Okay, I know filmmakers are always asking their friends for votes at some site or another promising fame and fortune, but in this case, I want to appeal to your sense of justice against some unscrupulous types.

IFC is hosting short films at their site with the possibility of highly-rated films getting a shot at being aired on the channel. It's the usual drill -- upload a film, wait for votes, and let the cream rise to the top. Will there be ballot-stuffing? Quite possibly, but that's how these things go.

However, after uploading two of my films (and giving myself a 10 out of 10 just to get the ball rolling), my score had plummeted down to the 2-3 point range within minutes. The only conclusion I could reach is that some lowlifes were systematically entering scores of zero for any new films that popped up on the site. Now that just isn't cricket!

This is where you come in -- help me fight back against these fraudulent votes. First, register at the IFC Medialab site (drag, I know). Then go to these two pages:

• "Profiles in Science"
• "Vision Test"

Watch the films, of course, and then vote your hearts out. Will it work? Who knows? But at least you can do your part to increase fairness in the world.