Yahoo Forum Archive

Hey guys,

This week I want to talk about how to read reviews. Many reviews are already
available at our website, and more will be added as the awards go on.

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TO FIND REVIEWS:

--- 1. Log in to www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/
--- 2. Click the "Reviews" Link at the top of the page.

And you're there! You are looking at the first twenty-five reviews
published, that you haven't already marked. You can see more than
twenty-five at a go using the "Per Page:" menu, or view additional sets of
reviews by selecting from the "Jump to Page:" menu.

You can also filter the reviews, to see just those written by a certain
author, or for stories competing in a certain category or subcategory. That
first option is particularly useful because it lets competing authors find
their own reviews more easily. (The author's name is hyperlinked in each
review, but clicking that will take you to a different page.)

New this year, you can also vote for the story being reviewed, add it to
your wish list, or add it to your skip list. Just click the link above the
review.

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MARKING REVIEWS

The website lets you mark the reviews if you would like to. Marking a review
just means the website won't show it to you again by default. Think of it
like moving an email message out of your inbox and into a folder: it's still
there, but you have to tell the website to pull it up.

You can only mark a whole page of reviews, and you have to start with the
first page. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Mark &
Load." The reviews page will reload, only now it will show you the next
twenty-five (or however many) reviews. This is a great way to only read the
most recent reviews.

If you want to see reviews you previously marked, simply click the "Show
Marked Reviews" link at the top of the page. This will display all the
reviews (twenty-five or however many at a time). Marked reviews will have a
pinkish background; new reviews, blue.

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REPLYING TO REVIEWS

Authors can reply to reviews of their story by clicking the link "Reply to
This Review" link. That will pop up a window with some instructions. You can
either click a link to open up an email in Outlook, Thunderbird or some
other email program you have installed; or you can start up an email in your
web-based email program. To do the latter you will need to copy a subject
line the pop-up window displays to you, and send it to
mefareviews(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

In either case you then type in what you'd like to say to the reviewer. Our
intrepid volunteer Foxrafer skims the email and then forwards it along to
the reviewer, along with your email address so the reviewer can reply back
to you if they like. We skim the replies, not to crimp your style but
because emails we forward on seem like they're coming from the MEFAs. So we
don't want to inadvertently pass on spam or anything and get the reviewer
annoyed at you.

If you have a problem with a review -for your story or someone else's - you
should email mefasupport(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Don't use the "Reply to This
Review" feature unless you want to, you know, actually reply to the
reviewer. :-)

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For more information:

--- Someone left me a review, and I'd like to reply to it. How do I do
this?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_20

--- Can an offensive review be removed?
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_8

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P.S. - Annmarwalk is posting reviews to the Yahoo group [mefa-reviews] and
the LJ comm [mefas], tag "review posting 2010." Subscribe or watch those
places to get the reviews delivered to you by email or on LJ.

Thanks so much to Annmarwalk, to Foxrafer, and to all our other volunteers
who work with reviews. Your work is very much appreciated!

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At your service (and your family's),

Marta