A few observations:

1. The H20 is a popularity contest. It puts people into a visible
   spot. You get into this spot if/wen you're popular. NOBODY HAS EVER
   CLAIMED OTHERWISE. If anybody here has any kind of ideas that this is
   some kind of "artistic competition" and that is should have more
   "fairness" and that people will/should "strive to improve their work"
   to get into the H20, then I am hereby requesting to be shown the
   Renderosity policy that says that the H20 is anything other than an
   open, clear, unmitigated, blatant popularity contest.

2. You win a popularity contest by being popular. Not by being "good"
   at any one thing, not by being "creative", not by being "artistically
   sensitive", not by being amongst "the best that fractal art has to
   offer" or any such popular misconceptions. If people would like some
   way to showcase any such category, then I'd like to direct their
   attention to the Fractal Window Weekly - which is doing quite an
   admirable job.

3. I really, really don't understand what the big deal is. Some people
   are popular. So? Why is that a problem? Some of the images in the H20
   are junk. There I said it. And? Why is that a problem? Why is it a
   problem if/when I say so? A lot of stuff on the web is junk. Much of
   my own stuff is junk. Much of what I see on Rendo is junk. It would be
   a big surprise if much in the H20 wasn't junk. I'm all for posting a
   picture of a big pile of dog doo if that conveys someone's
   judgement. Where's the problem? Popular people produce as much junk as
   unpopular ones. And?

4. People can already chose for their images NOT to be up for ranking
   or comments. From this it follows that they want to hear comments --
   good ones or not-so-good ones. I don't think I've ever posted
   downright negative things, but I've certainly handed out my share of
   criticism together with the praise. And gotten whiny pm's how I
   shouldn't say anything if I can't say anything nice. I tend to
   chuck'em. If you don't want to see where you stand on people's
   attention/admiration/popularity ladder, disable comments. By
   corrolary: If you'd rather not have the crushing experience of NOT
   being voted into the hot-20, by all means don't post to
   renderosity. There's a gazillion gallery sites out there. Some with
   popularity contests, some without.

5. But if it bugs you that others are more popular than you are, you
   might want to re-examine why you're posting here in the first
   place. If popularity is really a big concern for you, then this might
   just be a good time to learn what you should have learned in grade
   school: that popularity isn't won merely by doing good work. That
   there's a social aspect to it. That has to be learned, practiced and
   maintained. Renderosity's self-description contains two parts:
   "artist's" and "community". Anybody is free to focus on one or the
   other or both or ignore either or whatever floats their boat. The H20
   happens to showcase those who are good at building communities (of
   voters, that is). So?

So where exactly is the problem here? Why is it a problem to see a
"V" and know "oh, so THIS person is popular with THAT crowd"? Who,
exactly, is being harmed here? Who is harmed by open, blatant
vote-swapping? What is at stake here?