So I stand here with a heavy heart and my hat in my hand, pleading–nay, begging–for a moment of your time.
Now, we’re all rational people here. As such, we clearly see these Cage Matches for what they are: contentious, debatable, but, ultimately, fun.
And yet, it seems that perhaps some of you are taking it too seriously.
I’m not talking about the comments–the comments have been awesome.
No, wait:
AWESOME.
We love seeing the fans come out and argue the merits of their cases–it’s one of the main reasons we’re doing this in the first place. We really do want to know if the Gunslinger could get the drop on Rand Al’Thor.
Which makes what seems to be voting shenanigans so upsetting.
Of course, we can’t prove at the moment that any such shenanigans have occurred (and, yes, by now it’s pretty obvious that we love the word “shenanigans”), but when we see voting totals explode like they have, we have to take a step back and wonder:
Have these Cage Matches really become that popular?
And while we would love to believe that (we are in the fantasy and science fiction business after all), we would love just as much for the voting to be more in line with a democracy, and not a Rand-ocracy (or Drizzt-ocracy or what have you).
So, again, this is a plea: Vote once, and then carry your argument to the comments sections, to other fan forums, to social media networks. Rally the votes, but don’t taint the votes.
Just because we have the ballot security of a military dictatorship doesn’t mean we have to have the voting results of one!
The most important thing, though, is have fun! We couldn’t be happier with the support we’ve received from the vast majority of you (and obviously we don’t think a few bad apples ruin the bunch), and we’re overwhelmed with the level of interaction these Cage Matches have had so far.
So, yes, while this is a plea, it’s also a thank you.
You guys rock.
