>>>.it was your idea :
>
>It's not an idea- I was musing on how to eliminate the moral hazard of vendor control. Happy to leave it there. In the end your MVP doesn't have any connection to what I think.

Was trying to use the Socratic method :)

OK, I'll be a bit more direct. Back around 2006 or so, the UT started doing a 'Personality of the Year' for the VFP, .NET, and SQL areas. (And I do recall I was either the first...or one of the first....to win in multiple categories, ha)

It was (if I remember) based on votes.

But even that "award" still had some branding associated with it...it was the UT personality of the Year. The UT is a site that's free for certain access, but does provide charge for premium membership (at least I believe so). And there are a few benefits. My point is that even for a community selection/vote, there is still branding (understandably) , there is still an element of control, etc.