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

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

Voting in the animagus community can be pretty overwhelming, but I've devised a personal system that helps me do it in a relatively quick manner. Before I came up with this system, animagus votes would a take about an hour a piece because I'd keep having to click between windows.

First, I pull up a blank notepad file, and I start to read the applications. While I'm reading, I make a keyword or two for each answered question, such as "adaptable" or "nocturnal" or "flying." By the time I'm done, I have a list of roughly 15-20 keywords that help me narrow down my animal selection really fast. And since I've made sure to write down all my impressions, I can go ahead and search for which animals came to mind without having to click between three windows. Plus, writing while I read helps the vote stick in my head better.

Second, I jot down about three different animals that I think would suit the person, without searching. Once they're jotted down, I search the registered list of animagi to be sure that these forms haven't been taken. If one has, hey, I still have two other choices. Since I started voting, I've never had more than one or two forms end up being already taken.

Once I decide on the form, I pull up wikipedia and search for the animal in question. From there, I begin to construct my vote.

Since votes must all have three solid reasons why you've picked the animal, I number my lines (1, 2, 3) and make sure to mention three of the keywords I jotted down when deciding on the form. When you use my method, you not only have your three reason ready, you could write fifteen if you so chose.

And there you have it! An organized and efficient method of voting that keeps your votes as personalized as possible. :3

ses//slytherin//red-tailed hawk