# The Bell Tree Fair 2017: Contest Update



## Justin (Sep 13, 2017)

Hi all.

It has recently been brought to our attention that the First Place winner in the Retro Room Renovation TBTF 2017 contest solicited TBT Bell bribes in private messages to multiple users in return for a vote on their entry in the poll. Due to the tightness of the results with only 4 votes separating the entire top three, we have decided to disqualify the first place entry and shift the results up by one place.

We understand that it's relatively common to ask friends to vote for your entry, but offering up a bell gift alongside that request is unquestionably going too far and blatantly unfair to the other finalists in the poll. This behavior is not acceptable on The Bell Tree -- by both the contest finalist and those who participated. We will unfortunately have to be looking for this in the future now.

Spear will be prohibited from participating in our site contests and events until the end of 2018. Their tickets and collectibles from The Bell Tree Fair 2017 have been removed as well.

The updated results for the Retro Room Renovation contest are as follows...








*First Place by Rosetti with 30 votes*





*Second Place by Chicha with 28 votes*





*Third Place by KaydeeKrunk with 21 votes*





*Congratulations to our
updated winners!*​


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## cornimer (Sep 13, 2017)

Yikes. Congrats to the updated winners!!


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## Vizionari (Sep 13, 2017)

That's such a shame that people still try to cheat their way up in competitions  But congrats to the new winners!


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Sep 13, 2017)

Uhh...yikes.  Imagine going that far to win a contest.  Congrats, KaydeeKrunk!


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

It's sad that you would have to bribe people to get votes in a contest, and I'm glad that the staff is stepping in and doing something about it. It's not fair at all to the other participants who are actually legitimately getting votes from fans.

The new winners' entries look very nice! Congratulations!


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## seliph (Sep 13, 2017)

You should raffle their tickets/collectibles :krackoeyes:


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

Congrats to Kaydee for making it to the top three.

I did not know that someone would cheat by paying someone to vote for them. I would never even think about doing that.

For three years in a row, I witnessed some cheating incidents on this site. First the golden egg. Then the Woods puzzle. Now this? Can people learn to play fair?


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## lemoncrossing (Sep 13, 2017)

That's a shame, but I'm happy Kaydee's entry made it in third as it was definitely my favorite one!


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

Can you take the cheater's TBT Bells too? I can have his/her TBT Bells.


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## Trent the Paladin (Sep 13, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> For three years in a row, I witnessed some cheating incidents on this site. First the golden egg. Then the Woods puzzle. Now this? Can people learn to play fair?


I've been voluntold to make future fair goers line up, high five each other saying good game and maybe watch as they all shake hands. If I detect malice, I am granted the authority to take out their kneecap with a metal baseball bat. 


But congrats Rosie, Chicha and Kaydee!


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## seliph (Sep 13, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> I can have his/her TBT Bells.



A great idea from Mr. 10,107 TBT.


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## Hanzoisbae (Sep 13, 2017)

dang I wish spear would've hmu I still wouldn't vote for a cheater though just keep the tbt


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

Tom said:


> I've been voluntold to make future fair goers line up, high five each other saying good game and maybe watch as they all shake hands. If I detect malice, I am granted the authority to take out their kneecap with a metal baseball bat.
> 
> 
> But congrats Rosie, Chicha and Kaydee!



That's gotta hurt. Ya know the rules. No cheatin'. And of course, no discussing incidents like these when it's been one month or later since the incident.


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## seliph (Sep 13, 2017)

Hanzoisbae said:


> dang I wish spear would've hmu I still wouldn't vote for a cheater though just keep the tbt



I'd think they'd rid of the TBT given out too. Or they should at least.


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## Oblivia (Sep 13, 2017)

Just another announcement that we've removed the bells that were accepted as a bribe from the accounts of people who agreed to vote in exchange for payment.  If any of those affected feel we may have made an error, you can dispute this by posting a thread in our Contact the Staff board.

Thanks.


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## Cascade (Sep 13, 2017)

Congratz Kaydee


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

Wanna know something? I voted for Rosetti the minute the polls opened up. And now she is in first place. So once again, I have the winning touch.


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

Tom said:


> I've been voluntold to make future fair goers line up, high five each other saying good game and maybe watch as they all shake hands. If I detect malice, I am granted the authority to take out their kneecap with a metal baseball bat.



Sounds like a good plan.

- - - Post Merge - - -



Oblivia said:


> Just another announcement that we've removed all the bells from the accounts of people who accepted a bribe in exchange for a vote.  If any of those affected feel we may have made an error, you can dispute this by posting a thread in our Contact the Staff board.


Holy crap that's hittin real hard.

But maybe it'll teach people that they shouldn't accept bribes. It's just wrong.


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## Oblivia (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> Holy crap that's hittin real hard.
> 
> But maybe it'll teach people that they shouldn't accept bribes. It's just wrong.



Ah, just the bells that were sent over as a bribe, not all their bells!  I phrased that rather poorly.


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> Sounds like a good plan.
> 
> - - - Post Merge - - -
> 
> ...



In real life, bribes are highly illegal. People can go to jail for this. Government officials involved in bribes can face impeachment.


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## Sholee (Sep 13, 2017)

grats kaydeekrunk!! the true winner! can't believe people go this far in order to win, play fair~


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> In real life, bribes are highly illegal. People can go to jail for this. Government officials involved in bribes can face impeachment.



Yep.

Let's hope people learn from this.


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## Drokmar (Sep 13, 2017)

Daaang! That's definitely a way to spice up the end of this fair.


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

Drokmar said:


> Daaang! That's definitely a way to spice up the end of this fair.



No kidding lol

I figured they would've kept the username confidential but nope, they just threw it right out there.


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## Sholee (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> No kidding lol
> 
> I figured they would've kept the username confidential but nope, they just threw it right out there.



even if they did keep the name confidential, it's pretty much easy to find out from the update winners list


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## Zane (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> No kidding lol
> 
> I figured they would've kept the username confidential but nope, they just threw it right out there.



anyone who saw the 1st place entry in the closing ceremony would have known it anyway


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> No kidding lol
> 
> I figured they would've kept the username confidential but nope, they just threw it right out there.



I thought they wouldn't disclose other members' bans or violations. They only did it once a few years ago, but only because of a privacy concern. But that's over with.


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Sep 13, 2017)

Oblivia said:


> Just another announcement that we've removed all the bells from the accounts of people who accepted a bribe in exchange for a vote.  If any of those affected feel we may have made an error, you can dispute this by posting a thread in our Contact the Staff board.
> 
> Thanks.



All the TBT?!  I mean, serves them right but I'm just glad I didn't accept any bribes.  *Shudder*


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

The sad thing is that Spear's room design was actually really nice. I just looked at it and it looks fantastic!

I think they would've done just fine without bribing people to vote for them.


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## Sholee (Sep 13, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> I thought they wouldn't disclose other members' bans or violations. They only did it once a few years ago, but only because of a privacy concern. But that's over with.



Pretty sure it's because it's such a big offense and to show people the consequences when caught cheating.


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Sep 13, 2017)

Oblivia said:


> Ah, just the bells that were sent over as a bribe, not all their bells!  I phrased that rather poorly.



Ohh nevermind.  I was like, "What?!"


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> The sad thing is that Spear's room design was actually really nice. I just looked at it and it looks fantastic!
> 
> I think they would've done just fine without bribing people to vote for them.



It didn't look that good anyway. I liked the others' more.


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## xSuperMario64x (Sep 13, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> It didn't look that good anyway. I liked the others' more.



I liked the space invaders on the walls.

Might do that with my own room lol

- - - Post Merge - - -



Oblivia said:


> Ah, just the bells that were sent over as a bribe, not all their bells!  I phrased that rather poorly.



Okay. I figured you couldn't be _that_ dark...

...right?


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## seliph (Sep 13, 2017)

Spear's was my favourite tbh so it's a shame.


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## Cheremtasy (Sep 13, 2017)

Oh jeez, I just noticed this and that's such a shame, because Spear's entry was one of my favourites tbh. Honestly I feel like they could have placed without bribes because it was such a lovely entry.
To bribe people to vote for you though... I have to admit that is low. 
Anyhow, congrats to Rosie, Chica and Kaydee!


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## Oblivia (Sep 13, 2017)

xSuperMario64x said:


> Okay. I figured you couldn't be _that_ dark...
> 
> ...right?



You never know!  No, that would be a bit of overkill.


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 13, 2017)

Oblivia said:


> You never know!  No, that would be a bit of overkill.



I'm actually a lot harsher than that. If I were in charge and someone was caught cheating, I would not only take away their event currency, items, and bar them from participation, but I would take away all of their TBT bells and sterilize their TBT earnings. Trash-talking this site off-site will result in a heavy lawsuit (using real money).

Just joking. I would just confiscate event prizes and event currency. If it were any worse, I would take away the TBT as well.


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## Cress (Sep 13, 2017)

Oblivia said:


> xSuperMario64x said:
> 
> 
> > Okay. I figured you couldn't be _that_ dark...
> ...


Next you'll take control of their entire account. Then you'll take their credit card numbers. Their location. Their SSN. Their identity. Their entire existence. I know you're plotting to take everything from them.

*ʏ ᴏ ᴜ ? ᴍ ᴜ s ᴛ ? ɢ ᴏ ? ꜰ ᴜ ʀ ᴛ ʜ ᴇ ʀ*


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## Chicha (Sep 14, 2017)

WHAT! Oh my gosh, I am seriously in shock over the turn of events. I had my mouth wide open for a few minutes reading.

I'm really disappointed to hear bribes were a thing!! It's such a shame because their entry was so creative & lovely as it was. When I first saw it, I was certain it'd placed if not for the cheating! Gosh!! I don't even know what to say!

Congrats to Rosie for moving up to First (well done!) & to KaydeeKrunk for placing Third! Kaydee, I confess I voted for your entry because it was different and lovely so I'm very happy for you!!!

But honestly, I'm in total shock this happened. I sincerely hope this situation never happens again because it does ruin the spirit of the Fair and I'd hate for this event to never return (or the Fair itself) because of people's actions. As I said before, the Fair is my favorite event. So much hard work was done from the staff and they deserve major kudos for organizing this for us!

Thanks again to everyone who voted for my entry! I really appreciate it!! Thank you again for the staff for hosting this event! ;v; I'm happy to move up a place but can't help but to feel a little sad at this turn of events.


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## Heyden (Sep 14, 2017)

ayyyy congrats kaydee and everyone who moved up!


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## LambdaDelta (Sep 14, 2017)

lmao, congrats on the late third place victory kaydee, and on the others for moving up

- - - Post Merge - - -



Hanzoisbae said:


> dang I wish spear would've hmu I still wouldn't vote for a cheater though just keep the tbt



this would 100% be me tbh

take the bribe, but vote for the one I liked best (I didn't vote for spear's btw)


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## EvieEvening23 (Sep 14, 2017)

Yay for Rosetti, Chicha and KaydeeKrunk! 

also, didn't know people would go that far to win in a contest... at least the staff knew something was up.


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## Alienfish (Sep 14, 2017)

Vizionari said:


> That's such a shame that people still try to cheat their way up in competitions  But congrats to the new winners!


Yeah, that desperateness smh..

Oh well grats to the new winners and cool beans Kaydee


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 14, 2017)

LambdaDelta said:


> lmao, congrats on the late third place victory kaydee, and on the others for moving up
> 
> - - - Post Merge - - -
> 
> ...



It doesn't matter if you take the bell gift. All bribes are bad.


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## kelpy (Sep 14, 2017)

petition for TBT to start having tom publicly execute cheaters. in text form.


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## Mars Adept (Sep 14, 2017)

Alolan_Apples said:


> For three years in a row, I witnessed some cheating incidents on this site. First the golden egg. Then the Woods puzzle. Now this? Can people learn to play fair?



Simply put, no.

Also, congratulations to Kaydee.


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## Alienfish (Sep 14, 2017)

BiggestFanofACCF said:


> Simply put, no.
> 
> Also, congratulations to Kaydee.



Yeah, wasn't there other stuff too lol...

Also grats Kaydee, again. Well deserved, love your old school room!

And yeah, no people will always try get around official rooms so yeah unless they monitor like everything outside they know people inhabit too people will probably try.


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## Bcat (Sep 14, 2017)

oh jeez drama bomb  congrats to Kaydee though! I actually really liked spear's design and it definitely would have placed anyway, shame they couldn't play fair...


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 14, 2017)

Lythelys said:


> petition for TBT to start having tom publicly execute cheaters. in text form.



The forum version of an execution is an IP ban or even an ISP ban. A permanent ban is life without parole.


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Sep 14, 2017)

How long is Spear going to be banned for this offense?


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## Alolan_Apples (Sep 14, 2017)

ThatOneMarshalFangirl said:


> How long is Spear going to be banned for this offense?



Maybe a few days up to a month, but they will be denied participation in events, including the Egg Hunt.


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## Oblivia (Sep 14, 2017)

We don't discuss specifics about member bans, and we very likely wouldn't have made this issue public if not for the fact that the winners had already been announced and people would have been very confused by the sudden change with no explanation.

I'm actually going to go ahead and close this here so it doesn't turn into a discussion thread that exists solely to shame the person in question, especially when they aren't able to defend themselves.  I know we're all disappointed by everything that transpired, but hopefully lessons were learned and we don't see a repeat of this or other dishonest behavior in the future.


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