The Most Dangerous Voting - Contest · 6:48pm Jul 18th, 2014
Hi guys! Guess what!
So, the judging panel period for The Most Dangerous Game has come to an end, and I'm proud to say we managed to acquit ourselves handily. All six of us managed to rate and judge an ungodly number of stories within the three-week period, and while not all of us managed to judge all the fics, it's still a pretty impressive affair. Rest assured that the results were in no way impacted by the fact that some of the judges couldn't make the time to get everything done--in fact, we specifically prioritized anything that had the opportunity to make it into the top five of fics--so no worries there. We might be able to backlog some of the stories we didn't get to during the voting period.
Again, lemme remind y'all that the precise results of all the judging (meaning scores and such)--especially on the top five fics presented here--will only be published at the end of the voting period, so as to not influence the results.
'Fore we go any further, let's take our hats off for the handsome judges of this fine contest:
-Blueshift
-Obselescence
-Jake the Army Guy
-Thorax
-ABagOVicodin
-Alexstrazsa
All of them have done a fantastic job here, and I really want to thank them for their volunteer efforts. Blueshift, in particular, deserves applause, as he managed to judge all sixty-four valid entries for the whole she-bang. Not even I managed that! Although I'm only like three short, and would've managed to finish those if I hadn't come down with an ultra mega death infection on Tuesday.
Regardless. I award Blueshift the Curly Wurly of Honor:
Godspeed, man. If you're interested in seeing some of what he had to say for the (non-finalist) entries, you can check his post out here.
Anyhow! It was a brutal slapfight, but we managed to discern a top-five list of all the entries for you handsome folks to appraise. It was exceptionally cutthroat, I have to mention. There was an impressively thin margin here, and a couple stories only barely didn't manage to make it. For a reminder on the specifics of how the judging works, refer to this thread here. The gist of it is that you're just ranking the top five contenders from your most favorite to your least favorite. Easy, right?
The voting period'll last for about ten days from hereon out, or until such time as I'm pretty darn certain no new votes are being cast. So you do have time, and a couple weekends' worth of it, but don't dawdle if you want to cast your vote.
Guys, I feel I really do need to be clear here that you should be careful to not give any of the stories the same number when you cast your vote. You are ranking from most favorite to least favorite. If you give two fics a 5 (most favorite) or three fics a 1 (least favorite) or whatevs, your vote WILL NOT BE COUNTED. It takes like five seconds to make sure, so do try to check over.
Now, with that said, let's take a look at our contenders here. Presented below -- in NO particular order, are our contenders:
It's a slew of hard picks, but there can be only one winner!
So, what are you all waiting for?
There were a lot of really good stories in this contest, and I'm pretty sure they inspired me to start writing more. Like, wow. Great job to everyone, especially the top five contestants.
Om nom nom, delicious
Congrats to the finalists!
Now I'm gonna go find a dark corner and cry...
How long is the public voting round supposed to take?
I actually really enjoyed doing the judging! I'm humbled a bit that Obs saw, in his bearded wisdom, to let me participate.
2297261
Ten days, give or take.
Finalists selected, and I've already read all five. success-kid.jpg
But now to vote, and that is going to be the hard part. Edit: Okay, maybe not that hard.
... bugger. Oh well, at least the finalists have prouced a good pile of horsewords. It'll be hard to pick the best of them.
The thing I'll always wonder is, which were the stories that just barely missed making the cut?
2297332
You'll be able to find out once voting's over, when all the judging results are released.
In the meantime, you've got five top-cut stories to cut your teeth on. :V
I have cast my votes.
Once again, congrats to the finalists!
(back to crying for me...I coulda been a contenduh...I coulda been a somebody!)
2297338
Well, now I feel like an idiot. I misread the relevant part of the post.
Well done finalists! Will get around to reading and casting my vote asap
I only hadn't read one of these yet.
So out of curiousity, did you guys, when you were down to the wire, just focus on the ones that everyone else had said was good because those were the only ones where your votes mattered?
It's all ogre, we're free.
2297399 Pretty much. As it got to the wire, all the 'top tier' stories were read, ie the ones that already had high marks. Even if every unmarked story got 10/10 from the remaining judges, nothing else could have got into the top five.
I read them all though.
2297399
No, more like, once we were down to the wire, we prioritized anything that could still possibly make the top five contenders. Every fic had at least a few scores on it from some judges or other (and Blueshift and I have scores on most everything), so we analyzed what could possibly make it and what couldn't and worked from there. There's nothing that could've made it (even with solid 10's from all the remaining judges) that hasn't been judged fully now.
2297419
2297423
More or less what I meant; logical way of doing things.
You poor souls and your sixty-odd entries.
PresentPerfect deserves some sort of honorable mention for also having judged every entry.
And naturally, it was the one I hadn't read yet that ended up winning my vote.
Well done, Aquaman.
For the public record, cause I'm not shy, my votes were, in order:
Far From the Tree
To Love the Sun
For Whom We Are Hungry
In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep
The Filly and the Sea
Gotta admit there were several I liked over the final two entries, though. If anyone, after they have read the winners, is interested, the other ones that I felt were "worthy" of your time which didn't make this list were:
Succession - Set hundreds of years in the future, Twilight - now Queen Twilight - has lost all those who were dear to her and has been ruling alone. A new alicorn has come along, and Twilight forcibly takes her in under her wing because Twilight doesn't want to be alone anymore.
Faun - Anything I say about this dark story would be a spoiler - it starts out from the point of view of a child in the forest, alone, scared, but unable to go into ponyville due to his "horrific" appearance. This story is quite good overall, but suffers from the fact that two of the characters in it - Lyra and Bon Bon - have several scenes which feel... wrong in the story. It isn't that they're bad scenes, but that they feel like they're part of a different story entirely. Even still, a worthy read.
All Skin and Bones - A necromancer comes to Ponyville to regain the magic that the ponies took with them when they died long ago, but there are some things that man was not meant to play with and control.
Home - This is an odd entry because the Equestria in this story is purely imaginary, a mental retreat for the rather unsympathetic protagonist, and his struggle with the world - as well as with being honest with himself.
Though if I was going to replace any entries, it would be In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep and The Filly And the Sea; the other three entries are the top three in the contest. So maybe it doesn't make such a big difference after all.
2297482
Yeah, and his story was pretty solid too.
2297482
He didn't review his own! 63/64, better luck next time PP
2297546
All of the ones you mentioned were pretty high scoring as well, but not quite high scoring enough to make it into the top five. There was seriously like, a 2 point different between some of them.
Holy CRAP, I've only read one entry which turned out to not make the cut and I thought it was quite good, so if it didn't even make the final five then I've still got some excellent fics on the way!
"Least Favorite" was definitely the right term to use on the voting form. The finalists all definitely deserve it, and I wish all of their authors the best of luck.
Some fics I like were let out, but I am okay with this result. :D
I am curious:
¿How are votes counted?
¿Condorcet?
¿Borda?
¿Bucklin?
¿MAV?
Many other votecounting systems exist. Some are far better than others.
2297316
Sorry man, I had you in my top five :(
2299444 Aye, such is life.
Greetings, I am looking for others opinions on this point:
" -No Clopfics. It's a little too easy to cash out on some of the above concepts by making them about juicy sexual happenings instead of the human or the alicorn or whatever, so that's a no-go here. Mature-rated entries are provisionally allowed, to allow people access to, say, gorier stuff if they need it. But nothing about sex or otherwise involving sex scenes."
I feel that the "Far from the Tree" has violated this rule and even though it does not directly mention the word sex ect: It however smells, tastes and acts like it. I do not believe this is in the letter or even the spirit of the set rule.
What does it take to break said rule, dose this rule actually mean they have to describe every detail of a sexual act to break it? What do you all think?
P.S: This story is an awesome story, the feelings and worries of Applejack are masterfully shown.
2299803
Apple Bloom and Chip Shot weren't having sex. They were making out. Bit of a difference.
2299803
You are projecting far too much and completely over-reacting, placing a "kiss" deep into the realm of "sexual intercourse", which it certainly is not.
Clearly, as the story itself states, the two young people were not having sex.
2299803
The story wasn't a clopfic.
They didn't have sex.
The story doesn't have the sex tag.
The story isn't rated mature (though, frankly, I think "everyone" might be a bit of a stretch there).
So no, it doesn't violate the rule. Plus, you know, the judges all read the story and were fine with it.
And voted. Now to see how my favorite did.
2299803
I'll assume you didn't read the comments, as this distinction was discussed by the eighth comment.
2299809
2300060
2300204
2300887
Thank you all for you feedback,
The question was more on what is actually deemed as a sex scene: Not weather in the story they actually had sex or not. It came be a very vague line and my idea of what constitutes as a 'sex scene' is obviously different from others out there and that's fine; huzzar for different opinions as the world be a far worse place without them.
Just using this story as an example (and I want to restate that I gave it a thumbs up, it's a great story, well written, very moving and my comments are in no way a reflection upon the writer) Applebloom and Chip Shot were more than just 'kissing on a park bench' which is what I would consider a 'make-out' session. Where as two ponies sharing a bed and performing acts intended to stimulate and arouse each other sexually is a step further than that, weather or not they actually have sex.
If we are going to have a rule then it's important to have the line drawn somewhere. It would be good to know for future reference so that such a miss understanding can be avoided in the future and we can all go on enjoying our love of all things pony.
Any way my votes are in, well done the finalists and good luck to you all!
Well, time to get to it, I suppose. I have been putting off reading for far too long.
2301395 I understand your point of view, but I feel you are confusing 'intimacy' with 'actual sex' otherwise known as 'clop' in this case.
The rules of the contest state: "No Clopfics. ...nothing about sex or otherwise involving sex scenes." Clopfics clearly involve actual sexual intercourse, no matter who (or what) the participants are. Kisses, touching, and sex are all intimate acts (well, depending on how it's portrayed, of course), but in this case your argument is equating a quiet, intimate kiss with sex (sexual intercourse, or clop).
The scene you're referring to was clearly written into the story not to provoke sexual excitement, but to make Applejack's blood pressure rise and invoke a change in her perception of the world she lives in.
As that scene never reached the point of an actual act of sexual intercourse in any way - rather than simple intimacy of kissing and the mild touching that usually goes with it - and Chip admitted to the Element of Honesty that he and Apple Bloom had never had sex, it's pretty clear that the author followed the rules completely.
2302337
Thank you but yet again, has not actually answered the question asked: If it is simply weather there was actual sex i.e the full nine yards all the way to the end and so forth has happened; then no Applebloom and Chip did not have actual sex this true: But the rules of the competition are not clear on what a 'Sex Scene' actually falls under, where is the line drawn? The idea is different for every viewer, and I was able to fairly believe that such descriptions found in "Far from the Tree" could be viewed as 'Sex scene' considering the spirit of the rule.
At what point does intimacy count as a 'sex scene'? In a slightly funny image for the sake of argument, a stallion 'misses the mark' and never finishes, he's done every else in his power to have sex but fails at the last moment. Is that a sex scene, or just an example of intimacy? Was the writer shaving as close to the line to try and win the votes of people 'turned on' by such an act or not? (I.e the spirit of the rule)
look at this another way: In one interpretation (which is all we have unless we are given proper guide lines right from the word go) is in "For Whom We are Hungry" (Which is my favorite story of the lot, gave it five points, well done that writer!). The changeling in question sneaks into the mare's bed and steals some of her affection to survive:
"There's no need for stealth anymore. You step around to the far side of the bed and climb atop the covers next to the dozing mare. She smells of feathers and pine sap, and she reeks of sex. The mattress slumps beneath your weight, and she rolls over to press her back against you, mumbling softly in her sleep."
Implies that characters within the story have had sex, even mentions the word. Does that then mean this story is not within the rules? The vague rule states: "But nothing about sex or otherwise involving sex scenes." To take just the literal view of that statement, then this story should be ruled out. I don't personally believe this to be the case my self. Implying the pair had sex is not a 'sex scene', but it is about sex. The exact wording of this rule is 'nothing about sex' and therefore not allowed, which I think would be incredibly unfair to rule this story out because of it. This example in not in the spirit of the rule I am sure.
On an even more crazy interpretation of the rules, Twilight and Rex needed had sex to be able to have two children (unless there is some really funky magic going on there) in "Filly at the Beach" as such, breaking the rule. I obviously do not feel that is the case or that this story dose break the rule either. The point is that the rules were not clear from the start which will lead to situations such as this.
What I am attempting to make is not who 'is' or 'is not' within or without the 'the no sex' rule. The time to decide those kind of things are long past and its no the participant's role to police entries; I want to understand better what IS the rule and why it has not been made clear. We could go around and around all day and night with what we think the rules are, but there is no definite line or boundary set.
What I am doing is trying to make sure that this competition is fair for everyone, I know it may not be a popular point to raise, and I could be damaging my credibility ect. on the this site for doing so but it is important. Especially in an event with prizes at stake, where tempters can easily explode. I don't even honestly think I'll be agreed with either: I have my standards and others have theirs and that's fine: We don't have to agree on everything.
What I am asking for is for the people who run the competition to be very clear on what the rules are and then enforce them. It is not fair on any entry if rules such as this are not stated clearly, as always someone is going to be left in the lurch:
Say I'm decided to be found right, then what? It messes up a whole load of work done some very talented people who have entered in good faith. If I am found to be in error of my understanding of the rule then, me and any others like me has been unfairly hampered in what we are able to show and do.
Any rule not clearly defined is going to cause trouble. I would be happy just to know that the problem is acknowledged, that things could have been done better and that next time it will be very clear what is allowed and what is not.
I know that the team who runs this site are an ace bunch of people, giving of their time and talents so we can all enjoy this fandom and I respect them greatly for it, I don't want this to become a sore point which spoils anyone's enjoyment here at Fimfic, but I cannot stand aside either and let problems like this be swept under the carpet either: It's beneath us all if we pretend it's not there.
This last few days has taken a lot out of me, it's not fun to do and I would much rather be spending my time writing and having fun, but you if you don't put your flag in the ground every so often then things won't get better.
So I hope this has cleared up the point I am concerned over: No more miss understandings. I look forward to us all being able to work together again soon, fairly and have a great time. Once again well done to every one who entered this event and thanks for putting it on leaders.
2304174
I think a safe assumption is that a sex scene is a scene with sex in it.
2304174
The point of the rule was to prevent people from writing out-and-out clopfics. At the very least, there was enough contextual evidence to glean that intent from it regardless of the specific wording. I'm a bit confused as to how you're pulling so much more out of it, especially when it doesn't seem like anyone else had any issues with this rule at all, let alone to this degree.
2304174
The purpose of the rule was to prohibit pornography and titillation. The scene did neither of those things.
2308418
"The purpose of the rule was to prohibit pornography and titillation."
Wonderful intention and I completely agree with you, but dose not define or clarify the rule however and there is no reason to repeat examples of how this is a problem as they have been clearly outline in previous statements.
I have raised my concerns as clearly as possible and there is no point in responding to any more: "This person did or did not break the rule replies," as this is not what I am asking. That was settled long ago in responses to my first post on the matter: The judges have ruled that those stories are in and allowed: I am not debating that decision, it's their competition after all:
That I disagree with that ruling is not what is being questioned here and so there is no point in responding to that point further: I am prepared to let that decision remain.
When someone who is in a position to actually make an official layout of what the rule is, where its limits are, what it actually covers and explains this clearly then we can finally move forward. We can go on enjoying our fandom on equal footing and avoid any further miss understandings.
I have said my piece and have made my intentions clear, it's up to those who run the this event to respond and look forward to a clear and definite answer.
2308670
The rule isn't vague. It is very clearly defined.
What is the rule?
"No clopfics."
The rest is an explanation.
There's nothing vague about this. A clopfic is just a synonym for pornography.
2304174
To start with, going to have to say the meldramatics aren't really necessary
Second, while I admit to some confusion about what exactly it is you'd want, I think the bulk of your disconnect comes from you interpreting the rules literally, with no room for context or interpretation. Nobody else had any trouble understanding that "No sex or sex scenes" means no graphic descriptions of sexual acts. Although kissing, post-act scent and so on can indeed lead to and in some cases be considered sexual acts, it does require a specific case-by-case look at each entrant.
Tl;dr: The rule is nonspecific for a reason, to give people the right amount of restraint without telling them precisely what is and is not okay, so that they have room to explore their own story.
2308841
Thank you so much, now we're getting somewhere! I can understand that there must be a case by case basis for each story. That was not stated in the description of 'clopfic' the rule "No sex or sex scene" I am very happy with the principle of case by case and so glad that someone is making an effort to understand.
The confusion chiefly comes from different back grounds and standards, I fully accept this point and nor would attempt to force mine on others. What I would consider a scene that's a step too far is not what another would think and so chiefly we have to go off the rules stated.
In the main rules section of the site:
When should I use the 'sex' and 'gore' tags?
This is simple enough: use 'gore' when there is explicit description of violence/grotesque imagery in your story, and use 'sex' when there's... well... sex. On a Teen rated story, 'sex' can be used to indicate sexual humor or situations that are heated but don't have explicit sex.
It is clear that there is a line where it is considered to be a sex scene and where it is not. To be a total monkey about it and try to enforce the literal wording of a rule every time is bound to fail, and I would never insist that it be the case every time:That would be plain stupid, but it must also be governed the other way in a fair and open manner.
It does no foster trust in people when the judges say: It's okay because we say so, without good reasons to back up the claim: Then it falls apart. The replies to my question about if one story was alright were answered. They explained why they made their decision, but I was left left confused as the rules seemed to state one thing and the judges another: Individual standards clashing again.
When I pressed for the rules to be made clearer I was bombarded with people all telling me that the the story was allowed and basically get over it. If that had been my problem and question then they were well within their rights to do so. No one likes a rules monkey who tries to twist the rules to his own advantage at the expense of others. (Very much including me)
Every person has a right to a voice and be heard and thank you so much for being one of those who try to understand it's refreshing to hear.
If the general rule is that each and every story is a case by case basis that's fine wahoo!
Though I must point out that without any markers beyond what we have, i.e the rule in this event and with the main rules of the site it can be easily confused and viewed as unfair without someone clarifying it properly.
Thank you again for taking the time to try to understand the key point here: That the rules must be clear to everyone from the start, and be applied evenly to everyone. There must also be room for people to disagree and proper ways to handle such. If each scene of question is to be judged on a case by case basis there need to be guidelines to that too, or people will get riled up by decisions that seem to conflict with what is written.
Not sure that I want all the details, but it begs the question of what does break the rules? It is very clear my view is not shared by others on this site, that is true, which leads me to respond to my next person:
2308764
Fine no pornography, I'm all for that (the not bit) but as ponies are considered fine even when not dressed then where does the line fall there? At what point does a it begin to become questionable? If a human couple were to engage in sexualy stimulating activities (basically attempting to arouse each other weather or not they actually had sex) in a bed with no cloths on, that would be very obvious.
Because we are talking ponies I know that line is harder to define, but it has to be somewhere and I feel that we need to know where. So that in future events people can be open about what is actually meant by a rule and avoid crossing that line. To have a rule clear or at least explained properly avoids this problem.
Please help me to understand your thinking, as you must have judged each story by a set of values that I am not aware of. The fact that every one else may no bother, or to be honest: Be too frightened to stand up and ask the question doesn't mean it shouldn't be asked.
I have heard for the last three days what hasn't broken a rule, but very little what would do so. I plead once again: that this is not an attempt to make trouble, or affect the results of this event. I just want to have things clear for myself so that I can go on enjoying ponies with every one else and feel confident that we know where the lines are drawn.
Thank you both for taking the time to listen to my concerns in a reasonable and non knee-jerk reaction.
2308957
I don't understand your interpretation of the rule. Likely because you yourself don't seem to understand your interpretation of the rule, if you have an interpretation at all.
You are clearly, as you said, very confused. You're flipping this situation around, saying that adequate backing reasoning was not included in the judges' ruling that Far From The Tree wasn't rule breaking. In reality, it was ruled not to break the rules simply because it did not break the rules, and the failure to provide adequate and compelling reasoning was on your part, in saying that the story did break the rules.
Allow me to illustrate.
Your story Remember Vigil contains an OC alicorn, Vigil. Let's say that there was some other existing story in this fandom that also contained an OC named Vigil—but it's an earth pony, or female, or maybe just a floating mass of energy (anything that clearly sets it apart from your character)—and that I had read this story sometime in the past. And then let's say that Remember Vigil was among the top five stories of the contest and, seeing this, I decided to come forward with the information about the other story with an existing character named Vigil, citing the "-No Previously Extant OCs. If you're using an OC for your prompt, it can't be something anybody'd recognize from elsewhere in the fandom" rule of the contest and claiming that your story broke it.
Naturally, the judges would tell me that I am wrong. What would their reasoning be? It would likely be that your OC is not the same as the OC in that other story, and so your story does not break the previously extant OCs rule because your story, in point of fact, contains no previously extant OCs. There would be no grounds for argument, because my claim was not compelling—I said you broke a rule when you didn't, and it's as simple as that. No matter that your OC is similar to the other in name or in any other respect, common sense lets everyone but me see that they are different, and so the rule was not broken.
And now allow me to copy/paste what I just said, but with the real situation filling in the blanks: The judges told you that you are wrong. What is their reasoning? It is that kissing and cuddling is not the same as sex, and so Aqua's story does not break the no sex scenes rule because his story, in point of fact, contains no sex scenes. There are no grounds for argument, because your claim was not compelling—you said he broke a rule when he didn't, and it's as simple as that. No matter that kissing and cuddling is similar to sex in that both are physical acts of intimacy, common sense lets everyone but you see that they are different, and so the rule was not broken.
And that can be applied to most of the points you've brought up throughout this discussion. You are creating vagueness where there is clarity for no reason that I can fathom, unless I decide to think unfavorably.
The all but deliberate vibes I'm getting from your refusal to understand the situation come to a head perhaps most strongly in this portion of your comment:
That is not the rule. The rule is that there were to be no sex scenes. If a story had actually been submitted that contained a sex scene, it would have been refused entry to the contest, but none were submitted. The two entries that you name as examples of having "almost sex" did not have sex, were not about sex, and did not attempt to ride sex to victory at the expense of the actual prompts, and so rightly quick and obvious decisions were made to allow them into the contest, as they did not break the clearly defined and easy-to-understand rule.
2309991
Fair nuff
2309669
Thank you for your comment, it has stuck with me and I find myself unable to sleep. The point you have raised is entirely valid. I was asking people to justify their position without clearly stating my own. I absolutely hate confrontation and as such was dancing around the issue. I am sorry for this and hope to make up for it now.
So in an attempt to be fair and open as I have asked of others I will try my best to explain why I feel the way I do: So here goes
To explain why I have such a problem with the ruling I saw I will try describe it in terms of what could deemed 'socially acceptable'
In regards to how I would describe 'making-out': Say you are walking down the street and you come to a bus stop where there is a boy and a girl of legal age to have sex. They lean in close and give each other a hug, followed by a kiss. No problems so far we're good and they obviously like each other.
Now the same situation but this time the girl is sitting on a the boy's lap, this will probably draw a few more glances as it is more pronounced activity of intent. That is pushing what would be considered correct behaviour in a public place.
Next, same situation, but this time the boy is lying down and the girl is straddling him, as they kiss they make suggestive noises and now I would think that any passer bye is really starting to feel uncomfortable. I would now consider this to be inappropriate behavour in a public place.
Now with the content of "Far from the Tree", I think it is reasonable to assume that Applebloom and Chip would not be behaving like they do in the story in a public place. Probably because they want to be private, but would guess mainly because they don't want any one else to know what they are doing (especially Applejack for obvious reasons) and that it would be deemed inappropriate behaviour for a public place.
So with that line of thought I believe to have established that they are coming dangerously close to the line for where the bounds of what could be called a sex scene is. They are performing acts that would not be normally considered appropriate for public viewing and I don't think I would be wrong in describing it as more than just a kiss.
To say that the acts of intimacy that lead up to the actual act of sex is a fine line, in my personal view sex would begin when the parties involved make a physical effort to bring exposed personal and private parts of themselves in contact with one another and would continue until they separate once more. I know that there are others who think differently, but as I said: That is mostly down to back ground and personal standards.
This is where things become a little harder to explain, so please bare with me:
Again trying to use the comparison, say the older sister of a that girl at the bus stop comes home just like Applejack did and finds them performing the same acts in her room, now it gets complicated: Are they dressed?
Still using the comparison of humans, we're all human (or a least I hope so) so I think it's fair to use our standards when presenting this point. If they were naked in bed, that would very clearly be crossing the line of pornography, regardless of the acts they are doing and so clearly in breach of the rules: Where as if they were still clothed then it could be reasonably believed to be dangerously close bounds of 'making-out' actually means.
But as we are dealing with ponies they don't normally ware cloths and so this is why it becomes much harder to draw the line of where appropriate acts are. As stated from my understanding of what a 'sex scene' would fall under or what would be viewed as pornographic descriptions: This is where we hit the biggest problem.
As they are naked in bed, coupled with the acts they are doing and by the very nature of the way they are avoiding a public showing of this act; seems to imply that even by pony standards it is very much more than a simple kiss. Any pony caught stumbling upon this scene would feel rightly uncomfortable, weather or not the participants were actually having sex or not.
"The pegasus—a stranger—a stallion—rolled over onto his back, and Apple Bloom came with him. Nestled between his hind legs with her chest pressed into his, she flattened his wings against the bedspread and leaned down with her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed, her mouth opening and quivering and descending and connecting. The stallion cradled his hooves in the small of her back and craned his neck up, and their lips met with a sound of a bomb going off...."
To have humans described as performing acts similar to this while in bed and not dressed would be enough to show that what they were doing could easily be deemed as inappropriate. If I were to stumble on this I would be rightly shocked and feel that I had seen something that was of a sexual nature.
Which is mostly why I think i found this whole event so taxing: Feeling safe under the 'No sex rule' I was able to confidently and happily read stories about ponies with out fear of witnessing something I did not want to see in regards to being 'socially acceptable' in a public place. It cut me to the core as I was not ready for a scene of this nature and hurt me deeply. I never wish to see scenes of pornography and strongly feel that what people (or ponies) get up too when alone with each other is there business not mine.
Sex is not a bad thing, I just believe it should be personal and not for public display along with any acts that go with it. Having a 'tender kiss' on a bench is a beautiful thing, showing love and respect for each other. I strongly feel that to display acts of a sexual nature for entertainment seems to cheapen all parties involved.
As I have said before, my standards are probably very different from others here, I know that I am in a minority where I live as to what other people think, but this does not make my views any less important.
So to round off: On both levels of 'spirit and letter' of the rule placed to protect us and make this event fair, I feel that this scene has overstepped the line of what could be reasonably seen as an appropriate level if graphic description when seen in light of a 'No sex/sex scenes' rule. The acts they are performing would clearly make any viewer uncomfortable by what I understand the standards to be and so should not be admissible.
I want to strongly repeat that I hold no grudges or anger against the writer of this story, I think that apart from what I have already stated the story is simply wonderful, the way Applejack has to come to terms with Applebloom's maturing nature. The nervous way Chip is exploring his own feelings for Applebloom are fantastic.
So in the spirit of making things easier for every one I have not pushed for any changing in the rulings here. I do not think it would be fair at this stage to deny any finalists of their hard one places and so accept the judges decisions. All I would hope for is that in any future events the rules regarding situations like this are given more attention and guidance: To avoid people stumbling upon things they do not want to see and so that every one has the fair chance to express their writing talents without fear or confusion.
I do not plan to be making any further postings on this matter, but will try to answer any questions put to me if I can.
Thank you for being patient with my rambling nature, I do tend to just write what I think and despite my best efforts what I think and what my fingers type are not always the same thing. So with a final well done for the finalists, I 'll wrap this up.