Words of wisdom from the former thread, but keep in mind roulettes have evolved over time (some are longer now, and some involve sending multiple songs each round):
First, some FAQs for noobs:
What is a roulette? The concept of a 'Roulette' was introduced by Orcus here, as a way for members to share music in a fun and game-like format.
What is the format of a Roulette? Organizers chose. The basic premise is to pick/invite some contestants, each submits one song per round, and the songs get ranked/scored by the organizer. Number of rounds (usually anywhere between 5 and 10), scoring scale, themes, limitations etc.. is at the organizer's discretion.
How do I sign up for one? Just ask. Bolsters will add you to the list.
Suggestions for Organizers: Be considerate of your participants, and those 'Up Next'.
1) Keep the pace moving at a reasonable pace. 1 week per round seems to be the usual expectation. Faster if you want to; slower if/when real life gets hectic - but let your participants know if that's the case. Don't expect your participants or those on the waiting list to be too thrilled if you're consistently running weeks or months between rounds.
2) There's no reason a complete competition should run longer than 2 months. If does, you're probably running too many rounds, too slow, or both. If you can't consistently commit a couple of hours a week to listen to the songs submitted, rank/score them, and write a couple of sentences on your thoughts, you're not ready to run a roulette.
3) Before it's your turn, try to have your participants lined up and ready to go.
4) Make it FUN!
Suggestions for Participants:
1) Be attentive. If you can't be at DTF to follow the competition every few days and submit songs in a timely manner, you're not ready to participate in a Roulette. Don't take 2 weeks to think of a song to submit. Be considerate of your organizer, fellow competitors, and those on the waiting list.
2) If/when the real world gets in the way, and you can't/won't be at DTF to check up on the competition (example - vacations), let your organizer know, and see if you can pre-submit some songs.
3) Have FUN!
Above all else.....
HAVE/MAKE IT FUN!!
HangmanenCommonly, hosts will play games with their participants where they try to figure out what songs were sent, in order to maintain interest in the thread while everyone is waiting for results. The most popular of these is hangman. If you'd like to run hangman in your roulettes, I highly recommend using it.
ariich's google spreadsheetariich created a Google spreadsheet to run hangman which can be used for single song/album rounds, multiple songs from the same artist, and now also "EP" rounds involving songs from various artists.
The template is here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19nfluLW42RhoixfkpaJHG1oOpkaeKc4Ceg6YWJdIe2A/edit?usp=sharingTo edit it, you'll need to save a copy to your own Google Sheets and run it from there. Don't download it to run in Excel - the formulae work differently.
The Guidance tab explains how to use it, including different explanations for different rounds depending on the format of your roulette.