This is a working copy of the second version of the poetry battles. Please read through it and leave comments and such below.
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Welcome to version two of the poetry battle thread!

The purpose of Poetry battles is to provide an environment of spontaneous yet calculated difficulty for the poets of Newgrounds. The battles do come with little notice and this is to put the poets on edge - to test their minds while they work on their feet. The battles also serve as an outlet for those unable to write poetry themselves. Voting is open to everyone, we want the community involved. It is the goal of the battles to provide an informative yet completive environment.

What is a Poetry Battle?

First of all please see:

The list of previous battles [link]
The original topic [link]

These two areas may allow for a greater understanding than what can be seen in this post.

A "Poetry Battle" is a competition between two poets here on Newgrounds. Each poet will have 24 hours to create a poem on a topic chosen by the Battle-Master(s). All other aspects of the poem other than the topic will be left up to the writer.

(The current Battle-Master(s) can be seen here: [link].)

The Battle-Master(s) is/are subject to change at anytime at the digression of the current Battle-Master(s) and/or Newgrounds Staff.)
A change from the original version:
Challenges have been removed for a purely random system. The system will simply outgrow the ability to have challenges so it has been removed to save confusion.

How to compete:

In order for a newgrounds member to compete they must PM the current battlemaster(s) or show interest in this topic (the first is recommended however). The member showing interest will then be added to the list of contenders located here: [link].

Note: Once on the list the member is subjugated to joining a battle at the Battle-master(s)'s choosing. Time is up to the Batter-Master(s). Otherwise, it is recommended that the forum be checked daily.

Being selected to battle:

In order to compete interest must be shown and the interested party must be on the list of contenders.

The selection to compete in battle will be decided by random draw (random number generator), therefore a person may fight ten battles in a row or they may not fight for a month. This is the only way that I could ensure an equal chance of competition.

Notification of Competition:

Upon being selected by the Battle-Master to compete in a battle the two parties will be notified of their selection 24 hours before they are given their topic. This gives the person ample time to set aside time to compete.

They then will be notified on their topic and opponent through the use of a private message. It is the goal of the program to give as much time as possible to the crafting of the poem for the battle.

Note: A topic will also appear in the forum for the battle so notice can be taken from that.

Topic thread would look like this: Dubbi v TrevorW: subject

Period of battle:

Each battle will take three days for a full completion. In this three day period there will be one day to create the poem and two days to vote. However, if both poems are submitted before the first 24 hours are up then the voting will open "early" in order to insure the most voting possible.

Should a competitor need an extension on their battle they must apply (via PM) for one before the 24 hour writing period is up. However, please only use this option if it is in dire need. This will not affect the number of battles in a negative way because the new battle will start when the extended battle should have ended - the reason why too many extensions can not be given out.

If a battle is missed it counts as a loss for the party that missed the battle and a win for the other.

If three battles are missed the person is out of the list of competitors and will not be allowed back in without a written appeal (via PM). If the appeal is accepted they will still have to miss a month of competition and their stats will be reset.

Voting:

Please refer to "commenting" as it is related.

In order to provide for a true battle-like scenario the voting will remain as such: each person who decides to vote will have to choose between the two poems and pick one of them to vote for. There is no rating system and there is no "both." Pick one.

In the event of a tie the win will be applied to both parties. There is no tie breaker or extension of voting period for such an occurrence. Time is limited and there are plenty of battles to be had, plus ties will only occur if both poems are equally matched.

In the event of no votes being castthe match will be void and the participants will see no change in score. (However this is highly unlikely and should for the most part be ignored.)

If you are going to take part in battles you must prove that you are willing to vote as well. I will not place you in a battle until I see that you are voting on other battles (only exception to the random number generator's pick). This is to ensure that each battle gets as many votes as possible. I know that reading mass amounts of material can be hard but each person should try their best.

Commenting:

In order to provide for the most impact from these contests it is suggested that each voter leave some sort of critic in regards to both poems. Explain why you picked one over the other. While this will not be required there are two benefits from doing so:

1) The writers get a chance to learn something from the poems that they write, as do the on lookers.

2) People will be more inclined to respond back with informative critics...everyone wins.

However, there is an added incentive: Anyone who is on the list of competitors that shows a solid commitment to commenting on pieces with legitimate critics will receive the equivalent of 1 win per month as a bonus. Remember that the point of sharing work is to get opinions and critics, therefore it is the goal of the battles to further this idea.

Rate of Battle:

The battles will take place at a rate of 12 every 14 days in a staggered fashion. I will start two battles on the first day of competition and two on the second day; then, the battles will take 4 days from notification of competition to the end of the voting period to finish. As two battles finish their four day period another two battles will begin. In theory this will create a constant state of competition, with the maximum amount of topics active being four (six if congratulations are given out). I know that this may seem like a lot, but I am setting this number so that everyone on the ever growing [list] will get a chance to battle. While I am concerned about a flood of these topics the full list must be addressed for a fair environment. My goal is to allow each person to take part in as many battles as possible.

Recording:

After the voting concludes the battle-master will announce the winner in the topic. Then the record will be updated on the list of competitors: [link].

Every battle past and present is listed here: [link]