October/November Lite Challenge Results
The October/November Lite Challenge was 'Map a River'. Guilders were asked to create a map in a style of their choosing, but the main focus was to be the river system.
We had several excellent entries, but it became clear from early on that this was a two horse race, with voting close until the end. We offer our congratulations to Meshon for his incredible hand-drawn entry The Mengkong River. Not only did Meshon create an amazing map, he also provided a story to embellish it. If you haven't had time to read the words that accompanied each update, you can find them in the archives at this link. Well done, Meshon, your third Silver Compass is on its way.
We'd also like to give an honourable mention to runner-up Snodsy for his entry The River Kingdom. This was an outstanding piece of work that would probably have won in any other month.
November/December Lite Challenge
We're on the ball this week, and the new Lite Challenge is up already. This month the challenge is to "Map somewhere you have been". Bogie explains...
For this month's challenge I would like you to make a map of a location you have been to, a real world place.
Now if you post a map of Mars, I am going to need documentation-proof.
This could be something as basic as your own house, your town or state or it could be that castle on the coast of Scotland that you visited as a kid, or as unique as the shipwreck you saw scuba diving in Tahiti. Think of someplace that sparked your imagination.
This challenge will run until mid-December, so let's see if we can top the standard set by last month's entries!
Other Challenge News
In addition to the Lite Challenge, there are two other challenges currently active.
The regular challenge is 'Commission a Guilder' and this is running for two months, instead of the usual one. It's been brought to our attention that some newer Guilders are a little shy about approaching members to partner. If you'd like to take part in this challenge but don't have a partner yet, please leave a comment in this thread, and we'll try to assign a partner to you. This challenge is running until the end of December, so there's still plenty of time to join in.
The first ever Annual Challenge was posted all the way back in January. This is a little reminder to participants that there are only six weeks left to perfect your masterpieces! Of course, if you're a fast worker, it's not too late to enter either. You can read about the challenge, and view current entries here. Some Guilders have been working for months on their entry, and a few words of encouragement (or of constructive criticism) would be very welcome.
Site Search / Post Tagging
The site's search engine is still a little flaky. Robbie is aware of this and is working on solutions. We're hopeful that we can upgrade the forum software soon, which should improve the search capabilities, but we're still looking for some donations towards this. If you can spare a few dollars to help make the site run smoother, that would be much appreciated. Even better would be the new recurring payments option, which allows for better financial planning, as we can make realistic estimates about budgeting.
In the meantime, I'd encourage everyone to use Tags on their posts. A few members do this already, but most either overlook it or aren't aware of the existence of tags. When you start a new thread, under the box where you type your comments, there is a section where you can enter up to 25 tags. See image below:
You can enter key words that describe your map and its contents. For example, you might use 'fantasy map' or 'city map' or 'hand-drawn'. Or there are other tags that relate to specific items on your map, such as 'dungeon', 'whirlpool', 'tower', 'forests' etc. etc.
There are three main advantages to using Tags. Firstly, it helps other members find maps that might interest and inspire them. If you've just drawn the best mountains, or the best city icons, use a tag to let other Guilders see them. They can find your maps via the Tags, instead of trying to search through hundreds or thousands of old forum threads. The second advantage of Tags is with Search Engine Optimisation. Google likes Tags too, and they can help boost the site's profile in search engine rankings. Finally, if you'd like your map featured on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, Tags might just help with that!
And talking of social media accounts, another little reminder that we're on Facebook and Twitter. Follow/Like us for regular news and updates.
That's all for this News update. Our next News posting will have something a bit special, so stay tuned!