Preamble:

The recent discussion of the 2008 Holiday Wish Lists Gift contest in ONE POST WINNERS? reminded me how much this site's existence is owed to the regular contributions of talented (or at least inquisitive ) home baristas. Their contributions are what brings many visitors to the site in the first place and it's their willingness to help these visitors that leads many of them to become regular contributors in their own right. In response to the concerns expressed in the "one post winners" thread, the contest rules were modified slightly to give a bonus time reduction between entries to those who had contributed to the forums in the recent past. In the end, this advantage didn't noticeably affect the outcome, but it was at least symbolic recognition of the value of regular contributors.

Welcome conundrum:

A few days after the contest ended, Henry Flory (hwieniawski) contacted me. He expressed his appreciation for the nice gift of a Paradise Roaster's custom espresso blend to your taste, but felt he didn't have the experience or equipment to make good use of it. I suggested he give it to a family member or friend; I also offered it in trade to the other winners. None of these options panned out.

Unexpected gift of the season:

It's such a nice gift from Paradise Roasters, it would be a shame if nobody had the pleasure of enjoying it. So Henry and I discussed alternatives for awarding it to one of the other members (or giving it to one of the deserving members of Team HB? Sorry guys, we're not eligible ).

Recognizing valued contributors:

Team HB tossed around some ideas. Dave suggested randomly selecting among the top 3 posters. I liked the idea in general because it rewards participation, but one could interpret it as rewarding quantity over quality. Combining the idea of the bonus time reduction for the recent contest, I've coded what I hope is a reasonably fair measure of a member's contribution, dubbed the "Most Valued Participants (MVP) Score".

Most Valued Participants (MVP) Score

Some of those who are logged in will see a new field below the post count in the poster's profile to the right of each post. In the current implementation, it's simply a filled bar and the alt text is the score whose value I'll explain in a later post.

How will this gift be awarded?

Should the prize go to the one with the highest MVP score? While my technical side liked the formality of a calculated score, it lacks an element of human judgment. So I propose that those having the top five MVP scores be entered into a poll vote and the member with the most votes wins. To avoid ballet box stuffing, only members having a minimum MVP score would be allowed to vote.

More details to follow...

I'll hold off on the details of the metrics used to calculate the MVP score so as not to influence opinion at this point. However, it is not "karma based" nor is it a measure of popularity.

You read my mind (sort of). We're not eligible for prizes, but I already planned to ask Paradise Roasters if they would be willing to help us with a friendly espresso blend competition between the MVP winner and Team HB.

Instead of having all (some) members vote on a winner from the top MVPs, what about unlocking the contest thread for the eligible (top) MVPs and giving the prize to whoever gets the highest (or lowest) random number? (And would the contest entries be required to link to Paradise?)

According to the secret MVP Score algorithm, these members are candidates for Paradise Roasters' gift:

1. Marshall (*)
2. AndyS
3. cafeIKE
4. zin1953
5. Randy G.
6. aindfan
7. roblumba
8. IMAWriter
9. espressme
10. farmroast
11. narc
12. mhoy

I eliminated ineligible entrants (Team HB and those residing outside the lower 48 states... sorry!). I'll send a note to these gentlemen to ask whether they wish to participate. Those that agree will be entered into the MVP poll (depending on how many say yes, there may be two rounds).

(*) Marshall, judging from your prior comment, I want to assure you that I did nothing to produce this outcome. The algorithm was developed without any particular attention to who ranked where.

aindfan wrote:Instead of having all (some) members vote on a winner from the top MVPs, what about unlocking the contest thread for the eligible (top) MVPs and giving the prize to whoever gets the highest (or lowest) random number?

I suggested a vote as a way for the membership to say "thank you" to the winner, though there is the potential interpretation that it's a measure of popularity as Marshall warned. Barring any objection, let's go with your idea.

roblumba wrote:Is the MVP getting a free supply of beans for developing this blend?! No, I shouldn't have even thought that. My mouth is salivating and I can hear grinders in my head. Time to sleep.

No, it's more like you're one of Paradise Roasters commercial clients who are opening a new cafe. They help you develop your signature blend. This explains more:

Paradise Roasters: Your own custom blend wrote:The winner will work with Paradise Roasters in creating an espresso blend designed to the winner's specifications. This first-hand look at what it takes to create an espresso blend includes one 12 oz. "first draft" bag of the custom espresso, one 12 oz. "second draft" bag of the custom espresso, and six 12 oz. "final" bags of the custom espresso.

The process will be recorded in a thread on Home-Barista. Once completed, the custom espresso will be offered for sale on http://www.paradiseroasters.com for everyone to try. Of course, the winner also receives 15% off the custom blend throughout its production run.

GC7 wrote:I would like to know when this blend is formulated and produced for the winner if Paradise would make some of a batch available for sale to HB members.

Absolutely, the blend will be available for sale if others want to try it (read below). If they're willing to work two blends, I'd love to see a limited run for "MVP" and "Team HB" blends. Who knows, maybe it will become a regular thing at the conclusion of each year's Wish List. I'll ask and report back.

Paradise Roasters: Your own custom blend wrote:...Once completed, the custom espresso will be offered for sale on http://www.paradiseroasters.com for everyone to try. Of course, the winner also receives 15% off the custom blend throughout its production run.