¶ Welcome!
Here you'll find as much information as we've assembled so far on SquirrelScore - the friendly how-tos for producers, judges, tallymasters, volunteers, contestants, and admins.
If you want the short "what is this?", read thru this page. If you want click-by-click instructions, jump to your role.
This wiki has a great search function, and the navigation menus can be used in two ways - the main menu has most high-level things to get you the the common places, but if you want to browse all the pages just you can switch it to the "classic" tree navigation and view all the pages, organized by folders.
¶ Quick links by role
Pick your hat and go:
| Role | Start here |
|---|---|
| Judge | Judge overview |
| Tallymaster | Tallymaster overview |
| Contestant | Contestant overview |
| Producer | Producer overview |
| Volunteer | Volunteer overview |
New to the whole idea? Read What is SquirrelScore? and Why use it?, then Logging in.
¶ What is SquirrelScore?
Spreadsheets.
Google Docs.
Old-school binders.
Stacks of printed score sheets with indecipherable scribbles (that are hopefully all in order).
Maybe a few missing pages here and there (where's the closest Staples?).
...and so much more.
Sound familiar?
For those of us who have been involved in title contests and pageants, the workload adds up quickly - and can easily all go to hell in a handbasket (oh, we all have stories).
After becoming a contest producer myself, I needed a way to avoid some of the risk and hassle of scoring a contest in the middle of organized chaos. Thankfully, I'd been involved in other contests and seen different approaches to scoring (including what worked and what didn't). I wanted something that cut through the mess and automated much of the hassle. I didn't really see anything out there that did what I needed - and so the idea of SquirrelScore was born.
With the second major version we use nowadays, it has evolved into something that can handle a contest from application to results. Hopefully it can be useful for you, too.
For a more in depth overview (and who uses which menus), see What is SquirrelScore?. For shipped highlights, see What's new.
¶ Who is SquirrelScore for?
Anyone who doesn't want the headache of scoring a contest the hard way - people who want things simple and working.
That includes kink-related title contests, drag pageants, and plenty of other events where the scoring options fit.
If you want to use it - or just see whether it'll work for you - get in touch (contact options at the bottom of this page) or click "Request Producer-Level Access" on the login page to submit a request. At this time SquirrelScore is still in beta. Access is given as needed while things are monitored, so the experience stays smooth as the project grows.
¶ Why is it in beta?
SquirrelScore will be in beta for the foreseeable future. It's a labor of love: features get added, bugs get fixed, and workflows get refined.
The goal is to avoid disruption or major changes that would hurt a live contest weekend. When something big lands, it shows up in What's new. For a living "what's cooking / what's next" list, see the Implementation backlog.
If something isn't working right, or you wish a feature existed, please say so through the contact options below - or start with Finding help for in-app wiki pointers.
¶ What does it cost?
The core functionality of SquirrelScore stays free. Running contests — applications, scoring, results, the essentials that make contest weekend work — is not behind a paywall, and that is not changing.
My time to develop/refine/support SquirrelScore, hosting, storage, and bandwidth still cost real money.
There's still quite a few things I'd like to integrate into SquirrelScore, and there's plenty of contest-related pain points that can be addressed. Someday, there may be optional paid tiers for advanced extras. If that happens, then:
- Core functionality of contest and scoring-related functions will remain free to use.
- Beta users will be grandfathered into a healthy feature set if/when that day comes — early adopters who helped shape the project will not be left behind, as their time and feedback is already invaluable in making SquirrelScore better.
If SquirrelScore helps you and you'd like to see some optional ways to support the project, see Support SquirrelScore.
¶ Need help with something not listed here?
Note: I'll do my best to help, but please remember this is a personal project that grew into something shared with the community. Replies may take a bit.
If you aren't already in contact:
For contest-specific questions like "when do results release?", ask your producer first. For site login / MFA issues, ask your producer, who may contact the site admin. How-tos live in this wiki - Finding help has a decent issue triage table.