Do Over.

Dear Thirty-Something Bride Readers and Contest Finalists,

There are bots at work. Robots, that is. And they are voting. And voting and voting and voting. I've spent WAY too much of my time over the last two days tracking this issue and trying to figure out what to do. Cancel the contest all together? Pull out the bot votes and count "real" votes only? Disqualify bot-vote recipients? Before I share what Carissa and I decided to do, I've got some things to say.

The intent of this contest was two fold. First, I wanted to help a sweet, talented woman get her name out into the wedding community. Carissa wanted to sponsor the contest and I was in support of her, the contest idea, and being the platform for that contest. Second, I wanted it to be FUN! I wanted readers to get to know the couples a little, not just see a picture or hear yet another sappy engagement story.

This intent has gone so far awry with the tech savvy hackers who have come into play. There is NO WAY to point a finger and blame, so please don't. There are so many different kinds of poll-voting codes out there, it's sick. There are a million ways to hack and many people do it simply for fun. In my research on this, I even found a forum where people will share different polls on-line, simply with the intent to hack them. So uncool.

So, that being said,  we are starting fresh. Yes, that's right.

I've spoken with Carissa as well as the Legal Team here at The Thirty-Something Bride. We cannot count the votes as is. We simply cannot. Because we cannot precisely determine who is hacking, I am not going to blame anyone. Could I spend a crap-load of time trying to nail a culprit or two? Sure, but I'm not going to. Why? Because that is NOT what this contest is about. I will not let lame hackers determine the outcome of what is supposed to be a most wonderful prize and opportunity for the winning couple and the talented photographer. I will not disqualify people for something they may or may not have had a part in.

I feel absolutely awful at how this has played out. It was supposed to be fun.  I've participated in similar polls many times and I think they are awesomely exciting, which was the point. However, our voting has been compromised and we need to take this action in order to make it fair for all parties involved.

I am mortified and embarrassed that my website has been compromised. As a blogger and a sponsor of this contest, I humbly apologize for the inconvenience and heart-ache this may have caused anyone involved. Truly, that was never the intent. The maliciousness of the internet world is scary and strange. We understand that many, many, people worked hard to vote their asses off for their favorite couple. To you, we apologize profusely and hope you decide to vote again. 

To vote for your favorite couple, all you must to do is this:

1. Please send an email to DulceContest@gmail.com.

2. Please put the name of the couple you would like to vote for in the title of your email AND in the body of the email.

That's it! Easy-peasy, right? We will accept emails until FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11th at 11:59pm.

We will count ONE VOTE per email address.

GOOD LUCK to ALL our finalists!

Comments

[needah]

Great job on this!
I thought it was being taken wayyyy to seriously!!

Too bad it had to end up like this.

xx

[Sarah]

Thank you so much Louise and Carissa for correcting this. Hearts to you both for the heartache you went through because of this mess.

[Lizzie]

Oh man, so sorry about the mess! It's all good though, looks like it'll be a fine re-do though, lady, all the couples are FANTASTIC.

[Emily]

I hope you post some updates -- maybe daily tolls. That would be fun to see!

[veronica]

Oh man that suuuucks. But now it's just double the fun, right?