A lot of valid points have been raised here,some which I ,for one,hadn't even considered when I entered the challenge.However,some of the points are not going to work ...for example anonymity.As e-brink pointed out,a lot of us have styles which would be familiar to most members,regardless of our names being included or not,and numbers would be just as ineffective for that same reason.In a society such as this,friends are a normal part of interacting,and while I would hope the majority of us would vote for an image based on it's artistic merits and relation to the challenge in general,some will vote purely on the basis of friendship and that's life.I for one entered this challenge for that very reason,as a challenge to myself,to take the subject and create an image that tested both my technical and artistic skills...not for the "glory"of being the winner of the month,but rather to push myself and see where I ended up as a result.Personally,I don't really care if I win or not...the reward is seeing what I,and in turn every other entrant,has created...to have gone down a path I may never have entered otherwise and to have learnt something along the way!
 Perhaps the only way to truly eliminate the"friend vote"is to simply eliminate the ability for the friend to vote...quite simply take the vote away from the members and put the decision to a panel of judges,allow the art to be judged purely on it's face value and how well it meets the criteria.Is this what we want?Maybe...but do we really need to stoop to this level?Let's just hope that the votes will be truly cast to the deserving winner and get back to what we're all here for in the first place...creating great art and learning from each other in a spirit of cameraderie and let the chips fall as they may!If your greatest concern entering these contests is whether you'll win or lose based on how many members will vote for a friend,then maybe you shouldn't enter at all!My vote will be for the best work of art...period!