@Rob Monster .. As much as that would be great .. I think what you're asking for is somewhat beyond the scope of what NamePros could and probably should do. Particularly since your "naming contests" are pretty unique. Also, a big part of the problem is that to date, you've always gone with the domain with the most votes .. hence incentivizing people (who have never seen you skip over a top vote-getter) to get as many votes as possible.
I did look a bit at the Nigerian forum in question, and a couple of people there brought up a very valid point. Namely that it's not indicated anywhere that submitters aren't allowed to ask their friends, family, colleagues to vote for them. Yes, you'd think in a contest where people are supposed to vote for the best name, people would vote for the best name, but people in all kinds of online "best picture" or "best video" contests are always encouraged to invite their friends and family to vote (usually because the website in question wants more registrations, so it's good for their growth even if it's not good for the contest). To be clear though .. that is NOT the situation here.
So in the end, while the submitter should have known better himself, we can't really be too angry with him. More importantly, we really can't blame anyone else who joined and voted for their friend .. there's no indication anywhere that it's not allowed or even that it's not wanted/encouraged (again, most websites usually want more registrations). I never really thought of that .. plus looking at that forum it seems the suggester of VettedName did reach out to you to ask if it was ok to ask his "fellow countrymen to vote for him" .. so in the end while I think think what he did was wrong, we really can't blame him.
I didn't even know who it was until I just checked that forum now and crosslinked his avatar, but I'm sorry
@Etinosa for being so harsh on you .. looking at everything as a whole, I see you were just being overly ambitious, and you obviously tried to maximise your chances and you did try to find out if what you did was ok.
That being said .. unfortunately the name really is not a good one for the reasons I mentioned
here, so while I personally feel really bad for you because of the obvious emotional roller-coaster this ordeal has put you through, I hope that
@Rob Monster will reach out to you to explain that the domain would never have made the final cut (unless Rob indeed loves it .. in which case .. congratulations).
For the other Nigerians who did vote for VettedName .. since the rules weren't clear, I can't really blame you either. If anything, it shows you care for your friend. That being said .. many of us here take our domains and domaining seriously, so I kindly ask that the next time there is a vote for best domain, that you actually vote for what you feel is truly the best domain.
I also want to reach out to some of the Nigerians on the Nairaland forum and let them know that I read some of their posts, and some of them made some
excellent points .. and some showed a lot of honour in saying what some others of them were doing by blindly voting for VettedName was wrong. It takes a lot of guts and integrity to stand up to others within your own community like that when you feel they are doing something wrong!
On that topic, I want you to know more than anything else, that I personally NEVER judge individuals based on anyone's actions but their own. For myself personally, never fear that I will judge you because you are from a certain place or are a certain race. I will only judge you based on your actions .. which is the way it should be for everyone. I invite all of you to come and participate at NamePros. While I most definitely do NOT consider myself an expert domainer yet, I have started to find some success .. so if any of you have any questions or want any pointers or advice, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!
The real story here is that if I and a few others hadn't spoken up, it seems this would have continued unchecked ... but ...
MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY ... if the domain wasn't so obviously a bad choice, we might never had noticed "enhanced friend/associate voting" or brigading as I think you put it.
For all we know there could be several others who did the same thing, but because their domains are a little bit stronger, we simply have no way of noticing or knowing. Most people in the domain community do have integrity, but just like any large group of people, there are some individuals who do not .. and there most certainly has been a history of mini-groups within the domain community who have cheated, lied, stolen and who WILL break the rules to act strictly in favour of their own self-interest rather than the interest of the industry ... THERE IS NO WAY 100% TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING IN FUTURE POLLS WITHOUT MAKING SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES!