Anyone who frequents Lenzr in August 2010 will notice there are some new developments, in addition to four new photo contests.

The photography challenges end October 1st, 2010 and there’ll be a whole lot more good information about them on this blog in the immediate future. The changes to the voting protocols on the website are permanent.

The new Lenzr voting protocol promises to level the playing field and ramp up the excitement.  Now each photographer’s pictures will be on display only, until there are just ten days left in the contest. When the countdown ends, the time to vote begins! This upgrade should make each contest 2x more exciting, and 100% more fair.

In the past we’ve  had problems keeping the contests fair.  Lenzr is still evolving and we discovered over time that the contests were set up to favour early adopters. Users that were the first to upload pictures always had a much better chance of winning because of the volume of members and voting visitors that saw their pictures first and any vote no matter how small helps each photo.

This idea for a countdown mechanism came to  us from a member that emailed suggestions to help improve the overall Lenzr user experience.  Fortunately, when we hear a good idea we jump on it – six months later!  This update is long overdue but is expected to radically improve the overall fairness of the competition, and the overall user experience.

Lenzr hopes to create a photography competition that is fair and equal for everyone involved. There is no question that the best photo should win, but quality is subjective – what might be considered beautiful by some users may be hideously ugly and unprofessional to others. So its only when we can poll the masses and take the mean averages that admiration can be properly quantified to determine the preferences of the voting population.

INSIGHT - in the next upgrade there will be a coupon distribution mechanism added to incentivize Lenzr members to vote on images.

There was some  controversy at the end  of the May June 2010 photo contests, but the  official results in the Lenzr machine are as follows:

Crowded Places had the most participation with 46 PHOTOS UPLOADED | TOTAL VOTES 1828.

Ve3bnw Bill Watson wins the brand new Blackberry Curve courtesy of Innate Media Group for having submitted the first place photo in the Crowded Places photo contest. Bill’s aerial photo of the Rockton Worlds Fair is quite interesting and was well received, collecting 270.2 points, the most in category.  The image was clearly taken from the sky, and so is most likely a product of Bill Watson’s remote controlled helicopter gunship and budding aerial photography business. This smart phone will certainly come in handy for the high flyer.

50 Going On 15 was won by Mommakoala, AKA Debbie Watson, Bill Watson’s wife. This long standing member of Lenzr is a Hamilton resident and part time nurse and passionate photographer. She takes imaginative pictures and has a knack for writing good titles and captions. Her ‘No Pesky Neighbours’ photo won the first Ontario Tourist Attractions photo contest on Lenzr on November 1st 2009.

Portable Luxury was won by Seattledredge when Mommakoala’s photo was deleted by admin with only 15 minutes left in the competition.  It was indeed an ugly finish to what had been a close struggle. This strange but not unwarranted eventuality is explained in great detail in What Happened to Mommakoala’s Candy Stash? The account proferred along with an apologetic  explanation and rare glimpse into the world of the Lenzr admin. Remember we are all trying to achieve something that has never occurred before, a perfectly democratic contest community where business sponsors art.

The contest itself collected a lot of very strange and amusing ideas relating to our human notions of luxury, and what it means to move your comfort zone. There were 17 PHOTOS UPLOADED | TOTAL VOTES 680.  The Portable Luxury photo contest started late and that’s why the numbers were relatively low, but the prize is the greatest gift that has ever been shared by the site admin on the behalf of Lenzr’s most generous sponsor to date.

Seattledredge plus one guest have won three days and

two nights in Las Vegas courtesy of a portable toilet rentals business in Toronto ItsMyPotty.com

Three new photo contests will launch July 10th 2010. They will be subject to a new voting ritual. A change is occurring whereby pictures are collected and displayed until the last two weeks of the contest, when votes are collected. This levels the playing field for photographers and professional contesters.  Please read more about the new Lenzr voting mechanisms in the next post.

May June contests come to a conclusion, with one strange upset…

Another unusual chapter in the story of Lenzr has been written today. An unprecedented event occurred at 11:45pm on June 30th, 2010. Mommakoala’s image, My Candy Stash was eliminated from the competition. The correction was made by admin.  The result of their decision makes her ineligible to win the Portable Luxury photo contest, and the Las Vegas vacation prize for which she has been campaigning in multiple social networks for a month.

Debbie is upset, Bill is furious, but Lenzr has to be fair to all members.

As everyone knows this blog is connected to a serial photo contest website that issues new challenges every sixty days. Its the only indy photo contest website of its kind, and as such it has developed a core following of veteran contesters that dominate each challenge and sub-divide the spoils. These individuals scour other social networks recruiting votes and promoting their work, and this activity is encouraged by admin. That’s right. We like it when that happens. When contesters put the message out on their own social platforms it compounds the quality and distribution of the marketing.

However, Lenzr website admin must also guard against proxy IP vote fraud and multiple domain registrations for / by which the only activity is voting perfect 10s for specific images from specific members (and voting 1 for everyone else) We can see when that happens.

Although Mommakoala’s My Candy Stash was the only photo removed in this session, almost all of the photos uploaded by just about every member have red flags attached to them in Lenzr reports; they are being flagged for some terms of service violation or another, by both humans and the filter. And that’s understandable because its just the way the votes are collected…

WHO’S TO BLAME? Because the abuse is so widespread across the entire database we have to believe that individual contesters themselves are not really responsible for the methods and passion of their friends, or strangers who might otherwise seek to disqualfy them.

Its a strange web we weave when we invent and launch a ‘democratic photo contest website’ made ‘by the people for the people’ wherein admin has ALMOST no control.

Remarkably, Seattledredge’s Portable City had no such red flags or suspicious activity. It appears to have collected 330 points in a most organic fashion. Admin had to act here, to be fair to Seattle and reward her for submitting some very pretty images in all three categories.

So a decision was made to reward Seattle’s image over Mommakoala’s submission, and as Admin has no power over the voting algorithm itself, our only option was to eliminate Debbie’s image entirely from competition.

Mommakoala is one of our favourite associations. As you will read in the next write-up, Debbie’s Elton Johnish photo is the winner of the 50 Going On 15 photo contest, and she will collect over 50 lbs of pure chocolate from Choclicks courtesy of TempoToronto.ca

Ve3bnw Bill Watson, Debbie’s husband will reap the Blackberry reward for having submitted the first place photo in the Crowded Places photo contest. I myself, Rob Campbell the Lenzr blogger have offered to host a banner promoting Bill’s aerial photography business in the sidebar of the Lenzr blog.

NOW WE ADAPT A SMARTER PROGRAM where VOTES ARE COLLECTED AT THE END

From July 1st 2010 forward, Lenzr has a new voting ritual. The new procedures will cure all the vote fraud malaise as we together evolve and perfect this social experiment and make it friendlier and fair for everyone that chooses to participate. Comments and queries are encouraged and will be answered directly.

Here’s a quick update on Lenzr member mroy, the winner of the Everyday Tangled Web photo contest on Lenzr.

After traveling in more tropical regions of the world, Mrs Roy has returned to find her prize, a Plantronics Voyager 510SL+ Bluetooth Headset System with Lifter, approx retail value $429.00 waiting for her at the post office.

Overwhelmed, she unpacked the cardboard box and posed with her two grandchildren on the couch. These kids look feisty. You can she’s doing her best to keep one perched on her knee, and the smaller bloke looks equally rambunctious.

So it comes as no surprise when Grandma reveals how these young people were partially responsible for her snapping the prize winning photo. The missing toy was found and recovered only after she’d used her digital camera to look in places she couldn’t get to with her eyes anymore.

Now mroy can enjoy talking on the phone ‘hands free’ and wireless courtesy of  SE Telecommunications a business phone systems design and installation company in Toronto.

THEN A FEW DAYS LATER, Mary sent me this photo and more text below,

On Saturday March 13th 2010, The Wine Ladies, myself Rob Campbell, and Dave Dingle of Shrinkray,  hosted the winners of two Lenzr photo contests and together enjoyed a Locaboire wine tour of Prince Edward County, Ontario.

The winner of Macro Photos of Life, Bill Watson ve3bnw and his wife Debbie, joined the winner of Best Gourmet Food Sandra Ausma sausma1 and her companion Johnny Cochrane.

Locaboire Wine Tour of Prince Edward Co.

The wines of Prince Edward Co have gained prominence over the last decade, which is remarkable considering most of the vineyards in the area didn’t exist fifteen years ago. This is still a very young wine region, but the idea is maturing as viticulturists are now producing excellent products.

Partly because of its soft and friable calcareous limestone soil, and partly due to assiduous care on the part of its winemakers who have learned how to protect their vines each winter to shelter the tender primary buds from killing cold, the vines have endured and excelled in tastings all over the world.

We all met up at The Timberhouse

Lenzr attracts an interesting mix of people, and our assembly was a terrific cross section of contest participants and colourful sponsors; there was great chemistry right from the beginning.

Everyone was surprised to find a stretch limousine waiting for us outside the  Timberhouse Resort in Brighton Ontario.  Some local vintages were waiting inside, with more down the road. The wine started flowing from the moment we all climbed aboard.

From left to right, Rob Campbell, Dave Dingle, Michell Walkau, Susanne and Georgia - The Wine Ladies, Debbie (MommaKoala), Johnny Cochrane and Dr. Sandra Ausma at The Grange Winery - that’s Caroline Granger pouring Trumpours Mill, 2007 Pinot Noir. Photos by Bill Watson (Ve3bnw) check ve3bnw Flickr stream for more pics.

The Locaboire Wine Tour started at The Grange

The prize winners enjoyed a short (hot) drive in a long limousine through the brown landscape of Prince Edward County in Eastern Ontario, and past some very old properties with dilapidated barns and overgrown stone fences. i though I saw some wild apple trees - all that remains of the orchards that were planted on every farm in the area in the early 1800s. This region boasts some of the oldest settlements in Ontario and the wineries people are quite connected to their history.

This is a blossoming wine country in the springtime of its existence and our tour visited three of the twenty wineries that are here now; ten more vineyards have planted grapes and hope to establish themselves in the near future.

Ten minutes into the expedition our limousine turned off the paved road and gingerly traversed down a muddy sideroad, over Dorland Creek, and past a 19th century  farmhouse to stop outside The Grange winery.

Inside a cozy wooden barn we met Caroline Granger who, along with her father Bob Granger, owns the property and facilities.   This family manages six different vineyards, with six different varietals – they harvest 180 tonnes of grapes every year.

Caroline was great and The Wine Ladies really liked her – Susanne and Georgia unpacked their signature oversized wine glasses, and we shot three segments for The Wine Ladies TV show in three different locations on the property.

Caroline was very down to earth as she related the history of her property – the farm is 200 years old and was once the location of a chicken canning business which packed under the label Meadowvale farms.  The chicken cannery was quite succesful in the early 1900s and printed material still exists that show the goods were sold in the market of the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto.  Caroline Granger was born and raised on the property, she described how she plowed the fields when she was a little girl and  The Wine Ladies in particular were very impressed with her – they remarked afterward how genuine it is for the proprietor of a winery to be so well connected to the climate and soil, the terrior of the region.

Next Stop, Closson Chase - 629 Closson Rd, Hillier Ontario

At 3:30 pm the Locaboire wine tour continued down the road to Closson Chase.

Its no secret, these vineyards was founded by and are still owned and managed by a smattering of Canadian film and television celebrities, most notably Sonia Smits. The first test plots were planted in 1998 and the winery itself was founded in 1999.

This destination was a perfect exercise in serious wine tasting as Lynn Carmichael explained that Closson has two properties. The grape vines on their farm in Niagara are 30 years old, while the vines grown here in Eastern Ontario come from vines that are less than six years old. We tasted the difference as we sampled the Chardonnay – one glass was from 6 yr old vines, and other from 30 yr old vines. We savoured the contrast, and came to understand more about the structure of wine in general. It was a good education, and great exercise.

All of the wine we consumed on the Locaboire tour was of course Estate Bottled which means the wine was produced from grapes grown on the farm, or by the estate.

Locaboire Wine Tour ends at RoseHall Run

The final destination on our Locaboire wine tour was Rosehall Run at 1241 Greer Rd Wellington Ontario where we met Dan Sullivan who is both the winemaker and vineyard manager. He is a lifetime student of the art of making good wine (in large batches) and has been honing his craft for almost fifteen years. This guy is super passionate about his life’s work and very hands on, eager to discuss the smallest details of his craft. At one point he stood over a pump and explained how the mechanism could move whole grapes to the press without breaking or bruising the fruit. He also lectured on the experience of setting up the winery itself, and the geology of the soil as evidenced in the barrel cellar, which was hewn out of the same limestone that makes the grapes so delicious.

This walk about Rosehall Run got most interesting down in the barrel cellar where Dan did a great interview with The Wine Ladies. The group tasted several different wines , including 2008 Sullyzwicker rose and red, and a syrah that was made from grapes grown on a neighbour’s property, Steven Singer the viticuluralist of nearby Fieldstone.

The Timberhouse

That evening, at the Timberhouse we tucked into an incredible feast accompanied by the wines we enjoyed throughout the day. The chef prepared a feast fit for visiting monarchs, and indeed that’s certainly how we felt about ourselves at that time.

The Dinner Menu at The Timberhouse

First a small bowl of sautéed shrimp in Tai sauce garnished with diced pepers and strawberries on a tuft of vermicelli laying on a big piece of Swiss Chard.

Second course was a crisp  salad of assorted greens, with tomato wedges and cucumbers smothered in raspberry vinagrette

Third course and entree featured bacon wrapped Fillet Mignon in a herb compound butter with rosemary roasted potatoes an fresh vegetables.

All this was followed by a delicious homemade chocolate cake for desert.

The wines we drank at dinner include,

Rosehall Run 2007 VQA Pinot Noir
Rosehall Run 2007 Riesling
Rosehall Run 2007 Cabernet Franc
Rosehall Run 2007 Gewurztraminer
The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards 2008 Trumpour’s Mill Gamay Noir
Closson Chase 2007 Chardonnay VQA Prince Edward County
Redtail Vineyard 2007 Pinot Gris
Redtail Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir
Huff Estates 2008 VQA Riesling Off-Dry

Downtown Toronto, its winter time and Absolute Tent and Event Services is stuffed to the rafters with everything required to make a party.  This place is a bonafide party bomb waiting to explode with tents and staging, folding chairs and tables, event lighting and so many other luxuries waiting to be delivered and assembled in backyards all over the Greater Toronto Area.  Kaboom its party time!

Just because its winter time is no excuse not to throw a party. This building is filled with heaters and insulated tents, snow blowers, troughs and buckets. Maybe we should have a made their photo contest a ‘winter parties’ theme?

Their building is huge and multi-faceted and worth visiting if you live in Toronto and you’re organizing an event. Tell them you’ve entered a photo on Lenzr and you may get 10% off…  maybe.

Here’s Laura, the Absolute blogger who is our eyes and ears inside this busy Toronto tent and party rentals house. She gives us the skinny on upcoming events, Hollywood film shoots, parades and even Toronto waterfront conditions from the perspective of a rentals house employee, which is kind of fascinating. The company does movies and big City of Toronto public occasions too, like Canada Day,  Woofstock and Gay Pride Parade  and so its possible she will have celebrity pictures and details about the assembly and clean-up of big urban bashes. Another interesting thing about Laura are the little glimpses we get into her daily life at the business, and how she struggles to improve her skills driving forklifts and

Backyard Party Events is for the little people who host their own good times at home. Every photographer worth his salt has party pictures and the ones we want to see will hopefully show off some residential geography and show off backyard BBQs, games and dancing under shady trees. Already there are shots of some rowdy kids and a whole of beer cans, but I think we can do better than that.

The prize for the Lenzr member that uploads the highest ranked picture is a spiffy new 10×10 Popup Tent, and $500 Gift Certificate * that must be spent at Absolute Tent and Event Services obviously. Laura is actually building the tent prize in the photo above and the Absolute blog will detail its specifics.

It’s March 1st 2010 today. Three photo contests ended on Lenzr at 12:01 am this morning, and now three more photo challenges are set to begin.  It wasn’t the smoothest contest we must admit - the changes to the voting algorithm caused severe problems when the votes were finally collected.  But all issues have been resolved, and now the website voting, grading and ranking mechanisms are well oiled and twice tested.

So let’s have a look at who won the last contests, how and why…

The Kids in Action photo contest was a real battlefield last month. With 27 photos uploaded and 851 total votes there was some competition for the prize , an advanced NiteWhite teeth bleaching kit courtesy of a Toronto dentist.

The photo named Soccer Stand by a rather prolific user named  seattledredge (why does nobody ever capitalize their username?) garnered the most votes.

Uploaded on: 27 Jan the image was a late addition and still managed to win with a score of 215.80 points.

The Total Votes:      116
Popular rating:        8.4 (99 votes)
Registered rating:   7.1 (17 votes)

Congratulations seattledredge !

The Everyday Tangled Web photo contest got the most attention, and to some extent it went viral as phone service technicians called each other and shared their most horrific case studies with the public.  There were 28 photos uploaded into the competition, and these images accrued 1680 votes.  The classic pictures uploaded by members Tialdone and Phonemaster were exceptionally good, real pictures of everyday tangled webs clogging telephone service rooms and data racks.  This is what the sponsor most wanted the public to see as this is the particular type of mess they specialize in curing.

Not surprisingly however the winner was a much less technical image that caught the hearts and tickled the minds of voting patrons.

The photo of a colourful stuffed animal lost in the wires and cables that was uploaded by a user named mroy won the challenge with humour and grace. Her picture, This Looks Yummy carried the storyful caption: “My twin grandsons hid this toy for me to find. Took me 2 hrs to find it, hidden behind my computer.”  The image with caption earned a total score of  573.30 points.
Total Votes:             247
Popular rating:      8.5 (189 votes)
Registered rating: 7.4 (68 votes)

Congratulations mroy ! You win the Plantronics Voyager wireless headset courtesy of an office phone systems provider in Markham Ontario!

And finally,

The winner of the Best Gourmet Food photo contest was Berry Delicious!, a photo uploaded by another very prolific photographer, member named sausma1 that she snapped at her friend’s wedding.

The caption reads, ‘There’s nothing like the taste sensation of squeezing seasonal fresh berries in your mouth. These are Mini-Creme Brulee with fresh berries.’

The very attractive and informative picture scored of 119.30 points

Total Votes:              47
Popular rating:       6.9 (32 votes)
Registered rating:  6.3 (15 votes)

Congratulations sausma1 ! This talented shutterbug will now be joining myself (and last session’s Macro Photos of Life contest winner Bill Watson plus guest) and The Wine Ladies on the Locaboire Eastern Ontario wineries and breweries tour

Stay focused on the Lenzr blog for stories about the winners as they receive their prizes.

James Stortz the  C.E.O. and founder of  S.E. Telecommunications really surprised us when he came up with this perfect idea for a photo contest on Lenzr.  He said, why not make a challenge to show ‘tangled messes’ so we can make fun of how wired everyone is these days? And we said, of course.

James you’re a genius. The photo contest Everyday Tangled Web is designed to pinpoint the tangles that we, as a society, create and use everyday.

What does the back of your computer look like? If you run a network with multiple terminals in your home or business it can get really complicated behind the scenes. Add cable TV or fiber optic wires and device wires and audio cables and telephone wires and it becomes a real mess.  But can this mess ever be beautiful?  With or without the dust bunnies?

Its a challenging assignment, finding wired messes is not difficult, but it takes a special kind of artist to transform a natural composition of strings and wires, or steam hoses or even human hair into compelling photographic art.  This kind of out-of-the-box thinking by James will certainly require some innovative photo tactics by Lenzr members.

S.E Telecom would like to remind the public that choosing the correct business telephone system is very important, as that system will be an integral part of your business, helping you to grow and develop closer links with your clients. The wrong system can be expensive and disastrous.

This company is fast becoming the best business telephone systems provider in Toronto, offering consulting, design, implementation and support for small to medium sized businesses. They have integrated services for some of the most successful companies to date, such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Redline Communications, Remedy’s Rx, dineTO, to name a few.  They are distributors of AVAYA and Nortel giving them cutting edge solutions to bring your business to the next level. Located in Markham Ontario,  S.E. Telecommunications are experts at,

1.    Assessing your needs

2.    Mobile integration, including,  a)  Advanced Conference Calling Abilities  b)  Voicemail to Email c)    Call Recording  d)    Call Center  e)    Route-to-fax capability/Fax to E-Mail  f)   Cell phone Integration  g)    Call Detail Recording/Call Tacking

3.    De-mystifying the jargon and making sense of   a) VoiP or IP - Voice over Internet protocol and Internet protocol  b)  KSU - Key system unit  c)  PBX - Private branch exchange  d)  HOSTED PBX - A hosted PBX system delivers PBX functionality as a service  e) IVR - Interactive voice response.

4.    Estimating how many lines or trunks and how many extensions you need

5.    Choosing a supplier

SE Telecom designs phone systems that offer powerful capabilities to help employees communicate more effectively with customers, vendors, and each other. Combining advanced, big business functionality with the ease of use and simplified management that small businesses require.

The prize for the Everyday Tangled Web photo contest is a Plantronics Voyager 510SL+ Bluetooth Headset System with Lifter, retail Value $429.00

Enjoy wireless freedom in the office or on the go with the Plantronics Voyager 510S Bluetooth Headset. Ensuring lightweight, all-day comfort, the Voyager 510S delivers superior sound quality and provides WindSmart technology for clear voice transmission. At the touch of a button you can seamlessly switch between office phone and voice-enabled Bluetooth mobile device. Wherever, Whenever, Wireless
Highlights
•    Bluetooth-Enabled Technology
•    One headset for wireless communication in and out of office
•    Lightweight headset design for all-day wearing comfort
•    Desk phone adapter turns your office phone into a Bluetooth phone
•    Versatile headset for both office and Bluetooth mobile phones
•    Noise-Canceling microphone for clearer conversations
•    WindSmart provides wind-noise reduction technology for optimal sound clarity
•    Headset folds for easy storage
•    One-touch call control buttons
•    Now in silver for a sleek, updated look
•    Included lifter automatically lifts handset and returns it to the cradle
•    Enables remote or one touch call answer/end with your Plantronics headset
•    Included travel kit contains carrying pouch, CLA charger, USB charger, and indicator

“Using cutting edge technology and feature rich products is the corner stone of our business.  We have a team of researchers who are constantly reviewing the latest in telecommunications technology to ensure each of our clients has the latest and best systems out on the market.  That paired with our high level of customer service, and technicians that go the extra mile is what sets us apart from the rest. Whenever you need us wherever you need us, we are there for you”. James Stortz CEO, SE Telecommunications Ltd. www.setelecom.ca

This photo contest ends March 1st 2010 and at that time the member that uploaded the photo with the highest rating will win this prize. Good luck to all participants!

Readers of this blog, photographers, Lenzr members and friends know that this website is a work in progress. We are starting something here, and with bold intentions we are trying to perfect a mechanism that efficiently ‘harnesses business to make art’.  Already the success of our enterprise has proven that buzz marketing attached to a photo contest is a healthy way for any company and especially local business to tell consumers the specifics of their offering and share branded content and user submitted photo genius through an expanding social network.

But all is not perfect. There are problems that need to be remedied and the biggest issue seems to be the manner by which the winning photo is selected.

As you know on Lenzr, there are two qualities of votes. To encourage more participation, we have opted to have a popular vote that does not require registration, and yet we have a registered vote that is more powerful.  In the last set-up the registered vote was worth five times more than a popular vote.  In the new equation it will be worth 10x more than a popular vote, and members will have to have uploaded a photo before they can cast a registered vote. Newly registered members that have not uploaded a photo or if their photo has been deleted, will find their registered votes actively or retroactively rescinded into popular votes.

Another factor is the number of votes, and this is where we went wrong last contest period. The weight was too high and the members who uploaded their images first received the lion’s share of audience participation and won by sheer volume of votes, both low and high scores.  In the new algorithm, the # of votes will still count, but only be worth half as much.

Slimmswitch wrote us an email last week and said,  “Maybe another suggestion would be to allow both the registered user and anonymous user to only be able to vote on one photo per day as opposed to every photo? as people might get others to vote a terrible score on every other photo.  I think this would make voting more accurate as people will be forced to vote more honestly.” Our response: Although we agree that limiting the # of votes per day would force people to be selective and discriminating, we think it would be too limiting, and severely affect participation numbers, which is a metric intricately connected to our sponsorship sales efforts.

# of Comments Here at Lenzr we have decided to add another variable to our increasingly complex formula. Now we are adding # of comments to the equation. Each comment will be considered a positive addition to the photo selection metrics.

SUMMARY of the new LENZR SCORING ALGORITHM

The winning photo on Lenzr will now be selected by a combination of Registered Votes and Popular votes, whereby Registered Votes are worth 10x more than Popular Votes. The total numbers of votes each photo receives will be halved and this amount added to the equation.  And finally the # of comments will collected and added to the scoring with each comment being worth one perfect or 10/10 registered vote.

Lets try that, and see where we are in sixty days. Your feedback is appreciated.

Friends and photographers visiting Lenzr.com last week migt have noticed some changes in the mix; there have been about twelve small fixes and three large alterations to the code.

Profound changes have been made to the way people vote on images.  We’ve abandoned the thumbs in favour of a rainbow coloured numeric scale for greater accuracy.

And there are now two kinds of votes, public and registered. Public votes are for fun and will not count for deciding winners. Registered votes are made by registered users. Participate in either way, and our system will log your computer’s IP address to prevent multiple votes.

Users cannot vote on their own photos. The image above was uploaded by quansathome; her computer will not show the rainbow vote bar.

Users can disable their accounts at anytime, and they can delete their photos within 24 hours of uploading them onto the site.

Do you have any suggestions?