After reading over all the debate...and getting tired of people walking all over this contest...I have made my decision.
But first, to explain the reason why I switched over to the approach that I used when I decided to allow all photos in the contest. At the time that I made the switch, I received some flack from some people claiming that I was "too involved" with the contests. Some of those comments hurt me so much that I decided to include all the photos, so that I wouldn't seem too involved and pushy. However, it appears to me that this approach was a poor one and I do apologize. I am sorry if your "fearless leader"
lol
has failed but I have learned my lesson and now I'm going to fix it.
Therefore, starting with the next contest...things are going to change. The rules are going to be enforced once again. And if people think I'm being too hands on...that's their problem. I want these contests to be as good as they were when they started all those years ago.
So, starting next time, if your photo's size is too big, it's it disqualified, if your photo is photoshopped, it is disqualified, if you are in the photo, you will be disqualified, (WDWKat, I'm still disqualifiying yours in this contest...I know you know the rules), etc.
I apologize to you all for causing these contests to not be of the caliber that they used to be. I promise I will do all I can to uphold the integrity of these contests. If any of you have any questions, concerns, or problems, please feel free to PM me and we will address those. (This also includes if you see a photo get entered that you believe should not be included in the contest for any reason.) Once again, I am sorry.
(P.S. to the person who mentioned the photoshopped image that won...if you do look at the contest winner's page, you'll see that I did disqualify it for that reason.)