Lists Project Rules and Procedures / FAQ
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:58 pm
You have chanced upon the lists project section of our forum, an ongoing project designed to break up the vast array of world cinema into more manageable portions. Unlike many other areas on the internet devoted to lists, our emphasis is on discussion, with participants encouraged to share their discoveries or other thoughts on films under consideration for each project.
If you’re a newcomer, feel free to participate in any lists project, no matter your experience or lack of experience with the films under consideration. In fact, the ideal participants are: 1) novices eager to explore, 2) seasoned cinephiles willing to share, and 3) those in between willing to do a bit of both.
If you are just discovering a particular lists project close to the deadline, or if you have not seen enough to come up with a list of 50 films that you love, you might be better off waiting for the next project to contribute a list, but please still feel welcome to participate in the ongoing discussions and share whatever recommendations you might have. Conversely, even if you haven’t contributed much to the discussions for any given project, you are still welcome to submit a list.
So that each list project can run smoothly and remain a fun exercise for all involved, we have established certain rules and procedures that dictate what films are eligible for consideration and how our final list is tabulated. Please don’t clutter our discussions with arguments about these rules and procedures. If you feel you have a legitimate suggestion to make with regard to any of them, please do so like a reasonable, polite adult in the main Lists Project thread, but be aware that there are practical reasons for all of these rules, that we have adhered to them for years, and that we are unlikely to change any of them (especially if you are rude about it).
General Rules
1) Each individual list is to comprise no more or less than 50 films, ranked in your order of preference (with no ties).
2) Any feature film, documentary, experimental film, short film, music video, TV miniseries, TV movie, or TV special that fits in the category of a given list project is generally eligible, unless the list moderator states otherwise in the first post of the applicable lists project thread.
3) Television series or seasons / episodes of television series are never ever eligible.
4) Two-part films released separately (e.g. Eisenstein's Ivans) count as one film. Each entry in a trilogy (e.g. Ray's Apus) counts as a separate film.
Rules Specific to the Decades Lists
5) Decades start with years that end in ‘0’ and end with years that end in ‘9’.
6) The date given on IMDb is the relevant date for determining eligibility, even when it's clearly wrong. If a film does not appear on IMDb or has a year assigned to it that you think is way off (not just by a year), you may bring it up in the applicable thread and the list moderator will rule on whether it can be considered eligible. The list moderator’s decision is final. Please do not ask questions about the eligibility of films unless you are seriously considering including them on your lists.
Rules Specific to the Genre Lists
7) The “Vote for It” Rule: If you’re not sure if a film fits the genre under consideration, vote for it. If someone else votes for the film as well, then it qualifies as a film from that genre. That being said, please try to be mindful of the spirit of the project, and resist the urge to vote for favorite films of yours that you have to stretch pretty far to make them fit the genre. If you include a film like this on your list that is unlikely to receive votes from anyone else, you’ve wasted a vote that could have gone to a more fitting film.
8) The list moderator reserves the right to discard votes for any film deemed ineligible. If you include a film on your list that the list moderator has indicated to be ineligible, you are again just throwing your vote away.
Procedures
At the end of each lists project, individual lists from all contributors are tabulated into a final list like so:
1) A #1 placement for a film on an individual list gives that film 50 points. A #2 placement gives that film 49 points, etc.
2) Films receiving a vote from only one individual (aka “orphans”) are discarded.
3) The 100 films with the most points make the final list. Films with the same point totals tie. If the 100th highest ranked film is tied with other films, the final list will include all films tied with it.
For those who might think the orphan rule unfair, please bear in mind:
- The final list is meant to reflect a sort of forum consensus. One vote is the opposite of a consensus.
- Even if an orphan receives 50 points, this is usually nowhere near enough points to make the top 100 anyway.
- This rule encourages discussion during each project of films that one fears might suffer the fate of an orphan, and this discussion is the whole point of the lists projects anyway. In addition, for the genre projects, this rule discourages frivolous voting for films that don’t really fit the genre under consideration.
If you’re a newcomer, feel free to participate in any lists project, no matter your experience or lack of experience with the films under consideration. In fact, the ideal participants are: 1) novices eager to explore, 2) seasoned cinephiles willing to share, and 3) those in between willing to do a bit of both.
If you are just discovering a particular lists project close to the deadline, or if you have not seen enough to come up with a list of 50 films that you love, you might be better off waiting for the next project to contribute a list, but please still feel welcome to participate in the ongoing discussions and share whatever recommendations you might have. Conversely, even if you haven’t contributed much to the discussions for any given project, you are still welcome to submit a list.
So that each list project can run smoothly and remain a fun exercise for all involved, we have established certain rules and procedures that dictate what films are eligible for consideration and how our final list is tabulated. Please don’t clutter our discussions with arguments about these rules and procedures. If you feel you have a legitimate suggestion to make with regard to any of them, please do so like a reasonable, polite adult in the main Lists Project thread, but be aware that there are practical reasons for all of these rules, that we have adhered to them for years, and that we are unlikely to change any of them (especially if you are rude about it).
General Rules
1) Each individual list is to comprise no more or less than 50 films, ranked in your order of preference (with no ties).
2) Any feature film, documentary, experimental film, short film, music video, TV miniseries, TV movie, or TV special that fits in the category of a given list project is generally eligible, unless the list moderator states otherwise in the first post of the applicable lists project thread.
3) Television series or seasons / episodes of television series are never ever eligible.
4) Two-part films released separately (e.g. Eisenstein's Ivans) count as one film. Each entry in a trilogy (e.g. Ray's Apus) counts as a separate film.
Rules Specific to the Decades Lists
5) Decades start with years that end in ‘0’ and end with years that end in ‘9’.
6) The date given on IMDb is the relevant date for determining eligibility, even when it's clearly wrong. If a film does not appear on IMDb or has a year assigned to it that you think is way off (not just by a year), you may bring it up in the applicable thread and the list moderator will rule on whether it can be considered eligible. The list moderator’s decision is final. Please do not ask questions about the eligibility of films unless you are seriously considering including them on your lists.
Rules Specific to the Genre Lists
7) The “Vote for It” Rule: If you’re not sure if a film fits the genre under consideration, vote for it. If someone else votes for the film as well, then it qualifies as a film from that genre. That being said, please try to be mindful of the spirit of the project, and resist the urge to vote for favorite films of yours that you have to stretch pretty far to make them fit the genre. If you include a film like this on your list that is unlikely to receive votes from anyone else, you’ve wasted a vote that could have gone to a more fitting film.
8) The list moderator reserves the right to discard votes for any film deemed ineligible. If you include a film on your list that the list moderator has indicated to be ineligible, you are again just throwing your vote away.
Procedures
At the end of each lists project, individual lists from all contributors are tabulated into a final list like so:
1) A #1 placement for a film on an individual list gives that film 50 points. A #2 placement gives that film 49 points, etc.
2) Films receiving a vote from only one individual (aka “orphans”) are discarded.
3) The 100 films with the most points make the final list. Films with the same point totals tie. If the 100th highest ranked film is tied with other films, the final list will include all films tied with it.
For those who might think the orphan rule unfair, please bear in mind:
- The final list is meant to reflect a sort of forum consensus. One vote is the opposite of a consensus.
- Even if an orphan receives 50 points, this is usually nowhere near enough points to make the top 100 anyway.
- This rule encourages discussion during each project of films that one fears might suffer the fate of an orphan, and this discussion is the whole point of the lists projects anyway. In addition, for the genre projects, this rule discourages frivolous voting for films that don’t really fit the genre under consideration.