that the challenge object is recognizable in the final image, or no tubes, stamps, nozzles, photos, clipart etc., rather than limiting you to one particular art package.

How do I post my image on the forum?

You must first upload your graphic to your server. Then post the image in your message if your server allows hot linking.

Here is a sample.
If CarolUK uploads an image to her webspace at caroluk.org.uk and puts it in a folder called posts, she would put the address of the image between the img tags in the body of her message to display it.
[img]http://www.caroluk.org.uk/posts/caroluk25-1.jpg[/img]

There are some servers which do not allow hot linking from their sites, so your graphic would not show.
If your graphic is on such a site, you can just type the URL address between the url tags:
[url]http://www.caroluk.org.uk/posts/caroluk25-1.jpg[/url]
into the message. Then viewers can click on that link and go to your site to look at your image.

There are some servers which will not even allow that. If you are on one of those, you need to make an html page which will display the graphic, and upload that and the graphic to your server, and then type the page URL into your message between the url tags:
[url]http://www.caroluk.org.uk/posts/posts.html[/url]
so that people can click on it to go to your page.

What does PlusPSP do with the graphics/images?

At the end of each challenge the posted graphics are collected and placed in a gallery. There is a different gallery for each week. The Challenge Gallery Index leads to the archive of galleries from previous weeks as well as the current one. All images in the gallery are eligible to be voted for the Star Gallery and winner's award for that week.

How do I get to be a Challenger?

The Challenge Forum wants and needs challengers. Don't be shy! Newbies are welcome! We have a Challenger List and you can be added to it. The coordinator in charge of the Wednesday Challenge contacts people on the list to take a certain week to be challenger. Email the Challenge Co-Ordinator saying that you would like to be a challenger. The coordinator will put you on the Challenger List and will contact you in the future to be a challenger.

How many images can I post each week?

You may submit as many graphics as you wish, within the allotted time period. If you do not wish your image to go in the gallery - perhaps because you have not stuck to some requirement stipulated by the challenger - please put 'not for gallery' in the subject line.

How do I get my image in the Star Gallery?

Voting is done by email to choose the Star Gallery image.

Only the winning image is announced

Guidelines for Challengers

You may issue your challenge in the form of a graphic, clipart, texture, or an idea - the choice of challenge is entirely up to you, provided that it is suitable for a family friendly site.

You may stipulate conditions which must be met, but not that a particular software package must be used. We are a cross-program site, and we cannot guarantee that all our members will own a particular program. Even though most of them probably own PSP, we cannot be certain that they all do, and we would not wish to discourage people from using any software they like in the production of their images. But you can specify things like no nozzles, tubes, stamps, photographs etc., or that the posted image must be recognizable in the image, or it may not be deformed or rotated, etc. If you do not make any particular conditions, people will assume anything goes.

Email your challenge details, with any image/s as attachments, to the Challenge Co-Ordinator at the latest by the Sunday before the Wednesday your challenge is due to be posted.

Guidelines for Voting

Please inspect every image in the week's gallery before making your decision.

Ensure that any image you wish to vote for conforms to the exact requirements of the challenge, including any conditions specified by the challenger. The challenge criteria, if there are any, are always posted in the challenge gallery header.

Choose your favourite image which conforms to the challenge requirements and send it to the address provided at the Wednesday Challenge forum in the Week's Gallery post.

The Most Important Rule of All

Have fun. The whole reason for the Wednesday Challenge is that everyone should enjoy themselves, use their creative ingenuity, and experiment with new ways of using their software.

For comments and questions about these guidelines, please contact the Challenge Co-ordinator.