Ah, well, first of all, Nancy, nice to meet you!
I can see your point, coming from the position that you do. If you will kindly indulge me with just a little open-mindedness, I'd like to try to explain the point to all the voting, from the position that we voters are in.
TV Vote may, on the face of it, seem like just a silly game. However, it is actually a venue for making members of other fan-bases aware of one's own show. I began voting on TV Vote as a Browncoat, a fan of Firefly, a sci-fi series. We Browncoats are, as a group, about as rabid as they come; we got our show to the #1 position in the Top 40 poll this past August, after about a year of concentrated effort. I became aware of the separate Nominations poll, and, began voting for another show of which my wife is fond. However, that show had no real support, which became frustrating. I looked at the other Nominations candidates, and, Lo! and behold, there was Dark Shadows!
I hadn't thought about DS in MANY years; I had been a childhood viewer of the original broadcasts, since DS was on in the daytime, and, I could watch those monsters... My point is, Nancy, that TV Vote rekindled my awareness and fondness for DS. More importantly, when I brought DS in the Nominations to the attention of the other Browncoats, a lot of them either also experienced that same, nostalgic rekindling, or, an altogether new interest in the show.
Now that DS is advancing toward breaking into the Top 40, it is garnering that same kind of attention from members of the 40 other fandoms, not to mention the hundreds more below us in the Nominations. Interest and curiosity is what drives new fans. Everyone who participates in TV Vote is already a passionate fan of at least one show, the majority of which are in the broad genre of the fantastical, like DS. More fans means more support for projects like the new DS movie, which, in turn, will drive more demand for re-broadcast of the original series on TV, amongst other things.
As for there being no "great feeling" about the placement of our show, you have to try to understand that, as a very small group of fans of a 41-year-old program, we cast more daily votes than the fandoms of 26 of the Top 40 shows, many of which are still on the air! Every time we surpass another show on our rise to the Top 40, every day close we get to our goal, is a colossal thrill to us! When DS enters the Top 40, we will have earned the respect and envy of every fandom there.
So, that is why we vote. That is our payoff. As for using our energies better, I don't know how many millions of letter have been written over the years to get DS re-aired, but, we are accomplishing just what I have just described, and, more than that, we are having fun doing it.
Thank you for your patience with me while I did my best to clarify that.
Pleasant dreams...
-Raycheetah =^[.]^=
P.S.: Regarding curses/cures. I actually sorted that out, myself; I "cursed" Jackie properly, when I posted what I did. Looks like somebody else got me, too, since.
-RC =^[.]^=