Comments on: Widespread voting irregularities cause DCTS to rescind 2010 Fringe awards

By: Jake

Jake — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:04:55 +0000

Knox, while I agree with most of what you say, I have to disagree with the notion that Fringe should be juried. How would that even work? If you are a group who will be creating something during your process (as many do), how could they be screened ahead of time? So many great new theatres have gotten their start at Fringe (Nu Sass, for example), without a track record to speak of. And those productions that are slapdash are usually weeded out by reviewers. No, keep it open to all. Let Theatre Ring!

By: Knox

Knox — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:09:27 +0000

Sad, but unfortunately reflective of what Fringe has largely appeared to become over the last few years – a popularity contest and an indulgent exercise in simply throwing up on stage whatever was half-formed. Please note that in my opinion there were many excellent fringe shows this year, which showed a lot of care and effort; but were drowned out by a larger number of “productions” which seemed to have been written, rehearsed and that same morning.
Nothing wrong with off-the-cuff theatre, but DC is such a better and stronger theatre scene than I think Fringe reflects in the least. Isn’t it time for it to be juried?

By: Sully

Sully — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:48:00 +0000

I can guarantee that no one voted for The Perfect Chocolate Milkshake more than once.

By: Gerald Gleason

Gerald Gleason — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:33:24 +0000

Shouldn’t be necessary to tell people to vote only once.
A shame the results were tainted but good for DCTS for facing up to the problem.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:25:21 +0000

Next year have all 20 of your writers hold conclave and pick a few awards. There’s already one popularity contest, so your award would be special. Then put up a poll just for fun including ALL shows, maybe name one award for most popular, and let the hackers have at it.

By: MW

MW — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:03:31 +0000

At 7:01pm on Sunday the vote count was 617 for the eventual “winner”. The vote ended at 11:00pm (4 hours later) at more than 1400 votes. That means that at least 800 votes were cast in 240 minutes. That’s 1 vote every 18 seconds non stop for 4 hours.
It was voter fraud not fan loyalty or dedication.

Thanks to DCTS for standing up for integrity!

By: Katarina

Katarina — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:30:43 +0000

I agree it’s a shame that this happened, but the point was that it was not a fair vote to begin with because the technology needs improvement. The “cheaters” did nothing more than point out a flawed system, so no one would get treated unfairly. As it is, anyone can vote for their “favorite” show, whether they attended or not, so the winner could end up being “which show has the most friends with internet access” even if there is a way to lock the ballot after one vote was cast.
Also, that the vote was held Sunday-Monday, while hundreds of thousands in the area were without power and internet access didn’t help fairness either.
At least the votes were being done by enthusiastic fans by hand, and no one was brilliant enough to write a computer script to auto-vote for them!
Also, DCTC might want to post a statement with their ballot next year explaining the point and the “rules” of the election. There was no disclaimer asking voters to only vote once. Your non-stated rules are only as strong as your computer programming!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:42:24 +0000

I commend the DCTS for their decision to rescind the 2010 Fringe Awards for voting irregularities. It is a shame this happened.
Thank you Lorraine and DCTS for being a stand up organization and doing the right thing. I am very impressed.