Comic Alert! Voting FAQ

What is Comic Alert! Voting?
Do I have to vote?
Why should I vote?
How do I vote on a comic?
What about anonymity?
How are votes used?
Are there limits on voting?
Does my vote count towards the comic or the individual strips?
How do I enable voting?
How do I disable voting?
I don't like frames, can I vote?
Will I see advertisements in the voting frame?
I have voting enabled, but the voting frame doesn't appear on some sites, or it appears briefly and then goes away!
I'm a comic artist, and I don't like the Comic Alert! voting frames on my comics.

What is Comic Alert! Voting?

This is a new feature that we've implemented, on a beta testing basis, that allows you to vote on individual comic strips, as you read them.

Do I have to vote?

Not at all! Even if you choose to display the voting frame when you view comics, there's no requirement to vote. Plus the voting frame itself is optional.

Why should I vote?

Because you will be contributing to the web comic community both by providing artists with feedback on their work and by helping other readers find excellent comics!

How do I vote on a comic?

First you need to enable voting. After that whenever you click on a link provided by Comic Alert! you'll see a blue bar at the top of the pages with voting features. After reading the comic you clicked on, simply click on one of the exclamation marks to tell us what you thought of it. You can optionally specify a mood that you think the strip best matches before you click one of the exclamation marks. That's it! Your vote will be cast and you'll be returned to the comic page without the vote frame.

How anonymous are my votes?

Votes are not matched to you or your user account, in the same way that comic views are not matched up. We do track your IP address for a period of 2 weeks, after which the IPs are deleted. This is to try and limit cheating (one person voting many times for the same strip). When you enable voting, a single cookie is placed on your system - this cookie simply says "I want to vote" and contains no personally identifiable information.

How are votes used?

Votes on comic strips will be used in several ways, from determining consistently great comics, to allowing people to find the best (highest rated) strips of a certain comic. We expect that even more uses for this data will become available in the future. Let us know if you have any ideas! :-)

Are there limits on voting?

Several. You can only vote for each strip once - if you vote multiple times your previous vote will be overwritten. Also voting closes for each strip 2 weeks after it first appeared in Comic Alert! This is done to maintain some measure of control over the length of time we need to keep voting records. Two weeks should be enough to vote :-)

Does my vote count towards the comic or the individual strips?

Your vote counts towards the particular strip you visit when you click the Comic Alert! link provided in your RSS feed or Email alert. These votes, however, do end up carrying over to the comic in general - comics that have a consistently higher quality of strips will end up being rated higher.

How do I enable voting?

Visit your Preferences screen and check the "Enable Voting" box, then save your settings. You must have cookies enabled, and be using a frames compatible browser.

How do I disable voting?

Visit your Preferences screen and uncheck the "Enable Voting" box, then save your settings. Alternatively use the "Disable Voting" button in the top right of the voting frame.

I don't like/use frames, can I vote?

At the moment no, frames are the only way you can vote. We want you to be actually looking at the comic strip you're voting for when you vote, and frames are the most reliable way to do this.

Will I see ads in the voting frame?

No. Some sites use frames to display ads on other people's sites. We think this is simply wrong and so while advertisements may come to Comic Alert! at some point, you will never see ads in the voting frames.

I have voting enabled, but the voting frame doesn't appear on some sites, or it appears briefly and then goes away!

Some web sites contain javascript code that breaks their site out of any parent frame sets, including the Comic Alert! one. There's nothing we can do about this. If you really want to vote for those strips you can try contacting the artist and letting them know, or try disabling javascript in your browser.

I'm a comic artist, and I don't want the Comic Alert! voting frames on my comics.

We're sorry to hear that, as we try and build all our features from an artist perspective. Perhaps you would like to read our FAQ regarding Comic Alert! before making your decision?

We do, however, understand that some artists may not want/accept the vote frame. You can turn off the frames on a per-comic basis through your artist account "comic settings", or you can contact us directly (make sure you use the email address listed on your comic's homepage) and we'll disable voting frames for your comic after confirming your address.