Punning House relocates with consequences!

If you've followed this link gripped in the savage talons of terror - fear not - The Pun-off is not ending.

I've mentioned a number of times that Punning House will be relocating to a more rural setting - the Cotwolds market town of Stroud, Gloucestershire to be exact. The official upping of sticks will take place next Friday (29th June) - this means that Friday's Pun-Off will be the last administered entirely from London.

There are going to be consequences for The Pun-Off and The Punning Community as a whole and in the spirit of transparency I thought it best to openly propose some changes:

1. Change of start time

I propose to change the start time of The Pun-Off to 8:30am instead of the usual 9.30am.

But Steve, why?

I may not be able to access Facebook on my computer or phone at my new job - either due to filters, 3G coverage or (more likely) because I'll be trying to make a good impression. The earlier start will therefore enable me to declare 'Punning Open' before I get to work. The end time will stay the same - usually between 5.30pm-6.30pm depending on what I'm doing.

2. Less repeat monitoring

I propose that if you repeat a Pun then it counts as one of your 5 Puns. The Punner with the earliest recorded placement gets the credit. "Likes" on repeated Puns are void and non-transferable**. Repeated Puns cannot be removed and replaced - if you try to do this without others noticing then you are a silly sausage and not playing fair. But, I trust you all...I don't think you'd do a thing like that.

But Steve, why?

I won't be able to monitor every single entry like I do now. I may not be able to keep checking in on the day's progress like I do now and advising you of repeats - for the same reasons as above. I must say though, to be fair: repeat discipline is at an all time high. I used to throw out about 30-40 repeat notifications a day, now it's more like 5-6. Good stuff you lot.

**Non-transferable - For example: if 6 people like a repeated Pun those "Likes" are not transferred to the original. It would be too complicated otherwise. In the event of the People's Champion award being affected I will make a judgement call.

3. Biss monitoring

I propose that The Biss Clause be enforced by the community.

But Steve, why?

It's very rare that someone breaks the The Biss Clause nowadays but if someone does I'd appreciate it if Punners keeping a close eye could offer gentle and friendly reminders to guilty parties. Punners very rarely break the clause on purpose anywhere; it's usually an oversight of inexperience. Give people the benefit or the doubt.



A House of Lords Select Committee
discuss the changes at Punning House



So there you have it - let me know what you think of the proposals. Your feed back is important.

There are lots of other things I need to consider and adapt to in order to keep the Pun-Off running in the manner you have become accustomed. I have been considering taking a few weeks off - just so that I can get my head around our relocation. I have considered outsourcing the judging and results writing out to any volunteers** willing to give it a go. Full training will be provided of course. 

**If you'd like to have a go at judging and writing the results for the Pun-Off please let me know. If I can get 4-6 people willing to take over during July and August I may be able to squeeze a summer break out of it. That'd be useful.

All that I ask is that you can write well and would be willing to adhere to the traditional format and length. I would get final edit but I wouldn't change much as that would take up as much time as writing the thing! Let me know if you're interested.

So there we go - I hope this is all above board. Like I've said - thoughts, feelings, emotions and suggestion are welcome.