SPAM

We receive many complaints whenever the peoples' vote gets spammed. It makes the vast majority of honest entrants in our photo contest mad. That makes us mad!

Recently we challenged someone over 300 votes that appeared overnight. They claimed that they emailed everyone in their diving club to vote for them. Pointless, you'll agree, but as it is one man one vote that's 'legal'. However, they had another rash of votes and that time I looked in our server logs and found they had all come from the same IP address...

Now, we all concede that what is one persons taste may not be someone elses. But look at these...

David Doubilet would not get 300 votes overnight if he entered his best known work! Spammers insult the intelligence of their fellow underwater photographers and makes a mockery of the voting system.

We have changed the system now so that only entries in the past couple of days show in the winners panel. Names will not sit in the top 3 places like they used to.

The voting system is there to give underwater photographers a bit of encouragement, a chance to gauge your efforts against others, a bit of fun - not so that spammers can see their name in the 1,2, and 3 spot!

The peoples vote does not influence the annual judging at all. The panel do not even see the peoples' vote.

The rules are clear...

Any entrant who spams or is suspected of spamming the votes will have all their images removed.

This website stands for equality amongst u/w photographers. Underwater photographers have (quite literally) made this site by joining in the contest, forums etc. Spammers are so against the spirit of what UP is about.

Remember, the only vote that has value is the one someone else awards you. The only person the spam voter is fooling - is themself!