Yahoo Forum Archive

Hey guys,

Every so often I hear about a discussion going on, where people ask
whether NC17 stories can compete in the MEFAs. It seems like the kind of
thing a lot of people are confused over. Our policy on ratings used to
be a bit different than it is now. So I'd like to use this week's
educational post to explain some of the issues surrounding ratings and
eligibility.

By the way, you may be thinking this is the kind of thing we really
should have brought up during nominations. Perhaps we should have, and
I'll try to do that next year. But I think it's still good to talk about
now. You may be surprised to come across an NC17 story when reading this
year's nominations, since they are are allowed. You may also be keeping
lists throughout the year, of new stories you'd like to nominate. I
don't want stories rated NC17 on their archives to miss out *next* year
because you were confused about our rules. So it's good to think about
this topic now, so you understand the MEFA's positions on ratings.

Before we get to that, though, some quick reminders:

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1. Annmarwalk is posting reviews to the [mefa-reviews] Yahoo group and
the [mefas] LJ community. If you'd like to receive reviews by email,
sign up for one of these groups.

2. Don't forget, if you're setting a review goal, you need to do this by
August 15.

Now on to the main event. :^D

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ARE NC-17 STORIES ELIGIBLE?

It really depends on the story. At the MEFAs, eligibility depends on the
rating your story receives in OUR rating system. These are described at

http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQratingsguide

Stories that fall under General, Teen, or Mature can compete; Adult
stories cannot. As you can see, the Mature rating allows "Full sex
scenes [to] be depicted. The depiction should focus on the characters'
emotions and thoughts rather than a clinical description of the events."
We also consider whether any erotic content is part of a larger story
arc or is the main focus of the piece. But as you can see, our
guidelines are a bit more liberal than what you find at many archives.



WHAT IF I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO RATE MY STORY?

We have a ratings panel to help authors figure out what to rate their
stories. If you aren't sure what's appropriate, you can have these
volunteers read over your story, and they will decide what rating it
will have. If they decide it is Adult, the story can't compete in that
year's awards, though it will still be eligible in future years. (For
instance, you might remove/modify the adult part, or our ratings
guidelines might change.) And if they decide it's Mature, you can be
certain that your story will stay in the competition throughout the
whole awards.

It's the author's choice whether or not to have the ratings panel look
over a story. The disadvantage of *not* using this panel is, there's a
risk that the story will be withdrawn later. If a reader complains that
a story is too explicit later in the awards our ratings panel will look
at it then. If the ratings panel decides your story is adult rather than
mature, your story will be withdrawn from the awards. (And it may not be
eligible in the future, if it's withdrawn too late.) So if you're
unsure, you can take advantage of this panel to make sure you're
eligible. But really, there are many stories rated NC17 at some archive,
that actually qualify for our Mature rating - and they are eligible to
compete.



CAN I LINK TO A STORY IF IT'S RATED NC-17 AT ITS ARCHIVE?

We don't look at the rating you gave a story at its archive. Authors
rate the story at *our* website, and that's all we need to know, to see
if it's eligible or not.

There is one thing to think about, though. Some archives require you to
actually log in to read an Adult-rated story. If you nominate a story at
that archive, they'll be ineligible - not because of rating, but because
the link doesn't work! For the MEFAs you need a single link that goes to
your whole story, and where people can read the story even if they
aren't a member of that site. (It's fine if the archive makes readers
click a button or link, confirming they're of age; the website just
can't make you sign in.)



IS SLASH ELIGIBLE?

Slash comes in all ratings, just like het does. You don't have to warn
for slash or het, and you don't have to rate one type of story higher
than the other. Your rating should reflect how explicit the story is,
not the pairings involved. You do need to indicate romantic pairings on
our form, so readers can decide whether they want to read those stories.
Some people decide not to read het or slash; equally, some people decide
not to read a certain pairing because it doesn't interest them for some
other reason.

If your slash story is ineligible, it's not *because* it's slash.



WHAT IF I READ A STORY WITH THE WRONG RATING OR WARNING?

If you think you've read something with the wrong rating, I want to hear
about it. Email the story ID #, title, author, and what you think is
wrong about the rating or warning, to mefasupportATgmailDOTcom. If the
ratings panel hasn't already looked at the story, I'll have them do that
ASAP. (If they've alredy read it, it won't be read again.) Assuming the
ratings panel agrees with you, I will correct the information listed at
our website.

I do ask that you not leave a negative review for a story because the
content surprised you. That's not fair to them, or to other readers who
may not be bothered by the rating. It's also no guarantee that I'll see
the review, since I don't have time to read every review written, and I
can't fix what I don't know about. Of course you don't have to review
the story at all, if you were so surprised by the content that you
couldn't enjoy the story.



I WISH I HAD KNOWN ALL THIS A FEW MONTHS AGO! I WOULD HAVE NOMINATED
THIS GREAT STORY I READ...

The good news is, older stories are 100% eligible for the MEFAs. If you
read a story from 2009 - or 1999, or whenever - that you really liked,
and no one has nominated it yet, it's still eligible to compete. Just
nominate it next year.

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For more on Ratings, see:

--- Are "adult" stories eligible for the MEFAs?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQratings#rat_1

--- Do I need to warn if my story contains het or slash?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQratings#rat_5

--- Ratings Guideline
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQratingsguide

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Marta
(MEFA Admin.)