Yahoo Forum Archive

Hey guys,

This is just to officially let you know that the "check ballots" part
of the 2009 awards is now over. From this point on, the only stories
that will be moved are WIPs if the author finishes them; all other
stories will stay where they are.

You can see a story's category and subcategory by visiting our
website. Log in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/ and click the "Stories"
link at the top of the page. Each story will have a line above the
summary, that begins "Award Category: ", and is followed by something
like Genres: Humor: Minas Tirith. (What exactly follows "Award
Category" will vary from story to story.)

You can use the filters at the top of the page to find other stories
in the same subcategory. In this instance, first select "Humor" from
the main category list and click "Display Selected Nominations." Then
select "Genres: Humor: Minas Tirith" from the subcategory list and
click "Display Selected Nominations" again. This will show you all the
stories in the Genres: Humor: Minas Tirith subcategory, except the
ones that you have added to your "skip" list -- so you can see at a
glance all the stories that are competing together in that
subcategory. (You can do the same thing for any other subcategory, by
varying your main category and subcategory selections.) You can of
course still use all the other ways you are accustomed to using to
find stories at the MEFA site - for instance, searching by character
or by ID #.

The next big deadline coming up is August 31. If you want to set a
reviewing goal at the MEFA website, you need to set it by this
deadline. This is also the deadline to edit any "final" reviews you
may have. On September 1 those final reviews will start showing up on
our website, and you will no longer be able to edit them.

Happy reviewing,

Marta

Hey guys,

The first half of the awards is easily the busiest time for volunteers like me, and so I asked Larner and Dawn Felagund to make weekly educational posts on a variety of topics I wanted you to know about. Thank you, ladies! Since we're moving into the portion of the MEFAs that requires less work on my part, I will now be making these weekly educational posts. I hope you find them helpful.

Now, for this week's announcements. In a few weeks MEFA reviews will begin showing up on our website. Hopefully some of you are already reading and reviewing the stories in this year's competition. So I wanted to say a word or two about a topic that is closely tied in with reviewing, especially with reviews being posted on our website - spoilers.


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

WHAT ARE SPOILERS?

The concept of spoilers comes up most often in newer fandoms, where movies, books, and TV episodes are still being produced. Think back to when the Fellowship of the Ring movie was released. If you hadn't read the books beforehand, you may have found yourself in a situation where lots of people knew plot details about the later books, that you didn't know. You may have put off reading The Two Towers and Return of the King just so the movies would surprise you, and you certainly didn't want to know how things turned out before then. But other people discussing the books and/or movies may have known this stuff, and wanted to bring details up. So fandom developed a habit of including spoiler warnings, both on fics and on discussions, that revealed some detail from the later books until some time after all the movies came out.

The MEFA concept of spoiler is similar but different. We assume everyone coming to our site knows the basic plot of Tolkien's works. So we don't ask you to warn for spoilers if (for instance) you mention that Boromir dies or that the silmarils are recovered in one of your reviews. But we *don't* assume everyone will have read the stories being reviewed before they see the reviews. Just like you once were expected to include spoiler warnings when talking about what eventually happened to Frodo, with the MEFAs you need to warn readers if your review tells how a certain story turns out.

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

WHEN SHOULD YOU WARN THAT YOUR STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS?

The best policy is to use the golden rule. Imagine that you haven't read the story you're reviewing and ask yourself: if I read this review first, would it take away from my experience reading the actual story?

Keep in mind that, unlike at story archives, reviews for *all* stories are displayed together. You can tell the website to only display reviews for a certain author or story, but the "default" way of viewing the reviews means that people are more likely to see reviews for lots of different stories - quite possibly stories they haven't read yet. So it's extra important that you are courteous and warn for spoilers if your review gives away a plot point or something else you think the author wants to reveal to the reader.

If you're at all in doubt, it's probably best to include a spoiler warning.

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

HOW DO YOU MARK A REVIEW AS CONTAINING SPOILERS?

For a new review: After you have typed your review (but before you preview it), tick the box at the bottom of the form beside the "SPOILERS" label. Then preview the review and save it as you would any review.

For old reviews: You can add a spoiler warning to an old review by editing the review. Tick the box next to "SPOILERS," preview the review, and save it. This will add a spoiler warning to the review.

If you can no longer edit the review, please contact mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net with your name at the MEFA website and the story ID #. I will gladly mark your review as containing a spoiler.

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

HOW DO YOU REPORT A REVIEW THAT NEEDS A SPOILER WARNING ADDED?

If you read a review written by someone else that you think needs a spoiler warning, please let me know by emailing mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net. Please include the reviewer's name and the story ID # in your email. You should also explain why you think a spoiler warning is needed, if it isn't obvious.

The awards organizers will look at the review and, if they agree it contains a spoiler, a spoiler warning will be added. (That's usually me as well as some of the other volunteers who help me make policy decisions; though if the review concerns one of our stories or if we wrote the review, that person won't help make that decision.) We'll also email the reviewer to explain that the warning has been added. This will not affect the number of points the review gives to the story in any way. It will just warn people reading the review that it contains spoilers.

---------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

* Can I include spoilers for the story in my review?
www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_16
* What do I do if a review contains spoilers, but isn't labelled as such?
www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_17
* How do I find a story to vote for?
www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_15
* How do I edit my vote?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_7

-----------

Happy reviewing,

Marta (MEFA Admin.)

I've been having problems getting to LJ since last night. I just wonder whether this is a local problem, or whether it's something others are experiencing, too.

Thanks,

Dwim

Nope, you're not the only one, it's been spotty for me as well, and comment
notifications are coming far and in-between, definitely not in real time.

According to the status page: *LiveJournal has been under a DDoS attack
since Thursday, August 6th. A DDoS attack is focused heavy traffic in an
attempt to make the site unavailable; not an attempt to gain access to
anyone's account or personal information. We have taken steps to filter this
traffic so that the site can remain accessible.

The site is running normally for most users at this time. Because of the
mitigation procedures required to keep the site up and running, however,
some users may not be able to access the site or post entries or comments
from some locations and browsers. This is not account-specific, and you may
be able to access the site from a different computer or network. *

lj_maintainance also points out that *[w]e are aware of these issues, and
would like to take this moment to explain we are doing everything we can to
keep the site up and running 100%, but some jobs / notifications / RSS feeds
/ Email notifications are not working 100% as expected. This is due in part
to the steps we have taken to just allow the site to be on-line at this
time.*

Hope that helps, and also hope they're running smoothly again soon.

Elleth

2009/8/8 dwimmer_laik <dwimmer_laik@yahoo.com>

>
>
> I've been having problems getting to LJ since last night. I just wonder
> whether this is a local problem, or whether it's something others are
> experiencing, too.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dwim
>
>
>

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

Okay, good to know. I haven't been able to access anything LJ, including any news posts since last night.

Thanks, Elleth!

Dwim

dwimmer_laik wrote:

>
>
> I've been having problems getting to LJ since last night. I just wonder
> whether this is a local problem, or whether it's something others are
> experiencing, too.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dwim
>

Hi Dwim,

I think someone else mentioned that LJ was the subject of a hacker
attack. It is working fine for me in the moment but has been a bit
sluggish at different times and some of their features (like the emails
you can tell it to send you when someone comments on one of your posts,
as a member) have been coming in hours late.

So I think some people are able to access stories but you're probably
not alone. The best advice I can offer is to wait a few days, add the
stories to your wish list at the MEFA site (so you'll remember which
ones you want to read) and read non-LJ stories in the meantime. If LJ is
still giving you trouble after a few days I would like to know, though.

Marta

I'm in the UK, and I have had no access to LJ for over 24 hours. Others in the UK, that I can contact outside LJ, have confirmed that they, too, have no access. I am actually grateful to see this thread here so that I know that at least some people still have access; it hasn't crashed totally! Here's hoping they can get it sorted soon.

Curious wombat.

I am in the UK too but don't seem to be having problems with LJ. Sorry to hear you are having difficulties with it.


-----Original Message-----
From: voirreyj <voirreyjohnson@manx.net>
To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 0:38
Subject: [MEFAwards] Re: LJ - am I the only one having problems accessing LJ-hosted stories?






I'm in the UK, and I have had no access to LJ for over 24 hours. Others in the UK, that I can contact outside LJ, have confirmed that they, too, have no access. I am actually grateful to see this thread here so that I know that at least some people still have access; it hasn't crashed totally! Here's hoping they can get it sorted soon.

Curious wombat.







________________________________________________________________________
AOL Email goes Mobile! You can now read your AOL Emails whilst on the move. Sign up for a free AOL Email account with unlimited storage today.


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

My access is back this morning - so they seem to be resolving the problem. My only worry had been that if I was one of only a very small group still effected by the DoS attack that they might not notice us!

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, harrowcatliz@... wrote:
>
> I am in the UK too but don't seem to be having problems with LJ. Sorry to hear you are having difficulties with it.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: voirreyj <voirreyjohnson@...>
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 0:38
> Subject: [MEFAwards] Re: LJ - am I the only one having problems accessing LJ-hosted stories?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I'm in the UK, and I have had no access to LJ for over 24 hours. Others in the UK, that I can contact outside LJ, have confirmed that they, too, have no access. I am actually grateful to see this thread here so that I know that at least some people still have access; it hasn't crashed totally! Here's hoping they can get it sorted soon.
>
> Curious wombat.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> AOL Email goes Mobile! You can now read your AOL Emails whilst on the move. Sign up for a free AOL Email account with unlimited storage today.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

This may help you. It's from a post made last night by lj_maintenance:

*"We're not manually blocking your IP but there *is* dynamic **rate limiting
* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate_limiting>* going on. Basically, if a
certain computer is sending a LOT of packets within a short amount of time,
that IP or network gets blocked. Unfortunately that could also mean that
innocent LJers in the same network could get blocked because there might be
an infected computer around you that's messing it up for everyone else.

The block is automatically removed after 600 seconds, but if there really is
a computer that is attacking LiveJournal, they wll keep going over the limit
and keep getting blocked.

If you have this problem, one thing that will *not* help is hitting refresh
a lot! No, really. Unfortunately, we can't guarantee that waiting 600
seconds will help either, especially if someone else at your school or work
is hitting refresh (or has an infected computer).

So what happens if you're at home and you're the only LJer? And your
computer isn't infected or attacking us? Some have found that using a
different browser, like IE instead of Firefox, helped them, especially if
they're on wireless. Using a
**proxy*<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=web+proxy&revid=798840317&ei=6iF-SsvnN5HEsQOzkKHuCg&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=6>
* or changing their IP through products like HotSpot Shield helps, simply
because it might be your DSL or cable provider's network that is being
blocked because of another user/computer."*
I hope that helps.

Dreamflower

On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 6:38 PM, voirreyj <voirreyjohnson@manx.net> wrote:

>
>
> I'm in the UK, and I have had no access to LJ for over 24 hours. Others in
> the UK, that I can contact outside LJ, have confirmed that they, too, have
> no access. I am actually grateful to see this thread here so that I know
> that at least some people still have access; it hasn't crashed totally!
> Here's hoping they can get it sorted soon.
>
> Curious wombat.
>
>
>


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

Thank you. As it happens my access is now back, but you passing this on to me here was really good - because, of course, when we had no access, we couldn't read the update! I'm guessing that there is a contaminated zombie bot on our ISP somewhere - I think there are probably no more than 20 or 30 LJ users on the island and so on manxnet - and I know at least two of us simply checked about every two or three hours!

My husband believes people who find creating DoS attacks fun should be punished by firing squad....

wombat

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Barbara Rich <aelfwina@...> wrote:
>
> This may help you. It's from a post made last night by lj_maintenance:
>
> *"We're not manually blocking your IP but there *is* dynamic **rate limiting
> * <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate_limiting>* going on. Basically, if a
> certain computer is sending a LOT of packets within a short amount of time,
> that IP or network gets blocked. Unfortunately that could also mean that
> innocent LJers in the same network could get blocked because there might be
> an infected computer around you that's messing it up for everyone else.
>
> The block is automatically removed after 600 seconds, but if there really is
> a computer that is attacking LiveJournal, they wll keep going over the limit
> and keep getting blocked.
>
> If you have this problem, one thing that will *not* help is hitting refresh
> a lot! No, really. Unfortunately, we can't guarantee that waiting 600
> seconds will help either, especially if someone else at your school or work
> is hitting refresh (or has an infected computer).
>
> So what happens if you're at home and you're the only LJer? And your
> computer isn't infected or attacking us? Some have found that using a
> different browser, like IE instead of Firefox, helped them, especially if
> they're on wireless. Using a
> **proxy*<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=web+proxy&revid=798840317&ei=6iF-SsvnN5HEsQOzkKHuCg&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=6>
> * or changing their IP through products like HotSpot Shield helps, simply
> because it might be your DSL or cable provider's network that is being
> blocked because of another user/computer."*
> I hope that helps.
>
> Dreamflower
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 6:38 PM, voirreyj <voirreyjohnson@...> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > I'm in the UK, and I have had no access to LJ for over 24 hours. Others in
> > the UK, that I can contact outside LJ, have confirmed that they, too, have
> > no access. I am actually grateful to see this thread here so that I know
> > that at least some people still have access; it hasn't crashed totally!
> > Here's hoping they can get it sorted soon.
> >
> > Curious wombat.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I want to put all hackers in a sealed room with Bush the Younger, Karl Rove,
Ashbaugh, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Obama bin Laden, and a few other nutcases and
a self-contained computer network with no outside contacts, and let them all
have at one another, and where all of them must endure one another's hacking
from here to eternity.
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large

"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." LOTR

"Don't go where I can't follow."

He says perhaps if we only gave them a box full of ZX31 Spectrum computers and they had to design their own network... But he thinks the addition of a couple of hungry leopards would still help - seal it all up and you'd have Schroedinger's Leopards...

I think I'd just settle for putting them in with GB Jr et al!

wombat.

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "Bonnie L. Sherrell" <blslarner@...> wrote:
>
> I want to put all hackers in a sealed room with Bush the Younger, Karl Rove,
> Ashbaugh, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Obama bin Laden, and a few other nutcases and
> a self-contained computer network with no outside contacts, and let them all
> have at one another, and where all of them must endure one another's hacking
> from here to eternity.
> Bonnie L. Sherrell
> Teacher at Large
>
> "Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." LOTR
>
> "Don't go where I can't follow."
>

Just make them have to watch an endless loop of Sarah Palin making speeches
on YouTube.

Dreamflower

On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Bonnie L. Sherrell <blslarner@olypen.com>wrote:

>
>
> I want to put all hackers in a sealed room with Bush the Younger, Karl
> Rove,
> Ashbaugh, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Obama bin Laden, and a few other nutcases
> and
> a self-contained computer network with no outside contacts, and let them
> all
> have at one another, and where all of them must endure one another's
> hacking
> from here to eternity.
> Bonnie L. Sherrell
> Teacher at Large
>
> "Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very
> wise cannot see all ends." LOTR
>
> "Don't go where I can't follow."
>
>
>


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

Sarah Palin speeches? Ah, Barbara, but that would be truly cruel and unusual
punishment! Heh!
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large

"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." LOTR

"Don't go where I can't follow."

Hey guys,

Recent posts around here have gotten just a wee bit off-topic - and also
a bit political. That makes me a little uncomfortable because I want
everyone to feel welcome here. We welcome members of *all* political
persuasions -- liberals, conservatives and Frodo/Sam '12 are all fine by
me -- and I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. Since politics
isn't at all what we're here to discuss anyway, I like to keep it off
these boards.

Plus, I'm not a big fan of OT posts anyway. I haven't been very strict
about this in the past because I want people to have fun with these
awards. But - every post made through this group makes it a little
harder for people to identify the important announcements about the
awards. So while I'm all for asking questions and discussing all things
MEFA, I don't want to go much further than that. This isn't a general
discussion group, and so I'd rather not go off on topics that have
little to do with Tolkien, let alone the MEFAs.

So: we've discovered why LJ posts aren't loading for some people, which
is the way this issue effects the MEFAs. If you still have problems
accessing stories, that's one thing, but I'd rather not have a long
discussion about hackers. :-)

Thanks to everyone for your help keeping this a fun, friendly and above
all MEFA-centric group.

Marta

Not if Dick Cheney is among the listeners. He's the one who pushed her
forward as VP choice in the first place. It would be just what he'd deserve.

DF

On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 2:57 PM, Bonnie L. Sherrell <blslarner@olypen.com>wrote:

>
>
> Sarah Palin speeches? Ah, Barbara, but that would be truly cruel and
> unusual
> punishment! Heh!
> Bonnie L. Sherrell
> Teacher at Large
>
> "Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very
> wise cannot see all ends." LOTR
>
> "Don't go where I can't follow."
>
>
>


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

Just an update to let everyone know that some new nomination banners have been recently added and authors might want to give them a look if they have not yet picked their banners.

You can find nomination banners here:
http://gs98.photobucket.com/groups/l253/H4V8QY36O4/

Password: celebrimbor

Commended Reviewer banners are now coming in, so if you have not yet set your review goal, make sure that you get that done before the August 31st deadline, so you can claim one of these lovely pieces of bling to show off your dedication!

Many thanks and a round of applause to our talented banner makers who have made so many lovely banners so far this year.

Nieriel Raina
Banner Coordinator

I wanted to take a moment to thank NiRi and all of our banner creators -
there truly are some great banners to choose from. Thanks for all your
hard work!

Marta

NiRi wrote:

>
>
> Just an update to let everyone know that some new nomination banners
> have been recently added and authors might want to give them a look if
> they have not yet picked their banners.
>
> You can find nomination banners here:
> http://gs98.photobucket.com/groups/l253/H4V8QY36O4/
> <http://gs98.photobucket.com/groups/l253/H4V8QY36O4/>
>
> Password: celebrimbor
>
> Commended Reviewer banners are now coming in, so if you have not yet set
> your review goal, make sure that you get that done before the August
> 31st deadline, so you can claim one of these lovely pieces of bling to
> show off your dedication!
>
> Many thanks and a round of applause to our talented banner makers who
> have made so many lovely banners so far this year.
>
> Nieriel Raina
> Banner Coordinator
>

Hi everyone,

I'm one of the banner makers, but am having a hard time finding the time to
upgrade all of the banners I made last year for 2009.

So, I'd like to renew my offer: If you see one of the banners that I made
for 2008 that you would like to use for this year, just email me directly
(at elenatiriel [at] gmail [dot] com) with the banner name you want (or just
copy the banner and send it to me), and the text you need (Nominee,
Commended Reviewer, Review Junkie, or Winner). I will change the date to
2009 and send it back to you as soon as I can.

See all my 2008 banners here: <
s47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/Elena_Tiriel/?action=tags¤t=Winner>.

I hope to eventually convert all of these, but it might take a long time, so
I'm happy to concentrate first on the ones that someone might like to use
right away.

- Barbara


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

Hey guys,

Every year some of the weekly educational posts focus not on how to do
things with the MEFAs and policy questions, but instead draw your
attention to certain types of stories. This is one of those posts. :-)
This week I'd like to draw your attention to some of the smaller genres
out there, the more specialized ones like Mystery and Crossover. If you
are interested in these stories, why not read some of the stories listed
and vote for the ones you like?

*************************************************

A SPECIAL NOTE - AU'S AND CROSSOVERS

Before I get started, though, I want to say a word about AUs and
Crossovers. There's been some confusion lately because, while we do have
specialized categories for these stories, they are welcome anywhere. The
Genres: Alternate Universe category in particular is intended for
stories that fit that *genre* - where the point is to explore what might
have happened if events had happened differently, just like the point of
a Humor piece is to make you laugh or a Romance piece is to explore some
relationship.

If a story isn't totally canon-compliant but the author feels it fits
better somewhere else, the author can choose something *besides* AU as
the first-choice category. Ditto for Crossovers and any other genre. And
even if a piece did select AU or Crossover or whatever as its
first-choice category choice, remember that there is no guarantee it
won't end up in one of its other category choices. For this reason, if
authors want their readers to know a piece is an AU or Crossover, they
should include a note in the summary to this effect. (I can add one if
you like; just email me at mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net.)

Readers: because not all AUs and Crossovers will be in those main
categories, it's important that you watch the summary. You can also
check the category *choices* (listed just above the actual category a
piece was placed in), which may give you more information about the summary.

***************************************************

HOW TO FIND STORIES

If you see something you like listed below, you can look it up on the
MEFA website by:

--- logging in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009
--- clicking the "Stories" link at the top of the list.
--- doing a search for the story ID # listed, followed by the "#" sign.

From there, you can click on the story title to read the story, or
click on the "Enter New Review" link to enter a vote.

You can also pull up all the stories that selected a certain category by:

--- logging in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009
--- clicking the "Stories" link at the top of the list.
--- clicking the "Show Filter" link.
--- select the genre you want to see from the "Genre, Race, Time" menu.

This will bring up all the stories that selected the genre you select,
aside from the ones you've already chosen to skip. (This works for any
main category.)

I used this last method to compile the lists below - any errors are my
own. Now on to the fic. :-)

*******************************

ADVENTURE

The following stories have "Genres: Adventure" selected as one of their
three category choices.

--- Cairistiona: (44) At Hope's Edge
--- callerofcrows: (360) Walking the Line - Book One
--- Cathleen: (510) Room for Adventure; (812) All in a Day's Work; (398)
Splish Splash
--- chaotic_binky: (482) The Warrior and the Oliphaunt Trainer
--- Dreamflower: (29) Trotter; (744) Roast Mutton
--- Dwimordene: (276) The Horn of the Kine
--- Elena Tiriel: (809) Fell and Fair
--- elfscribe: (827) Osse's Gift
--- elliska: (126) Interrupted Journeys: Journeys in Mirkwood
--- Erviniae: (528) Trouble
--- Formegil: (425) Heart of Rhun
--- Ilada'Jefiv: (489) The Blades of Eru
--- Imhiriel: (691) At the Bridge of Mitheithel
--- Indigo Bunting: (61) The River
--- Jael: (263) To Wrap an Elven Princeling
--- Jedi Sapphire: (620) A Chapter of Accidents
--- j_dav (JDE): (604) The Shadow of Light
--- Katzilla: (14) Adventures of an Eored: Sins of the Father
--- Lindelea: (168) O the Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
--- Lothithil: (315) The Coat of Earendil
--- Marta: (2) Lake of Fire
--- MedeaSmyke: (295) The Scout and the Rider
--- Moreth: (31) Of Luthien and Huan
--- MP Brennan: (657) While Hope Lasts
--- Neoinean: (409) Greet the Dawn
--- Nosterineth: (289) Tolog Mellon
--- Peredhil lover: (280) Sacrifices of Friendship
--- Perelleth: (258) In the Woods of Ossiriand
--- Radbooks: (249) The Weather Outside is Frightful
--- Raksha the Demon: (603) Gamesmanship
--- rosethorn59: (600) He is Mine Now
--- shirebound: (108) Holding Back the Flood
--- Silivren Tinu: (488) Hunted
--- Sivan Shemesh: (752) Boiling Point
--- Starlight9: (586) Surprise
--- stefaniab: (405) Where Was Imrahil When Grond Hit the Gate?
--- Tanaqui: (674) The Hunt
--- Thundera Tiger: (492) Hunting
--- Trinilee Greenleaf: (516) The Sniffles
--- White Wolf: (621) To Risk It All

*******************************

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

The following stories have "Genres: Alternate Universe" selected as one
of their three category choices.

--- agape4gondor: (193) My Sword trembles; (194) I Will Take It
--- alex_quine: (548) The Steward's House
--- Altariel: (467) The Age of Men; (17) The Power Behind the Throne;
(542) Not all the birds are to be trusted
--- Antane: (706) The Letter
--- Beruthiel's Cat: (324) Kill It Before It Multiplies
--- brindlemom2(Gilnaur): (314) Lost Out of Time II, The Coming Together
--- chaotic_binky: (482) The Warrior and the Oliphaunt Trainer; (464)
Sea of Pearls; (481) Glorfindel and the master of the Forest
--- Clotho123: (619) Arkenstone; (724) Where the Shadows Lie
--- dancingkatz: (447) Yet Another Thing That Never Happened to Daeron
Greyvale
--- Feta: (772) Flawless
--- Independence1776 (Crystal113): (580) Judgement
--- Ithilwen: (816) Change's Strange Arithmetic
--- Jael: (97) The Last Temptation of Legolas Thranduilion
--- Jaiden_S: (428) Whispers on the Wind; (466) Let Them Eat Cake
--- j_dav (JDE): (604) The Shadow of Light; (204) The Journal of
Fingolfin; (205) The Pilgrimage
--- Ladyhawk Baggins: (623) What If... Frodo and Boromir...
--- Larner: (541) Angainor
--- Linaewen: (380) Hope Stirs
--- Mirach: (392) The Song in the Darkness
--- Moreth: (416) Gathering the Heroes
--- Nath: (684) Mine
--- nau_tika: (87) The Final Sense
--- Pearl Took: (722) Darkness Reigns in the Light
--- Pink Siamese: (456) He Dreams of Love With Men; (388) Janet Goes to
Hobbitland
--- rosethorn59: (600) He Is Mine Now; (600) He is Mine Now; (762) The
Wisdom and Folly of Chaos and Confusion
--- Sivan Shemesh: (782) His Special Child; (613) Leaving You Behind;
(664) Road Trip; (353) Elrond and Estel: Fixing Ada; (735) Broken
Spirit; (354) Fairy Tale: The Elfling Who Cried 'Orcs'; (751) Promise
Me; (355) Ellesar & Eldarion: I want to be an Elf!; (752) Boiling Point;
(356) Just a Simple Mistake; (753) Sacrifice of One; (782) His Special Child
--- Skye Rutherford (Skye): (454) Beyond the Measure of Dreams
--- SurgicalSteel: (254) Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
--- the_arc5: (110) The Quiet Hobbit
--- Thundera tiger: (491) The Eagles Are Coming
--- weepingnaiad: (415) The Swamp on the Edge of Forever
--- whitewave: (402) The Dark Foe Wears Feanaro; (125) The Scented
Pleasure Garden

*******************************

CROSSOVERS

The following stories have "Genres: Crossover" selected as one of their
three category choices.

--- 20thcenturyvole: (647) Apples
--- AmandaK: (215) Strategy Meeting; (217) Women's Word
--- Arduinna: (643) CSI Goes Deep (a.k.a. The Inappropriate CSI Crossover)
--- callerofcrows: (360) Walking the Line - Book One
--- Eledhwen: (111) Through the Rain Curtain
--- Ilada'Jefiv: (489) The Blades of Eru
--- Jael: (30) A Man in Full
--- Marta: (27) Walking Down Narrow Streets
--- Moreth: (416) Gathering the Heroes
--- pandemonium_213: (49) Eau de Olorin
--- Rhapsody: (208) Forsaken Knowledge
--- rosethorn59: (762) The Wisdom and Folly of Chaos and Confusion
--- WoodElf: (737) About Time

*******************************

HORROR

The following stories have "Genres: Horror" selected as one of their
three category choices.

--- Aearwen: (92) Solving Old Mysteries
--- chaotic_binky: (210) Tonight, We remember the dead; (464) Sea of Pearls
--- Clotho123: (724) Where the Shadows Lie
--- Dreamdeer: (719) He Clasped Her Fast, Both Flesh and Bone
--- Dreamflower: (741) Trickles of Fear
--- ErinRua: (524) Crows
--- Gwynnyd: (820) Healing Time
--- Imhiriel: (630) From the Grey Twilight
--- Larner: (541) Angainor
--- MCat711: (465) Shattered Stone
--- Nancy Brooke: (369) Bird in God's Garden
--- NeumeIndil: (500) Hands
--- rhyselle: (150) Death in Darkness
--- Sivan Shemesh: (753) Sacrifice of One
--- Tanaqui: (7) A Shadow of Things That Might Be; (807) Homage
--- Thundera Tiger: (493) A Mirkwood Solstice
--- WendWriter: (537) The Turning of Angwe

*******************************

MYSTERY

The following stories have "Genres: Mystery" selected as one of their
three category choices.

--- Alassante: (340) A Beggar of Distinction
--- Arduinna: (643) CSI Goes Deep (a.k.a. The Inappropriate Crossover)
--- Beruthiel's Cat: (334) With or Without You; (341) Rider of Rohan
--- Cathleen: (510) Room for Adventure
--- chaotic_binky: (481) Glorfindel and the Master of the Forest
--- Eiranae: (179) There and Back Again - A Mystery
--- Elen Kortirion: (567) The Search and the Song
--- Jaiden_S: (428) Whispers of the Wind
--- Keiliss: (142) Hide Within
--- Lily: (496) The Gift of Sight
--- Linda Hoyland: (387) Mask of Virtue
--- NeumeIndil: (499) Red Striped Roses
--- SilverMoonLady: (501) As the Stars Wheeled By
--- Sivan Semesh: (613) Leaving You Behind; (751) Promise Me



Happy reading,

Marta

Hey everyone,

I've FINALLY restored the reviews and award listings to the MEFA Archive. I apologize that it took so long!

As always, please let me know ASAP if you find any errors. You can email techsupport@mefawards.net.

Aranel

Hey guys,

Apologies for the late announcement this week. I've been busy with what
I can only describe as "ooh, shiny!"-itis where I get distracted by too
many projects. (Most non-fannish in this case.)

This week I want to talk about one of my favorite site features, junkie
status. Please note, the deadline to use this feature is coming up
(August 31), so please read, ask questions, and use it in the next week
or so.

***********************

WHAT IS JUNKIE STATUS?

Junkie status is also sometimes called reviewer recognition or commended
reviewers status. It's our way of recognizing reviewers who participate
in the awards. All people eligible to review stories can set a goal for
the number of reviews they'd like to review. This limit must be at least
ten but can be as many as you like.

Once you reach your goal you will be listed on the MEFA website as a
"MEFA Junkie" - someone who has reviewed the goal they set. You will
also be given access to "MEFA Junkie" graphics to advertise your
obsessiveness. :-)

***********************

HOW DO YOU SET YOUR REVIEW TARGET?

When you log into the MEFA website now you will see a link to set your
reviewing goal. Just click that link and enter the number of reviews
you'd like as your target. You can also set your goal by editing your
profile. Just click on the "Name/Password" link under Updating Your Details.

You won't be able to set (or edit) your target after August 31.
Remember, the MEFA day is based on GMT, which means that for those of us
*not* in Europe the deadline will be earlier than midnight in our local
time zones. After August 31 you're still welcome to set your own
informal goal, but you can't set an official one - which means no
listing on the website as a MEFA junkie.

***********************

DO YOU HAVE TO SET A REVIEW TARGET?

No. Many reviewers find it helpful to set a goal recorded at the
website, and they like the recognition of reaching that goal. They say
it keeps them accountable. I personally find it motivating. But everyone
has their own style, so if you don't think setting a formal review goal
would help you review more stories, feel free not to participate in this
part of the awards.

***********************

CAN YOU WRITE MORE REVIEWS THAN YOUR REVIEW GOAL?

Absolutely! You are welcome to review any story you'd like (except your
own, obviously). In fact, we encourage you to review as many stories as
you think you can - whatever you set as your review goal. If you say you
will write 100 reviews, and find that you are just getting into the
swing of things at that point, go on reviewing! The review goal is just
a *minimum* number of reviews you'd like to write - not any sort of a cap.

***********************

WHAT COUNTS TOWARD YOUR REVIEW GOAL?

The website counts all of the final + hidden reviews that you have
submitted and compares this with your review goal. If this number of
final + hidden reviews is greater than or equal to your goal, you are
officially a MEFA junkie. :-)

Draft reviews don't count until you change them over to either a hidden
or final status. We only count reviews that authors will see.

All reviews count the same, no matter the length of the story or the
review. Reviewers are of course encouraged to read stories of whatever
length they like, and should keep this in mind when setting their review
goal - if they prefer longer stories, they may want to set a lower goal
since they may spend more time reading each story they intend to review.

***********************

CAN YOU LOSE YOUR JUNKIE STATUS?

This can sometimes happen if you change a review's status to draft. Say
your goal is to write 50 reviews, and you have already written 51 hidden
+ final reviews. At this point you have surpassed your goal and would be
listed as a MEFA junkie. However, say two of those reviews were reset to
draft. Your total number of hidden + final reviews would then be 49 -
below your goal, so you would lose your MEFA junkie status.

In cases like this you can get your MEFA junkie status back by either
entering new hidden or final reviews, or changing the status on some
draft reviews to hidden or final.

***********************

For more information on reviewer recognition:

http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQjunkie

***********************

Review junkie status is just one of the many cool features our technical
volunteers developed to help you participate in the MEFAs. So I wanted
to thank them, particularly Tanaqui who developed this particular
feature. I appreciate the work, and I'm sure other members do as well.

***********************

Yours,

Marta (MEFA Admin.)

Hey guys,

I was told just now about a technical problem with one of the websites
where some MEFA stories are posted. Luckily it only affects a very small
number of stories, all by the same author. But some of you may have run
into problems trying to read these stories. So you know, the URLs for

545. No Longer Dream by Dwimordene
690. Worth Two in the Hand by Dwimordene

are now fixed. If you tried to read the stories before and couldn't
reach them, they should be available for you now. For

749. Hard Sailing by Dwimordene and Isabeau of Greenlea

the URL is still not working for some people. The authors know about the
situation and are wroking on it. The MEFA site should have a
properly-functioning link in a day or two. If you have difficulties
accessing this story, please try again in a few days.

**************

A general note: the links we provide to stories are just that, links to
pages not controlled by the MEFAs. Sometimes they change or break. But
we want everyone to be able to read all the stories competing in the
awards. So, authors, if you need to change your story URL for whatever
reason, please email mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net. Please include
the story ID #, title, and author's name, as well as the new link you'd
like us to use.

Readers, if you notice a broken link and know the author, please have
them contact me. If you don't know them please contact me with the story
ID #, title and author name and I will contact the author for you.

Thanks,

Marta

Hey guys,

Just a quick note: the link for

#637. Storm-tossed by Levade

was broken but is now fixed.

Marta

Hey guys,

The first MEFA reviews will be posted at our website in just a few days,
on September 1. (Yayz!) This is big news for authors but also impacts
the people writing reviews. After all, for every review seen by an
author, that's a review someone wrote that is now visible to other
people - and we want to make sure we only show the reviews you're ready
to share.

Reviewers control when their reviews are displayed using review
statuses. So that's what we're going to talk about today.

************************************

WHAT ARE REVIEW STATUSES?

When you enter your reviews at the MEFA website you are allowed to
choose one of three statuses. These statuses control when your review
will be shown to other people; whether or not you can still edit it; and
whether or not it is counted (that is, whether it actually gives points
to the author). I'll explain exactly how the status effects these things
below.

The three statuses you can choose are: DRAFT, HIDDEN, and FINAL.

************************************

WHEN WILL MY REVIEW BE SHOWN TO OTHER PEOPLE?

Final reviews are shown beginning September 1. That means, if you wrote
a final review already, it will be shown to anyone visiting the MEFA
site (including the author, hopefully) starting next week. If you write
a final review after September 1 it will show up right away.

Hidden reviews will be displayed after voting closes on December 31. If
you want your review to show up earlier you should change the review
status from hidden to final. Changing a status works just like entering
a new review. What I mean is, if you switch your status to final before
September 1, your review will show up with all the final reviews on
September 1. And if you make the switch *after* September 1, your review
will show up whenever you change the status.

Draft reviews are never shown to anyone else (except awards volunteers).

************************************

CAN I STILL EDIT MY REVIEW?

The general rule of thumb is, you can only edit reviews that aren't
already visible to other site visitors. This means:

--- Final reviews can only be edited until August 31.
--- Hidden reviews can only be edited until December 31.
--- Draft reviews can only be edited until December 31. (They aren't
shown to other people at that time, but the awards are over.)

If you change a review's status, it takes on the rules of whatever it's
new status is. So, say it's September 15 and you have a hidden review
you're ready to show the world. You edit it and give it a new status of
final, which tells the website to display it. That also means you can't
edit it any more. Even though it was originally a hidden review (so you
could edit it until December 31), when you changed your status to final,
you accepted the earlier deadline for editing final reviews.

Sometimes final reviews are edited after August 31, but only I can do
this, and I generally only do it for clear-cut errors, like if you enter
a review for the wrong story or if you forget to block off quotes. I
don't let reviewers edit a final review if they just decide you want to
make it longer or shorter. If you think there's *any* chance you still
want to edit a review I really encourage you to use the hidden status.

************************************

HOW DO I EDIT MY REVIEW?

If your review isn't shown to all site visitors yet, the process is very
similar to how you entered the review to begin with.

First, you need to find the story you reviewed.

1. Log in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009
2. Click on the "Stories" link at the top of the page.
3. Do a search either for the story title or (if you remember it) the
story ID followed by a "#" mark.

Now, click the link to edit the review. It's over on the right side of
the screen, where there's a "Enter New Review" link for stories you
haven't reviewed yet. The link will read either "Edit Draft Review",
"Edit Hidden Review," or "Edit Final Review only before 2009-09-01."

If you only need to change your review's status:

4. Change the review status to what you like.
5. Click "Save Validated Review."

If you need to change what your review says:

4. Scroll down to the "Story Review" box and change the text of the review.
5. To add a spoiler warning: check the box just below the review. (You
can skip this step.)
5. Click "Preview This Review" and wait for the page to reload.
6. Read over the "Validated Review" to make sure it says what you want.
7. To change the status: select the new status in the Review Status box.
(You can skip this step.)
8. Click the "Save Validated Review" button.

You will then be redirected to the page you see on logging in, but with
a message at the top. The message should tell you that your review has
been changed.

Final reviews cannot in general be edited. If you believe you have a
compelling reason why yours should be edited, email me at
mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net with

--- your name at the MEFA website
--- the story ID # of the review you'd like changed
--- the complete text you'd like your review changed to (do not describe
the changes you need; tell me exactly what the review should say, and I
will delete the old and paste in the new)
--- a brief explanation of why you think the review needs to be changed

If I agree the review should be changed I will make the change for you.

************************************

WILL MY REVIEW BE COUNTED?

"Counted" is MEFA jargon for when your review actually gives points to
the story it is a review of. Each review is worth a certain number of
points determined solely by the review's length, and the stories with
the most points in each subcategory win. (You see how many points your
review is worth when you are entering or editing it, after you click the
"Preview This Review" button.)

But not all reviews actually give their story points. Your review will
only give the story points if it's shown to all site visitors. This means:

--- HIDDEN and FINAL reviews are counted.
--- DRAFT reviews are not counted.

So if you write a draft review, make sure you switch it over to hidden
or final at some point, if you want the author to get points out of your
review.

************************************

HOW DO I KNOW WHETHER I'VE WRITTEN DRAFT (or hidden, or final) REVIEWS?

You can use the same filters you use to find stories about a certain
character or in a certain subcategory, to pull up the stories
for which you've entered a certain type of review.

1. Log in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
2. Click on the "Stories" link at the top of the page.
3. Click the link to "Show Filter" if the filters aren't already displayed.
4. Click the "Clear All Filters" button.

*** This step is important. If you were already using the filter and
don't clear it out, what follows will only pick up stories you've
reviewed that also match the other filters. So if (for example) you were
looking for stories about Frodo and forget to clear out the filter, what
follows will only show stories that *both* involve Frodo *and* that you
have reviewed. ***

5. From the "Review Status" pick the option that describes the kind of
stories you want to find.
6. Click the "Display Selected Nominations" button.

Choosing (for instance) Final in step 5 will show you the stories where
you have entered a review and given it the status "final." There are
also options to pull up reviews with either of two or more statuses, so
you can show all the stories you've entered a Hidden or Final review
for. You can edit any of those reviews just like was described above.
Clicking the link to edit that review will show you the review even if
you aren't still allowed to edit it.

************************************

And that's it! Next week we'll talk about how to see the reviews and
nifty site features related to that, and also how authors can reply to
reviews they've received.

************************************

For more information:

--- What status should I give my vote?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_3
--- How do I find a story to vote for?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_15
--- Can I edit a review after I write it?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_6
--- How are reviews scored?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_11

************************************

P.S. - Two quick, final reminders.

First: the MEFA day ends in GMT - not your local timezone. Our site's
very smart, but not quite *that* smart. To see the "official" MEFA time
look for the "Page Served At:" line (bottom of every page). This tells
you the official site time according to the MEFA website's clock, when
that page was loaded. You can only edit reviews until 11:59 PM on the
deadlines mentioned above.

Also: August 31 is also the deadline to set your reviewing goal, or edit
it. Don't forget to do that if you need to.

************************************

Marta
(MEFA Admin.)

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get everything ready for when the final reviews are
displayed at our site, this Tuesday. It's actually quite exciting. As
part of that, I want to address a few issues.

1.

As I explained in my most recent Admin posts. Final reviews can't be
edited after August 31. (That's tomorrow.) I said it before, but it
bears repeating.

2.

Reviews are of course posted to the MEFA website
(www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/), but in addition to that we have in the
past posted them somewhere else that can be sent to our members without
them logging in to the website. Usually that meant this Yahoo group.
I've been discussing this issue with the other volunteers, trying to
strike the proper balance between reminding people that MEFA reviews are
available and flooding everyone's inbox.

To help us make the best decision, I've set up a poll. It will run for a
week. Basically it asks two things: whether reviews needed to be posted
somewhere other than that main MEFA website, and where you'd most like
to see them posted. The poll is here:


http://community.livejournal.com/mefas/121924.html

(non-LJ members, never fear: while LJ won't let you vote in a poll, you
can let me know your preference by commenting with how you would have
posted.)

Starting Tuesday, annmarwalk will post the reviews to the mefas LJ
community, and once a week she will also make a post here with links to
those LJ posts. This will allow those who want to read the reviews
outside the MEFA website to do so, without emailing them out to
everyone. The poll will run for a week until Sunday Sept. 6. If the poll
indicates that a majority want us to do something different, we'll
consider changing things at that point.

3.

To date, there are over 900 final reviews in this year's competition.
That's just too many for me or any of the other volunteers to read them
all, and doesn't even include the hidden reviews and the reviews still
to be entered. This is an area in which we depend on all of your help.

If you are reading reviews and see a review tha tyou think does
something that is against MEFA rules in some way, please email me about
it. You should email me at mefasupport-at-mefawards-dot-net, and include
the header of the review (the lines above the actual review indicating
the story and reviewer) as well as an explanation of what you think is
wrong.

4.

Promoters: I have a special announcement for you that I will be sending
out tomorrow about reviews now being available at the MEFA website.
Please be on the lookout for it.



That's all I have, and (hopefully) the last you'll hear from me until
after reviews are posted next week. :-)

Marta