That is unfortunately correct. Please see this long, descriptive posting which explains why it's so hard to run contests in multiple countries.

Thank you for your attention.

Congratulations!

Thanks! :D

I really hope so

I Hope so ..!!

Please do read Eric's posting on this subject, along with the comments there, especially those from Canida.

Contest rules seem to be an absurdly complicated area of regulation, with horrendous differences and obstacles from country to country. Presumably, this grew out of each country trying to protect their citizens from whatever mix of shysters (non-lawyer shysters, of course) happened to be running local scams. But it seems to make life difficult, if not impossible, in this era of international online communities.

I posted replies like a madman on that topic. Although Christy, Eric and the bunch work hard on a very righteous and politically correct solution, they still slam the door in front of thousands of registered (and even paying) users.

Eric's posting was the inspiration for my brand new avatar :-D...

Y.

Unfortunately, they're not being politically, they're being forced to be legally correct.

You're right, I mixed up the words legally and politically.

If you were forced to choose between being legally correct and leave out thousands of (paying) members, what would you do?

I'm in a bad mood about all this. Probably because of the great contests that are running now, and me being left out. Insert an obstruction to the be-nice-rule here...

I have to say I find the petulant whining here really grating. Almost as grating, in fact, as the screaming for blood because "the bloodsucking lawyers aren't getting it done fast enough."

I'll preface this with the statement that I'm sure it COULD go faster - a lot faster. I'm not saying otherwise. I'm sure there are tons of unnecessary delays, and that many of these are attributable directly to the attorneys involved.

However.

I bet a lot of the users here are either in school, whether at the primary level, undergrad, or even graduate school, or have at some point been at school. I bet almost everyone here has had to write a paper at some point in their lives.

How long would it take you to write...say...a 10 page paper on, I dunno, the American civil war? I'm assuming a US-centric focus here, but if you're in another country, insert some other war, or really any subject, preferably humanities (more similar to law than the sciences) with which you are reasonably familiar. The point is that you know something about this humanities topic, but there's plenty to have to look up and lots and lots of tiny, crucial details. I'll be super-easy on you and let you get away without citing ANYTHING. That's right, all you have to do is research the issue, think about it, and write 10 full pages in 12 point font with standard margins on 8.5*11 inch paper.

How long would that take you? Would it take you a day? A week? A Month? You don't have all day, every day to work on this - it's in addition to anything and everything else you are doing right now: work, school, whatever.

OK, now imagine you have to write 30 of these. They're due at different times over a period of 6 months. They range in length from 5 pages to 30 pages. Some of them must be perfectly cited with complete bibliographical essays to accompany them; others carry the exacting requirements of a 4th grade history paper.

NOW imagine that you don't just have to complete these papers. You want - no, _need_ an "A" on every paper. It's vitally important; you are desperate to get the highest possible grade on this paper, because for whichever reason motivates you most highly - money, job security, social status - failure here will spell disaster.

Still think you could just churn those suckers out?

This is not the only issue those firms have to deal with. As anyone who has ever written ANYTHING knows, writing takes awhile. It takes even longer when the stakes are huge fines or jail time, and/or you are committing people to binding contracts.

Don't turn lawyers into scapegoats for mistakes they had nothing to do with. They're the ones fixing this mess.

First: Thank you for your statement on the way you think this matter is handled!

I am _very_ aware of the fact that I'm whining about this issue. I don't like it either, but I keep posting. Two reasons for that:

• I seem to be one of the few _international_ authors who expresses his feelings about the new Contest-rules. If these postings were filled with lots of nagging comments from other international authors, I would probably be more quiet. But I get the feeling I'm a bit alone on this (there's a proverb in dutch for this: "I feel like a caller in the desert", but I don't know how that translates in english).
• I think I'm entitled to whine. The new rules affect me very directly, since my prize-to-instructable-ratio is pretty high.

Just to be clear: I'm not blaming the lawyers for being a lawyer. It is their job to call attention to issues like this in a multinational company. I blame the lawyers for letting the Instructables-staff solve the problem. I think problems like this should be resolved by lawyers: Behind the screens, without anyone noticing there's a problem in the first place.

The same goes for the Instructables staff: I criticize them for letting the lawyers take over the way they want the run Instructables. They didn't stand up strong enough for the international authors. As a result, we're being left out.

In the mean while, I did win a prize in an International Contest :-D Thank you Kiteman!

Coo, somebody's changed their tune!

Changed my tune how? I think Instructables has back-@sswards policies. I just think the wrong people are getting blamed for their screwups. I'm sick of hearing "stupid lawyers blah blah blah." It's like hearing complaints that the firemen aren't being quick enough about putting out the fire.

Oh, OK.

tl;dc

Mysterious...

GREAT bunny ears, by the way!

that meant too long; didn't Cite, you know how she is...

and they are arduino cat ears...heehee

When Instructables was independent, it only had a corporate presence in California, so could get away with ignoring international rules, because they weren't in the other countries' jurisdiction (like you don't need to bother with British rules on intoxicating herbs).

Now they are part of Autodesk, and Autodesk has corporate presences in most countries (even if it's just a sales desk), they have to follow al those local rules (like you would have to follow British laws if you wanted to post recreational herbs to a family member in the UK).

Hey, just curious as to where you read that? I'm not doubting, but Eric has said elsewhere that Instructables was specifically violating the law with past contests...

I think I just said that, but in different words - Instructables was (apparently) breaking UK law, but doing so safely, because (if UK authorities ever noticed) it would have been too much effort & cost to attempt to get Eric extradited to the UK in order to face a prosecution that would have resulted in a fine.

Now, they wouldn't have to extradite anybody, just summons an Autodesk representative already working over here (probably not Penfold Plant, though).

Ah! I see; you're saying the risk of enforcement has now dramatically risen, not that the legality of their actions has changed. >nods<

Yup.

:-) You're sweet!

I just wondered: Will a collaboration (between, say, a Russian and American author) be eligible for a contest?

I would say "yes", and if the main author was already in a position to enter legitimately, I would say "absolutely".

But how would you split a grand prize?

Oh, that's easy: One gets the jellyfish, and the other the bowl :-)

But seriously, uhm... splitting the prize is entirely up to the authors, I think.

(I've been wondering how they plan to post a jellyfish to the UK or Australia...)

Salmons and eels find their way home over 1000's of miles. Maybe jellyfish can do that as well?

Raises eyebrow?

Being legally correct means avoiding civil or criminal proceedings, including having company officers detained overseas. Since Instructables is now owned by Autodesk, that means that any executive of Autodesk (not just I'bles staff) could be detailed as a consequence of I'bles acting illegally.

Just because you may not care about being arrested in a foreign country doesn't mean others feel the same way. More importantly, if Eric, Christy, et al. chose to deliberately act in such a way as to put others in such a situation, I don't think they would continue to be running I'bles for very long.

Keeping your eye on the bigger picture can sometimes help you understand why you are personally being inconvenienced.

I'm a bit fed up with looking at the bigger picture. The issue of the Autodesk takeover can be looked at from various viewpoints. In my comment, I looked at it from my viewpoint, and that is not a pretty sight.

The problem that came up with the contests is for the I'bles staff to solve. In the way they deal with the problem now, they leave out too many members for way too long, as far as I'm concerned. That's all I'm saying.

Firstly, remember that I understand your feelings, but this is largely about numbers.

According to Quantcast, contests now include 74.48% of all visitors.  The Netherlands only contribute 0.79% of all unique visits.

I don't know how "location of visitors" matches "location of contest entrants", but I imagine it will be very similar.

On the plus side, the countries between Australia and the Netherlands seem to be those with either younger or more organised (and, thus, simpler to negotiate) legal systems.  The only problem may be India - they have an efficient national bureaucracy, but I don't know how variable the law is between provinces.

Can't you just send the prize as a gift? You could say that who ever wins a contest will be gifted the prize?

Oh ok!

"Prize" implies either a competition or gambling, or both. These are heavily regulated in all countries, both to prevent the unscrupulous from creating dishonest or fraudulent "competitions," and to ensure that the local government collects revenue.

A "gift" implies an unsolicited donation, which is not made in exchange for any goods or services. Gifts, especially from corporations tend to be regulated as well (for example, to prevent bribes or kickbacks), but in a different way than competitions.

What are the countries that are available right now?

Please do read Eric's posting on this subject, along with the comments there, especially those from Canida.

Contest rules seem to be an absurdly complicated area of regulation, with horrendous differences and obstacles from country to country. Presumably, this grew out of each country trying to protect their citizens from whatever mix of shysters (non-lawyer shysters, of course) happened to be running local scams. But it seems to make life difficult, if not impossible, in this era of international online communities.

ok thanks!

Please do read Eric's posting on this subject, along with the comments there, especially those from Canida.

Contest rules seem to be an absurdly complicated area of regulation, with horrendous differences and obstacles from country to country. Presumably, this grew out of each country trying to protect their citizens from whatever mix of shysters (non-lawyer shysters, of course) happened to be running local scams. But it seems to make life difficult, if not impossible, in this era of international online communities.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

(thanks! XD)

Please do read Eric's posting on this subject, along with the comments there, especially those from Canida.

Contest rules seem to be an absurdly complicated area of regulation, with horrendous differences and obstacles from country to country. Presumably, this grew out of each country trying to protect their citizens from whatever mix of shysters (non-lawyer shysters, of course) happened to be running local scams. But it seems to make life difficult, if not impossible, in this era of international online communities.

That's the Instructable posted in "Food" that has the greatest number of views in (say) September, the Instructable posted in "Living" that has the greatest number of views in (say) September... etc.

So does "isn't from the US or Canada-minus-Quebec (ie, isn't allowed to win contests yet; will update this as we add countries) D" mean that any international ibler who posts ibles gets gifts?

As long as they get a lot of people looking at their projects, yes.

OK! Thanks!

Are you sure such statements are wise? "If you meet this quantifiable, objective bar we will send you something" does not sound particularly like a gift.

Hey, don't knock it - anything we can snatch from under the vultures' claws lawyers' grasp has got to be a good thing.

That is funny!

Wait a min...does this apply only for new ibles or even for older ibles?

I have a question, wich is the process to identify the international author who may be elected

So does this mean that this ible :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Nintendo-Wii-Table-Tennis-Racket/

Will be counted for this month?

And it can be photo or video ibles as well right?

Has it started for this month?

ok!