Platform
Rules & Guidelines
Everything you need to know about how contests, credits, voting, and community standards work on hostphotocontest. Expand any section to dive deeper.
Credits are the universal currency of the platform. Everything from launching a contest to boosting submissions runs on a single, transparent balance.
Credits earned
- Signup credit award
- Awarded once when a new account is created.
- +0 credits
- Voter reward
- Earned once for the first valid public vote in a contest. Updating a vote earns no additional credits.
- +1 credits
Credits used
- Contest creation
- Charged when a new contest is launched.
- 0 credits
- Private participant voting
- Charged when a contest launches with participant-only voting.
- 10 credits
- Judge-only voting
- Charged when a contest launches with invited-judge voting.
- 20 credits
- Mixture voting
- Charged when a contest launches with weighted public and judge voting.
- 30 credits
- Entry submission
- Charged for each contest entry.
- 5 credits
- Submission capacity upgrade
- Adds the configured entry-capacity block.
- 100 credits
- Contest time extension
- Adds the configured duration block.
- 100 credits
- Privacy upgrade
- Enables a contest access code.
- 30 credits
- Ad-free contest upgrade
- Disables advertising for one contest.
- 100 credits
- Contest removal
- Charged once when the creator removes a contest. Financial records are retained.
- 20 credits
Credit packs
- Starter
- Starter pack credits: 100 credits Starter pack bonus: 0 credits . 100 credits total
- 10.00 USD
- Creator
- Creator pack credits: 300 credits Creator pack bonus: 20 credits . 320 credits total
- 28.00 USD
Credits fund contest and entry features only. They cannot be withdrawn, transferred, redeemed, or converted to cash.
Each contest follows a clear path from private preparation to long-term archive.
-
Draft
Build the contest, rules, entry requirements, prizes, and schedule before publishing.
-
Scheduled
The contest is published and visible, but submissions have not opened yet.
-
Open for submissions
Eligible participants can submit entries until the configured deadline or capacity is reached.
-
Review
The creator and assistants moderate submitted entries before scoring is finalized.
-
Voting
Eligible voters or appointed judges score approved entries using the contest voting mode.
-
Results
Final standings are published after voting closes and valid scores are calculated.
-
Archive
Finished contests remain available as a record of their entries and results.
Every contest creator chooses how winners are decided. Voting modes can be combined for a weighted result.
- Public
- Open to any registered voter on the platform.
- Private
- Only participants who have submitted an entry may vote; contest privacy and access codes are configured separately.
- Judge-only
- Scored exclusively by the creator's appointed judges.
- Mixture (Weighted)
- Blends public and judge scores using creator-defined weights.
Contests use one of two scoring formats, fixed at creation. Final standings are the aggregate of all valid scores.
- Star Rating
- Voters award 1–5 stars per entry.
- Point Score
- Voters or judges assign a 0–100 point value per entry.
Constructive critique is encouraged, but every comment passes through moderation.
Creators and their assistants can approve, hide, or remove comments. Repeated violations of community standards — harassment, spam, or off-topic content — may result in account suspension.
Access on the platform is governed by role. Users may hold different roles across different contests.
- Creator
- Launches and manages contests, prizes, and settings.
- Assistant
- Delegated by a creator to help manage a contest.
- Judge
- Scores entries in judge-enabled contests.
- Participant
- Submits entries to contests.
- Voter
- Casts votes and leaves comments on entries.
Still have questions?
Visit the FAQ for answers about contests, credits, voting, privacy, and moderation.