tales from the central european web

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Name a real bridge after Stephen Colbert or Chuck Norris!

Hungarian government was letting people vote on a web site for the name of a new bridge crossing the Danube river. Site administrators decided to let visitors vote in the first round without registration as many times as they liked, so quite a few people have launched their voting bots and asked others to vote for names like "Chuck Norris bridge". This quickly became a viral phenomenon, so even the international news agencies have picked the story. Then came Stephen Colbert and called his audience to promote the idea of "Stephen Colbert bridge" by voting on the site.
The first round is over, 25 candidates have been elected (Colbert finished the first round on the first place, but the results have been reset for the second round.) Now you can only vote after registration. This tutorial will guide you through the registration process so that you can still have influence on the name of this new bridge! It's easy anyway, and only a valid e-mail address and a password is needed!

How to vote to name a new Danube bridge after Stephen Colbert or Chuck Norris, etc.:


First step


Visit http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/regisztracio , enter your e-mail address here, choose a password and enter it twice.

Second step


You will see this page if your registration was successful, there's nothing important here.

Third step


Wait a few minutes then open your mailbox. A short e-mail will be waiting for you: click on the link and you will be forwarded right to the page where you can cast your vote, let your voice be heard! (The translated message is: Please click on the link to confirm your registration. Next line: Your password is: ...)

Fourth step


Please vote for Stephen Colbert or Chuck Norris! Click on the corresponding radio buton and push the button "Elküld" at the bottom of the site. You might want to consider voting for "Perl-Script bridge" (híd means bridge), "Hacker bridge" or "Ferenc Gyurcsány the Just bridge" (note: he is our Prime Minister)

The standings of the bridge naming contest can be seen at the "Toplista" menu entry or clicking here: http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/toplista

Thank you for helping us making our politicians a bit more ridiculous! (Some say that the sole purpose of this poll is to hide the fact that the completion date of the bridge was postponed again...)

No comments: