# Seasons and reward rounds Boutlet opens **reward rounds (Bounty)** for some Discover posts and Requests to gather useful experiences and supporting material. Participants submit contributions that meet the round's requirements and may receive rewards after review and settlement. **Publishing a contribution or submitting it to a round does not confirm a reward.** This document explains how to check which round you are taking part in, understand budgets and limits, review results, and claim rewards. ## Seasons set common rules; reward rounds set their own requirements A **Season** is an operating period in which common participation policies and reward principles apply to selected topics. A **reward round (Bounty)** is an individual round opened for a specific Discover post or Request within that Season. | Aspect | Season | Reward round | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Scope | Participation and reward operations across the Season | A specific topic or Request | | Main information | Season dates, total reward budget, common participation rules, and individual Season limit | Round dates, requested work, evaluation criteria, round budget, and maximum reward per person | | Where to check | The Season guide and Season terms | The participation instructions and Reward guide on the post | A Season can include several topics and reward rounds. Within the same topic, individual Requests may have their own rounds, or rounds may run at different times. Discover posts and Requests can also operate without a Season or reward round. Check separately whether a topic is public and whether reward submissions are open. ## Check which round applies to your contribution The reward round that applies depends on where you start your contribution. | Where you contribute | Applicable round | | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Write a contribution directly from a Discover post | An open round covering the whole topic | | Write a contribution from a Request | That Request's dedicated round takes priority if it is accepting submissions. | | The Request has no dedicated round accepting submissions | The parent Discover post's round may apply. | | No round applies | If the topic or Request accepts contributions, you can publish without submitting to a reward round. | For example, imagine a Discover post with two Requests: “Share your experience” and “Compare instructions.” If “Share your experience” has a dedicated round, a contribution written from that Request is submitted to that round. If “Compare instructions” has no dedicated round, the parent topic's round may apply. Do not assume that the same budget or limits apply to both Requests. **Check the “Reward guide” on the post and in the composer to see which round is actually connected.** One contribution is not automatically submitted to several rounds associated with both the parent topic and its Requests. It also does not automatically switch to another round if you fail to meet a particular round's requirements. ## Read the requirements and dates before submitting To take part in a reward round, read both the Season's common rules and the instructions for that round. - **Eligibility and accepted contributions:** Check what contributions the round accepts and whether any additional eligibility checks or agreements are required. - **Requested work:** Read what to research or try and what results and supporting material to share. - **Evaluation criteria:** Check which contributions are valued and what may lead to exclusion from rewards or a lower evaluation. - **Budgets and limits:** Check the round's total budget, maximum reward per person, and any individual Season limit. - **Submission and review dates:** Distinguish the time by which you must finish publishing from the period when submissions are reviewed. The Reward guide shows budgets, limits, dates, Season information, terms, and related details. Read the post body and participation instructions as well for the requested work and evaluation criteria. Simply opening the Reward guide or terms does not complete any separate agreement process. If the round requires additional agreement or eligibility checks, follow the steps provided. ### The submission deadline and review deadline are different | Date or period | Meaning | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Round opens | The time when the reward round starts accepting submissions | | Submission deadline | The time when reward submissions close | | Review deadline | The scheduled deadline for reviewing received submissions | | Appeal period | The period when you can request reconsideration of a review result you have been given | Deadlines are checked against **the time your submission reaches the server**, rather than when you save a draft or start uploading files. Check the displayed time zone when reading a deadline. Passing the submission deadline does not mean that review or settlement is complete. Unresolved appeals or further checks may prevent results from being finalized immediately, even after the scheduled review deadline has passed. ## Budgets and individual limits are not confirmed reward amounts The figures in the Reward guide have different meanings. | Item | Meaning | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Total Season reward budget | The upper limit on rewards available across the Season | | Total round reward budget | The upper limit on rewards that can be distributed in that round | | Maximum reward per person | The most one participant can receive from that round | | Individual Season reward limit | If set, the cumulative reward limit that applies to one participant across that Season | **A budget is not a promise to distribute the full amount.** Rewards are settled for contributions that meet the participation requirements and evaluation criteria, and some budget may remain unused. The maximum reward per person also does not mean that every participant receives the same amount. Your actual reward may depend on: - Whether you meet the participation requirements and evaluation criteria - The contribution recognized during review and its score - Whether the content is a duplicate and what substantive additional value it provides - The round's allocation rules and available budget - The individual round limit and your remaining individual Season limit Depending on the round's allocation rules, amounts may be adjusted if the rewards for qualifying contributions would exceed the budget. If an individual Season limit is set, rewards already confirmed in other rounds may also affect the amount. Having your contribution recognized during review or seeing a provisional score does not, by itself, confirm a particular reward amount. ## Submitted contributions go through review and settlement Reward rounds generally follow this process: 1. **Contribution submission** The applicable round and participation requirements are checked, and the content to be evaluated is recorded. 2. **Content review** The review checks whether the contribution addresses the requested work, whether its explanations and supporting material can be verified, and what new value it adds, among other factors. 3. **Provisional result** A provisional decision and its reasons are provided. This result is separate from final reward confirmation. 4. **Appeals and further checks** Appeals submitted within the announced period and any matters requiring further checks are reviewed. 5. **Final decision and settlement** Rewards are confirmed by applying the final review result, round budget, allocation rules, individual limits, and other applicable conditions. Evaluation factors and their weight may vary by round. They may include relevance to the requested work, quality of evidence, new observations or analysis, and how well others can understand and use the contribution. **More views, reactions, or followers do not automatically determine a reward.** Check the evaluation criteria published for the round. Even if automated tools or AI are used during review, their output is not itself a confirmed reward. Check the final decision and settlement result. ### Evaluation uses the submitted version The current public post and the version submitted for evaluation may differ. Editing and saving a published contribution does not update the existing evaluation version. If resubmission is available, use **“Save and resubmit”** in the editor to submit a new version. Editing a post after the deadline does not change the version already submitted. When checking a review result, also check which submission version it refers to. ## Show additional value instead of submitting duplicates Repeatedly submitting the same content through multiple posts, accounts, Requests, or reward rounds may be treated as duplicate or similar submissions. Content may still be considered a duplicate if only its wording, translation, or structure has changed without substantive additional value. Depending on the review result, this may lead to penalties such as a lower evaluation or exclusion from additional rewards. Repeated violations may restrict your participation in the Season. However, **using the same topic or source does not, by itself, make a contribution a duplicate.** The review considers additional contributions such as: - Checking new sources or data - Reproducing or verifying something firsthand in a different environment - Comparing results using a different approach from an existing analysis - Adding an evidence-based counterargument or a new interpretation Explain which information has already been shared and what you newly verified. Providing a source and having your own additional contribution recognized are separate matters that each need to be assessed. ## If you disagree with a review result If you believe a result overlooks or misinterprets something, you can appeal within the announced period using the specified process. Explain the following clearly: - Which contribution and submission version the result concerns - Which part of the review reasoning needs to be checked again - Why you believe that decision is incorrect - The supporting material or explanation Editing only the public post or leaving a comment does not file a formal appeal. Follow the appeal method provided with the result. Check the Season and round rules for the appeal period, number of appeals allowed, and material that can be submitted. Filing an appeal does not guarantee a change to the result or reward amount. ## Distinguish confirmed rewards from claimed rewards Reward statuses can be understood as follows: | Status | Meaning | | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Submitted | Your contribution has been submitted to a reward round. | | Under review or provisional result | Your contribution is being reviewed, and the final reward has not yet been confirmed. | | Reward confirmed | The reward you will receive has been confirmed after review and settlement. | | Claimed | You have completed the available process for receiving the reward. | You can check your participation history, review results, and confirmed rewards in [My activity](/activity). The [Leaderboard](/leaderboard) reflects contribution rewards confirmed after review and settlement. A reward appearing on the Leaderboard does not mean that payment to your wallet is complete. **Claim is a separate process for receiving a confirmed reward in the available payment environment.** Follow the Season's payment instructions for Claim availability and eligibility. If a Season uses both testnet and mainnet, check the purpose of payments and the claimed status separately for each environment. Not every reward can be claimed in both environments. Follow the Season policy and the payment instructions that apply to your confirmed reward. A confirmed reward that has not yet been claimed is different from unused funds remaining in a round's budget.