This reminds me of a conversation I had decades ago with my Major Project Advisor (Special Projects Major, Early Scandinavian Culture). Lindisfarne. Tiny island staffed by Irish monks. (Dr Patrick Ledden was Irish.) They had all these golden altar treasures and jewel-bound bibles and boxes full of gifts sent by wealthy patrons trying to buy their way into grace. The Vikings descended upon them. More than once. : wide grin : He argued that the Vikings ought to have respected the holiness of the site (why? It wasn't Jerusalem or Najaf, or any place where anybody who claimed to be divine had done anything), and of the altarpieces and religious relics (somebody's fingernail clippings? I forget), and left the monastery alone. I argued that if they were foolish enough to put all that gold out on a rock guarded by old men in dresses, they deserved to get it ripped off. If they were holy men, they didn't need to read out of a jewel-bound bible or to wave a golden stinkpot of incense. If they'd truly taken a vow of poverty, the ever-practical vikings would have gone elsewhere... leaving them to meditate in peace. Placing temptation before those known to give in to it is itself a great evil. When I was a mod here, I somewhat fervently argued to get rid of the HOT20 and replace it with a merit-based system. The Poser Gallery had more graft and corruption, because of the market tie-in, but many of those people rigging the voting just did it for their instant of fame. Hollow fame to fill a hollow ego. Setting up contests and challenges and such is a hell of the lot of work. I know. I keep trying to get things going in the Challenge Arena even though I'm not a staffer. So why ask people to set up something which is prone to abuse and fraud? Carolly