An important notice for all participants in the Jersey Contest:
As I have been perusing the entries I have notice several people with multiple entries from accounts created on the same IP address, which usually means the same household/computer. This is the first rule of the contest: you can't do that. Because of the time and effort it would take to cross-check 100+ entries I never check until you actually win something. But I do check. You will not win any prizes if there are multiple entries from the same address.
I realize that in some cases an IP address can be duplicated among many people...for instance if you all create your accounts from the same workplace. Nevertheless I must enforce this rule otherwise people will start spamming the contest and honest folks won't have a fair chance at winning.
There is a simple work-around for the multiple-person IP address problem: make sure you create your initial account at home, not at work. In most cases this will solve the problem. You can still post your prediction forms from work. It doesn't matter where you post from, just where your account was created.
Heading off Possible Questions at the Pass:
No. It only matters if both accounts come from the same address and are both entered in the Jersey Contest at the same time.
You can't if you want to be eligible for prizes. You can get scored all you want, you just won't win anything. There's no way I can tell if that's your brother or just you doubling your chances.
However I will make this addendum in the name of family harmony: if you e-mail me and tell me explicitly that you both have accounts and would like to play I will score both, but only ONE of you will be eligible to win prizes. You MUST tell me before you start entering which one will be playing for prizes and which one is just playing for fun. If you fail to do this you're both disqualified no matter how good your intentions were.
No. If you're double-entering neither account will win any prizes.
I don't want to freeze out all of my college student readers and I understand the likelihood of you being trapped with a proxy duplicating your IP address is higher than the general public's. So I am ready to make this exception:
You can still win if you can conclusively prove to me that you are a student and have not been double-entering yourself. This means I will check all of the entries against each other to make sure you're not playing both sides of the fence consistently. Also you have to be prepared to send me evidence. If you're a college guy this probably means a picture of you holding a Blazersedge sign with your face clearly showing, then a close-up picture of your current Student ID with a matching face. If you're a college girl it means you holding a Blazersedge sign while wearing very skimpy underwear in your school colors.
Everyone needs to understand that I am not trying to be overly obstinate here. If we do not have this protection the Jersey Contest is effectively dead. You will start seeing 10+ entries apiece from people with way too much time on their hands and no honest reader will win again. Maybe this is an imperfect way to do it, but it's the only way I know how.
Thank you for respecting this rule of the contest and keeping it fair for all.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)