Essay Contest Rules
- By accepting participation in this essay contest, participants confirm that their primary, main, and possibly only reason for applying is their love for writing essays, their love for free thinking, and their dedication to truth and justice.
- Participants must be undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate college students.
- Essays must be submitted in correct English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.
- The author's identity must not be revealed in any way within the essay. Each essay will be assigned a unique label - code.
- The organizer will protect the data collected in this contest and will not use it for any purpose other than those described in these rules. Collected data will not be shared with third parties.
- Participants will pay a symbolic participation fee of $7 to cover administrative expenses. This fee is non-refundable if the submitted essay is eliminated from the contest.
- Essays may be submitted from (TBA) until (TBA) or until the maximum number of XZ submissions is reached.
- The prize for the best essay will range from $1,000 to $10,000.
- The best essay will be the one that receives the highest score after the third evaluation round, as per Rule 16.
- The prize for the best essay evaluator will range from $500 to $5,000.
- The best essay evaluator will be the participant whose scoring of other essays most closely aligns with the final scores of essays after the third evaluation round, as per Rule 16.
- What about $1,000,000 (1) and $500,000 (2)?
- The total amount of prize money will be determined by the number of essays received (participation fees), total funds collected from public contributions (voting fees and donations), and the number of essay readings.
- Essays must adhere to the criteria presented HERE. The criteria specify a set number of theses that authors must address in their essay. Some theses are mandatory, while others are optional. THIS RULE IS CURRENTLY NOT IN USE.
- The contest will be supported by AI functionality. Before the essay evaluation phase, AI will conduct an initial screening round to eliminate essays that do not align with the contest’s topic or significantly deviate from what a reasonable organizer would consider publishable. This measure aims to reduce "trolling" entries.
- Following submission and the AI-supported evaluation round, essays will proceed to the second and third evaluation rounds: in the second round, authors will evaluate each other’s essays; in the third round, the public will vote for the best essay.
- In the second round, authors will score each other's essays on a scale of 1 to 5 points for multiple criteria. Each essay will be evaluated by up to ten authors/evaluators, and each evaluator will assess up to ten essays.
- Evaluators must provide a 100-character comment along with their rating. These comments will be immediately available to the author and made public during the third phase of essay evaluation.
- Authors/evaluators must complete the evaluation of their assigned essays. Failure to do so will result in their essay being eliminated from the contest.
- The XY-number of top-rated essays will advance past the second round and be announced on (TBA).
- Essays that pass the second round will compete in the third round, where the public will vote for the best essay.
- Essays must be submitted as plain text using the designated submission form on the contest webpage.
- Contest participants agree that the organizer may publicly publish submitted essays, evaluations, 100-character evaluator comments, and the author's nickname without obstacles or compensation. The real name, email address, and phone number will be used exclusively for award distribution and participant authentication and will not be published.
- The only exception to anonymity is for prize winners: the author of the winning essay agrees to allow the organizer to publish their name, country, and university.
- Prize winners agree to participate in a public award ceremony if requested by the organizer before receiving their award.
- The contest organizer expects attempts to undermine the contest by individuals and institutions who do not wish the Project’s subject to be publicly discussed.
- Participants acknowledge that the sole interest of the organizer is to fulfill the purpose of this contest and will accept the interpretations of these rules as necessary.
- Participants must read these rules carefully before submitting their essay. By participating, they confirm that they find the rules sufficiently clear and fair.
- Any questions or clarification requests submitted through the contest’s website form will be reasonably considered and answered within the organizer’s available time and scope.
- Contest participants waive any appeals or complaints to third parties regarding the contest's administration. The organizer’s decisions on rule interpretations, changes, and contest-related matters are final.
- Participants acknowledge that different, possibly better, rules could have been made, but the contest will proceed under these rules. Participants also acknowledge that rules may change during the contest, with such changes duly announced on the contest’s webpage.
- By participating, contestants accept that the organizer will not be liable for any negative consequences participants may experience.
- Any potential participant who believes they might experience negative consequences due to this contest should either refrain from entering or withdraw immediately upon realizing such a risk.
- The organizer is a one-time facilitator of this "best essay contest" and will not engage in further essay contest organization once the contest's purpose is achieved. The only exception is outlined in paragraphs (1) and (2) below.
- The organizer lacks the capacity for extensive communication with those considering participation or those already participating.
- After reading all these rules, potential participants should recognize that the contest organizer is an ordinary individual, not a professional contest organizer, and that this contest is organized to challenge immorality and supremacy as threats to fundamental human rights.
(1) Upon completion of the Now: The Truth in David’s Sling! (NTDS1) essay contest, the organizer will host a related contest titled What Would Goethe Say? (WWGS?). The best essay in WWGS? may receive a prize of up to $1,000,000. Participants who previously participated in NTDS1 will receive additional points in the WWGS? contest.
(2) Following NTDS1, the organizer will also host an evaluator contest within WWGS?. The best evaluator may receive a prize of up to $500,000. Participants in WWGS? who also participated in NTDS1 will receive additional points for the best essay evaluator contest.
