Starlight Academy runs a wide variety of contests throughout the year. Every month you can expect to see anywhere from one to two unique contests, as well as our Community Spotlights, which run monthly. The calendar page will give you an overview of the next month or two of contents. You can also find any currently running contest in the contest forum.
Contests encourage community interaction, while also aiming to jump start player's creativity in a manner similar to events. Some are competitive and aim to determine a winner, while others only have you competing against yourself. The following are the major contest types, along with a brief rundown of what you can expect.
The Community Spotlight is a special type of contest that is run every month. Spotlights are similarly run to how other sites might run of the months, and focus on recognizing members for their contributions to the forum.
Nominations begin on the 1st of the month, and end on the 14th of the following month. Voting begins on the 15th of the month, and ends on the last day of the month. Winners are announced in the monthly announcements, which are generally posted on the first day of any given month.
Winners are eligible to claim a special medal for the category they won, and for the month they're the winner they'll have a special banner under their avatar on the site, recognizing their achievement!
Members of the staff team cannot be nominated for Member Spotlight unless they have not already won once in the past. Members who are currently spotlight winners are not eligible to be nominated in any category.
The Member Spotlight is given to an active member of the community who contributes positively to the community at large. They might be an old member who has experienced a surge of activity, or a new member who has just joined but already found their place. They might be a member who has created a large and involved plot that people are excited about, or a member who has done an excellent job of reaching out and making people feel welcomed. You cannot nominate yourself, nor can you nominate a member of the staff who has already won in the past.
The Character Spotlight is given to a character who has contributed positively to the site as a whole. They might have been very active recently, or might have just had a large amount of character development. The character can be old or new, but should have been active within the month you are nominating for. You are free to nominate your own characters.
Contests are generally run once a month, although the time of month varies. Contests come in a number of varieties, each with their own purpose and rules. Participating in three contests will earn you a medal, as will winning any contest. The post spree has its own medals, and is counted separately from the others. You can find a full explanation of the contests rules in their specific contest thread, but below is a brief summary of the types of recurring contests that you can expect to see over the course of a year:
Post Sprees are run approximately every four months, and usually run over a 24 hour period. The rules are simple: Get posting to win! In-character posts, plotting posts, and community discussions all count, while double posting and posts in the free-for-all or games forums don't count. Post sprees are a great opportunity to get caught up on posts, as well as a great chance to start new threads with people you haven't before. Post sprees also come with their own medal rewards!
Alternate Universe Contests are run twice a year. These contests allow players to stretch their creative muscles, recreating a character focused around a specific theme. These profiles are then used in a paired Virtual Reality Simulator event in the in-character chatbox.
New Faces Contests are contests that encourage players to get out of their comfort zone and start threads up with people they've never roleplayed with before. These contests are great for new members, and great for getting new things started.
Application Improvement Month is an annual event run in March. Players are encouraged to go back and update the applications of their already existing characters, making sure they include all fields and are representative of the character as they currently are.
Character Creation Month is an annual event run in September. Players are encouraged to dust off those work in progress applications and finish them off. Characters accepted during this month are eligible for a special bonus medal, as well as other perks which change year to year. Each year there is a different focus, with certain character types being incentivized.
Other Contests are run in months that don't have one of the above! These contests vary wildly, and have included things like suggesting a holiday, and renaming the sites mascot.
Contests encourage community interaction, while also aiming to jump start player's creativity in a manner similar to events. Some are competitive and aim to determine a winner, while others only have you competing against yourself. The following are the major contest types, along with a brief rundown of what you can expect.
Nominations begin on the 1st of the month, and end on the 14th of the following month. Voting begins on the 15th of the month, and ends on the last day of the month. Winners are announced in the monthly announcements, which are generally posted on the first day of any given month.
Winners are eligible to claim a special medal for the category they won, and for the month they're the winner they'll have a special banner under their avatar on the site, recognizing their achievement!
Members of the staff team cannot be nominated for Member Spotlight unless they have not already won once in the past. Members who are currently spotlight winners are not eligible to be nominated in any category.
The Member Spotlight is given to an active member of the community who contributes positively to the community at large. They might be an old member who has experienced a surge of activity, or a new member who has just joined but already found their place. They might be a member who has created a large and involved plot that people are excited about, or a member who has done an excellent job of reaching out and making people feel welcomed. You cannot nominate yourself, nor can you nominate a member of the staff who has already won in the past.
The Character Spotlight is given to a character who has contributed positively to the site as a whole. They might have been very active recently, or might have just had a large amount of character development. The character can be old or new, but should have been active within the month you are nominating for. You are free to nominate your own characters.
Post Sprees are run approximately every four months, and usually run over a 24 hour period. The rules are simple: Get posting to win! In-character posts, plotting posts, and community discussions all count, while double posting and posts in the free-for-all or games forums don't count. Post sprees are a great opportunity to get caught up on posts, as well as a great chance to start new threads with people you haven't before. Post sprees also come with their own medal rewards!
Alternate Universe Contests are run twice a year. These contests allow players to stretch their creative muscles, recreating a character focused around a specific theme. These profiles are then used in a paired Virtual Reality Simulator event in the in-character chatbox.
New Faces Contests are contests that encourage players to get out of their comfort zone and start threads up with people they've never roleplayed with before. These contests are great for new members, and great for getting new things started.
Application Improvement Month is an annual event run in March. Players are encouraged to go back and update the applications of their already existing characters, making sure they include all fields and are representative of the character as they currently are.
Character Creation Month is an annual event run in September. Players are encouraged to dust off those work in progress applications and finish them off. Characters accepted during this month are eligible for a special bonus medal, as well as other perks which change year to year. Each year there is a different focus, with certain character types being incentivized.
Other Contests are run in months that don't have one of the above! These contests vary wildly, and have included things like suggesting a holiday, and renaming the sites mascot.
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