In another post here, Geoff has asked the administrators to post the rules of the Limerick Game, which Bob started way back in 2007. I am going to post those simple rules we used when we started this game. If there are other rules that people would want to set, just post them here and then I'll collect everything and rewrite the rules. Just remember, we started this game to have fun and not to be so obsessive about every little rhyme or meter (as they are on OEDILF, where a number of us have been or maybe still are). These are to be fun, fun, fun!

Bob's Original Rules (modified slightly):

1. One person posts the name of a place - could be a country or a town or a village or whatever.

2. If it's somewhere not generally known the person posting also provides a pronunciation guide.

3. Everybody else provides a limerick by PM to the originator, the only requirement being: The place name must be in the A-rhyme position.

4. When the originator has enough he/she puts them into a Wordcraft Poll in a new thread.

5. Any Wordcrafter, whether they've submitted a limerick or not, votes on his or her favorite.

6. There is no rule that you cannot vote for your own limerick, though some people might take that position.

7. The winner of the poll posts the next place in a new thread. In case of a tie, the originator of the game chooses the winner.

Anything else, Wordcrafters?

I like the idea of not being able to vote for your own limerick being a rule. If anyone is proud of the limerick they worked on, they are going to think theirs is the best. The could increase the odds of no one getting more than one vote. It seems like most people follow that concept anyway.

I can explain that Tom
There are two reasons we didn't make it a rule. First of all it's impossible to enforce. With anonymous voting we have no way to know if anyone did vote for their own limerick or not.
Second, a former member of the site used to bring this up in every single game by suggesting that while he personally would never consider voting for his own limericks he wanted to be sure that others were of a similar mind - in essence a passive-aggressive assertion that he believed they weren't as honorable as him. So we explicitly said that if you want to vote for your own it's fine because we trust people to play fairly without spelling it out.

Oh, yes...

... and third... it's only a game, I honestly don 't care if people vote for their own limericks, though I'd be surprised if it has ever actually happened.

Besides struggling to remember which line represents which number when voting, I have never understood how to publish a poll. If by some quirk I might win a round, I shall defer to someone else. Is that OK with you?

Geoff, who could well be one of Oliver Sacks' subjects

That's fine, Geoff.

However, since this is the new "Rule" thread, I'll review for people how to Post a Poll:

1. Click "New" at the top left of the page;
2. Click "Poll";
3. Put "Limerick Game: XXX Poll" in "Subject";
4. Under the "Message" post your message, such as: "Now folks it's time to select your favorite limerick. Remember, even if you didn't submit one, you can vote. The more votes, the merrier!" That's just an example, of course; post whatever you want there.
5. Under the "Question" post each limerick submission - be sure to number them;
6. Then under "Answers to Your Question (enter at least two)", on each line just post the limerick numbers. If there are more than 5 submissions, you'll have to click Add Option.

That should do it!

BTW, I completely agree with Bob's analysis as to why it isn't a rule not to vote for your own. Personally, I'd never vote for mine. However, as Bob said, there was one person here who kept complaining that no one wrote limericks as good as his. So - we just counseled the poor soul to go ahead and vote for his own then. It was no big deal to the rest of us because the whole point of this game is to have fun. If it's a big deal to someone else, let him vote for his own.

One further thing: we had a spate of limericks (not serious entries, often without the place name in the A position) being posted openly to the discussion thread before all the lims were submitted and they were put in a poll. Someone said that a post had used the same rhyme as their entry and might affect the result as people might think it was copying. We therefore agreed to a moratorium on non-entry limericks being posted until after the poll was published.

Well, I was suggesting that it only be a rule, albeit unenforceable. It would just keep the honest folks honest....not much different that suggesting it as you already do. Especially in light of the fact that you had the guy who "couldn't vote for anyone else's" I can see you reasoning for just letting it go.

I'm with you all...it's just a game. No one wins any high honors or money. I like it the way it is.

I thought I remembered once upon a time someone stating that it's also [technically] correct to put the place-name at the end of l.2 or l.5-- with the caveat that those are less-desirable positions than l.1,& so would probably be marked lower (unless exceptionally wonderful in some other regard)

Did I dream that?

quote:

Did I dream that?

No. You were wide awake.

Just back from five days in the hospital. I'll have to cut back on posting while my foot recovers. I'm not supposed to sit here for long, so if by chance I win (which is likely considering my overwhelming abilities), I'd suggest the runner-up assume control.

I think we started out with it in the L1 position but adjusted it to allow any of the A-rhyme positions ((1,2 or 5).
I don 't know about anyone else but I certainly don't consider limericks "lower" for it.

Yes, Bob. I actually like limericks where the place is not in Line 1, but it's in Line 2 or 5. It just can't be in 3 or 4, Bethree.

Arnie, I had not realized your rule was an actual rule of the game. I thought it was just something we had talked about. Do others agree that exemplar limericks shouldn't be posted until the poll is posted? I could see it both ways.

I kind of miss Proof's lim-saga of somebody-or-other. But ad lib postings can take some of the zing out of the poll. How about: if anyone has some silly nonsense lim to post on the theme, save it for after winner is declared.

quote:

Proof's lim-saga of somebody-or-other

Jeb Raltar was hurt escaping from a bedroom window and has had his misadventures curtailed while his groin maintains elephantine proportions. However, he expects to return to his amorous adventures when the time is right.

I, above all others, am responsible to many of the extra lims. I usually (I hope) try to avoid a lim which features the place named for the contest. If I am derelict, I hope someone will mention it.

I'm sufficiently upset with the whole thing that I've bowed out of the competition. I sent Greg a couple, but they are not to be voted on. That way I do not violate arnie's rule, but still have fun writing them.

Geoff - the spirit of this is all that matters. Sure you won't win if you don't stick to the A-rhyme rule but that's really the only one that matters. It's all fo fun.

Mine don't violate the A-rhyme rule. As to their quality, ummmm...

I'm confused as to what the upset is due to, Geoff? I had hoped by posting the rules, you'd come back to writing limericks. Have I now upset you by doing so?

BTW, as for the rule about posting limericks in the thread before the poll, I posted my opinion on that in the other thread. I am democratic, though, so can live with it if others want that rule. I just think some of the fun with these has been reading people's off-the -cuff lims. I think if we have that rule, there will be much less tendency to do that.

You'll get my feeble attempts, Kalleh, but not to be voted on.

AW gee. I don't even know what I did.

BTW, your limericks are some of the most clever I've seen so don't be criticizing them.

Okay. I've been thinking about that proposed 8th rule: don't post limericks before the game poll. Here's the problem, I think: 1) Often there are some really, really clever limericks there that are actually more fun than the poll lims; 2) These are ad lib limericks that come to mind quickly. Therefore, I doubt that the writer will save them for after the poll, which can take a long time, as we know; 3) Yet, there are worries that the rhymes will take the zing out of the real lims in the poll.

So, I propose this: Go ahead and post limericks in the thread before the poll. However, don't post the place in the A-rhyme position. Just make them fun. How is that? Once we try this out, we can evaluate it. If people think their zings are zonged, well, we'll go back to the not posting limericks before the poll is posted.

A good compromise? Maybe the U.S. Democrats and Republicans can learn a lesson from us.

Seriously, if you think that will work, I'll repost the final, for now, rules.

No one commented, so I assume you are all on-board with it?

I've had another request from a couple of people that I am happy to entertain. That is, they want us to dump the polls. We'll play this game like we play the bluffing game. People will still send limericks to the game's originator. When the originator has enough, he will simply post them in a new thread and people will choose their favorites. Let's try it out and see if it works. I am very neutral on this and could go either way. However, I'll wait to post the final rules just in case there is some disagreement about this rule change.

quote:

they want us to dump the polls

I don't.

I'm not too fussed either way, but one of the arguments for not having a Poll was that people would then give reasons and have a more expansive discussion on their choice and reasons, but I don't see why people can't have those discussions, if they want to, with a Poll while the Poll is being conducted and/or after its results are announced. The only people with anything to lose from us having such discussions would be those non-existent people who vote for their own limericks.

"No huhu," as Robert Heinlein once wrote. The Poll and the free-standing vote aren't mutually exclusive. Certainly there's no problem with talking about the submissions after the poll closes; just ignore it entirely! Though if some do one thing and others do the other, the numbers may not total up.

My main reservation about voting by poll has evolved into the divisiveness it's fostering.

Anyway - only one submission so far, so not much doubt about whose is the best!

The trouble is, verses on "Leicester"
We don't come across every semeicester.
As of now there's just one
But when all's said and done
I am sure we can choose which is beicester.

I'd suggest this: Those who want to present their submissions as polls, do so. Those who want to just post all the limericks and then have people select their favorites, do that.

I agree with Greg that you can discuss others' submissions either way, and we've been doing that all along.