VOTE FOR SCHARPLING & WURSTER IN APRIL 2007 AST POLL!!!!!!!

[Omar]

From AST:

In October of 2004, we launched the first-ever AST Top 20 Poll in pursuit of identifying our favorite comics working today. Every six months since, we have conducted the polling again.

With April upon us, it's now time for AST TOP 20 POLL #6!

JUDGING CRITERIA & SCORING: You are to vote for the 10 comics you feel are currently the best comedians and/or live comedy troupes working today. (Just to make this crystal clear, this is not the place to pay your respects to your all-time favorite comic, but rather to vote for who is the best right now.) Each voter submits 10 names ranked from 1 (being best) to 10 (being 10th best). The scoring system works as follows -- 10 points will be rewarded for a first-place vote, 9 for a second, 8 for third, and so on.

ELIGIBILITY: Any individual, duo or group that writes and performs all their own material without any significant outside assistance is eligible. My suggested guideline for creating your list would be to imagine you are booking a live comedy show and you want the 10 people and/or acts you feel are the absolute best right at this moment. Your votes should not take television or feature film acting roles into consideration. As always, the people you vote for must be living.

A DISCLAIMER TO THE COMEDIANS AND COMEDY-ADJACENT PEOPLE WHO FREQUENT THIS BOARD: The intent of this poll is solely to have some fun and keep our collective finger on the pulse of the comedy scene. Please do not take offense or let these rankings alter your usage of the board. In fact, you are eligible and encouraged to participate, as you see as much comedy as anyone, and this poll will work best if people who see live comedy on a regular basis participate. I also encourage you to use the rankings in promotional materials for upcoming shows.

To participate, email your list ranking the 10 best active comics right now to me at itslikeimsayin@yahoo.com. Please put "AST TOP 20 VOTING" as the subject line and be sure to include your AST screenname in your email.. The poll results will be announced on April 16. The deadline for voting is midnight Pacific on April 15, 2007. When voting, please start with your favorite comic at the top and work your way down to your 10th favorite. (In other words, don't allocate the points already. I'll take care of that part.) Also, the same exact name cannot appear more than once on your list. Be sure to stick to the rules! Do not send a list that has people tied for a certain rank or exceeds 10 people/groups. Finally, but important: ANY INDIVIDUAL MAY VOTE ONLY ONE TIME!

Please use this thread for any discussion of the poll, but DO NOT POST YOUR RANKINGS HERE! Email them to me. You can also discuss results of the poll and merits of various comics here.

The polls are now open for April 2007. Start voting!

[Dorvid Barnas]

Done and done!  I voted them number one!

Had I not stumbled upon AST and sought out the artists who got love from the poll, I would not yet have discovered Stereolaffs, Maria Bamford, Tim and Eric, ,Martha Kelly, Todd Glass, Zach Galifianakis and many many others.

I hadn't even heard of WFMU or the vast majority of artists played on the Best Show.  I tuned in solely because I heard Tom was funny, and now I'm fully engorged in an alt-comedy/freeform radio phase I hope I never grow out of. Thank you, AST.

So check out the poll results and check out the people you've never heard of!

[Jason]

I signed up for their stupid forum months ago and they never verified my account.
Bastards, I've a good mind to delete this thread.

[Omar]

I signed up for their stupid forum months ago and they never verified my account.
Bastards, I've a good mind to delete this thread.

Didn't Jouster say he was going to approve you?  I don't even recall any human-based verification process when I joined, but who knows.  I thought it was just one of those click-this-link to-confirm thingies.

[buffcoat]

I voted for Kojak.

[Emerson]

Jason,
The same thing happened to me. I sent them an e-mail, admitting that I only registered to big-up Tom and expressing hope for a more productive relationship in the future, and they let me in. When they did this a few months ago, I think they had problems with ballot-stuffers.

As of now, I haven't spent much time there. It's got no shortage of content. I think I could sift through it for hours a day and still not be able to keep up. If you're interested in standup fundamentals, it's got some interesting threads about that. Patton Oswalt and a few others sometimes field questions on threads which quickly expand into dozens of pages. I have no idea how they have that kind of time - I certainly don't.

~EmD

[Eric]

The same thing happened to me. I sent them an e-mail, admitting that I only registered to big-up Tom and expressing hope for a more productive relationship in the future, and they let me in. When they did this a few months ago, I think they had problems with ballot-stuffers.

Yea, same thing happened to me. I then realized I don't really have much to add so I didn't hound them. The only reason I really visit is for the news, interviews, and Q&A threads, which are definitely a treasure for comedy fans.

S&W are easily #1. I'd be reluctant to exclude Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, being that live comedy is Gervais's weak point...but I guess it'd be kind of a stretch? Did either of you vote for them Omar or Dorvid? If we were talking comedy in general, encompassing their TV work and the podcasts, they'd probably be #2 or 3, for me.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Way to ruin the poll, Omar. Please delete this thread.

[Dorvid Barnas]

Ilis - if ballot-stuffing is a concern, maybe you could disqualify anyone who hasn't posted on AST at least 20 times or something.

I don't want the poll tainted, and I sure as hell don't want the Scharpling/Wurster rank, which I predict will be high, to be called in to question.

[Omar]

Way to ruin the poll, Omar. Please delete this thread.

Ruin the poll?  Wait? Whuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut? I alerted the FOT community, which includes several existing AST members, that the new poll was in session.  Right now, it would be easy to miss that there was even a new poll since the AST thread is tucked away in the Sticky area, which I rarely check.  Plus, not every AST member checks the board nonstop.  I provided the details and that was that.  If you're concerned about ballot stuffers, then the solution is simple: just don't approve new members for the duration of the voting period. (Disqualifying people based on post totals won't work because existing members who haven't/don't post much should be allowed to vote.) I'm not deleting this thread unless ordered to by Elizabeth Alexandra Mary herself.  If the results are questioned, I'm sure Kate Harris and Anton Scalia can sort it all out in the coming months.

[Itslikeimsayin]

I just feel as soon as it is publicized on a site outside of AST, especially one related to a specific performer, it taints the results. Again, I say please delete this thread.

[Omar]

I just feel as soon as it is publicized on a site outside of AST, especially one related to a specific performer, it taints the results. Again, I say please delete this thread.

Along the lines of DB's comment of "I don't want the poll tainted, and I sure as hell don't want the Scharpling/Wurster rank, which I predict will be high, to be called in to question.", I will support the deletion of the thread despite the lack of Queen-based edict.  However, I don't think I have the ability to delete an entire thread, so perhaps my British Superior can do the deed.

[Jason]

The thread stays due to non-verification of my account at AST.

[Jouster]

For the record, I tried to get Jason verified when I talked to him in the chat, but he couldn't even tell me what name or email he registered with.  Seems like he doesn't really want to be an AST member.

And for the record, the way the system is set up now is that once you register, you get an email asking for a reply with reasons why you want to join AST.  All you have to do is return the email and you're in (the actual reasons aren't important).

[Emerson]