As hosts of the art contests, we strive for inclusivity and fairness. If you are in the Discord community, you might have seen us discuss ways in which we attempt to accomplish our goal. For both past themes and the most recent theme, we find ourselves circling back to the same conversation.

To begin with, the contests are open to anyone in the community. Of course, there comes the realization that participating artists come from diverse artistic experience and skill level. Similarly, acceptable mediums are varied rather than confined to one. We acknowledge that each medium involves its own individuality and layer of complexity. The intention behind details such as a point system, anonymity, and the use of public voting was to further cultivate inclusivity and fairness.

With the introduction of Mystical Mounts and Whimsical Wonders, it became blatantly clear that the original entry scoring process was not without flaw.

The most consequential flaw was that public voting held an imbalance of power in respect to swaying the final results. 

Since every person has their own approach to how they perceive art, the top 3 votes for both early themes were wildly unpredictable.

The unpredictability in itself was not negative as we felt that it supported the absence ofpreconceived placement. In other

words, we thought we were successfully combating bias; on the contrary, it appeared that we had gotten too enthusiastic. We noted an invisible tug of war between constructive critique and sole admiration. 

All other entries that were also equally deserving of scoring and placement were shoved to the side. The end result was similar to an elimination method of competition which overlooked individual artistic diversity and skill.

The rules had since been amended so that public voting no longer determined a final 3 entries. Instead, public voting rewards an extra point to the highest voted entry.

Alongside the original 5 judging criteria (originality, creativity, complexity, emotion and presentation), we have introduced a second layer of categories for consideration. They are as follows: craftsmanship, interpretation, balance, artist's comment and overall impression. The additional criteria come into play particularly when multiple entries overlap in final score.

The possibility that processes may change in the future continues to exist. Change is necessary as long as there’s room for improvement. We want the community to remain encouraged by continuous efforts to promote inclusivity and fairness. Recommendations are invited and welcome.