Open Activity: Animagus Voting Discussion

[caesaria.livejournal.com]

Activity: Animagus Voting Discussion
Points/Knuts: Participation Only - 10 points/5 knuts (2 points for additional comments, 30 points cap)
Deadline: December 28th, 5pm UTC

We know that Animagus Voting can be a time-consuming, complicated thing, with so many animals and species to choose from and so many places to check. It can be especially hard when you really don't know much about animals at all. But it's really, really not that scary! We promise ;-)

So this activity is all about Animagus Voting! If you vote on Animagus apps regularly, tell us how you go on about it! Where do you start? Do you get a ~vibe from an applicant and then go off that? Do you look at their preferred weather or time of day? Do you take their appearance or pictures into consideration? And where do you look? Do you go to wiki straight away or do you know some animal resource pages we might not know about yet?
And if you DON'T vote for Animagus, if you've never tackled it before, tell us what kept you from it and what we could do to help you try it. If you're new at HiH, tell us what you WOULD do, maybe check out some apps for ideas.

Please make your initial comment at least 250 words long, so it can count for points. 10 points per initial comment, 2 points for any substantial additional comment (30 points cap). Don't forget to sign with your name & house! (you don't have to sign with your animagus form, since this is an activity open for everyone).

We know that voting can be intimidating (I didn't vote for Amimagus either at first, until I had former Animagus mod peyton07 help me through my first voting, which made it so much less complicated :D) and hope that this post will result in a lively discussion about how to vote on Animagus, what your different strategies are and what tips you can share. We hope that it helps you and that more of you will tackle Animagus voting in the future :D

(and don't forget to check out the current batch of applications here and apply your new-found voting knowledge that you will hopefully gain from this activity to them :D)

Comments

[sylvir.livejournal.com]

I've been voting in every application for quite some time now, and it is a MAJOR pain in the butt as you said. For me the best way to endure it is to think about it this way:

#1. Being an animagus is a big deal. But becoming one doesn't happen without people voting. Just because other people vote doesn't make it a good excuse for me not to vote.

#2. No one wants a crap selection of animals, especially when it comes time to having people vote on your app. So put your best effort into it and you'll be rewarded (and I was! yay!).

#3. I absolutely cannot understand people who only post their applications, but don't vote in return. They do not appreciate the time and effort it takes to vote, yet they bring more work. How ungrateful/rude.

#4. I am very thankful for the people who voted on my application, and I feel like it's only right to return the favor. They gave me such a wonderful group of animals to choose from. They gave me animals I had never even thought about associating myself with and after doing some research in each animal, I was in awe at how perfectly they fit me. So I definitely want to return the favor!

With that said, I get a ~vibe from every application and go from there. I usually get an idea of what animal I want to stamp them as, and then use google to search for specific species.

Bess//Gryffindor//Sugar Glider

[klef.livejournal.com]

Google search is amazing. Wiki works really well too. Do you know we have a link in the CR about traits for animals? I have found that works really well when I am stuck and can't figure out where to start (which is rare, thankfully).

Kerri//Gryffindor

[sylvir.livejournal.com]

I used it for a bit and it really is helpful! However, I try not to go back to it too often. The list is somewhat limited in that people who are "shy" or "bold" would always get the same stamps from me (which is not what I want happening).

...You know what helped the most? That time when someone from the CR summarized each app! Now THAT was tres helpful!

Bess//Gryffindor

[klef.livejournal.com]

>_> shhhhhh our secret

I use that secondary database when I am going "I have nothing." it gives me a bit of inspiration when I feel stuck. I always want to give people dogs or horses or big cats so I kind of have to force myself out of the mammal box sometimes.

Kerri//Gryffindor

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

I agree absolutely. Getting a form is a huge deal. If you get a list of animals you just don't connect with it can be absolutely devastating. If you feel overwhelmed when approaching the animagus votes, it does help very much to put yourself in the shoes of the applicant.

Psst I was the one who voted Sugar Glider for you so every time I see you include your form in your signature I feel warm and fuzzy inside. :3 That was one of the votes I've cast that I was absolutely sure about.

ses//slytherin//red-tailed hawk

[sylvir.livejournal.com]

Ah!! Thank you ^__^

I totally agree though. When I saw Adrienne pick the animal I had voted for I about squeed. I was pretty proud of myself. Afterwards, she told me she actually really liked Kiger Mustangs so I felt pretty spot on.

Bess//Gryffindor