Yahoo Forum Archive

This is an archive of the MEFA Yahoo Group, which was shut down by Yahoo in 2019. The archive can be sorted by month and by topic ID. You can use your browser to search by keyword within the month or topic you have open.

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Msg# 10842

new wedsite domain + email addresses Posted by Marta Layton May 11, 2011 - 9:43:56 Topic ID# 10842
Hey guys,

The MEFA website will have a new address for the 2011 awards. You will be
able to find our website at

http://www.mefawards.org/

Right now you can find the archives there, which list all previous
nominations and the reviews and results for previous years. It's a great
resource to find stories to read that you may have missed, and also will
help you know whether a piece is eligible to compete in the 2011 awards. In
a few weeks you will be able to find the full address you use to nominate
and vote at that same address.

Because of the changed web address, we also have new email addresses the old
mefawards.net addresses will no longer work.

1. Have a general question about the awards? Then you want to contact me,
the awards administrator. I can be reached at

supportATmefawardsDOTorg

2. Have a technical problem? If you're simply not sure how to use the site
you can email me, but if you're getting an actual error message you probably
want to talk with our webmasters.

techATmefawardsDOTorg

I think those were the only @mefawards.net email addresses we used, but if
you need to get in touch with someone else who used an @mefawards.net
address, just email me privately. I'll help you sort it out. :-)

Elenn sila lumen omentielvo,

Marta

Msg# 10843

[ADMIN] calling all volunteers - again Posted by Marta May 18, 2011 - 21:51:54 Topic ID# 10843
Hey guys,

The 2011 awards will start soon, and we're still a little short on the
volunteers. Here are the jobs I still have available, listed more or
less in how badly we need people to carry them out.

. BANNER COORDINATOR. The banner coordinator basically makes sure
banners are run smoothly. You don't have to make banners yourself,
though you can if you want to. It's your job to make sure banners are
properly labeled and meet our rules (for example, that they are
roughly the right size and that they don't use copyrighted art.

You also would be a sort of first line of support for people with
banner-related questions - authors but also banner makers who aren't
quite sure how to do things. And anything else you want to do
regarding banners to make that part of the awards run smoother, I'm
more than happy to talk about the idea.

. RATINGS PANEL. Whenever authors aren't sure what to give a story,
they can submit it to what's called the rating panel. This is a group
of three members who will read it and recommend a rating. Currently,
we don't have ANY volunteers for the ratings panel. Basically, you
just need to be willing to read a story that may not (or may!) be your
cup of Earl Grey, and say what you think the rating should be. For
longer stories, we usually ask the author to submit a chapter or two
along with a summary of what's going on before and after the parts
they wanted the panel to look at in particular.

. AUTHOR LIAISONS. Currently we only have six liaisons. That's less
than last year and I'd like to get a few more people involved.
Liaisons essentially work with with authors to help them tell us about
their stories and get them ready to compete. This means knowing some
basic details about story eligibility (but you can always ask me - I
tend to focus most on answering liaison's questions during
nominations) and having the time to work with authors. But it's an
incredibly rewarding experience, to give good news to authors and
maybe introduce them to the MEFAs for the first time.

Msg# 10844

CORRECTED! [ADMIN] calling volunteers - again Posted by Marta May 18, 2011 - 22:01:14 Topic ID# 10844
Hey guys,

*eep* Very sorry, guys! I hit "send" too soon. Here is the corrected email.

The 2011 awards will start soon, and we're still a little short on the
volunteers. Here are the jobs I still have available, listed more or
less in how badly we need people to carry them out.

1. BANNER COORDINATOR. The banner coordinator basically makes sure
banners are run smoothly. You don't have to make banners yourself,
though you can if you want to. It's your job to make sure banners are
properly labeled and meet our rules (for example, that they are
roughly the right size and that they don't use copyrighted art.

You also would be a sort of first line of support for people with
banner-related questions - authors but also banner makers who aren't
quite sure how to do things. And anything else you want to do
regarding banners to make that part of the awards run smoother, I'm
more than happy to talk about the idea.

2. RATINGS PANEL. Whenever authors aren't sure what to give a story,
they can submit it to what's called the rating panel. This is a group
of three members who will read it and recommend a rating. Currently,
we don't have ANY volunteers for the ratings panel. Basically, you
just need to be willing to read a story that may not (or may!) be your
cup of Earl Grey, and say what you think the rating should be. For
longer stories, we usually ask the author to submit a chapter or two
along with a summary of what's going on before and after the parts
they wanted the panel to look at in particular.

3. PROMOTERS. Currently, we just have one person signed up as a
liaison. If you know of a Tolkien-centric website OTHER than the
StoriesofArda.com listserv where they let people make announcements
about other fandom goings-on, we'd love to have you onboard as a
promoter. Basically, I will occasionally send out an announcement
which you can forward on to the group. You can rewrite it into your
own words if you like (though I do ask that you not change the actual
information). Also, if you ever feel like I am asking you to make too
many announcements, you are free not to pass on any announcement you
like. This is a rather easy way to volunteer for the awards.

4. AUTHOR LIAISONS. Currently we only have six liaisons. That's less
than last year and I'd like to get a few more people involved.
Liaisons essentially work with with authors to help them tell us about
their stories and get them ready to compete. This means knowing some
basic details about story eligibility (but you can always ask me - I
tend to focus most on answering liaison's questions during
nominations) and having the time to work with authors. But it's an
incredibly rewarding experience, to give good news to authors and
maybe introduce them to the MEFAs for the first time.

5. BANNER MAKERS. Finally, if you have artistic skill and want to use
it to make banners for the MEFAs, we want your help! You would
basically make banners and buttons for nominated authors; reviewers
who reach their reviewing goals; and for authors whose stories win
their subcategory (or a Smaug's Treasure). You can make as few or as
many as you like, and they will be made available to authors.
Currently we only have two banner makers signed up, so let me know if
you are interested.

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

Before, I asked people to sign up by posting over at an LJ post,

http://mefas.livejournal.com/264837.html

You can still do that, but if that's difficult for some reason, you
can also email me at supportATmefawardsDOTorg.

Oh, and if none of this sounds sufficiently appealing, remember that
you can always help out just by nominating stories. Start thinking
about what you want to nominate, and once you decide, why not contact
the author so they know the MEFAs are getting ready to start?

Elen Sila Lumenn Omentielvo,

Marta
(MEFA Admin.)

Msg# 10845

ADMIN - final call for volunteers, + getting ready for the 2011 MEFA Posted by Marta May 23, 2011 - 0:19:29 Topic ID# 10845
Hey guys,

The 2011 MEFAs are just around the corner. We will be accepting
nominations at http://www.mefawards.org/ from June 1-30 - that means,
beginning in just about a week from now. I'm excited!

Some things you can do to get ready.

--- First, Do you have an account with the MEFA website? If you are a
member of the [MEFAwards] Yahoo group you should have an account from
last year, but if you were a nominated author (without also joining
[MEFAwards]) you had a one-year account, and your old password won't
work. You will receive a new password if you are nominated again, or
alternately you can sign up for a permanent account by joining
[MEFAwards] and filling out our short questionnaire.

Do keep in mind, though: a volunteer has to set up your account by
hand. So don't expect an immediate turn-around. If you're not a member
and want to be, go ahead and get things set up now so you can nominate
next week.

If you simply have forgotten your password, visit
http://mefawards.fancrone.net/index.php?page=login and use the link to
have it sent to you. If you aren't sure of your situation, please
email me at supportATmefawardsDOTorg and I will help you sort things
out.

--- Second, If you want to nominate pieces, do you know which ones?
It's not too soon to start thinking about that. Go ahead and gather up
the title, the URL where it is available, and the author's name and
email address so you can be ready to email it as soon as nominations
open.

While you're at it, why not send the author a note saying you plan to
nominate it? (Or asking their permission if it's more your style.)
While not strictly required, it helps move the process along if the
author knows to look for an email saying they have been nominated.

--- Third, If you plan on using a banner or icon to share the fact you
were nominated, you may want to look over some of the banners and
icons being displayed. This year the banners and icons will be posted
to http://mefa-banners.livejournal.com/ and you are invited to add
that community as (if you're an LJ member) or just poke in from time
to time to see the latest goodies.

Btw, If you have any interest in creating fanart, we would love to
have your help as a banner artist. Just drop me a line at
supportATmefawardsDOTorg and I will get you set up. You can create
banners or icons for nominees, reviewers that meet their review goals,
and the winning stories.

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

Speaking of volunteers, here are the people currently signed up as
volunteers. If you haven't had a chance to sign up, please let me
know.

--- BANNER CREATORS: Elena Tiriel; Elleth; Ellynn; Maethril; Nath
--- AUTHOR LIAISONS: Adonnen Estenniel; Cathleen; Dreamflower;
elfscribe; Fiondil; Foxrafer; Inkling; Linaewen; Maethril;
--- PROMOTERS:

Chris @ aragornangst
Dawn Felagund @ SWG Yahoo Group, SWG LJ community, and
SilmarillionWritersGuild.org
Dreamflower @ LOTR GFIC
Dwimordene @ Henneth_Annun and the Henneth Annun Story Archive
Inkling @ Stories_of_Arda
Lissa @ Garden of Ithilien
NierielRaina @ Blind-Chit-Chat; CouncilofRivendell; Books for the
Blind; Blind-Science Fiction; BookTalk

--- RATINGS COMMITTEE: Maethril; NeumeIndil; Oshun; Sulriel; The Lauderdale

This is of course in addition to Aranel Took and Tanaqui who help run
the technical end of things. I'll be continuing on as admin.

We could still use more author liaisons, banner makers, and promoters.
So if any of that seems like your cup of earl grey, please let me
know.

Marta

Msg# 10846

ADMIN - 2011 MEFAs to start in a few hours Posted by Marta Layton May 31, 2011 - 13:57:22 Topic ID# 10846
Hey guys,

The 2011 Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards will start at midnight GMT, tonight.
That's just over five hours from now. A few last minute reminders as we get
ready to start the awards.

1. Aranel Took has built an entirely new website for this year with all-new
code. It really is a great leap forward and I think people will find it much
easier to use in several regards than the old site. But with any project of
this size, you may occasionally find little things that need correcting. Or
you may just not know how to do something you did on the old site. I ask for
your patience.

If you are confused or think there's a mistake in the site language (FAQs,
instructions, etc.), email me at supportATmefawardsDOTorg and I will get
right on it. If you are getting an actual error message you should email
techATmefawardsDOTorg, including the error message, your operating system
(i.e., Mac OS X, Windows 7, etc.), and your web browser (Firefox 4.0, IE 9,
Google Chrome 11.9, etc.).

The one thing that may *not* be ready is the Voting FAQ. That's my fault -
it slipped through the cracks on things I needed to get done - and the FAQ
should be updated in a day or two.

2. Speaking of the website, we have a shiny new web address, and new emails
to go with it.

Main site: http://www.mefawards.org/
Archive: http://archive.mefawards.org/
Banners: http://mefa-banners.livejournal.com/

Email Addresses:

General help: supportATmefawardsDOTorg
Technical help: techATmefawardsDOTorg
Help with Memberships: usersATmefawardsDOTorg

3. If you volunteered in any capacity you should have received an email from
me adding you to a listserv I will use to communicate with all of that type
of volunteer. If you have *not* received emails like that, please drop me a
line at supportATmefawardsDOTorg.

4. A quick eligibility checklist:

--- (A) Does the piece involve Tolkien's world (or an adaptation of it) in
some way?
--- (B) Is this the first time it has competed, or was it a WIP before and
now it's finished?
--- (C) Does it meet the guidelines for the General, Teen, or Mature ratings
posted at http://www.mefawards.org/index.php?page=FAQratingsguide?
--- (D) Is it posted to a site where it does not require the reader to log
in to see the story?
--- (E) Do you have an email address where the author can be contacted?

If you can answer yes to those questions the piece is probably eligible. But
if you're not sure feel free to email the support address, and I'll give you
a second opinion. If you have concerns about ratings, particularly if you
are unsure whether the piece is Mature or Adult, you may want to send it to
the Ratings Panel. For more info on the Ratings Panel see
http://www.mefawards.org/index.php?page=FAQratings#rat_8.

That's about it! Looking forward to the start of the awards later tonight.

Elen sila lumenn omentielvo,

Marta

Msg# 10847

Internet Explorer browser problems Posted by Aranel May 31, 2011 - 23:10:58 Topic ID# 10847
Hey all,

If you are using Internet Explorer 7 or earlier, you will most likely have problems viewing and using the site. Please upgrade to IE8 (better) or IE9 (best), or another browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Safari).

Thanks,
Aranel