Ok, I have only read the first two pages, but I will say my opinion for whatever it's worth. As someone who participates in the BC.
I think the beauty contest is a good idea, so it would be sad to see it go away. The contest origionally wasn't designed to be an art contest per say, but rather a contest to dress up your pet to see how beautiful you could make its image. You could either grab your pets image off the site or draw your own.
Of course the option to submit your own drawings allows for new opertunities probably unforseen to TNT. As a result it became an art contest for those who liked to submit their own work. (When this happened I don't know, not being around until last summer, but from the records seems to be about the year 2000)
This change I really enjoy, because it adds a new dimension to the contest. I don't have to dress my pets or make them look beautiful. I can enter my own art. But not everyone thinks of it as an art contest. You have some people who stick to the old ways by editing images, and those who take advantage of the advertising option over the artistic end.
What I wish could be done is to set up a new contest, like the beauty contest, but instead this would be an art contest that runs like the beauty contest, only that you _have_ to submit your own origional art. Anything taken from the site or stolen from other artists not accepted.
Yes I noticed the BC judges don't look at every entry before putting it in the BC. I once found a CaP of an Erie colored in ms paint that had a cigarette in its beak. Luckily it only got one vote. (probably by the artist)
And we do have sort of a guild about protecting true art vs Cap's and rips in the BC:
http://www.neopets.com/guilds/guild.pht ... lian_rogue