NS Fanfiction Awards 2009

[Julie]

Julie, do you know which categories you will do? And is best WiP of the Year the only WiP category?

I was thinking of doing at least Best Fanfiction/Best Author in every category we have here on NS, and perhaps also adding some of the other categories suggested here.

We'll either have to do ONE WIP category, where all WIPs go, or have a separate award show for them, which personally I think kind of defeats the purpose of the awards. If we are to have a WIP category for every "normal" category as well, there's gonna be a hell of a lot of categories :S

[lexie]

Require login (existing NS username and password) before you can vote?

Meaning, should you have to login with your NS username and password BEFORE you are given the ability to vote? You can nominate and browse the other sections without having to log in. Why do this? To make the voting process more protected from multiple votes. I have a bare minimum security added to the script now, but if people want to, they can easily find a way around this. By adding a login requirement, it makes this way-around a little more difficult.

I´m all for the username and password.

I'm thinking a Best WIP of the Year would be the best and most doable choice. And how about a minimum of 5 posted chapters to be eligible?

That minimum, I think, sounds fair.

I was thinking of doing at least Best Fanfiction/Best Author in every category we have here on NS, and perhaps also adding some of the other categories suggested here.

Oh, I like this very much! (claps)

[MelBee1985]

ETA: I've added a new poll to the thread regarding voting.

Require login (existing NS username and password) before you can vote?

Meaning, should you have to login with your NS username and password BEFORE you are given the ability to vote? You can nominate and browse the other sections without having to log in. Why do this? To make the voting process more protected from multiple votes. I have a bare minimum security added to the script now, but if people want to, they can easily find a way around this. By adding a login requirement, it makes this way-around a little more difficult.

Wonderful idea *cough*

I think it's the best solution. Multiple voting takes out the real competition in my opinion...

[Avalanche]

Sounds like the plans of geniuses, Julie!

[cypanache]

I was thinking of doing at least Best Fanfiction/Best Author in every category we have here on NS, and perhaps also adding some of the other categories suggested here.

For the categories that we have here, does a fic have to have been posted in that category to be eligible for nomination in it? For example, to use two fics which are currently really not eligible because they're WIPs, but I'd nominate skauble's What You Don't Know in the Romance category though its posted in General, while I'm not sure anyone would currently think of Collaborator as a Romance though that's where its posted just as a function of where I put it. Additionally, can a fic be eligible in more than one category? I.e. A/u and romance? Humor and action?

Cy

[Julie]

For the categories that we have here, does a fic have to have been posted in that category to be eligible for nomination in it? For example, to use two fics which are currently really not eligible because they're WIPs, but I'd nominate skauble's What You Don't Know in the Romance category though its posted in General, while I'm not sure anyone would currently think of Collaborator as a Romance though that's where its posted just as a function of where I put it. Additionally, can a fic be eligible in more than one category? I.e. A/u and romance? Humor and action?

Cy

We can do a vote on it later, but personally I think fics should only be eligible for nomination in the category it is posted in here. So a fic posted in the General category here, goes into the General category in the award show... Otherwise, all fics can be nominated into any category to give them a higher chance of winning in that category...

[lexie]

Cy has made a very good point because most stories are really difficult to categorise as belonging to one genre alone. Usually stories can fit in two or even three categories because of the elements present in the plot, although one of them often tends to stand out. In my case for instance, I tend to post in the Romance section but I´d say that almost 100% of them could be regarded as mystery fics- only there´s no such category on the forums- and yet the love element is strong.

Oh, this will be difficult, guys! But I agree with Julie, we should better stick to the category where the author has posted the fic or it´ll be bedlam.

[MelBee1985]

I get Cy and lexie point of view and I would agree, but I think Julie is right. That would be SO complicated... People made a choice to put their story in a category. Of course it can overlap another category, but to keep it more simple, we should keep the category they have been nominated?

Unless, maybe *maybe* if the author in it's descripiton of the fic also named another genre... We can't leave the people nominating the liberty to choose, they might not place it in right ones... PS: Makes me think... What if someone nominate a fic in the wrong category? Is it placed back in the right one or deleted?

Hmmmm

[Julie]

[...] What if someone nominate a fic in the wrong category? Is it placed back in the right one or deleted?

Hmmmm

If we (the site staff) have to look to find the correct category, then it will be deleted. If it's just a small dropdown-list choose error, then we can alter it...

[cypanache]

We can do a vote on it later, but personally I think fics should only be eligible for nomination in the category it is posted in here. So a fic posted in the General category here, goes into the General category in the award show... Otherwise, all fics can be nominated into any category to give them a higher chance of winning in that category...

Just to give a counter thought. It also means that all fics with more than three sex scenes can only be nominated in the NC-17 category (according to the board's rules) though they may have lots of elements that would lend themselves to other categories as well. Again just for example, Zannie's Irrevocable has lots of good suspense/mystery elements. While BlueSabby's Buyouts Hostile Takeovers and Matchmaking is decidely humor. While sex scenes play a role in both its not the only thing to recommend the stories, and I'm not sure limiting them to the NC-17 category and forcing them to be pitted against each other there is best way to recognize the best fic.

I think the nomination process with rounds would help to weed out fics which aren't necessarily nominated in the appropriate categories or are clearly being nominated across the board, though in my experience that doesn't happen. I'll also put out there. I think your two major problems with this decision are the general and the NC-17 category. General has a tendency to hold everything from the dark to the friendship to the adventure, to the deeply romantic. It's not particularly descriptive and its hard to judge a fic's accomplishments against that. (Keep in mind I understood there would be a best all-around category). And the NC-17 has the problem that its huge and again holds a massive cross-section of types by virtue of the forum's rules. I think there's a difference between a fic whose main focus is the sex (i.e. TAA's Deep in the Bottle) and a fic with sex in it (i.e. What You Don't Know) and I think the nominators can be trusted to make that distinction.

Just playing devil's advocate, so that we're thinking this all through.