Forums MVP Program: Description and Rules

ArcGIS Discussion Forums: Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Program

The Forums MVP Program is designed to reward users for their technical expertise, spirit of community, and their willingness to help their peers by providing helpful and useful information on the ArcGIS Discussion Forums.

This is how it works:

  1. Any member of the ArcGIS user community logged in with their Esri Global Account may start a new thread in any of the forums.  This thread might be a question, a problem, or the beginning of a discussion, or whatever they want to talk about as long as it’s appropriate and topical.
  2. Any other member of the ArcGIS user community, also logged in, may submit a reply to the original poster with an answer, helpful information, or simply to participate in the discussion.
  3. At the original poster’s discretion, he or she may choose one of the replies as containing the best information or best answer to the question by clicking the “check mark” icon on the right side of that reply.  This reply should be the one the original poster thinks is the best reply or the one that helped them the most.  If more replies later appear that the original poster think are better, he or she may change the “best reply” check mark to another reply.  Each thread can only have one “best reply”.  Forum Moderators also have the discretion to mark that reply is the best if after a reasonable period of time the original poster has not yet done so.
  4. Any logged in user can use the “arrow” icons on the far right to vote for any of the replies on any threads if they believe that reply contains useful information.  Users may vote for more than one reply in a thread. This voting tool allows the ArcGIS user community as a whole to collectively bubble the best replies to the top of the thread.  This does two things:
    • It allows other users later to find the most useful information most quickly without necessarily reading all of the posts in the thread.
    • It rewards the reply’s author with points that contribute to their status within the community, allowing other users to identify the most helpful members of the community, building trust and encouraging collaboration.
  5. Members of the user community who post helpful replies in forum threads are awarded points according to this schedule:
    • When the original poster marks your reply as the best:  you get 4 points
    • When a forums MVP votes “up” your reply:  you get 3 points
    • When a forums Senior Member votes “up” your reply:  you get 2 points
    • When any other member of the user community votes “up” your reply: you get 1 point
  6. When one of the posts within a thread has been marked as the “best reply”, the thread will be marked as such on the forum’s thread list, so that the community can notice those more quickly.
  7. Active users of the ArcGIS Discussion Forum who rank among the highest in total number of points for each six-month rating period are eligible for prizes and recognition, which may include forum badges, certificate, plaques, Esri merchandise and/or services.   See the latest copy of the “Official MVP Program Rules” for the most up-to-date details.

MVP Prizes

Esri may award these prizes:

MVP Grand Prize
(Awarded once a year)

  • 1st: The first place Grand Prize MVP will receive one (1) free registration to the Esri International User Conference or the Esri Developer Summit where they will be presented an award and either one (1) ArcGIS Desktop Single Use license or one (1) 12-month annual subscription to the Esri Developer Network.  The winner will also be presented with a plaque and certificate.
  • 2nd: The second place Grand Prize MVP will receive one (1) free registration to the Esri International User Conference or the Esri Developer Summit where they will be presented with a plaque and certificate.
  • 3rd: The third place Grand Prize MVP will receive one (1) free registration to the Esri International User Conference or the Esri Developer Summit where they will be presented with a plaque and certificate.
    MVPs for the Grand Prize will be based on the cumulative points earned from the respective contest periods over the previous twelve (12) months.
  • Grand prize winners can elect to donate their prize to a third party of their choice, pending approval by Esri and within applicable laws.
  • Those Grand Prize winners who are unable to attend the Esri International User Conference or Esri Developer Summit will have their award sent to them by mail.
  • All prizes are subject to availability.
  • Contest period runs from May 1st of current year to April 30th of following year.  The lone exception being 2012; the program will begin on March 1st instead of May 1st.

MVP Top Prizes
(Awarded twice a year) - 100 point minimum

  • 1st: The first place MVP will receive one (1) ArcGIS Desktop Basic Edition license.
  • 2nd, and 3rd: The second and third place MVPs will receive an ArcGIS extension of their choice (excluding Data interoperability and Tracking Analyst).
  • 4th through 10th: The fourth through tenth place MVPs will have their choice of either an Esri Virtual Campus course (limited to $100 value) or an Esri Press publication.
  • 1st through 10th place winners will receive a “Forums MVP” badge attached to their user profile everywhere they post.
  • The winners for each period will be contacted in May and November, respectively, by phone or e-mail.
    All prizes are subject to availability.
  • Contest periods run May 1st to October 31st, and November 1st to the following year’s April 30th.  The lone exception being 2012; the program will begin on March 1st instead of May 1st.

Official MVP Contest Rules

  1. Eligibility: The MVP Program is open to any individual who is interested in sharing their technical expertise with the Esri User Community. Esri employees, distributors and their family members are not eligible to win any of the prizes other than community recognition profile badges. Laws vary by state; this contest is void where prohibited.
  2. No Purchase Necessary: No purchase of any Esri software, data, or service, nor use of any specific brand or product, is necessary to participate in and submit an entry in order to be eligible for the contest.
  3. Deadlines: Official cutoff dates for point accumulation in each period are October 31st, 2012, April 30th, 2013, then every October 31st and April 30th afterward, upon which time the top MVPs will be awarded their prizes for that period. MVP contest winners will receive an e-mail or telephone notification of their winning for that period or year.
  4. Forms of Entry: The mechanism for entry for the MVP contest shall be to upload answers to user questions via the Internet and the ArcGIS Discussion Forums Web site (http://forums.arcgis.com/).
  5. Publicity: As a condition of award acceptance, the MVP contest winners agree to allow Esri to publish their names, organization names, and point totals in all mediums of communication now known or later developed.
  6. Odds: Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of technical support questions posed by users, the community-assigned point value, and the uploaded answer identified by the original poster as the best reply.
  7. Disclaimers: Entrants shall assume all responsibility for ensuring their uploaded answers are received by Esri within the proscribed entry deadlines. Esri assumes no responsibility for lost upload transmissions or lost or delayed mails.
  8. IN ESRI'S SOLE DISCRETION, ESRI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISCONTINUE CONTEST WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE OR NOT TO GRANT ANY AWARDS IF THE SUBMITTED ENTRIES DO NOT MEET THE CRITERIA SET FORTH HEREIN. AWARDING OF POINTS IS DETERMINED BY THE USER POSING THE ISSUE AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO APPEAL.

    BOTH PARTIES EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE INTERNET (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE "WWW") IS A NETWORK OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC NETWORKS, AND THAT (i) THE INTERNET IS NOT A SECURE INFRASTRUCTURE, (ii) NEITHER PARTY HAS CONTROL OVER THE INTERNET, AND (iii) THAT NEITHER PARTY IS LIABLE FOR DAMAGES UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW RELATED TO THE DISCONTINUANCE OF OPERATION OF ANY PORTION OF THE INTERNET THAT PREVENTS THE ENTRANT FROM UPLOADING THEIR ENTRY OR ESRI'S ABILITY TO RECEIVE THE ENTRY WITHIN THE PROSCRIBED DEADLINES.

    IN NO EVENT SHALL ESRI BE LIABLE TO ENTRANT FOR COSTS RELATED TO ANSWERING USER ISSUES, COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, LOST PROFITS OR WINNINGS, LOST SALES OR BUSINESS EXPENDITURES, INVESTMENTS, OR COMMITMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BUSINESS, LOSS OF ANY GOODWILL, OR FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS CONTEST, HOWEVER CAUSED, ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ESRI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.

  9. Taxes and Expenses: MVP contest winners may be responsible for income or use taxes on the value of the prize awarded. Additionally, Grand Prize MVP winners will be responsible for their own airfare, hotel, and all other expenses associated with attending the Esri User Conference. The User Conference registration must be redeemed during the current or following calendar year. Please consult with your tax advisor for more information.