Neferti wrote on Jan 3
rd, 2017 at 4:30pm:
Why would the 1200 word "essay" need to be sent via PM to anybody?
Just give a closing date for submissions. Then, those who want to contribute just post their submission. Anybody who makes a "comment" has that comment removed by a GMod, so that the thread remains pristine.

Instead of calling it an "essay", perhaps a "short story" would be more appropriate then
everyone could have a go. It doesn't have to be political, a speech or a masterpiece, surely. This is OzPol, nobody here is posing as World Renown Authors, are they?
Might be nice to just let people write a short story ... whatever the topic ... you might be surprised with who is "judged" the best.
JMO
We wanted it to be anonymous, Neferti. If you post it under your own name, everyone knows who wrote it. People can then vote for who they like, rather than the actual writing.
It was Longy's idea to write an essay. His challenge was to write something you completely disagree with, hence displaying your skill in rhetoric and persuasion.
You could indeed write a persuasive piece that supports an argument using fiction, and I see no problem with that. Umberto Eco did this with his novels.
Maybe Longy can post an erotic short story in support of paedophilia.