User blog comment:Nalyd Renrut/Be Nice - Please Read/@comment-1636990-20110823220059/@comment-1874924-20110824050812

A fair percentage of the obnoxious Oppose votes have come from two people, whom I won't name here. As for the larger problem, we should probably clarify in the Rules section of each ballot what is a valid reason to Oppose, and what is not.


 * Featured Character: finding fault with the way a character is drawn is not a valid reason to Oppose, because it's Featured Character, not Featured Image. Objecting to the drawing style is a valid reason to oppose a Featured Image candidate, but care must be taken to observe rules of civility when citing that reason.
 * Featured Image: I know some people disagree, but I believe (as I explained in earlier comments here) that the lack of a TD connection IS a valid reason to Oppose a FI candidate. This is a Total Drama wiki, not a general interest wiki. Characters and scenes from competition stories are TD-related by definition.
 * Featured User: This seems to be the ballot (with the possible exception of FC, which I rarely follow) that has the fewest problems. The most common reason for Opposing a candidate is because s/he hasn't made a mark, usually due to newness or low edit count. This is a legitimate reason to Oppose, as long as you're not obnoxious about it.
 * Featured Story: Finding a story boring presents a dilemma. On the one hand, it's a valid reason to Oppose; on the other, it's hard to find a polite way to say that a story is boring. Conversely, believing that the author has won too often before, which seems to be the main reason for opposition to TD Wilderness, is a subtype of "I want Story X to win instead" and so is not a valid reason. Likewise, saying that the author has other stories that are better is not a valid reason to Oppose because, while I wouldn't call this reason rude, I WOULD call it beside the point. The only thing a FS candidate should be compared to is the other stories that happen to be on the ballot that month. I get that people who say "this isn't your best work" probably think it's a polite way to say "I didn't like this", but that's not how it tends to come across.

I have Opposed various candidates before, mainly underdeveloped stories and too-new users, but I will normally Oppose a given candidate only once. Then, having made my point, I will simply not vote on the story, and may eventually Support a user when I am satisfied that their credentials are in order.