Thread of the Year 2022: The Vote

[pachyderm pro]

Time to pick a winner. The community has once again spoken and has selected five threads to be the nominees for this years Thread of the Year competition. Cast your vote in the poll above. Voting closes on midnight January 1st 2023 and you will not be able to change your vote once it has been cast. Happy voting!

It's already been established that 2022 has been an excellent year for content on ZooChat, but rather interestingly this year had the fewest amount of threads nominated in the history of the competition. I think that's simply because the ones that stood out really stood out and threads that would have made the cut in another year missed out as a result. As a quick aside, I just want to say it's nice to finally have one of my own threads voted in to this thing. Thank you to everyone who voted for America's 50 Must See Zoos. I'm really proud of that project and it's incredibly rewarding to see so many people have enjoyed it.

I've linked the five nominated threads below and I encourage everyone to give them a read if they haven't already.

A Guidebook Library: TLD's year-long randomised walkthrough of zoo guides by @TeaLovingDave

America's 50 Must See Zoos by @pachyderm pro

Europe's 100 must see exhibits by @lintworm

Snowleopard's 2022 Road Trip: Denmark, Sweden & Norway by @snowleopard

Where to see captive animals in the USA by @TinoPup

 

[pipaluk]

This is going to be interesting. The top 5 were comfortably above the rest of the other nominated threads in the voting. The question for everyone really what makes a thread the best? Longevity, effort put in by the creator, amount of member participation or simply that you couldn't wait for the next post!
All 3 I nominated are in the 5 but I hadn't even considered which was the best!
I may have to look at the 2 US threads as I rarely look beyond Europe on here.

 

[Fallax]

This has been the best year for threads in a good while, I'm going to have to think hard before voting!

 

[CGSwans]

Good luck to all. I’m voting for TeaLovingDave’s Guidebook thread.

With due credit to all the wonderful threads nominated - all of which would be worthy winners - what most have in common is that they are variations on things that have been done before. That’s not a criticism - each one has been a masterpiece.

TLD, though, has produced an original idea that shares his own collection in an informative, engaging, fascinating way. Honestly, it could have been a book instead of a thread, and I would have bought it in a heartbeat.

 

[pipaluk]

Good luck to all. I’m voting for TeaLovingDave’s Guidebook thread.

With due credit to all the wonderful threads nominated - all of which would be worthy winners - what most have in common is that they are variations on things that have been done before. That’s not a criticism - each one has been a masterpiece.

TLD, though, has produced an original idea that shares his own collection in an informative, engaging, fascinating way. Honestly, it could have been a book instead of a thread, and I would have bought it in a heartbeat.

I agree that this thread could win on originality. It has also lasted the full year which several others haven't. I have enjoyed waiting for every next guidebook too

 

[birdsandbats]

I agree that this thread could win on originality. It has also lasted the full year which several others haven't. I have enjoyed waiting for every next guidebook too

TinoPup's thread is still ongoing, and will continue into 2023.

 

[birdsandbats]

The vote is going exactly how I thought it would so far. I feel like the winner was probably already determined back on January 9.

I am very much hoping that this year can finally get some American representation among the entirely European list of Thread of the Year winners this year, though! So close last year!

 

[CGSwans]

The vote is going exactly how I thought it would so far. I feel like the winner was probably already determined back on January 9.

I am very much hoping that this year can finally get some American representation among the entirely European list of Thread of the Year winners this year, though! So close last year!

I'm a little sad that the vote this time doesn't allow for changing votes, based on the discussion in the thread.

 

[pachyderm pro]

I'm a little sad that the vote this time doesn't allow for changing votes, based on the discussion in the thread.

I understand the sentiment, but this was a calculated decision. I don't want people to be influenced to vote a certain way based on how others have voted. For example, what if someone votes for thread A, but switches their vote to thread B purely because they see its leading. That is also why I have it set up so you can only see the standings after you cast your vote. Of course, I have no problem with people making arguments for why a certain thread should win and swaying members who haven't voted yet in the process, I'm just trying to avoid any sort of group-think.

 

[lintworm]

The vote is going exactly how I thought it would so far. I feel like the winner was probably already determined back on January 9.

I am very much hoping that this year can finally get some American representation among the entirely European list of Thread of the Year winners this year, though! So close last year!

I don't think this vote is a foregone conclusion and there is a good case to be made for any of these threads. I just hope people vote based on the merits of the nominations and not based on the country of origin. Voting based on location feels disingeneous to the other threads. Except if a thread originated in Switzerland of course, because don't we all know that if something is Swiss, it is automatically superior, @Rayane . If you want an American thread to win, the best way is to write one yourself next year. I doubt @TeaLovingDave is going to write as much next year and neither will I

 

[Rayane]

I don't think this vote is a foregone conclusion and there is a good case to be made for any of these threads. I just hope people vote based on the merits of the nominations and not based on the country of origin. Voting based on location feels disingeneous to the other threads. Except if a thread originated in Switzerland of course, because don't we all know that if something is Swiss, it is automatically superior, @Rayane . If you want an American thread to win, the best way is to write one yourself next year. I doubt @TeaLovingDave is going to write as much next year and neither will I

Well, good thing you spent time in Switzerland then
Many interesting threads to chose from, but for me it's an obvious vote !

 

[birdsandbats]

I don't think this vote is a foregone conclusion and there is a good case to be made for any of these threads. I just hope people vote based on the merits of the nominations and not based on the country of origin. Voting based on location feels disingeneous to the other threads. Except if a thread originated in Switzerland of course, because don't we all know that if something is Swiss, it is automatically superior, @Rayane . If you want an American thread to win, the best way is to write one yourself next year. I doubt @TeaLovingDave is going to write as much next year and neither will I

Oh the location of origin is definitely not only reason I voted the way I did, though I'd be lying is I said it did not influence my decision at all. I agree all of these threads are very worthy winners.

 

[aardvark250]

I don't think this vote is a foregone conclusion and there is a good case to be made for any of these threads. I just hope people vote based on the merits of the nominations and not based on the country of origin. Voting based on location feels disingeneous to the other threads. Except if a thread originated in Switzerland of course, because don't we all know that if something is Swiss, it is automatically superior, @Rayane . If you want an American thread to win, the best way is to write one yourself next year. I doubt @TeaLovingDave is going to write as much next year and neither will I

i mean TLD thread have zoos from all 5 continents so

 

[pachyderm pro]

Bumping this up for anyone who has hasn't voted yet. Still have a little over a week left.

 

[Fallax]

Finally cast my vote, and I think this year was the hardest choice for me so far... The three threads I nominated all made it to the vote but in the end I voted for TLD's guidebook thread. Despite nominating this thread, regrettably I had not kept up with it much but the times I have read the posts it has always been fascinating and a breath of fresh air for the forum. I recently read over some of the newer parts of the thread again and its making me realise I need to sit down sometime and actually catch up! That is what solidified my vote.

Lintworm and snowleopard's threads were both also amazing, giving great insight into the variety of exhibitory across a whole continent and a look into a region of Europe often overlooked in the zoo department... I thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with both as they were being published.

As for the other two threads, I must comment that even though I didn't nominate them I think they are both worthy of being here. Pachyderm pro's thread on American zoos was greatly interesting for someone like me who is very alien to what is going on over the other side of the Atlantic, I very much enjoyed reading it at the time it was being published. I haven't read Tino's thread but from the looks of things it seems our US members have greatly appreciated it as a resource and I can imagine a lot of time and effort has gone into it.

Since I joined the forum nearly 6 years ago I think this has really been one of the greatest years for threads. I'm hoping 2023 is just as great!

 

[TinoPup]

After a lot of going back and forth, I've decided to vote for myself, so I can say I got one vote

(omg thank you @zooatlas!)

 

[snowleopard]

This was a rich year for ZooChat threads, with 5 deserving nominees. I voted for the Europe's 100 Must-See Exhibits thread, by @lintworm, as I've now seen 40 of those exhibits and the thread is a wonderful reference for future trips! America's 50 Must-See Zoos, by @pachyderm pro, was also a fantastic thread and it will finish in second place. Having co-written a book about American zoos, that thread is close to my heart. I own a couple of hundred zoo guidebooks, so the thread by @TeaLovingDave continues to astonish me with its incredibly detailed posts and excellent photos of zoo maps. My own thread has filled a niche on this site for information about Scandinavian zoos, with 24 reviews of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian facilities. Lastly, the thread about captive animals in the U.S., by @TinoPup, is one that I've personally referred to on countless occasions. I have British friends who are planning future American zoo trips and that thread is an invaluable resource. Congratulations to 5 worthy winners! Bring on 2023!

 

[pachyderm pro]

And a big graduations is in order to @lintworm with his thread Europe’s 100 must see exhibits! With almost half of the vote, I don’t think anybody was surprised by this win. In my opinion the greatest thread this site has ever seen and a truly inspirational project. Well done to all of the nominees and thank you for making 2022 such a fantastic year for ZooChat!

As an aside another thank you to all of those who voted for my thread. I’ll gladly accept a silver medal and I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy the ongoing successor based on this year‘s winner.

 

[TinoPup]

Congratulations, lintworm!

 

[Kalaw]

A wonderful thread that absolutely deserved the win! I too voted for it, but not without a lot of contemplation; this year has been wonderful (even if I was merely a lurker for the first eight months of it )! Congratulations to lintworm!