Voting & Anti-Fraud Policy

This policy defines the rules ensuring the transparency, fairness, and integrity of the Stone Play voting and evaluation process.

It applies to all evaluation mechanisms, including the jury, public votes, and any combination of both.

It complements the General Regulations and the Code of Ethics for Participants.

The virtual competition is fully managed through Noowow, a virtual competition platform partnering with Stone Play.

Noowow hosts the entire competitive process, including:

• hosting the competition
• submission of entries
• public voting
• rankings and results

Only operations carried out on the official platform are taken into account in the competition.

The evaluation of entries relies on a combination of two mechanisms:

• evaluation by a jury appointed by the organization
• public votes cast through the official platform

The jury’s evaluation criteria include creativity, alignment with the theme, quality, impact, and engagement.

The specific terms of each phase are communicated through official channels.

Everyone is free to support the participant of their choice through the official platform.

The platform offers several forms of voting, all of them legitimate:

• free votes
• paid votes, allowing supporters to purchase votes for their favorite participant
• boost votes, earned by answering quizzes during masterclasses and live events
• any other form of voting or support offered by the platform

Purchasing votes through the official platform is a legitimate and transparent way to support a participant. It also contributes to funding the initiative and its educational mission.

Only votes cast through the official platform are counted.

All these forms of voting are subject to the same rules. A paid vote or an earned boost vote grants no additional rights and provides no exemption from any obligation set out in this policy.

The core rule of this policy is simple: one person, one account.

Each account must correspond to a real, distinct person who uses it themselves. This rule applies to every activity on the platform:

• voting, in any of its forms
• taking part in quizzes during masterclasses and live events
• receiving the rewards and boost votes that result from them

Under no circumstances may a participant create or use an additional account to vote for themselves, or to collect the rewards of the same quiz more than once.

Families, households and shared connections

Support from a family or close circle is entirely legitimate, and it is encouraged. Several people living under the same roof may each have their own account and vote freely.

Sharing a phone or an internet connection is not, in itself, a violation. What is prohibited is one person operating several accounts, whatever name appears on them.

When several votes come from the same connection, the organization may ask each account holder to confirm their account, following the procedure described in article 7.

The following are strictly prohibited:

• using bots or any automated system
• creating or using fake accounts
• creating or using several accounts as the same person
• creating an account in the name of someone who does not use it themselves
• taking part in the same quiz more than once under different identities in order to collect rewards repeatedly
• for a participant, voting for their own performance through an account other than their own
• exploiting technical vulnerabilities of the platform
• coordinated manipulation of results or engagement
• any parallel voting system or circumvention of the official platform
• using fraudulent payment methods to purchase votes

These prohibitions apply to participants as well as to anyone acting on their behalf.

The organization, in collaboration with the official platform, reserves the right to verify, audit, and cross-check voting and engagement data.

Any vote or engagement deemed fraudulent or non-compliant may be invalidated, without such invalidation constituting a formal accusation against a participant.

Data recorded

Every vote is recorded together with its timestamp, its network origin and the device used. This data serves one purpose only: verifying the integrity of the votes.

Confirmation procedure

Checks are carried out continuously throughout the voting period, not only when it closes. Where the evidence warrants it, in particular when several accounts vote from a single connection, the organization may ask each account holder to confirm their account.

This confirmation is deliberately simple: the holder's full name and a short voice or video note stating that the account is theirs and that they vote of their own free will. No official document is required, and no data is kept beyond the verification.

A confirmation request is not an accusation. However, votes from an account whose holder does not reply within the stated time are cancelled, for want of being verifiable.

The organization favors putting matters right over imposing sanctions.

Anyone who has created several accounts, including without knowing that it was not allowed, may disclose it voluntarily. A good-faith disclosure that is complete and consistent with the organization's findings leads only to the cancellation of the votes and rewards of the surplus accounts, with no further consequence.

A participant who cooperates keeps all the votes of their genuine supporters and remains in the competition.

Conversely, a failure to respond or an incomplete disclosure may lead to the cancellation of every vote cast from the connection concerned, and to the file being referred to the competition committee.

In case of proven fraud, the following measures may apply, individually or together:

• cancellation of the votes concerned
• cancellation of the boost votes and quiz rewards obtained by the accounts concerned
• warning
• cancellation of every vote cast from a single connection where verification could not be completed
• disqualification of the benefiting participant
• exclusion from the competition or community spaces

Sanctions are applied proportionally to the severity of the situation and take into account the cooperation of the person concerned.

Paid votes cancelled for fraud are not refunded.

Anyone who notices a suspicious practice is encouraged to report it confidentially to: governance@stone-foundation.org

Reports are handled seriously and with discretion.

The organization’s decisions regarding voting, evaluation, and sanctions are final.

This policy may be updated to reflect operational or legal evolutions.