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Blue Devils on top...really?


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Like or dislike has no bearing on how a show is judged. If it did, that judge would never be allowed to judge again.

As others have noted, "engagement" is not neutral: one can be positively or negatively engaged. Thus my question.

And really, like or dislike bears entirely on how a show is judged. Collectively, standards have been put in place that at their roots are based on someone's likes and dislikes. Maybe I like music to be out of tune, and intervals that are uneven, and marching that is out of step. DCI has decided otherwise, based on its members' likes (though naturally based on a history of lots of other people liking the same things). What you're saying is that the judges aren't allowed to have different likes and dislikes than what the rules call for.

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Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes . . . :cool:

Yep. This.

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What you're saying is that the judges aren't allowed to have different likes and dislikes than what the rules call for.

I'm not saying that at all. Judges and like or dislike whatever they want. They just cannot allow that like/dislike to influence or color their commentary on tapes, application of criteria, and arrival at a score.

It's actually a lot easier to do that you'd think. Jeff Ream and I judge in the same band circuit, sometimes on the same panels. We always talk about the bands we've judged that night (though never until after the show is complete). I'm always curious to see who he liked and dislike as far as bands/shows go, and also how he saw things in his caption. Then I'll ask him which band he had up or down in his caption, because those are two very different groups of bands. Sometimes the bands we like are very good, sometimes they aren't. Our circuit is very large and growing very diverse (both great things), so it's fun to get other peoples' takes.

Every once in a while I'll come across a band who's show I cannot stand. Karma dictates that will be a band that performs the heck out of their show, and inevitably i'll see it several times over the course of the season. But if it's the best, most deserving show according to the criteria of my caption, I won't hesitate to pop a nice number. To do otherwise would be unprofessional.

While we may disagree with DCI judges on occasion, there's no arguing that they are all professionals.

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Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes . . . :cool:

AHHH! I had put that in a locked vault in my head. Pink Togas from 02 and THAT are probably the 2 things I don't want to ever re-associate with the "good guys" ever again.

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I'm not saying that at all. Judges and like or dislike whatever they want. They just cannot allow that like/dislike to influence or color their commentary on tapes, application of criteria, and arrival at a score.

It's actually a lot easier to do that you'd think. Jeff Ream and I judge in the same band circuit, sometimes on the same panels. We always talk about the bands we've judged that night (though never until after the show is complete). I'm always curious to see who he liked and dislike as far as bands/shows go, and also how he saw things in his caption. Then I'll ask him which band he had up or down in his caption, because those are two very different groups of bands. Sometimes the bands we like are very good, sometimes they aren't. Our circuit is very large and growing very diverse (both great things), so it's fun to get other peoples' takes.

Every once in a while I'll come across a band who's show I cannot stand. Karma dictates that will be a band that performs the heck out of their show, and inevitably i'll see it several times over the course of the season. But if it's the best, most deserving show according to the criteria of my caption, I won't hesitate to pop a nice number. To do otherwise would be unprofessional.

While we may disagree with DCI judges on occasion, there's no arguing that they are all professionals.

All judging circuits fall prey to the questioning of many things..thats normal I guess.I hear it all the time about ALL including yours...its easy for people to pick out inconsistancies and the hot mess that many circuits can be but ralely see the good .A good judge anywhere judges not based on personal taste OR past affilation...does it happen that some dont...well on occasion probably...for the most part I would say no it doesnt......Most judges dont care whose 1st or 2nd

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All judging circuits fall prey to the questioning of many things..thats normal I guess.I hear it all the time about ALL including yours...its easy for people to pick out inconsistancies and the hot mess that many circuits can be but ralely see the good .A good judge anywhere judges not based on personal taste OR past affilation...does it happen that some dont...well on occasion probably...for the most part I would say no it doesnt......Most judges dont care whose 1st or 2nd

Absolutely. Agree 100% on all points. I didn't presume to speak for my entire judging organization, just me (and to an extent, Jeff). I have no qualms about saying every circuit has issues, ours included.

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I'm not saying that at all. Judges and like or dislike whatever they want. They just cannot allow that like/dislike to influence or color their commentary on tapes, application of criteria, and arrival at a score....

Every once in a while I'll come across a band whose show I cannot stand. Karma dictates that will be a band that performs the heck out of their show, and inevitably I'll see it several times over the course of the season. But if it's the best, most deserving show according to the criteria of my caption, I won't hesitate to pop a nice number. To do otherwise would be unprofessional.

I think we're actually saying much the same thing.* If a group plays out of tune, you judge them poorly, even if you happen to like music that is out of tune, because collectively your band circuit (and all the rest, but unanimity is not objectivity) has decided that groups should play in tune. Is that not so? I choose an extreme example to make the point clearly: the judging criteria are at their base a set of codified likes and dislikes. That's all I'm saying; I acknowledge it's a limited point.

*Edit: I now realize I expressed myself poorly in the earlier post. I wrote:

"What you're saying is that the judges aren't allowed to have different likes and dislikes than what the rules call for."

I should have written:

"What you're saying is that the judges aren't allowed to express different likes and dislikes (in their judging) than what the rules call for."

Edited by N.E. Brigand
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