Bot News
Bot Contest Underway

By Brian Proffitt

"Man vs. Machine" is that name that graces the Web site of the latest bot contest in the bot community, but don't let the name fool you: this is a contest designed for fun, not warfare.

The contest, organized by Chris Cowart, and announced on BotSpot on December 6, is now underway, with 16 posted chat bots participating so far in the user-voting contest.

The rules of the contest are fairly simple. Bots will be judged by a panel of judges and the visitors to the contest Web site. Because some bots a platform-dependent, visitors can judge the bots based on the chatlogs that will be posted on the site.

In keeping with the spirit of fun for the contest, the deadline for entries and for judging has not yet been set, so more bot creators are encouraged to submit their bots into the contest.

Cowart is pleased with the response thus far, and has several other chat bots ready to be posted on the contest site soon.

Cowart is hoping that visitors will get a chance to examine many bots in detail, not just their favorites. This will provide users with an excellent chance to learn about new bots they might not have tried before.

"Out of fairness we are encouraging people to vote for all the bots, not just the popular ones," Cowart said. "Also, the logged conversation only represents a small portion of a bot's ability. Before casting your vote we encourage you to visit the bot's Web site and engage him personally and in more depth."