IMO, the Xara organised logo competition was something different. It was call for support from our favourite software developer whom everyone of us would be proud to return at least a little bit of what we earned using their software. Not to forget that we all knew that the logo chosen will used by the company that has the necessary reputation to get the logo used and exposed which is a prize with unidentifiable value. That's why so many of us entered the challenge.

However, maybe you have noticed that logo competitions aren't held this way. They are usually anonymous and works are evaluated by the jury. The logo designs aren't exposed to public comparison (at least not before the winner is announced). Also the prizes for the winning logo designs have usually more digits than 3.

I think that challenges of this kind are devaluating forum relationships. Some people here are professionals, some are not and it's clearly visible everytime there is this kind of forum challenge. Therefore I would rather suggest not to offer undignified prizes which professionals find offensive and rather make it prize-free, or make the logo competition go non-public under clear rules, taking few respected forum members as jurors. And the most important thing! You should guarantee that the chosen logo (if there will be any) will be used by the company and that it will not end in "trash".

Roman