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Well, I got into the Alpha after I joined the contests ^.^

Still, makes sense. Plus its only fair

Well, really the true reason for holding all the contests is making more fun for our members. If somebody wants to be an Alpha tester and corresponds to the requirements he can do it quite easily. And if some testers want to take part-it would be unfair to forbid it.

I take part for the fun of it. I know I won't win, but contributing to a contest is always worthwhile.

Well one thing that admins can do is only considerate alpha testers applications while non alpha will actually win, maybe alpha testers would only enrich the contest itself. Personally I have bad luck with contests   so I steer away from them but it's always nice to see others imagination. Good thing I managed to receive the email on the alpha testing saying I got in, just have to wait for my forum member status to change   .

Dawg00chief, on 30 November 2011 - 11:38 AM, said:

I don't like that idea...why do i need CBT invite, its much easier to join CBT than AT, so...ppl that get AT questionnaires from us are greatful

Glog97, on 30 November 2011 - 01:28 PM, said:

I agree ... I was thinking "but if ATers take part, and they win, the non-ATers will become angry at the fact that they don't get a fair chance to win."

But isn't it better to get ATers who are well-known on the forum, and who other ATers want to also be participating? If ATers weren't allowed to take part in contests, then we would have people in the AT who don't know any of us at all, and who won't get along as well as someone who we do know.

So yeah, let everyone take part  

Well i think people that are Alpha Testers will for sure get into CBT.
And i think they wont need any keys... (automatically invited)

Redjevel, on 30 November 2011 - 02:21 PM, said:

I'm sure we'll get in automatically, or if not, we'll certainly get picked above non-ATers because of our experience ... (this is what I'm hoping at least   ).

Ruffles, on 01 December 2011 - 12:17 AM, said:

I'll try my best, since I have won a contest.  Here goes...

When an Alpha Tester wins, rather than being given an Alpha Tester questionnaire for themselves (besides the gold / premium account prize), they're given an opportunity to send that questionnaire to someone of their choosing.  Essentially, that Alpha Tester gets to invite someone to have the opportunity to become an Alpha Tester.

Now, an invite is not a guarantee that you'll be selected.  I can't speak for James or the rest of the developers or administration, but I would venture a guess that they're not going to accept a person who puts down on the questionnaire that they're going to test / play the game a maximum of a half hour a week, and they'll refuse to use the forums to post bugs or glitches found.  That's a waste of an Alpha Tester position.  They are looking for people who have a willingness to test / play this game, find and report  any bugs or glitches found, AND sign the Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

I hope this answered your question!

James_White, on 30 November 2011 - 09:22 AM, said:

WARNING!!  This may sound like a rant.  It is not meant to be in any way.  I am making no attempt to point fingers, vindicate myself, or anything like that.  I just want to get this off my chest so I can feel better somehow.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying something akin to "it's not fair to have Alpha Testers participating in contests.  They're already in, they don't need an invite."  Here's my feelings on this matter:

They are contests.  Open to anyone.  ANYONE.  Alpha tester, WoT player, or simply someone who likes to read about airplanes.  And there have been various kinds of contests, from video creation to on-site aircraft memorial photography, to written descriptions, to mass viewings of posts.  The winner is decided by who has most successfully completed the contest.  And I think that's my biggest sticking point...

I think some people expect to be handed an invitation for simply throwing something together, posting it on the forum and saying "I did what you wanted me to do!  Where's my invite?"  People, it's not that easy.  I used to tell my students "Don't expect to receive an A for putting in C- work".  The same applies here.  Being an Alpha Tester is a privilege, not something that's simply given to you because you think you "deserve" it.  These contest prizes are bestowed to people who prove that they want it more than the next person, and show it by putting out the best work of the group, as determined by whoever is running the contest.

Like James said, they're meant to be fun.  I LOVE Aviation History.  My grandfather (dad's dad) was an armorer on P-38s and P-39s in the Philippines during World War 2.  He gave me a (inert) 37mm round when I was about 10.  So these contests are a way for me to express the joy I get from learning about old aircraft.  I know there's other people out there that share this same....addiction, if you will....to military aviation history.  You can see it in some of the forum posts.  Any one of them can put in A-quality work and receive an A-quality award, Alpha Tester or not.

As far as I know the contests are there to find the best candidates to become an Alpha tester.
If an Alpha tester wins and gives the AT key to a random guy on the forum then what use is a contest to find the best Alpha testers out there?
Like Crash said, they want those who perform an A+ on the contest, by giving it away randomly by the winner who doesn't need the key could also mean that F graders get into the Alpha test while there are much better candidates out there for the position.

So perhaps is an AT wins the competition he gets all the rewards but the AT-key and an extra price is added in the line with just the AT-key for number 4.
That way everyone is happy and WoWP will get the best Aplha testers on the forum.

EvolGrinZ, on 01 December 2011 - 07:59 AM, said:

I look at the situation differently.

Let's say an outsider wins a contest based on his entry of, for example, a plane description. He's never made any other posts on the forum, nor has shown his insight in any important discussions at all.

Now imagine that an ATer wins a contest, eg, based on his flight maneuvre video. He will give that key to someone on the forum that has made valuable contributions and has been friendly and informative here.

Who would you rather have? The well-known member, who you know on the forum and who has made good contributions, or the complete outsider who's acceptance into the AT is based on an article that could very well have been copy-pasted from some site?

I think the answer is clear ...

I see your point of view and if you put it that way, it's not really a random pick from all the entries but a well thought of choice.
And yes I would pick the well known member that contributes to the society too.

Haha. Seems it is easy to see a difference between somebody who got to AP from contest and person who got to AP by application:D
You know Evol it is quite hard to test how good will a person be as a tester before you will actually let him be a tester:P

Well at 1st time I also was confuse why Alpha testers join in contest for Alpha tester's. But then I think about it and that is pretty ok.
From one point stuff see who is from alpha testers active, also you have interes from it (in premium on WoT)and the most important maybe you can give for testing better member who you realy know or smth like that.
And everyone is happy