Almost immediately after a FieldReport is submitted to the system, it is shown to a willing reviewer for its first review. The review process is blind in the sense that the reviewer does not get to choose which piece will be reviewed, and does not know the name of the author. Each time a review is completed, a new overall score is calculated and the FieldReport is scheduled for additional reviews to arrive at a final ranking. To give all entries a fair chance, each is guaranteed a minimum number of reviews no matter what its overall score in the first few reviews; but higher ranking entries may go on to receive hundreds or thousands of reviews. In this way the system can give highly accurate rankings to the best pieces.

How Long Does the Ranking Process Take?

The ranking process is scheduled by the FieldReport system to take two weeks, but may be longer or shorter, depending on the availability of reviewers. After this initial period, a score is shown openly for the FieldReport, and the FieldReport is eligible to win prizes based on this score. Reviews may continue after this point, and scores may continue to move up and down. The highest ranked contenders in each prize category are the most likely to be continuously reviewed after their scores have gone public.

How do you prevent people from gaming the system?

On the most basic level, we require members to verify their email addresses before they can join and review, and the review process incorporates elements that make it difficult to hack with an automated system. We also keep track of reviewer credibility based on a reviewer’s actions on the site. This means that if you create an account and do a lot of really sloppy reviews in the hopes that your friend’s FieldReport will turn up, then by the time it finally does, your review will probably count for almost nothing. Our actual methods of adjusting reviewer credibility are a closely guarded secret.

What if someone figured out how to game the system?

We think this is unlikely, but if they did, they would simply be removed and disqualified according to the FieldReport contest rules. The decision of FieldReport, Inc. is final in these matters.