Q: The deadline is very close. Will you still accept my doll?

If the deadline says "April 20," it means 12:00 midnight EDT (GMT -4) on April 20. Don't get worried until that deadlines passes. If I'm actually up and active, I might start voting then, and once I've started voting I no longer accept entries. However, I usually accept entries through whenever I check my email the next morning.

Q: Aaaah! I just missed the deadline! Will you accept my entry?

If I haven't started voting, it may be okay. Unless I already have the page with voting finished and ready to upload, I'll accept your entry.

If you contact me before the deadline, and are nearly finished with your entry, I may grant an extension of up to one day. I can only grant extensions if you ask me in advance, and I won't hold spaces past the time I give you.

There is one exception: If you submitted your entry in a timely fashion, but I needed you to make a correction and did not reply in a timely fashion, I'll make sure you have a reasonable amount of time to fix your entry. A reasonable about of time probably isn't any longer than a day.

Q: What if my doll is too big?

I will not accept oversized dolls if there is any excess background. Not only did I write a tutorial on the subject, but you can crop GIFs at GIFWorks. Similarly, if the file size is too high (over 30KB), optimize your file using GIFWorks.

If, after you've done the best you can, your doll is slightly over the limit in either pixels or bytes, I may accept your entry anyway.

Exceptions to the posted contest rules may result in a minor point deduction in fairness to participants who did follow the rules.

Q: Am I allowed to use props?

That depends what kind of props you mean. If you made it yourself, sure. If it's from someone's site, I'd prefer you didn't. However, as long as the prop isn't something important to the contest (for example, wings for a dolls with wings contest), I may accept your entry if you provide credit including a full URL, just as if it were a base. Hair and clothing are not props. Props are mostly wings and inanimate objects.

Q: Do you accept reservations?

If you tell me you're planning to enter, I'll keep an eye out for your entry and I may extend the deadline by a day or so. I probably won't hold a physical space for you on the entries page. Since I often rearrange entries by size, the display order doesn't mean much.

Q: I wish I knew about this contest sooner!

I have an informal mailing list for folks who would like to be notified when I begin a new contest. No one else will see your address, and I only send messages to announce contests. If you'd like to be on the list, please contact me. You may also leave your email address here, and I'll remove it once I've recorded it:

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