Summary

The author discusses the controversy surrounding the MWC $60,000 writing contest winner's use of an improper cover image and the subsequent decision by Medium to change it, sparking a debate about the importance of adhering to contest rules.

Abstract

The article addresses the community's reaction to the Medium Writing Challenge (MWC) winner's cover image controversy. The author initially responded to a balanced story about the winner and the image issue, emphasizing the importance of the contest rules. Although the author does not advocate for revoking the winner's prize, they express concern about the precedent set by not strictly enforcing the rules. The author's opinion intensified after reading Kristina God's take on Medium's decision to alter the winning story's image. They argue that rules are essential for maintaining a fair competition and question how a new platform user could be unaware of such a fundamental rule regarding image citation. The author humorously yet seriously suggests that the winner should have encountered discussions on proper image credit while reading other Medium stories. The article concludes with a call for civil discourse, suggestions for improved contest structures, and encouragement to be happy for the winner while addressing the "elephant in the room."

Opinions

The author believes that contest rules are not mere suggestions and should be followed to ensure an even playing field.
They express empathy for the winner being scrutinized but maintain that rules must be upheld regardless of the winner's platform experience.
The author points out that the winner's newcomer status should not excuse them from following the rules, given the availability of information on Medium about proper image citation.
They are irritated by the idea that the winner might not have read any stories on Medium, which would be unusual given the platform's nature.
The author emphasizes the importance of a fair contest and suggests that if rules can be easily sidestepped, their existence is questionable.
They encourage the community to come up with constructive suggestions to prevent similar issues in the future and to keep discussions civil and in the spirit of love.
The author offers assistance to new Medium members and invites readers to engage with their publication and Twitter account.

Hey Medium: Can We Talk Openly About the ELEPHANT in the Room?

The comments about the MWC winning story are snowballing

I responded to an excellent and very balanced story, written regarding the MWC $60,000 winner and the issue of the winning story’s cover image.

First of all, let me state 2 things before I continue:

So as not to break any kind of rule by showing an image of MY COMMENT that I left on the story, I decided to quote myself — below — to CYA (those letters used to mean “cover your ass” in the mainstream workplace, but no telling what it stands for now).
By writing the story you’re reading, I’m not suggesting for one minute that someone should somehow intervene and try to prevent the winner from their prize.

REST ASSURED, if I had won, I don’t care what happened afterwards; the only way you’d take back my prize would be to pry it out of my COLD DEAD HANDS!

Television Screenshot Provided by Author

Why write about all the comments snowballing on this topic?

My point in writing, is to throw my opinion into the ring, to show why so many folks are justifiably disgruntled. Personally, I didn’t even think about it too much. After reading the story Jermaine Hall wrote about the winners, I shared his story in a writers lift and kept on pushing.

Then, when I read what Kristina God wrote about how Medium decided to change the image of the winning story, I became a little more opinionated.

In fact the more I thought about it, the more opinionated I got. Here’s what I wrote on Kristina’s story:

On the one hand, I feel kind of bad about the winner and her entry being scrutinized like this, and I asked myself is it really just sour grapes on my part, or anyone’s part.

But in all fairness to everyone who entered, the rules of any contest are not suggestions. They’re put in place so we’re all participating on an even playing field, and this particular rule is one that’s been known to bar a story from merely being accepted for publication, let alone from a $60,000 prize.

Call it sour grapes, knit picking, or whatever you want. Rules are rules, and if they can be sidestepped so easily, what’s the point in having them?

After having written that, I won’t deny that I even got irritated at the thought, and here’s why:

The fact that the winner was new to the platform did not bar them from being able to participate and be eligible to win the big prize. No matter how you feel about that, THAT WAS THE RULE, so that should not be at issue.

On the other hand, since being new did not bar them from being able to compete and win, it should be NO EXCUSE for not being aware of, or following the rules.

Because the winner only had less than 10 followers, I wouldn’t necessarily expect anyone who read her entry to have caught the error. More followers might have read it, and alerted her to the image issue, as a means of showing their support, so you can’t fault the winner on this issue.

But then again, there’s always that other damn hand. Even though they were new to the platform and didn’t have their own followers, if they had been READING stories by other writers, they should have surely come across at least one story talking about the proper way to cite credit to images.

Think about it; how many times have you read it, even if you haven’t written about it? Are we to understand the winner didn’t even bother to read stories on the platform?

And therein lies my BIGGEST issue. That just doesn’t sit well with me at all. It makes me uncomfortable to believe that’s how things go around here.

But then again, how comfortable can you be with an elephant in the room?

Final Thoughts

While I wrote this story with a bit of humor, I really do believe that all the issues that have been aired so far (and will continue to be aired) are valid.

But then again —

On the other hand:

Let’s gripe and complain later, and come up with suggestions, for a better type of incentive, or at least a way to prevent something like this from happening again.
Let’s try hard to be happy for the winner, whoever they are (sorry but I don’t know what pronouns they use and I was too lazy to look up the name, so “they” is my go to word).
Let’s keep our comments and disagreements civil and always in the spirit of love, and dammit, do it like you mean it! 😄

DEAR READER: The advice and opinions I share are not always taken from a book or based on professional statements. I merely share accounts I’ve experienced personally and I tell you how I handled a situation when this happened to me, OR my suggestions, if it were to ever happen.

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