Scoring

Scores from authenticated unique votes are combined to obtain the initial base score for each entry. A single vote may contain up to 30 points in the following three areas:

• Creativity & Concept
• Composition & Technique
• Color & Lighting

Once a total base score is determined for a vote, it is then calculated by a positive or negative Credibility Multiplier (see section below on Voter's Credibility System). Total scores from all votes are then added together at the end to determine the final three winners.

Public Votes Filtering

Information such as a voter's IP Address, ISP, Internet Gateway, Computer Setup, Geographic Location and Duplicated Votes will be automatically collected to determine the uniqueness of each vote. No privacy sensitive information will be collected or exposed to third parties.

The exact detail of how WPD uses the above user information to determine the authenticity of public voters is concealed in order to maximize the voting integrity.

WPD Member Votes

WPD Members' votes are counted with a slightly higher value than public votes. Because each member account identity is tied to each vote, voting as a WPD Member is the most accurate way to verify the authenticity of each vote. Potential duplicated WPD member votes cast as a public vote will be disregarded.

Voter's Credibility System

In addition to Public and Member votes, each vote is not treated equal. Beyond WPD's automatic filtering system used to remove suspicious votes, we also have a Voter Credibility System in place. Example, if a voter only voted positive for one contestant's entry, his/her vote will be counted extremely low. Where as if a voter has submitted a variety of high and low scores across many difference contestants' entries, his/her vote will be counted exponentially higher. As a result, getting a highly credible vote could be worth more than hundreds of low credible ones.

Add in the Human Touch

The auto-filtering and voter credibility system takes us far, but it is still an artificial system determined by machines. This is why at the end of the contest voting period, the WPD staff spends a week to manually review and go through all the votes to further fine-tune the final outcome. We work very hard to ensure the contest is a genuine result of the public's collective opinion; not a popularity contest.