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
• 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.

The following are strictly prohibited:

• using bots or any automated system
• creating or using fake accounts
• 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.

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

• cancellation of the votes concerned
• warning
• disqualification of the benefiting participant
• exclusion from the competition or community spaces

Sanctions are applied proportionally to the severity of the situation.

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.