Is that really our most prized possession? I thought it was the fridge in our office or our new flip video camcorder. Or the couch. I really like our couch.

yeah, that is a good couch.

since most of our users have never seen our awesome couch...i found a photo from the day tony and i went couch shopping. this is us testing out the couch in the furniture store:



it was a long day of couch hunting. but this was our winner!

I think that playing on people's sympathy is clearly manipulative. Think about it: if someone at your school or work was going around with a sad story that happened to them and almost bragging about it, you would almost automatically conclude that while they were in pain, they were doing it to get attention. Same situation here. While I am sympathetic to people, I think it's a tad unfair that you say "my mom is dying, let me win". It's a little bit selfish. The only reason they put up their stories is so they get votes and attention. Its not fair. Thats just my view...hope it made at least a little bit of sense :]

I mean, I would vote for someone with a sad story & there are people who probably need a prize to help them out in whatever situation they are in. But its still manipulative.

it looks like tony is putting a lot of effort into analyzing that couch. was he taking notes? either way, you guys made a good choice. i miss that couch a lot.

tony was reading the info on the couch. i think i was either texting the office to see if this couch was okay or i was telling tony the measurements that we could get and he was seeing if this couch met them.

As far as sympathy votes - I look at so many entries everyday on SugarLoot and it makes me pout to read all of those sad stories. I seriously just sit at my desk with a big frowny face (until I read your blogs, nugz. Then i usually end up spitting soda all over my computer from laughing, but that's besides the point...) It'd be sweet if SugarLooters didn't have to deal with terrible things in their lives. I don't know how I feel about using bad situations to try and win things like a TiVo or an iPod, but if people are okay with revealing those personal things in their lives and winning sweet prizes makes it hurt a little less...who am I to judge?

yeah, I agree with liz. my blogs are hilarious. no wait. that's not what i'm trying to say. i love it when people enter photos that mean a lot to them-- even if the photo has a caption or a story that makes me cry. (I'm very sensitive, so I even cry over ImageChef entries.) However, I just hope that Looters don't take advantage of people's compassion by being false or using fake sob stories to their own advantage.

While theyre revealing, the only real reason they would do it is like nugz said, to take advantage of people, because then they get the response liz & tons of other people have, making them vote for their entry.

Ugh! I feel like puking hearts and flowers! I am so sick of the sympathy stories....I mean don't we all have something that we could say to get sympathy. Unfortunately I think ppl will lie about anything to win a simple little prize. Hmmmmm....even I have a sob storie.....dare I try? ;0) Ooops...no....KARMA!

I almost never read the captions, so all those sad stories are usually lost on me.

they shouldn't be put on the internet. those are obviously sensitive subjects, and if you're free to tell the world that then maybe it didn't really happen, or that it didn't really hit you that hard. i'm sorry if i'm wrong in your opinion, but that's mine. don't eat me now, i know someone will.

i agree with liz & nugz. sometimes its just a little comforting when you have people behind you and stuff. idk..its hard to explain.. i've never been in a situation where i'm sharing all my personal problems on SL..but I do understand how people who are feeling down or things who come here..but trying to manipulate people into voting for you for that purpose is wrong!!

i think that trying to win on sympathy is not fair. A sad story is not something one should charish, and winning a contest will not help them a bit. And if whatever it happening in thier lives is so bad, then how do they have time enough to surf around on the web and enter contests like this. not only this but getting votes in return for voting for someone elce is also not something that should be done in an equal opportunity contest, which is thus not equal opportunity anymore. i feel that i have no way to win even though i deserve to win in the most prosed possesion contest because half of the entries are about cell phones, and i pods, and a food joint. please, seriously, you can live without fast food and a cell phone.

Just because you have three rare zoo diseases and your husband left you for a cardboard cutout of Ashley Tisdale doesn't mean you deserve a prize. Everyone in the world has a sad story they could tell. It doesn't mean you can't still submit a decent picture and win the old fashioned way! In fact, creativity can be healing. Go make something cool and try to win with it that way. I def don't support the whole pity voting thing. What a bummer. Plus most of the time the stories are more made up than the ones in US Weekly.

"all is fair in love and war" -Frank Farleigh now who gives me, you, or anyone the right to say what can be allowed in a competition. now some may argue that it is for honest competition but truthfully the word competition involves being competitive, no matter the stipulations. So basically we as people have no right to censor the voice of the people. there is no law against lying (except for perjury). -El Duderino

Hi I pretty much reckon what Ashlie says in her comment.

"Just because you have three rare zoo diseases and your husband left you for a cardboard cutout of Ashley Tisdale". That just made my day xD. I'm really glad most of us agree on this. Maybe people will start to get the message that its wrong. You even have some who post their whole story in random peoples profiles.

People need to stop playing off other peoples sympathy!!! Those are the people that have cheated there way through everything. These are supposed to be fun contest and if your lucky, you win! So for the sympathy suckers, Get A Life!

Exactly WHEN did free TiVo become a prize that could cure cancer, heartworms and global warming? This whole topic is only slightly more pathetic than the '10z-4-10z' that are everywhere. I wish I knew what happened to taking a picture, putting a simple explanatory caption on it, and then letting people vote on it HONESTLY.

Straiker is right.

"who gives me, you, or anyone the right to say what can be allowed in a competition." normally rules do.

I think that it's wrong and manipulative to use someone's emotions against them. Sympathy for a fake story is wrong. Basically, it's lying.

NOT RIGHT!

I love votes and I love people showing my entries love... but i hate when people are jealous and downvote you such as my best couple entry it sucks cause you feel soooo good about your pictures that you enter and people have to hate ... i generally do return the favor on a 10 if people seem truthful...

I think that they should have the freedom to enter the pictures in the contests, but leave out the sob stories! A lot of people have bad situations in their lives but they don't try to play on people's sympathy to get stuff. I know in my own life I have had suffering and things that were bad that have happened, but I won't play the sympathy card just to get votes from people or so that people can feel sorry for me. Doesn't it kind of seem weird to post that kind of stuff on the internet anyway? I may want support from my family or friends, but certainly not from people I don't even know!

yoyo

I WILL RETURN THE FAVOR