Yahoo Forum Archive

> From: dwimmer_laik <dwimmer_laik@yahoo.com>
> Reply-To: <MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:34:25 -0000
> To: <MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [MEFAwards] Re: Calling all Promoters
>
> So, just to clarify: should we be posting the MEFA scheduling post to
> those lists?
>
> Dwim
>

No. When I want you to make an announcement, I¹ll send you an announcement
privately from mefasupport at gmail dot com. Probably with ³Official MEFA
Announcement² or something like that in the subject. The email will be of
the form:

-----

You¹re receiving this email because you volunteered to help promote the
Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards.Please post the below message at the group(s)
to which you agreed to make announcements.

Subject: [subject of the email/forum post]
Message: [text of the message]

If anyone asks a question that you do not feel comfortable answering, please
forward it to this email address and I will provide you an answer to share.

-----

Marta


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey guys,

I have posted the FAQs to the official MEFA website. You can find them at
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/ .

I decided to post them as a series of forum posts rather than a regular HTML
file. This means that anyone who wants to can write an FAQ and post it.
Also, if a certain FAQ isn't clear you can reply to it and ask for more
information.

I hope this works for everyone.

Marta

Hi,

I just joined this list this morning and have not yet had time to
spend looking through all of the rules, FAQ's and such, which I will
do later, I promise. In the meantime, I have one quick, but very
important question. What is the policy on stories with song lyrics?
Are songfics allowed as long as the lyrics are attributed to the
correct source? Are they confined to 10% of the lyrics or are they
banned altogether? This will have a major impact on which stories I
nominate, so I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this
topic.

Thanks,
Misty

Hi,

Marta will correct me if I am wrong, but I do not recall anything in
the rules regarding how song lyrics affect the eligibility of
nominated stories, unless the fiction is so dependent on the song that
it would violate the plagarism rule, which states:

10. Pieces found to be plagiarized will be withdrawn from the awards.

10-a. For the purpose of the MEFAs plagiarism is defined as "the
deliberate attempt to deceive the reader through the appropriation and
representation as one's own the work and words of others."*

10-b. All co-authors should be listed in the story information at the
MEFA voting website. Failure to do this will be considered plagiarism
(provided the omission is intentional), even if the co-authors are
given credit at the page where the piece is archived.

10-b-i. For fiction, a co-author is defined as someone who wrote a
significant portion of the piece in question.

10-b-ii. For non-fiction, a co-author is defined as someone who
contributed a significant portion of the piece in question, whether
this contribution is verbal or non-verbal. For example, both someone
who created a chart that an essay relies upon and someone who wrote a
section of that essay would be considered a co-author.

10-b-iii. Authors are encouraged to discuss in advance with their beta
readers and anyone else who contributed to the piece whether they
consider themselves to be co-authors.

10-c. Plagiarism must be intentional.

10-c-i. If an author did know or should have known that another person
was a co-author, and did not list this person as such at the MEFA
website, the story will be withdrawn from the awards.

10-c-ii. If an author does not list a co-author as such at the MEFA
website but the MEFA administrators conclude that this was a mistake
rather than a deliberate deception, the site will be edited to list
all authors as co-authors, but this will not be treated as plagiarism.
The piece will remain in the competition.

10-d. Any decisions made by the MEFA administrators will not affect
third parties such as web sites where the site is hosted. People
claiming to be co-authors should take this matter up directly with
these websites.

I hope this helps. :-)


--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "mistycracraft" <mistycracraft@...>
wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> I just joined this list this morning and have not yet had time to
> spend looking through all of the rules, FAQ's and such, which I will
> do later, I promise. In the meantime, I have one quick, but very
> important question. What is the policy on stories with song lyrics?
> Are songfics allowed as long as the lyrics are attributed to the
> correct source? Are they confined to 10% of the lyrics or are they
> banned altogether? This will have a major impact on which stories I
> nominate, so I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this
> topic.
>
> Thanks,
> Misty
>

Hi Folks -

I just became a MEFA member for the 2006 awards. I used my Yahoo
groups password to register. This afternoon I tried to log in to the
2005 web site but the user name and password that I thought I
requested did not work. Is that because the link is for 2005 and not
2006? I'm confused because the main page for the MEFAwards group cites
two web pages to go to for reading and nominating stories, albiet for
2005.

- Steff

Marta will step in here and correct me if I am wrong, but I think this
is the situation: when you request membership at the yahoo group
(which you have successfully done), a MEFA admin also has to create an
account for you on the MEFA voting site. The person who approves your
Yahoo membership occassionally cannot create the second account
immediately. I think that was the case this morning. One of the MEFA
admins will very soon be sending you another email confirming your
username and password for the voting site.

I hope this helps. :-)



--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "Stephanie Brucker"
<stephanie.brucker@...> wrote:

>
> Hi Folks -
>
> I just became a MEFA member for the 2006 awards. I used my Yahoo
> groups password to register. This afternoon I tried to log in to the
> 2005 web site but the user name and password that I thought I
> requested did not work. Is that because the link is for 2005 and not
> 2006? I'm confused because the main page for the MEFAwards group

cites

> two web pages to go to for reading and nominating stories, albiet for
> 2005.
>
> - Steff
>

Steff,

Elliska is right about the login procedure. We're working on some
things that will change that, but for now, that's the way it works.
Some of the confusion is due to having several websites, which we're
trying to consolidate right now.

There are a few other things I can say to the entire group.

First, we've just established http://www.mefawards.net, which will
replace Ainaechoiriel's pages at http://gabrielle.sytes.net/mefa, and
it still needs a lot of work. We're trying to consolidate all the
various things into one location, but there's a lot to do. If anybody
wants to help, contact Marta and me.

Second, I'm still working on the mefa2006 site on mefawards.net, so if
you've found it (there's a very early beta with most of the 2005 data
in it up), don't expect anything to be ready, or anything you enter to
be saved. We'll be making official announcements when I'm ready with
the site.

Third, the 2005 site is still working at
http://gabrielle.sytes.net/MEFA2005. I'll eventually be moving it over
to http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2005, but it isn't there yet. When it's
there, you'll be able to go in and read reviews and mark the ones
you've read, even if you're a new member. I will probably open up
accounts to MEFA2005 without any membership requirements, because all
you can do now is read reviews.

The plan is to have the MEFA2006 site ready by May 1, and open
nominations at that time. I've still got a lot of work to do, though.

Later,
Anthony

Thanks Anthony and Elliska.I suspected you were just at the beginning
stages of the awards season. Your update is appreciated.I was trully
confused.

- Steff


,

>
> Elliska is right about the login procedure. We're working on some
> things that will change that, but for now, that's the way it works.
> Some of the confusion is due to having several websites, which we're
> trying to consolidate right now.
>
> There are a few other things I can say to the entire group.
>
> First, we've just established http://www.mefawards.net, which will
> replace Ainaechoiriel's pages at http://gabrielle.sytes.net/mefa, and
> it still needs a lot of work. We're trying to consolidate all the
> various things into one location, but there's a lot to do. If anybody
> wants to help, contact Marta and me.
>
> Second, I'm still working on the mefa2006 site on mefawards.net, so if
> you've found it (there's a very early beta with most of the 2005 data
> in it up), don't expect anything to be ready, or anything you enter to
> be saved. We'll be making official announcements when I'm ready with
> the site.
>
> Third, the 2005 site is still working at
> http://gabrielle.sytes.net/MEFA2005. I'll eventually be moving it over
> to http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2005, but it isn't there yet. When it's
> there, you'll be able to go in and read reviews and mark the ones
> you've read, even if you're a new member. I will probably open up
> accounts to MEFA2005 without any membership requirements, because all
> you can do now is read reviews.
>
> The plan is to have the MEFA2006 site ready by May 1, and open
> nominations at that time. I've still got a lot of work to do, though.
>
> Later,
> Anthony
>

On 17/4/06 11:14 am, "mistycracraft" <mistycracraft@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I just joined this list this morning and have not yet had time to
> spend looking through all of the rules, FAQ's and such, which I will
> do later, I promise. In the meantime, I have one quick, but very
> important question. What is the policy on stories with song lyrics?
> Are songfics allowed as long as the lyrics are attributed to the
> correct source? Are they confined to 10% of the lyrics or are they
> banned altogether? This will have a major impact on which stories I
> nominate, so I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this
> topic.
>
> Thanks,
> Misty
>

Hi Misty,

To my knowledge this hasn't come up before. I have no problem with songfics
competing, so long as the source is attributed. I freely admit to not being
an expert on copyright infringement and may change my mind if someone
replies witgh more knowledge of this than I have - but my feeling is that
this is no more a copyright infringement than allowing movie images to be
used in banners.

Marta

On 17/4/06 2:32 pm, "elliska67" <elliska67@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Marta will correct me if I am wrong, but I do not recall anything in
> the rules regarding how song lyrics affect the eligibility of
> nominated stories, unless the fiction is so dependent on the song that
> it would violate the plagarism rule, which states:
>
> 10. Pieces found to be plagiarized will be withdrawn from the awards.
>
> 10-a. For the purpose of the MEFAs plagiarism is defined as "the
> deliberate attempt to deceive the reader through the appropriation and
> representation as one's own the work and words of others."*
>

<snippage>

Thanks, elliska. You're right, this isn't an issue that's come up before. If
a songfic has been nominated, no one has asked specifically for permission
and I haven't noticed it.

Looking at the definition, the crucial part seems to be "to deceive the
reader through the appropriation [...] as one's own the work and words of
others." Songfic takes words that are identifiably the words of others and
does not deny that they came from another's song, right? So there is no
intention to deceive someone into thinking the author is writing original
poetry. And a reasonable person wouldn't be deceived, especially if they
read all the way to the footnote where the original songwriter is credited.

If we want to be really careful about plagiarism, I suppose we could add a
line like "Based on both the works of JRRT and the song "[title]" by [group
name]." or something like that.

Marta

On 17/4/06 7:24 pm, "Stephanie Brucker" <stephanie.brucker@sun.com> wrote:

> Hi Folks -
>
> I just became a MEFA member for the 2006 awards. I used my Yahoo
> groups password to register. This afternoon I tried to log in to the
> 2005 web site but the user name and password that I thought I
> requested did not work. Is that because the link is for 2005 and not
> 2006? I'm confused because the main page for the MEFAwards group cites
> two web pages to go to for reading and nominating stories, albiet for
> 2005.
>
> - Steff
>

Hi Steff,

My apologies for the confusion. Basically the voting website and the Yahoo
ID are separate things, with separate sets of passwords. The two *can* be
the same, but just because you have a Yahoo ID does not mean that you can
automatically log in to the voting website.

When we get you set up at the voting website someone will email you to let
you know. Elliska is great about handling all of that, but I'm afraid I
confused the process by setting up one myself. ;-) And I am travelling this
week so not as on top of emails as usual.

Marta

Thanks, this helps. I enjoy writing songfics, but I always make an
effort to attribute the song to the proper people in the disclaimers
so that everyone knows they aren't mine.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Misty

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Marta Layton <melayton@...> wrote:
>
> On 17/4/06 2:32 pm, "elliska67" <elliska67@...> wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Marta will correct me if I am wrong, but I do not recall anything in
> > the rules regarding how song lyrics affect the eligibility of
> > nominated stories, unless the fiction is so dependent on the song that
> > it would violate the plagarism rule, which states:
> >
> > 10. Pieces found to be plagiarized will be withdrawn from the awards.
> >
> > 10-a. For the purpose of the MEFAs plagiarism is defined as "the
> > deliberate attempt to deceive the reader through the appropriation and
> > representation as one's own the work and words of others."*
> >
>
> <snippage>
>
> Thanks, elliska. You're right, this isn't an issue that's come up
before. If
> a songfic has been nominated, no one has asked specifically for
permission
> and I haven't noticed it.
>
> Looking at the definition, the crucial part seems to be "to deceive the
> reader through the appropriation [...] as one's own the work and
words of
> others." Songfic takes words that are identifiably the words of
others and
> does not deny that they came from another's song, right? So there is no
> intention to deceive someone into thinking the author is writing
original
> poetry. And a reasonable person wouldn't be deceived, especially if they
> read all the way to the footnote where the original songwriter is
credited.
>
> If we want to be really careful about plagiarism, I suppose we could
add a
> line like "Based on both the works of JRRT and the song "[title]" by
[group
> name]." or something like that.
>
> Marta
>

> If we want to be really careful about
> plagiarism, I suppose we could add a line
> like "Based on both the works of JRRT and the >

song "[title]" by [group name]." or something >
like that.


I've written a few songfics and fics based on
quotes or lyrics. What I do is put a Notations
field in all my headers - just like a Warnings
field, except there I put all credits to anyone
who has helped me or who I have taken lyrics from
etc. Would that sort of thing do the trick?

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

I would like to make a suggestion regarding the
confusion that has happened with the set up of
the Yahoo group and the actual MEFA site.

What I would like to suggest is a "grace" period.
Given there are three people looking after the
memberships, there are bound to be the odd
occasions like this one where Yahoo memberships
don't get put up on the MEFA group immediately.
It would be great if anyone new who joins up to
the Yahoo group could give us 24hrs to sort it
out before contacting us.

We're all in different time zones and will
occasionally not be around. Like Marta has just
done, we will let you know if we're not going to
be around, but it is doubtful that the three of
us will be away all at once!

Naresha.

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

On 19/4/06 9:33 am, "Naresha" <north_shore_fruitcake@yahoo.com.au> wrote:

>> If we want to be really careful about
>> plagiarism, I suppose we could add a line
>> like "Based on both the works of JRRT and the >
> song "[title]" by [group name]." or something >
> like that.
>
>
> I've written a few songfics and fics based on
> quotes or lyrics. What I do is put a Notations
> field in all my headers - just like a Warnings
> field, except there I put all credits to anyone
> who has helped me or who I have taken lyrics from
> etc. Would that sort of thing do the trick?
>

As far as the MEFAs are concerned, I don't want to deal with what an author
does or doesn't do at the page where the story is hosted. Our rules really
only deal with the information at our website. So I'd definitely encourage
people to add a line to the headers if that's possible where their piece is
archived - but for our purposes, it's kind of beside the point.

As far as adding a credits field, that might be a good idea - but I don't
want to do it for this year because we're too close to the start of the
awards. For this year I think we're best incorporating this information into
the story summary, where necessary.

Marta

On 19/4/06 9:55 am, "Naresha" <north_shore_fruitcake@yahoo.com.au> wrote:

> I would like to make a suggestion regarding the
> confusion that has happened with the set up of
> the Yahoo group and the actual MEFA site.
>
> What I would like to suggest is a "grace" period.
> Given there are three people looking after the
> memberships, there are bound to be the odd
> occasions like this one where Yahoo memberships
> don't get put up on the MEFA group immediately.
> It would be great if anyone new who joins up to
> the Yahoo group could give us 24hrs to sort it
> out before contacting us.
>
> We're all in different time zones and will
> occasionally not be around. Like Marta has just
> done, we will let you know if we're not going to
> be around, but it is doubtful that the three of
> us will be away all at once!
>
> Naresha.
>

Good idea! I've just added a file that should be sent to pending members. It
reads:

*******

Greetings!

I am very pleased that you have decided to join our Yahoo group. I hope that
you will find it a helpful place to find information about the Middle-earth
Fanfiction Awards.

You will soon be sent the log-in information to access our voting website.
Please allow our volunteers 24 hours after your membership is approved at
the Yahoo group to process your membership; your Yahoo name and password
will not work there. If you have not received an email with your log-in
information in twenty-four hours please check your junk folder, and if it is
not there email mefasupport@gmail.com with your Yahoo ID.

When you first log-in, you can change your information using the "user data"
link. Your nickname is what appears on the site; your username and password
are what you use to log in.

Thanks again for participating!

Marta (humble MEFA Admin)

*******

I hope this will serve.

Marta

--- Marta Layton wrote: ---

> Good idea! I've just added a file that should >

be sent to pending members.

Looks good, Marta! Hopefully it should alleviate
any problems like the ones we've encountered in
the last week.

One thing I love about Yahoo Groups - the ability
to automatically send out files to everyone who
joins up! Yahoo gets a fair bit of criticism -
some times justified - but it does have some very
handy features and the automatic file sending is
one of them!

Resha

~To forgive calls upon our love, to forget calls upon our strength~

AIM: Naresha21 MSN: candyman_gypsy@hotmail.com Yahoo: fruitcake5m1
Personal LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/nareshaninya/
Writing LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/writingsofresha/

My Website! Slash Me Happy
http://www.websamba.com/SlashMeHappy

http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?biter=Resha

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

Is there some sort of quick reference or way to find out if a story is
eligible before I nominate it?

I was thinking of my own "Healer's Tale" which was nominated in the
incomplete category last year. According to last year's rules it would be eligible this
year.

There are a few stories I'd like to nominate, but not sure if they were
entered in previous years. How would I find out?

Thanks,
Lin


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Lin,

> Is there some sort of quick reference or way to find out if a story is
> eligible before I nominate it?
>
> I was thinking of my own "Healer's Tale" which was nominated in the
> incomplete category last year. According to last year's rules it would be
> eligible this
> year.
>
> There are a few stories I'd like to nominate, but not sure if they were
> entered in previous years. How would I find out?
>
> Thanks,
> Lin
>

There is a list. Specifically, two FAQs:

For completed - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=2
For incompleted - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=3

As part of these lists of qualities, the story could not have competed
before. Or to be more specific: a completed piece could not have competed in
2004 or 2005 as a completed piece, and an incomplete piece could not have
competed before as an incomplete piece.

Maybe a few scenarios will make this easier to see:

Scenario #1 - You write a story called "The Trials of Tweenagers". It's
completed when it's nominated last year so it's not eligible as a completed
story this year. Technically it's still eligible as a WIP, but that's beside
the point because the story is already finished.

Scenario #2 - You approve TToT's nomination, but this time it's a WIP (and
it isn't completed before the close of voting, as things turn out). In this
case TToT is eligible to compete again once it's complete, but not again as
a WIP.

Scenario #3 - TToT is a WIP at the beginning of last year. It's nominated
and you accept. Around July you finish it and let the MEFA admins know, so
we can move it into a subcategory with other completed stories. As far as
the MEFAs are concerned, this qualifies as the story competing as both a WIP
and a completed sotry, so this year it's not eligible as either.

Scenario #4 - TTOT was nominated last year but you don't consider it as
polished as you'd like so you decide not to let it compete. It is nominated
but has not competed either as a WIP or a completed story. TToT can now be
nominated this year as either a WIP or a completed story (whch ever is
appropriate).

As for what stories have been nominated in previous years - there are
databases at the Yahoo group. One lists the stories nominated as completed
stories, the other as incompleted stories. They are the definitive lists of
what is and is not eligible in that regard.

Hope this helps!

Marta

On 20/4/06 12:01 pm, "Naresha" <north_shore_fruitcake@yahoo.com.au> wrote:

> --- Marta Layton wrote: ---
>> Good idea! I've just added a file that should >
> be sent to pending members.
>
> Looks good, Marta! Hopefully it should alleviate
> any problems like the ones we've encountered in
> the last week.
>

Hopefully. Your idea was a good one, but it occurred to me that whatever we
decided, the people affected wouldn't know about it.

> One thing I love about Yahoo Groups - the ability
> to automatically send out files to everyone who
> joins up! Yahoo gets a fair bit of criticism -
> some times justified - but it does have some very
> handy features and the automatic file sending is
> one of them!
>

I agree. I complain about Yahoo a lot, but (occasionally!) they do get some
stuff right.

Marta

Thanks, Marta, for the links and for taking the time to write out those "for
instances".

Lin

In a message dated 4/21/2006 6:59:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com writes:
There is a list. Specifically, two FAQs:

For completed - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=2
For incompleted - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=3

As part of these lists of qualities, the story could not have competed
before. Or to be more specific: a completed piece could not have competed in
2004 or 2005 as a completed piece, and an incomplete piece could not have
competed before as an incomplete piece.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I spoke too soon. I just went to the links below and found that, as you said
but I didn't read, properly, that they are FAQs, rather than lists of stories.

So when someone is nominating, do they have to go to the 2004 awards, look up
the story to see if it's there, then go to the 2005 awards, look up the story
to see if it's there, and then go ahead with the nomination if they don't
find it?

If so, are there links to both the databases, somewhere, in some FAQ for
nominating, so the nominators can do this?

Or is there some sort of master list of stories that have already competed
and aren't eligible?

Thanks,
Lin

In a message dated 4/21/2006 6:59:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com writes:
For completed - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=2
For incompleted - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=3


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey guys,

The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards will be accepting nominations
throughout the month of May. That means in just over a week, we will
need members to help provcess those nominations. Every year we need a
team of volunteers (called author liaisons) who will work with authors
to make sure we have the necessary infromation.

Volunteering as an author liaison means that you will be bringing
authors the good news that a story of theirs has been nominated. You
will then need to answer any questions they have, and when they
approve a nomination make sure that we have all the information we
will need to place these stories in categories and sub-categories.
Also, before you contact an author you will need to make sure it is
eligible by checking that it meets several criteria (lined out in the
Liaison FAQ at http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6 ).

Liaisons need to be members of the voting website (or be able to
become one) and be basically familiar with the nomination phase of the
awards. You do not need to know the answer to every question; if you
have read the FAQs or participated in a previous year yourself, and
are willing to ask questions where you don't know the answers, you are
probably very well-suited. You will also need to be available
throughout the month of May and the first week or so of June, and be
able to check both your email and the liaison area of the voting
website at least every few days.

If you think this is an area where you might like to help out please
volunteer by sending an email to mefasupport at gmail dot com. I will
need both your email address so I can invite you to join the volunteer
listserv [MEFAStaff], and the name you use to log in to the voting
website so I can give you access to the liaison portion of the site.

Cheers,
Marta (Humble MEFA Admin)

Hi. Click on the "Database" link in the left frame of this yahoo
group. Once you get to that page, there are two links--Ineligible
Incomplete Works and Ineligible Complete Works. Those are the lists
of works that have competed as incomplete or complete before and are
therefore ineligible this year. Hope this helps. :-)

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, BLJean@... wrote:
>
> I spoke too soon. I just went to the links below and found that,
as you said
> but I didn't read, properly, that they are FAQs, rather than lists
of stories.
>
> So when someone is nominating, do they have to go to the 2004
awards, look up
> the story to see if it's there, then go to the 2005 awards, look
up the story
> to see if it's there, and then go ahead with the nomination if
they don't
> find it?
>
> If so, are there links to both the databases, somewhere, in some
FAQ for
> nominating, so the nominators can do this?
>
> Or is there some sort of master list of stories that have already
competed
> and aren't eligible?
>
> Thanks,
> Lin
>
> In a message dated 4/21/2006 6:59:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com writes:
> For completed - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=2
> For incompleted - http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=3
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Selfish question - are author liaison's eligible for
awards? If so, please sign me up. Leaward was so
helpful to me last year, and the MEFa's so fun to
participate in, I would be pleased to return the
favor.

NB



Garo golf a conu ned i eneth aran an ir ho delitha ad
"To hold rod and rule in the name of the king, until he shall return."

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--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Nancy Brooke <graceomyheart@...> wrote:

>
> Selfish question - are author liaison's eligible for
> awards? If so, please sign me up. Leaward was so
> helpful to me last year, and the MEFa's so fun to
> participate in, I would be pleased to return the
> favor.

Last year all liaisons ran for the awards just as every other
participant could (I was a liaison last year and was eligible for
awards). And since nothing changed this year regarding that, you can
help out and participate in the awards just like the others.

:c)

Rhapsody

Hi Lin,

> I spoke too soon. I just went to the links below and found that, as you said
> but I didn't read, properly, that they are FAQs, rather than lists of stories.
>
> So when someone is nominating, do they have to go to the 2004 awards, look up
> the story to see if it's there, then go to the 2005 awards, look up the story
> to see if it's there, and then go ahead with the nomination if they don't
> find it?
>

Nope. There's a database of all the stories that have been nominated. Here's
what you do:

1. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MEFAwards/database/ (you may be asked
to log in).
2. Click on "Ineligible Complete Works".
3. Type in the name of the author.
4. Look at the stories listed. These are the stories by that author who have
been nominated in previous years as complete stories, and so can't be
nominated again in 2006.

You can do the same thing for incomplete stories, just click on "Ineligible
Incomplete Works" in step two above.

> If so, are there links to both the databases, somewhere, in some FAQ for
> nominating, so the nominators can do this?
>

Good idea. I've added a new FAQ:

---------------

Q: How do I know what stories have been nominated in the past?
A: We keep databases at the MEFAwards Yahoo group of all the stories that
have already been nominated. To check these:

1. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MEFAwards/database/ (you may be asked
to log in).
2. Click on "Ineligible Complete Works".
3. Type in the name of the author.
4. Look at the stories listed. These are the stories by that author who have
been nominated in previous years as complete stories, and so can't be
nominated again in 2006.

Clicking on "Ineligible Incomplete Stories" at step 2 above will give you
the database of stories previously nominated as WIPs. These stories are not
eligible again until they have been completed.

You can only see these databases if you have access to the web-only features
of the Yahoo groups such as the polls. If you do not have this access you
can also view previous years' nominations at:

For 2004: http://gabrielle.sytes.net/mefa/Authnoms.html
For 2005: http://gabrielle.sytes.net/MEFA2005

When in doubt you can also email the awards administrators at
mefasupport@gmail.com .

--------------

Hope that answers your question.

Marta

On 22/4/06 5:12 pm, "elliska67" <elliska67@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi. Click on the "Database" link in the left frame of this yahoo
> group. Once you get to that page, there are two links--Ineligible
> Incomplete Works and Ineligible Complete Works. Those are the lists
> of works that have competed as incomplete or complete before and are
> therefore ineligible this year. Hope this helps. :-)
>

A much more succinct answer than the one I gave! Thanks, elliska.

Marta

On 23/4/06 10:33 am, "Nancy Brooke" <graceomyheart@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Selfish question - are author liaison's eligible for
> awards? If so, please sign me up. Leaward was so
> helpful to me last year, and the MEFa's so fun to
> participate in, I would be pleased to return the
> favor.
>
> NB
>

Hi Nancy,

Yes, all volunteers are eligible to have their stuff compete just like any
other author. The volunteers don't have any more say in who wins than any
other member (by voting), so there's no real conflict of interests.

I'll set you up as a liaison. Thanks for volunteering - you should be
getting an invitation to join the staff list soon.

Marta

Marta,

Where is the 2006 site? All I have seen so far is the 2005 site...
maybe I'm just missing it and now I'll feel really silly, but I don't
see it anywhere!

Radbooks

On 28/4/06 12:50 am, "denistonr" <denistonr@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Marta,
>
> Where is the 2006 site? All I have seen so far is the 2005 site...
> maybe I'm just missing it and now I'll feel really silly, but I don't
> see it anywhere!
>
> Radbooks
>

Hi Radbooks,

The 2006 site will be at http://www.mefawards.net/mefa2006/ . If you go
there now you will basically see the 2005 site, with all last year/s
nominations. It will be cleared out by the end of the month (hopefully!) so
that people can nominate beginning May 1. At that point it will look just
like last year: only displaying those stories people have nominated for
2006, etc.

Marta

Marta, count me in. If it's like last year, I'll have no problem with it.

Werecat

aure_enteluva <melayton@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey guys,

The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards will be accepting nominations
throughout the month of May. That means in just over a week, we will
need members to help provcess those nominations. Every year we need a
team of volunteers (called author liaisons) who will work with authors
to make sure we have the necessary infromation.

Volunteering as an author liaison means that you will be bringing
authors the good news that a story of theirs has been nominated. You
will then need to answer any questions they have, and when they
approve a nomination make sure that we have all the information we
will need to place these stories in categories and sub-categories.
Also, before you contact an author you will need to make sure it is
eligible by checking that it meets several criteria (lined out in the
Liaison FAQ at http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6 ).

Liaisons need to be members of the voting website (or be able to
become one) and be basically familiar with the nomination phase of the
awards. You do not need to know the answer to every question; if you
have read the FAQs or participated in a previous year yourself, and
are willing to ask questions where you don't know the answers, you are
probably very well-suited. You will also need to be available
throughout the month of May and the first week or so of June, and be
able to check both your email and the liaison area of the voting
website at least every few days.

If you think this is an area where you might like to help out please
volunteer by sending an email to mefasupport at gmail dot com. I will
need both your email address so I can invite you to join the volunteer
listserv [MEFAStaff], and the name you use to log in to the voting
website so I can give you access to the liaison portion of the site.

Cheers,
Marta (Humble MEFA Admin)





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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On 28/4/06 8:50 am, "Cats and Werecats" <tashenubaste@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Marta, count me in. If it's like last year, I'll have no problem with it.
>
> Werecat
>

Hi Werecat,

Thanks! I've given you liaison access at the voting website and am about to
send you an invitation to the MEFAStaff list.

This is one aspect of the awards that hasn't changed substantially. The
biggest change is that the nomination form will be different, with the
author providing more of the information. That means you may have to provide
more guidance (if they ask for it). But I think this job will actually be
easier as more of the authors will be familiar with the awards from previous
years.

Marta

Marta and Radbooks (and everybody else),

The site that is up at the URL below is NOT READY.

http://www.mefawards.net/mefa2006

I put it up, and opened it up for 'nominations' so that Marta could see
the forms, but they are not complete, so I didn't announce it to the
group. Now that it's public, anybody can look at it, and you can
'nominate' a story, but it's just play at this stage, and it WILL BE
DELETED before May 1.

I have just uploaded an almost final version of the story form, so
actually now is a good time to check it out and tell me what you think,
but until we make the official announcement, just put in fake stories
(have fun making up names).

When the official version is up, and ready for this year, I'm going to
move it to http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2006, with capital letters.

If you do login and test things out (with the same user/pass from the
2005 site), check out the difference between self-nominating and
regular nominations, make sure that it doesn't try to require data that
doesn't make sense (non-fiction info for a fiction story, etc.), and in
general, try to enter story data wrong, and see if it lets you. There's
supposed to be error-checking code for all the wrong bits.

Tell me anything that's wrong!

As you may notice if you look at the lists of stories, there will be
lots of missing data. I haven't gotten around to adding all the answers
to the new questions to all the lists. If we have to start taking
nominations before I do this, it will not affect how the data is
stored, just what data you see on the lists. Also, I have yet to build
search functions for all this new data, so don't be surprised if the
filters don't work either.

Unfortunately, the 2006 website will be a bit rough around the edges
when it starts out, but as long as the data is saved properly and we
can nominate stories, and you can see the list of nominations, I think
we should start on May 1.

The more checking you guys do between now and then, to be sure that the
form is saving all the data, that Liaisons can access all the data and
save things, etc., the less likely there will be problems after May 1.

Also, if some Liaison can check the Author Notification Email and tell
me what it should look like this year, I'd appreciate it. I think I
remember someone talking about it, but I can't recall specifics, and
this year, it should only tell them the story name and URL, because the
nominator can't enter all the other data. If you guys can do that, I
can focus on coding.

BTW, eventually I'll move the 2005 site to www.mefawards.net, but not
until there's some downtime.

Later,
Anthony

On Apr 28, 2006, at 5:14 AM, Marta Layton wrote:

> On 28/4/06 12:50 am, "denistonr" <denistonr@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Marta,
>>
>> Where is the 2006 site? All I have seen so far is the 2005 site...
>> maybe I'm just missing it and now I'll feel really silly, but I don't
>> see it anywhere!
>>
>> Radbooks
>>
>
> Hi Radbooks,
>
> The 2006 site will be at http://www.mefawards.net/mefa2006/ . If you go
> there now you will basically see the 2005 site, with all last year/s
> nominations. It will be cleared out by the end of the month
> (hopefully!) so
> that people can nominate beginning May 1. At that point it will look
> just
> like last year: only displaying those stories people have nominated for
> 2006, etc.
>
> Marta
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

Anthony,

I'm posting my questions here for now, but is there a place you would
like us to post any comments/problems we encountered in testing the
site's nomination functions?


I have a list of MEFA noms ready and waiting, so I tested two of my
entries: one a nomination for another author, one a self-nomination.


The nomination for another author seems to have been entered properly.
No missing data, given the abbreviated form I had to fill out, no
trouble getting the data entered. It also shows that I now have only
19 nominations left, which is handy.

Self-nonmination is another story. I entered a set of filks, just
because it would be hard to categorize a set of mostly-unrelated
metafic humor. Problems I encountered:

1) I notice we're missing a "Multiple Age" time in the "Times" section.

1a) When I tried entering "multi-age" as an option, that did get added
to a list, but see below.

2) There are a number of what look like check boxes, but which do not
allow you to select multiple boxes within a given choice range.

3) It seems like you can only choose one check box on the entire
self-nomination page. So for example: I chose "I do not wish to reveal
my settings." I then also created and picked a sub-genre listing
"Filk." Once I clicked "Filk," my checkbox mark for "I do not wish to
reveal my settings" no longer was checked. I started playing around
with those check boxes, and as soon as you pick more than one, even if
within different classification areas, then the others become un-checked.

3a) This is a problem because it then becomes impossible to complete
the form. You will always be sent back to a screen that informs you
you have failed to fill in some part of the form, because your check
box choices won't "stick" (except for the last one you checked).

Dwim

Dwim,

Thanks for the comments. I had the 'N/A' code working correctly, so
it's probably something small, and once I track it down, it should work
fine. It actually all sounds like one problem with several symptoms.

Tell me what OS and browser you're using, just in case I can isolate
issues to that. The checkboxes should allow you to choose several.

Maybe we should move the comments about the testing over to
mefa-discussion.

It is possible that I might have to delay starting. I'll be sure to let
you all know when I'm ready.

Thanks,
Anthony

On Apr 29, 2006, at 10:59 AM, dwimmer_laik wrote:

> Anthony,
>
> I'm posting my questions here for now, but is there a place you would
> like us to post any comments/problems we encountered in testing the
> site's nomination functions?

--snip discussion of problems with form.

> Dwim

I was using Mozilla 1.01 for Mac OS 9.1

Dwim

On Apr 29, 2006, at 2:13 PM, dwimmer_laik wrote:

> I was using Mozilla 1.01 for Mac OS 9.1
>
> Dwim

Hmmm. That one's pretty old.

Try it again, but I'm not sure the problem isn't that fairly old
version of Mozilla.

I've updated several things, and didn't notice the same problem you
were talking about. I did have one issue, where you couldn't choose a
Story Type, and it is required, so you'd always get an error on your
own stories.

I did test this time, and I was able to self-nominate a story.

I also nominated a story by you. Could you test that you can finish
entering the data?

You might try Mozilla 1.2.1, the last version they made for Mac OS 9.

This is a 'net installer' a small download that lets you choose what
parts to install, so you only download what you need.
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.2.1/
mozilla-macos9-1.2.1-stub.bin

This is the full installer.
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.2.1/
mozilla-macos9-1.2.1-full.bin

Anthony

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...>
wrote:

>
>
> On Apr 29, 2006, at 2:13 PM, dwimmer_laik wrote:
>
> > I was using Mozilla 1.01 for Mac OS 9.1
> >
> > Dwim
>
> Hmmm. That one's pretty old.
>
> Try it again, but I'm not sure the problem isn't that fairly old
> version of Mozilla.

Ok, I tried it again from work (which uses a much more recent
version of IE for non-Macs) and had no real problems, save that at
one point, I checked two sub-genres. I was told to go back and fill
in everything with an asterisk. I had filled everything marked with
an asterisk in, the problem was apparently that I checked two
subgenres. Once I got rid of one of them, everything went through
without a hitch.

<snip>

> I also nominated a story by you. Could you test that you can

finish

> entering the data?
>

I also tried this, and it worked without any problem.

> You might try Mozilla 1.2.1, the last version they made for Mac OS

9.

>
> This is a 'net installer' a small download that lets you choose

what

> parts to install, so you only download what you need.
>

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.2.1/

> mozilla-macos9-1.2.1-stub.bin
>
> This is the full installer.
>

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/releases/mozilla1.2.1/

> mozilla-macos9-1.2.1-full.bin

Thanks, I will try to get these when I get home. I am terminally
lazy when it comes to dealing with upgrades and have long since
resigned myself to being irreparably old-fashioned until I get a new
computer, but this will surely prove motivating!

Dwim

Hi Anthony,

I've played around a bit, and it looks good so far. Some things I did:

1. I submitted my poem "The Shield-maid's Dance of Death" under the name
Anthony/Marta CoAuthors. Which is obviously not by the two of us, but I
wanted to test how the self-nomination form handled co-author nominations. I
clicked on "Self-Nominate a Story", then the link to create a new co-author
group. This opened up that form in a new window. Submitting it directed me
to the nomination form listing *all* authors, not just what I'd see for the
"Self-nominate" link. I filled out this form and got an error message that
didn't make a lot of sense - that I could not yet submit a review, I think.
But when I looked at the list of submitted nomination it showed up fine -
not awaiting any further approval.

2. I nominated a drabble of mine under my own name, and that went through
fine. All of the filters to add new characters, time periods, events, etc.
worked fine, and the form was clear and easy for me to use. (It has
"Nomination Incomplete" by the nomination, whereas the story in #1 did not.)

3. I nominated a made-up story under Dwimordene's name ("Gandalf and
Radagast's Awesome Adventures!") It seemed to be the same form as what I saw
for a self-nominted story, and on the list of nominated stories it does not
display "Nomination Incomplete".

The only other thing I noticed was that the boilerplate at
http://www.mefawards.net/mefa2006/index.php?page=index seemed a little
confusing. After nominating three stories I now see:

********



Nominate a Story (17 Nomination(s) Remaining)
You may now nominate a story
Self-Nominate a Story
Nominate a story for which you are the author or co-author. (As an
author, you will see the full story form.)

********

This made me think that self-nominated stories didn't count toward the
limits. Maybe something like:

--------

Nominate a Story ([#] Nomination(s) Remaining)
Click <link>here</link> to nominate a story of which you are not the
author. (You will provide some basic story information to begin the
nomination process.)
Click <link>here</link> if you are the author or a co-author. (You will
see the full story form where you can enter all the information we need
about your story.)

--------

Really, it's a very good form, a huge improvement over last year. Thanks for
all the time you've put into this.

Oh, and my browser is Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4. Is that an old enough version
that might be causing problems? If so, I'll update and try again.

HTH,
Marta

> Tell me what OS and browser you're using, just in case I can isolate
> issues to that. The checkboxes should allow you to choose several.
>

I forgot to mention my OS in my earlier email - it's Mac 10.3.9 .

Marta

I posted earlier at MEFA-Discussion because I thought we were moving
the troubleshooting there, but as it seems to be continuing here, just
wanted to add to my earlier post...

I just successfully submitted a test nomination, but in order to get it
accepted I had to fill in EVERY field, not just those marked with an
asterisk. As I mentioned in my first post, I thought nominators only
had to fill in the first three fields: author, title, and URL.

Anthony and Dwim, on the other hand, seem to have created test noms
with just the minimal info. So, I'm stumped!

Kathy (Inkling)

I replied to your post at mefa-discussion, but just to be complete.

The problem is that Anthony and Dwim aren't Author Liaisons. I think
I've figured it out, and will upload some changes that should solve the
problem and let Author Liaisons nominate stories with the minimal
information, just like the rest of us.

Oh, and I may remove all the asterisks, because what's required changes
depending on what kind of story (fiction doesn't have to answer the
non-fiction questions, for example).

Also, the way I have it, if you don't answer, sometimes it puts 'N/A'
for you, and sometimes it leaves it blank. I'm not sure what's best,
but for now, I'm allowing blanks, so for some items, you'll see an N/A,
and for some it'll be blank, which means N/A.

Anthony

On Apr 29, 2006, at 10:14 PM, Kathy wrote:

> I posted earlier at MEFA-Discussion because I thought we were moving
> the troubleshooting there, but as it seems to be continuing here, just
> wanted to add to my earlier post...
>
> I just successfully submitted a test nomination, but in order to get it
> accepted I had to fill in EVERY field, not just those marked with an
> asterisk. As I mentioned in my first post, I thought nominators only
> had to fill in the first three fields: author, title, and URL.
>
> Anthony and Dwim, on the other hand, seem to have created test noms
> with just the minimal info. So, I'm stumped!
>
> Kathy (Inkling)

Great, thanks Anthony.

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...> wrote:
>
> I replied to your post at mefa-discussion, but just to be complete.
>
> The problem is that Anthony and Dwim aren't Author Liaisons. I
think
> I've figured it out, and will upload some changes that should solve
the
> problem and let Author Liaisons nominate stories with the minimal
> information, just like the rest of us.
>
> Oh, and I may remove all the asterisks, because what's required
changes
> depending on what kind of story (fiction doesn't have to answer the
> non-fiction questions, for example).
>
> Also, the way I have it, if you don't answer, sometimes it
puts 'N/A'
> for you, and sometimes it leaves it blank. I'm not sure what's
best,
> but for now, I'm allowing blanks, so for some items, you'll see an
N/A,
> and for some it'll be blank, which means N/A.
>
> Anthony
>
> On Apr 29, 2006, at 10:14 PM, Kathy wrote:
>
> > I posted earlier at MEFA-Discussion because I thought we were
moving
> > the troubleshooting there, but as it seems to be continuing here,
just
> > wanted to add to my earlier post...
> >
> > I just successfully submitted a test nomination, but in order to
get it
> > accepted I had to fill in EVERY field, not just those marked with
an
> > asterisk. As I mentioned in my first post, I thought nominators
only
> > had to fill in the first three fields: author, title, and URL.
> >
> > Anthony and Dwim, on the other hand, seem to have created test
noms
> > with just the minimal info. So, I'm stumped!
> >
> > Kathy (Inkling)
>

Hey all,

I've addressed all of the comments I've seen tonight, and have updated
the site to reflect those changes, including the GMT issue, which
didn't take as long as I thought it might.

One comment I'd like to make is about the order of the stories. Last
year, the stories were ordered by date nominated, as a default. That
probably led to a bit of preference for the stories on the first page.

This year, I'm ordering the stories by
cosine(userID*1000000+storyID*10). It's a pseudo-random number that
won't change for any given story. Thus, as new stories are nominated,
they may fall anywhere within the list, not just at the end, BUT
they'll always stay in the same relative order, and more importantly,
each person will have a different order.

Therefore, you don't have to worry about whether you are favoring the
first story in your list, because it won't be the first story in
everybody's list.

During nomination season, it will make it a bit harder to keep track of
things, but you can always sort them by ID manually, if you want to see
the new stories at the end of the list. Just click on the 'ID' label at
the top of the ID column.

Once nomination season is over, and the categories are set, when you
filter by a category, the stories in the category will be sorted in
this same pseudo-random order, and each person's list will stay the
same, so if you want, you can work your way from the top to bottom of a
category without worrying about favoring anybody or feeling that you
have to jump around.

Also, I've added 'Skip' and 'Wish' lists for you. If you know that you
don't want to read/review a story, you can mark it 'skip' and it will
disappear from all the story lists, unless you ask to see the stories
on your 'skip' list.

'Wish' just gives you a way of quickly marking stories that you want to
review, but don't have time to review now, and don't want to forget.
You can look at your 'wish' list at any time, as well.

Marking 'skip' and 'wish' opens a new window telling you what you've
done. You can close that window and go back to browsing.

Finally, I've added some feedback on stories that have been withdrawn.
The admins/liaisons have a list of reasons for withdrawal that they can
choose from (if you need more, just let me know!), and the reason is
shown when you see a withdrawn story.

At any time, you can choose to show the withdrawn stories on the story
list (see link at the bottom of the page), and there is a special page
for all of your stories and nominations that have been withdrawn.

Dwim, I withdrew one of your nominations, to test the system. Liaisons
should withdraw a story or two (and reinstate them, as well) to be sure
they understand the system, and see if there are any more things to add
to the list.

If a story you nominated is withdrawn, you may or may not be allowed to
nominate a story to replace it, depending on the reason for withdrawal.
The FAQ should (hopefully) list these cases, but I'm not sure.

Good night all,
Anthony

Hi Marta,

sorry for not replying earlier. I'd love to help as an author liaison.
Let me know what to do.

Acacea

On 4/22/06, aure_enteluva <melayton@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey guys,
>
> The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards will be accepting nominations
> throughout the month of May. That means in just over a week, we will
> need members to help provcess those nominations. Every year we need a
> team of volunteers (called author liaisons) who will work with authors
> to make sure we have the necessary infromation.
>
> Volunteering as an author liaison means that you will be bringing
> authors the good news that a story of theirs has been nominated. You
> will then need to answer any questions they have, and when they
> approve a nomination make sure that we have all the information we
> will need to place these stories in categories and sub-categories.
> Also, before you contact an author you will need to make sure it is
> eligible by checking that it meets several criteria (lined out in the
> Liaison FAQ at
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6 ).
>
> Liaisons need to be members of the voting website (or be able to
> become one) and be basically familiar with the nomination phase of the
> awards. You do not need to know the answer to every question; if you
> have read the FAQs or participated in a previous year yourself, and
> are willing to ask questions where you don't know the answers, you are
> probably very well-suited. You will also need to be available
> throughout the month of May and the first week or so of June, and be
> able to check both your email and the liaison area of the voting
> website at least every few days.
>
> If you think this is an area where you might like to help out please
> volunteer by sending an email to mefasupport at gmail dot com. I will
> need both your email address so I can invite you to join the volunteer
> listserv [MEFAStaff], and the name you use to log in to the voting
> website so I can give you access to the liaison portion of the site.
>
> Cheers,
> Marta (Humble MEFA Admin)
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> Visit your group "MEFAwards" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> MEFAwards-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> MEFAwards-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> ________________________________
>


--
'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. 'Begin at the
beginning,' the King said, gravely, 'and go on till you come to the
end: then stop.'

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...> wrote:

>
> Hey all,
>
> I've addressed all of the comments I've seen tonight, and have
> updated the site to reflect those changes, including the GMT issue,
> which didn't take as long as I thought it might.

I have a couple of questions, but I am doing this from memory since I
can't login (it gives me this: Fatal error: Call to a member function
on a non-object in
/home/mefaward/public_html/mefa2006/pages/ctnavbar.php on line 64
). When I look at storytype and I want to nominate short story, what
storytype should I select? What about a novellength fic? As it says
that it is accordingly to the FAQ, but I searched the FAQ at the
mefawards.net site and nothing is in it about that. Every link refers
to Ainae's site, so which FAQ will we use? The one at mefawards or at
Ainae's site?

There are a couple of things I find confusing, for example with main
events there are three listed with checkboxes ánd, you can add one
yourself. Now I am wondering what happens if I for example select the
Akallabêth, is this just a cosmetic thing (it is there to illustrate
as an example) or does the system select it automatically if you do
check it? I wonder if it is clear enough that you simply can ignore
these three if the story is not about them and that you can add your
own. (I wish I could try it myself again). I am concerned that
nominator's who weren't familiar with that discussion back in December
or January about this form will think these are the only 3 options the
can choose from since that was my first thought as well.

I also had a look at the nomination e-mail text. I will post my
comments to the mefa-discussion :)


Rhapsody

> it gives me this: Fatal error: Call to a
> member function on a non-object in
>

/home/mefaward/public_html/mefa2006/pages/ctnav>
bar.php on line 64


I'm getting the same error, which means that I
can't add our new members. Any idea when we will
be able log in again, Anthony?

Resha

~To forgive calls upon our love, to forget calls upon our strength~

AIM: Naresha21 MSN: candyman_gypsy@hotmail.com Yahoo: fruitcake5m1
Personal LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/nareshaninya/
Writing LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/writingsofresha/

My Website! Slash Me Happy
http://www.websamba.com/SlashMeHappy

http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?biter=Resha

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

> I'm getting the same error, which means that I
> can't add our new members. Any idea when we will
> be able log in again, Anthony?
>
> Resha
>

Which leads to another question--are we adding new members to the 2006
site yet or to the 2005 site still? I had added the last new users (on
the 16th, 17th and 23rd of April) to the 2005, since Marta said we
hadn't copied users yet. Should we add users from now on to the 2006
site since we've apparently copied the database now?

On 30/4/06 4:43 am, "rhapsody_the_bard" <rhapsody74@gmail.com> wrote:

> --- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...> wrote:
>>
>> Hey all,
>>
>> I've addressed all of the comments I've seen tonight, and have
>> updated the site to reflect those changes, including the GMT issue,
>> which didn't take as long as I thought it might.
>
> I have a couple of questions, but I am doing this from memory since I
> can't login (it gives me this: Fatal error: Call to a member function
> on a non-object in
> /home/mefaward/public_html/mefa2006/pages/ctnavbar.php on line 64
> ).

I'm getting that error, too, so I'm going by memory as well.

> When I look at storytype and I want to nominate short story, what
> storytype should I select? What about a novellength fic?

By 'story type' I assume you mean the list that includes things like
"drabble/ficlet", "drabble series", "poem", etc.? There is a selection for
"Other Fiction" which you would select if your story isn't one of the
specialized forms listed. There's a separate drop-down where you can select
the length.

> As it says
> that it is accordingly to the FAQ, but I searched the FAQ at the
> mefawards.net site and nothing is in it about that. Every link refers
> to Ainae's site, so which FAQ will we use? The one at mefawards or at
> Ainae's site?
>

No, those should be pointing to the new FAQs, the ones at
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/ . For quick references:

About what stories are eligible:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=1

About the nomination process:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=2

About story ratings:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=3

About the categorization process, and about how sub-categories are used and
created: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=4

About casting votes, different types of votes, etc.:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=5

FAQs for author liaisons: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6

FAQs about the banner contest:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=7

FAQs for people making announcements about the MEFAs at other groups:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=8

Forum to request new FAQs: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=9

Official rules: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=10

> There are a couple of things I find confusing, for example with main
> events there are three listed with checkboxes ánd, you can add one
> yourself. Now I am wondering what happens if I for example select the
> Akallabêth, is this just a cosmetic thing (it is there to illustrate
> as an example) or does the system select it automatically if you do
> check it? I wonder if it is clear enough that you simply can ignore
> these three if the story is not about them and that you can add your
> own. (I wish I could try it myself again). I am concerned that
> nominator's who weren't familiar with that discussion back in December
> or January about this form will think these are the only 3 options the
> can choose from since that was my first thought as well.
>

Well, I can't see the form myself, so I can't see what we finally decided
on. Going back to my old emails, I know that I suggested the following
description of what to do at this point:

> Identify the events around which your story is set. If you do not see the name
> of an event you would like to include, type an appropriate name into one of
> the blank fields below. (Read the list of already submitted events carefully
> to make sure it is not already listed under an alternate name.) You may
> designate up to three events.
>

That's about as clear as I can see how to make it. Do you have any
suggestions on how to make it clearer?

I was still logged in, and the error only came up when you weren't
already logged in. Sorry.

1) Other Fiction is anything that is not a Drabble/Ficlet, Poem,
Non-Fiction, or Incomplete. The length is a separate selection.

This is one that the Liaisons will need to check carefully.

2) I added 'If your XXX is not in the list, add it here' to each of the
lists where that is appropriate.

Thanks for your upcoming comments on the nomination email.

Anthony

On Apr 30, 2006, at 3:43 AM, rhapsody_the_bard wrote:

> --- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...> wrote:
>>
>> Hey all,
>>
>> I've addressed all of the comments I've seen tonight, and have
>> updated the site to reflect those changes, including the GMT issue,
>> which didn't take as long as I thought it might.
>
> I have a couple of questions, but I am doing this from memory since I
> can't login (it gives me this: Fatal error: Call to a member function
> on a non-object in
> /home/mefaward/public_html/mefa2006/pages/ctnavbar.php on line 64
> ). When I look at storytype and I want to nominate short story, what
> storytype should I select? What about a novellength fic? As it says
> that it is accordingly to the FAQ, but I searched the FAQ at the
> mefawards.net site and nothing is in it about that. Every link refers
> to Ainae's site, so which FAQ will we use? The one at mefawards or at
> Ainae's site?
>
> There are a couple of things I find confusing, for example with main
> events there are three listed with checkboxes ánd, you can add one
> yourself. Now I am wondering what happens if I for example select the
> Akallabêth, is this just a cosmetic thing (it is there to illustrate
> as an example) or does the system select it automatically if you do
> check it? I wonder if it is clear enough that you simply can ignore
> these three if the story is not about them and that you can add your
> own. (I wish I could try it myself again). I am concerned that
> nominator's who weren't familiar with that discussion back in December
> or January about this form will think these are the only 3 options the
> can choose from since that was my first thought as well.
>
> I also had a look at the nomination e-mail text. I will post my
> comments to the mefa-discussion :)
>
>
> Rhapsody
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Sorry about the login problem. The thing I added didn't affect me when
I uploaded it, because I was logged in, and it only happened when
you're not logged in. I've fixed it.

Yes, add new folks to the 2006 site. I had mentioned it to Marta, but
forgot that she's not the only one doing this.

I made the transfer after the 23rd, so we're OK there.

Eventually, I'll move the 2005 site over to mefawards.net, and I'll
open up membership to anybody that wants to register for themselves.

Anthony

On Apr 30, 2006, at 7:47 AM, elliska67 wrote:

>> I'm getting the same error, which means that I
>> can't add our new members. Any idea when we will
>> be able log in again, Anthony?
>>
>> Resha
>>
>
> Which leads to another question--are we adding new members to the 2006
> site yet or to the 2005 site still? I had added the last new users (on
> the 16th, 17th and 23rd of April) to the 2005, since Marta said we
> hadn't copied users yet. Should we add users from now on to the 2006
> site since we've apparently copied the database now?

On 30/4/06 4:00 am, "Acacea" <windswept1@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Marta,
>
> sorry for not replying earlier. I'd love to help as an author liaison.
> Let me know what to do.
>
> Acacea
>

Hi Acacea,

Don't worry about replying late - I'm willing to accept new liaisons even
after nominations open, as the more we have the less work for each one.

I have sent you an invitation to join "MEFAStaff". As I explained in the
invitation this is a list where volunteers discuss the particulars of
running the awards. Last year liaisons used this list when an author had not
replied to emails sent to them after several tries. With liaisons from
thoughout the fandom, it's quite possible that another liaison can help you
get in touch.

I have also changed your access level at the voting website so that you now
have "liaison" access. When nominations open you can log in to the site and
you will see an additional link ("Show Author and Stories"). This will take
you to a list of the authors assignede to you. From here you can send emails
to the authors, edit the story information, withdraw stories if the author
declines, and things like that. Poke around when nominations open and if you
have any questions, don't hesitate to ask - either by personal email to
mefasupport@gmail.com , or by posting to [MEFAStaff].

You also might want to look through the FAQs for liaisons at

http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6

I put these together to answer some of the common questions, and hope it
helps.

Marta

Hi Anthony,

It worked! I just submitted a story with the minimal info. Also like
the new "submit nomination" button...much clearer.

But now for my next question: I wanted to try withdrawing a story,
but couldn't find that option listed anywhere. How do you do that?

Kathy/Inkling

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Anthony Holder <aaholder@...> wrote:
>
> I replied to your post at mefa-discussion, but just to be complete.
>
> The problem is that Anthony and Dwim aren't Author Liaisons. I
think
> I've figured it out, and will upload some changes that should solve
the
> problem and let Author Liaisons nominate stories with the minimal
> information, just like the rest of us.
>
> Oh, and I may remove all the asterisks, because what's required
changes
> depending on what kind of story (fiction doesn't have to answer the
> non-fiction questions, for example).
>
> Also, the way I have it, if you don't answer, sometimes it
puts 'N/A'
> for you, and sometimes it leaves it blank. I'm not sure what's
best,
> but for now, I'm allowing blanks, so for some items, you'll see an
N/A,
> and for some it'll be blank, which means N/A.
>
> Anthony
>
> On Apr 29, 2006, at 10:14 PM, Kathy wrote:
>
> > I posted earlier at MEFA-Discussion because I thought we were
moving
> > the troubleshooting there, but as it seems to be continuing here,
just
> > wanted to add to my earlier post...
> >
> > I just successfully submitted a test nomination, but in order to
get it
> > accepted I had to fill in EVERY field, not just those marked with
an
> > asterisk. As I mentioned in my first post, I thought nominators
only
> > had to fill in the first three fields: author, title, and URL.
> >
> > Anthony and Dwim, on the other hand, seem to have created test
noms
> > with just the minimal info. So, I'm stumped!
> >
> > Kathy (Inkling)
>

Hey Marta,

Rhapsody's questions and your answers make me wonder if there is some
ongoing confusion about what info a nominator is required to submit
this year, because I thought all of the fields being discussed below
are now up to the author to provide, not the nominator--who needs
only to provide author, title, and URL. Unless, of course, it's a
self-nom. Is that correct?

Kathy/Inkling

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Marta Layton <melayton@...> wrote:
>
> On 30/4/06 4:43 am, "rhapsody_the_bard" <rhapsody74@...> wrote:
> >
> > When I look at storytype and I want to nominate short story, what
> > storytype should I select? What about a novellength fic?
>
> By 'story type' I assume you mean the list that includes things like
> "drabble/ficlet", "drabble series", "poem", etc.? There is a
selection for
> "Other Fiction" which you would select if your story isn't one of
the
> specialized forms listed. There's a separate drop-down where you
can select
> the length.
>
> > As it says
> > that it is accordingly to the FAQ, but I searched the FAQ at the
> > mefawards.net site and nothing is in it about that. Every link
refers
> > to Ainae's site, so which FAQ will we use? The one at mefawards
or at
> > Ainae's site?
> >
>
> No, those should be pointing to the new FAQs, the ones at
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/ . For quick references:
>
> About what stories are eligible:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=1
>
> About the nomination process:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=2
>
> About story ratings:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=3
>
> About the categorization process, and about how sub-categories are
used and
> created: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=4
>
> About casting votes, different types of votes, etc.:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=5
>
> FAQs for author liaisons:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=6
>
> FAQs about the banner contest:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=7
>
> FAQs for people making announcements about the MEFAs at other
groups:
> http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=8
>
> Forum to request new FAQs:
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=9
>
> Official rules: http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=10
>
> > There are a couple of things I find confusing, for example with
main
> > events there are three listed with checkboxes ánd, you can add one
> > yourself. Now I am wondering what happens if I for example select
the
> > Akallabêth, is this just a cosmetic thing (it is there to
illustrate
> > as an example) or does the system select it automatically if you
do
> > check it? I wonder if it is clear enough that you simply can
ignore
> > these three if the story is not about them and that you can add
your
> > own. (I wish I could try it myself again). I am concerned that
> > nominator's who weren't familiar with that discussion back in
December
> > or January about this form will think these are the only 3
options the
> > can choose from since that was my first thought as well.
> >
>
> Well, I can't see the form myself, so I can't see what we finally
decided
> on. Going back to my old emails, I know that I suggested the
following
> description of what to do at this point:
>
> > Identify the events around which your story is set. If you do not
see the name
> > of an event you would like to include, type an appropriate name
into one of
> > the blank fields below. (Read the list of already submitted
events carefully
> > to make sure it is not already listed under an alternate name.)
You may
> > designate up to three events.
> >
>
> That's about as clear as I can see how to make it. Do you have any
> suggestions on how to make it clearer?
>

Are there any yet?

I looked in http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA/2006NomButtons/, and it's
empty.

There's something in the notification letter about them. Is that where
they'll be stored, or do we have a photo gallery set up?

If we set up a gallery, we can always link to it from that location, so
unless someone tells me otherwise, I'm going to put that URL in the
letter.

Anthony

On 30/4/06 8:47 am, "elliska67" <elliska67@yahoo.com> wrote:

>> I'm getting the same error, which means that I
>> can't add our new members. Any idea when we will
>> be able log in again, Anthony?
>>
>> Resha
>>
>
> Which leads to another question--are we adding new members to the 2006
> site yet or to the 2005 site still? I had added the last new users (on
> the 16th, 17th and 23rd of April) to the 2005, since Marta said we
> hadn't copied users yet. Should we add users from now on to the 2006
> site since we've apparently copied the database now?
>

Someone may have already answered this, but if they hadn't: Anthony emailed
me saying we can now make changes at the 2006 site. Use that one from now
on. If you've made a change in the last day or two you might want to
double-check the 2006 site to see they were copied over.

Marta

So, tomorrow, or rather, a few hours from now GMT (I think), it is May
1, 2006.

Clearly, we are not ready to start taking nominations yet. So, should
we have an official announcement to that effect that promoters can
post at their various lists? Do we have a date in mind when we will be
ready?

Dwim

Anthony Holder wrote:

> Are there any yet?
>
> I looked in http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA/2006NomButtons/, and it's
> empty.
>
> There's something in the notification letter about them. Is that where
> they'll be stored, or do we have a photo gallery set up?

Yes everything regarding the fanart-banners and nominationbuttons is set
to go.

Something occurred with an award name so that is currently keeping us
from releasing the url.

> If we set up a gallery, we can always link to it from that location, so
> unless someone tells me otherwise, I'm going to put that URL in the
> letter.

See the mefa-discussion group Anthony, I commented on the nomination
e-mail *and* the link is there.

Rhapsody :c)

Dwim,

What, specifically, do you think needs to be done before we're ready.

I believe that I've addressed everything I've seen so far, and have
just updated the Author Notification Email. Please review it and see if
it is ready. If that's a problem, we can just have the Liaisons wait
until it's ready before sending any out.

I've updated the permissions, and authors can write reviews now, but
cannot nominate stories.

The one thing I need to do is figure out how to remove 'Author' and
'Nominator' status from all users, because those didn't get cleared
when I cleared out the earlier database.

Really, aside from that, everything else is pretty cosmetic. The form
is working, and is collecting all the data it should be.

Later,
Anthony

On Apr 30, 2006, at 3:45 PM, dwimmer_laik wrote:

> So, tomorrow, or rather, a few hours from now GMT (I think), it is May
> 1, 2006.
>
> Clearly, we are not ready to start taking nominations yet. So, should
> we have an official announcement to that effect that promoters can
> post at their various lists? Do we have a date in mind when we will be
> ready?
>
> Dwim
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

Also, whenever we ARE ready to start nominations, should there be an
announcement to that effect that includes the most important changes
nominators should be aware of this year, such as:

- They only need to include Author (and if new author, email), Story
title, and URL.

- How withdrawals affect number of remaining nominations. Since this
is the first year there is a limit on nominations, it seems important
that everyone realizes that, depending on the reason for withdrawal,
they may or may not get their nomination back. I know I've seen
rules on this somewhere, but I can't find them now and I can't
remember what they are. But if they're not made clear from the
start, there may be unhappy nominators down the road saying they
weren't aware of the withdrawal rules, and that they want their
nominations back.

Marta, do you have the withdrawal rules? I didn't see them in the
FAQs.

Kathy/Inkling

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "dwimmer_laik" <dwimmer_laik@...>
wrote:

>
> So, tomorrow, or rather, a few hours from now GMT (I think), it is

May

> 1, 2006.
>
> Clearly, we are not ready to start taking nominations yet. So,

should

> we have an official announcement to that effect that promoters can
> post at their various lists? Do we have a date in mind when we will

be

> ready?
>
> Dwim
>

>
> The one thing I need to do is figure out how to remove 'Author' and
> 'Nominator' status from all users, because those didn't get cleared
> when I cleared out the earlier database.
>
> Really, aside from that, everything else is pretty cosmetic. The form
> is working, and is collecting all the data it should be.

Ok, so things really are working, then? My impression was that the
site only got to the point of testing yesterday, and that that was too
short a time to go forward with nominations tomorrow (today?--must
check dates).

But if you think it's ready, then my announcement question is a lot
simpler: do we have an official one? Or do I just drop a quick
reminder of my own wording?

Dwim

Dwim,

See my previous post re: the nomination announcement. There is some
info that I think is important to include, and I'm wondering if Marta
is going to draft something for the promoters. I'd be happy to help
do that, but I can't find the info explaining the withdrawal rules.

Kathy

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "dwimmer_laik" <dwimmer_laik@...>
wrote:

>
>
> >
> > The one thing I need to do is figure out how to remove 'Author'

and

> > 'Nominator' status from all users, because those didn't get

cleared

> > when I cleared out the earlier database.
> >
> > Really, aside from that, everything else is pretty cosmetic. The

form

> > is working, and is collecting all the data it should be.
>
> Ok, so things really are working, then? My impression was that the
> site only got to the point of testing yesterday, and that that was

too

> short a time to go forward with nominations tomorrow (today?--must
> check dates).
>
> But if you think it's ready, then my announcement question is a lot
> simpler: do we have an official one? Or do I just drop a quick
> reminder of my own wording?
>
> Dwim
>

Marta, you asked me to remind you on right before we went to the new
site to change the URL for the voting site on the yahoo group homepage
to the new URL. So I am reminding you. :-)

Hey all,

I've been going all afternoon, and I need to go spend some time with my
kids.

There's just not time for me to get all of this done by 7 CDT/midnight
GMT.

I need someone to work on the author letter, and tell me exactly what
it needs to say.

Other than that, are all the current rules on the mefawards.net/faq? If
not, can we get them there, so it can be the ultimate rules/faq site?
While I did add a 'withdrawal' faq, I can't realistically do any of the
non-MEFA2006 stuff.

Realistically, the site probably won't be ready until May 3, because I
don't get home until 5 or so (CDT) on Monday. I was really hoping to be
ready to go, and have been working hard to get ready, but I think it is
best to be sure things are good.

I had closed nominations, but I've re-opened them on the preview site,
so you can go ahead and nominate a bunch of stories to continue
testing. Kathy, if you nominate enough, I'm sure you'll be liaison for
at least one, and you'll get to see what happens, and how the forms
look, and try withdrawing some stories.

I do agree that we need to make sure that all the various FAQs and
links are correct and consistent, and I don't know if we're there yet.

For Example, Ainae's website has the 2005 rules. Are the 2006 rules
posted? If so, where? Is this linked at www.mefawards.net? Where are
the nomination buttons? (Rhapsody is going to get back to me on that
one.)

I would like for all the rules and instructions to be in one place
(mefawards.net/faq might be good), so we can just send any questions
there, and be sure they'll find their answers.

Anthony

Hi Kathy,

> It worked! I just submitted a story with the minimal info. Also like
> the new "submit nomination" button...much clearer.
>

I just nominated a test story by A L Milton, and it worked great for me,
too. Good work, Anthony - thanks!

> But now for my next question: I wanted to try withdrawing a story,
> but couldn't find that option listed anywhere. How do you do that?
>

Kathy, you can withdraw your own stories or (since you are a liaison) of
authors assigned to you.

To withdraw your own story:

1. Log in to the site.
2. Scroll down until you see a list of stories by you that have been
nominated.
3. Click the "withdraw" link below the story.
4. Choose a reason to withdraw the story, and click "Yes, withdraw story".

To withdraw a story by an author assigned to you:

1. Log in to the site.
2. Click "Show Authors and Stories".
3. Click the "withdraw" link below the story.
4. Choose a reason to withdraw the story, and click "Yes, withdraw story".

Marta

Thanks Marta...Anthony and Rhapsody also have been patiently
answering my questions over at MEFAStaff, so I think I'm clear on all
this now.

Kathy

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Marta Layton <melayton@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Kathy,
>
> > It worked! I just submitted a story with the minimal info. Also
like
> > the new "submit nomination" button...much clearer.
> >
>
> I just nominated a test story by A L Milton, and it worked great
for me,
> too. Good work, Anthony - thanks!
>
> > But now for my next question: I wanted to try withdrawing a story,
> > but couldn't find that option listed anywhere. How do you do
that?
> >
>
> Kathy, you can withdraw your own stories or (since you are a
liaison) of
> authors assigned to you.
>
> To withdraw your own story:
>
> 1. Log in to the site.
> 2. Scroll down until you see a list of stories by you that have been
> nominated.
> 3. Click the "withdraw" link below the story.
> 4. Choose a reason to withdraw the story, and click "Yes, withdraw
story".
>
> To withdraw a story by an author assigned to you:
>
> 1. Log in to the site.
> 2. Click "Show Authors and Stories".
> 3. Click the "withdraw" link below the story.
> 4. Choose a reason to withdraw the story, and click "Yes, withdraw
story".
>
> Marta
>

Hi Kathy,

> Rhapsody's questions and your answers make me wonder if there is some
> ongoing confusion about what info a nominator is required to submit
> this year, because I thought all of the fields being discussed below
> are now up to the author to provide, not the nominator--who needs
> only to provide author, title, and URL. Unless, of course, it's a
> self-nom. Is that correct?
>

Yep, that's correct. I think that either Rhapsody and I were discussing a
self-nomination (or one of us thought we were!), or else because we were
both liaisons we were seeing more of the form than we should have been
before that problem was fixed.

Anyway, to be clear:

If the nominator is not the author, they should

1. Select the author's name from a list.
2. Enter the story title.
3. Enter the story URL.
4. Enter nomination notes (optional). This is not required, but if there's
anything else the nominator wants to tell us so the liaison can see it, they
can put it in this field.

Everything else will be supplied by the author.

Marta

On 30/4/06 5:07 pm, "Kathy" <inkling-tcbs@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Also, whenever we ARE ready to start nominations, should there be an
> announcement to that effect that includes the most important changes
> nominators should be aware of this year, such as:
>
> - They only need to include Author (and if new author, email), Story
> title, and URL.
>
> - How withdrawals affect number of remaining nominations. Since this
> is the first year there is a limit on nominations, it seems important
> that everyone realizes that, depending on the reason for withdrawal,
> they may or may not get their nomination back. I know I've seen
> rules on this somewhere, but I can't find them now and I can't
> remember what they are. But if they're not made clear from the
> start, there may be unhappy nominators down the road saying they
> weren't aware of the withdrawal rules, and that they want their
> nominations back.
>

Yes, I'll put together an announcement like that and make it when we get to
that point.

> Marta, do you have the withdrawal rules? I didn't see them in the
> FAQs.
>

There isn't, but there should be. I'll work on that as soon as I finish
answering emails.

Marta

Hi Anthony,

> Are there any yet?
>
> I looked in http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA/2006NomButtons/, and it's
> empty.
>
> There's something in the notification letter about them. Is that where
> they'll be stored, or do we have a photo gallery set up?
>
> If we set up a gallery, we can always link to it from that location, so
> unless someone tells me otherwise, I'm going to put that URL in the
> letter.
>
> Anthony
>

Rhapsody's created several, but they're stored at
http://www.mefawards.net/fanart/categories.php?cat_id=1. Or people can view
them by going to http://www.mefawards.net/fanart/ and clicking "Nomination
Banners".

Marta

Hi Dwim,

> So, tomorrow, or rather, a few hours from now GMT (I think), it is May
> 1, 2006.
>
> Clearly, we are not ready to start taking nominations yet. So, should
> we have an official announcement to that effect that promoters can
> post at their various lists? Do we have a date in mind when we will be
> ready?
>

No, it looks like we aren't. And I agree with Anthony (I think it was him
who said this), that we should not rush into this but take our time and make
sure that things are done correctly.

I'm horribly behind on answering these emails. Let me skim through the rest
of them and I'll draft an announcement to this affect, ASAP. I'll send it
out to the promoters when I have it. Promoters, if you don't have an email
within the next 45 minutes email me to make sure I sent it to you.

Thanks,
Marta

Hi Marta,

> > Marta, do you have the withdrawal rules? I didn't see them in the
> > FAQs.

> There isn't, but there should be. I'll work on that as soon as I
> finish answering emails.
>
> Marta

I know you're still catching up, so just wanted to let you know that
Anthony has created a withdrawal FAQ and put it under the Nominations
FAQ: http:

//mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=92

I'm wondering if it should also go under Rules.

Kathy

Hey guys,

The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards originally intended to begin
accepting nominations for 2006 on May 1, but we've decided to postpone
that a few days. This is so we can make sure that all rules, FAQs, and
instructions are as clear and as correct as possible. Hopefully this
will help us avoid any confusion.

Nomination season will still end at 11:59:59 PM GMT, on May 31.

In the meantime you can begin thinking about what stories you want to
nominate. Every member is allowed to nominate twenty pieces. To
nominate a piece you will need that piece's title, author, the
author's email, and the web address (URL) at which the piece can be
found. To see if the story is eligible please check the Eligibility
FAQs at http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewforum.php?f=1 .

You also may want to review the FAQs and rules. They are available at
http://www.mefawards.net/faq/ .

If you are not yet a member of the nominating website, you will need
to join the Yahoo group [MEFAwards]. If you do not have a Yahoo
account please email mefasupport@gmail.com . We require all nominators
to be a member of this group so we can contact you quickly and easily.
You may opt to only receive the occasional official announcement (like
this) if you like.

If you are already a member of that group but have forgotten your
password, please send an email to mefasupport@gmail.com and I will
send it to you.

Thanks,
Marta

On 30/4/06 5:17 pm, "dwimmer_laik" <dwimmer_laik@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>>
>> The one thing I need to do is figure out how to remove 'Author' and
>> 'Nominator' status from all users, because those didn't get cleared
>> when I cleared out the earlier database.
>>
>> Really, aside from that, everything else is pretty cosmetic. The form
>> is working, and is collecting all the data it should be.
>
> Ok, so things really are working, then? My impression was that the
> site only got to the point of testing yesterday, and that that was too
> short a time to go forward with nominations tomorrow (today?--must
> check dates).
>
> But if you think it's ready, then my announcement question is a lot
> simpler: do we have an official one? Or do I just drop a quick
> reminder of my own wording?
>
> Dwim

Hi Dwim,

Maybe we *could* have had the site ready within a few hours of when it was
supposed to launch, but I really don't want to rush into this. You're right,
we only did begin testing yesterday, and another day or so will give us time
to make sure all the bugs are ironed out. It will give me a chance to catch
up on email, too. :-D

I sent an announcement to the promoters (and made a similar one here as a
special announcement and at the LJ) saying we were delaying nomination
season by a few days. We'll go with that, and use the few extra days to
double-check everything before going "live".

Marta

>
> I sent an announcement to the promoters (and made a similar one here

as a

> special announcement and at the LJ) saying we were delaying nomination
> season by a few days. We'll go with that, and use the few extra days to
> double-check everything before going "live".

So posted at HA and HASA.

Thanks for the quick response!

Dwim

On 30/4/06 7:56 pm, "Kathy" <inkling-tcbs@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Hi Marta,
>
>>> Marta, do you have the withdrawal rules? I didn't see them in the
>>> FAQs.
>
>> There isn't, but there should be. I'll work on that as soon as I
>> finish answering emails.
>>
>> Marta
>
> I know you're still catching up, so just wanted to let you know that
> Anthony has created a withdrawal FAQ and put it under the Nominations
> FAQ: http:
>
> //mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?t=92
>
> I'm wondering if it should also go under Rules.
>
> Kathy
>

Hi Kathy,

That's a good suggestion. I've added it to the rules. Check out #10 at

http://www.mefawards.net/faq/viewtopic.php?p=87

Marta