Sure, the BW <could> decide to sweep everything, but at some point others lose interest. I'd understand Tagalog humor even less well than Tagalog analysis (it'd be like reading the old Russian magazines -- follow the moves and eventually pick up a few key phrases).

Not that many people vote for these things and even if it all fell apart, it wouldn't be the end of the site as we know it.

Lert Alert: there are no (conscious) ironies in the following sentence (that's the sentence that will start when this one finally ends, and in the meantime I should point out that while I can *try* to suspend ironies I cannot in any sense guarantee their absence, and the thing will probably be crawling with metaphors, hysteron proterons, and stray bits of rhetorical baggage, sabe?).

*While I think that something is happening, I do not think that the thing that is happening is the kind of thing about which something needs to be done.*

Phew. Ist klar? And if Geurgle is sophisticated enough to 'translate' my ramblings into any known human language, it deserves the franchise.

And there are lotsa factors here. On the one hand, theoretically it's clearly "off" to name somebody as a main contributor to this site, when this person chooses to contribute, not to the site overall, but only a sharply defined subset thereof - which subset then appears to aggressively promote their favorite, regardless of the clear inappropriateness of awarding such an <exclusive> contributor a "title" that is meant to be a recognition to <site-wide> valuable members.

Btw, <Dom>, I'll try to go into the exact nature of the difference, which you mentioned generally, between the phenomenon of <voting for friends> and the <tribal voting> one: it's a matter of causality.

Yup, most people do honestly believe that their friends are the best (at whatever); however, the fine distinction lies in the manner in which these friends were <selected> in the first place.

In the tribal model, "friends" are selected by geographical/ethnic criteria alone first, and the bias in favor of them follows. In this model, clearly the contention that someone is favored "just because he's a friend" stings because it is quite likely entirely correct.

Whereas we tend to choose our friends from amongst those individuals that we most like, appreciate, and respect - for their personalities - to start with. So of course we <continue> to think they are fine people, after they become our friends too! :)

... On the other hand, <Switch> is largely right. What the Barangay is doing this year is nothing new in the history of the Caissars, and for that reason it would be unfair to single them out. This will be, TMK, the third year straight that titles get decided by a method seriously lacking in fairness and good sportsmanship, between TD's antics, and yours, <Jess>.

Sorry, I'm sure it's all just in good fun for you, but watching it is only fun for people who are already your friends - any outsider to the clique, who lives by ethical guidelines and dignity, enough so as not to nominate and vote for themselves, as TD had started two years ago, or campaign loudly for others... would come away from watching what the once-fair Caissars have turned into, with a bad taste in their mouths. As long as this goes on, and as long as these "votes" are mostly decided by voters in the single digits, the "Caissars" will continue to be more or less worthless.

And for that matter, this current fiasco wouldn't even be happening, if there were more voters from the general ceegee public... but who cares anymore?

This is true. It also very neatly encapsulates what I was trying to say myself, except what I was trying to say wasn't particularly true. Paradox is the price we pay for progress, or maybe the other way round.

Back in Puritan New England, William Slothrop named his son Constant. In due course, Constant named *his* son Variable.

What goes around.

Hmmm. Am I the only one to detect a slightly *acid* tone -- somewhere between sulphuric and citric, and not at all lysergic -- in my recent verbal meanderings?

It's like when a village grows into a town. Why, I can remember when I knew everyone on this road by name, and was incestuously related to most of 'em. And now these strangers move in.

And then the town gets bigger, sprouts burbs and a ghetto or three, areas where folk don't even speak English, and the Old Indigenes see 'their' jobs and wimminfolk being stole, and they all become cab drivers.

Ackshully, I reckon <Once> deserves it, although he and I courteously nominated one another.

I've been on a couple of teams with <The Chess Express> and when he gets geared up, it is something to watch. <Ohio> and I are only half-kidding when we say he must never sleep. I know there are other good analysts on site, and perhaps even better ones, but he's the one whose work I know best, and that's good enough for me in this context.

I'm not upset by TD's antics. To me, at least, it's part of his schtick. I would be less amused if it were another category. I am reminded of a fictional emperor, having just privately executed the court jester after publicly laughing at the joke, remarking, "Humor is such a subjective thing."

The sports that began as games for the lower orders have brutally professional players, big thick rule books, and thrashing.

I agree we don't need "to do" anything. Maybe we can just continue to vote for our honest picks for this year, though.

I wouldn't be surprised if <wannabe> stops doing it next year anyway.

I find most of his writing a little too self-congratulatory for my taste, and I don't find him even remotely humorous. When he's dead serious and not trying to be clever, however, he's an excellent debater. I could see voting for him as "best debater."

Matter of taste I suppose.

Generally, I don't like any of the posts on the POTD page, or the <Bragging Page>, as it might more aptly be named.

However, who cares what I like. The POTD crowd are an important group at the site.

The POTD is one of the main attractions of the website, and it garners a good share of folk willing to buy premium memberships.

I will always vote for your writing, not because you're my friend, but because it has the most depth and breadth, whatever that means.

On the bright side, <Dom's> legacy is preserved!!

To quote <Twinlark>: