Lon Chaney, I can't see it because you haven't explained it. You keep saying that you think it is unethical to ask for your friends to vote, but you have explained why you believe that. Repeating "in my opinion it is unethical" doesn't really explain anything. Here, I'll go first: In my opinion, asking your friends to vote for you is not unethical. The reasons for this are: 1) everyone can ask their friends to vote, so it's not an unfair advantage. Also, one can say "no, I won't vote for you". 2) judging what art is "best" is very subjective an personal. I don't think it is practical to vote who is the "best artist". 3) I think the AOY should be someone that the majority of people know, they should be someone who has a big presence and impact on the site. Therefore, I do not agree with people when they claim that asking people to vote for you is unethical, or "stuffing the ballot box".