ASC AWARDS VOTING OVERVIEW

The purpose of this overview is to explain what the voting periods are
and how they work--so you can be a fully active participant in the
awards process. This document is not meant to replace the official
Awards FAQ, but to act as a supplement.

1. When Do Awards Start?

The ASC Awards season officially begins on March 2 at 2 pm EST, with
the opening of the first commenting period.

2. How Do I Vote For A Story?

The ASC awards are feedback based. This means when you vote for a
story, you don't check off a ticky-box or assign it a number. Instead,
you actually write out a comment explaining why you liked the story.
You might say, "I really like how the author got inside the heads of
the characters" or "This was a satisfying conclusion to something
neglected in canon" or "The imagery and dialogue made the story come
alive for me!"

Voting, which we will refer to from now on by the more accurate term
"commenting", does have a few restrictions. You are not allowed to
comment on your own stories. Nor can you simply cut and paste the same
comment for multiple stories. "Nonsense" comments i.e. gibberish will
also be disqualified.

3. How Do I Get Started?

The very first thing you need to do is go to the Trekiverse site and
register:
http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/register.php.

This involves supplying a name and a valid email address. Once you
have registered, a string of numbers is generated and emailed to you.
That is your UniqueID. The web site will automatically remember you,
but should you choose to comment via an alternate method (see the FAQ
for more details), you will need to include your name and UniqueID in
each email or post.

If you don't like the idea of a cookie, you can delete it from your
machine immediately after registering. However, you must still retain
a record of your UniqueID and use it when you comment.

Only one valid commenting name per person will be permitted. In other
words, you cannot register under a variety of names. We have ways of
finding these things out, and your comments will be disqualified.

You can register any time between now and March 23 (when the final
commenting period ends). Once you have registered you may comment in
any series you please. However, your comments will not count unless
you have registered.

The web ballots, which will be posted on March 2 when the first
commenting period opens, contain links to all of the stories to help
refresh your memory, or to introduce you to a fic you may have
overlooked when it was first posted during the year.

4. How did you come up with the lists of stories? I don't remember
being nominated!

All new stories (and poems and filks) posted to the
alt.startrek.creative newsgroup between February 1, 2007 and January
31, 2008 automatically were eligible for inclusion in awards. No
nominations required (though an author could opt out if so desired).
Reposts of older stories were not included (unless the author made a
credible case that the story in question is so changed by revisions
that it should in actuality be deemed "new"). As for Incomplete
Stories, those are eligible for receiving comments but not for placing
re: an award. The same is true for the authors in each series. The
final lists of stories in each category, as they appear on the web
site, were determined based upon the check ballots.

5. What Is A Check Ballot?

During February, check ballots were posted in each series in order to
give authors the chance to make sure their stories hadn't been
inadvertently omitted or mis-categorized. There were three sets
of check ballots altogether.

The official commenting ballots will be posted on the ASC newsgroup
and the Yahoo Awards group as well as the Trekiverse site at the
beginning of each commenting period.

6. What Is A Voting/Commenting Period?

All of the stories in all of the series do not run simultaneously, but
are divided into distinct commenting periods for your convenience.
Announcements will be made on the newsgroup (as well as the Yahoo
Awards group) to let you know when a specific commenting period is
about to begin or end.

All commenting periods begin at 2 pm EST.

The schedule is as follows:

TOS - March 2 - 16
TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT & MIS - March 9 - 23
Results - March 30

7. What Do You Guys Do With My Comments?

Your comments are counted according to the numbers of characters, and
points are awarded according to a scale. (For details see the FAQ).
Official counters consist of the awards staff as well as a few
volunteers.

8. When Will The Winners Be Announced?

The results will be announced on or about March 30. In previous years,
an Awards Dinner, at which authors get to hobnob with their favorite
characters while enjoying a gala evening, has taken place
approximately one week later.

9. One Final Word:

Due to the shrinking volume of stories posted over the past year,
serious consideration was given to not having Awards this year. Some
series, in fact, barely had enough stories to warrant even one
category. If this trend is not reversed, this could be the last year
for Awards.

Like any other contest, the ASC Awards depend on your participation.
If you have read and enjoyed a fic on the newsgroup this year, please
take the time to comment. If you have posted a story yourself, you
know how good it makes you feel when someone leaves you feedback.
Please take a look at the other stories and consider doing the same.
The awards staff works long and hard to set the awards up and keep
them running smoothly. It is a labor of love for us. Please indicate
by your participation in these awards that there is still an active
interest in Star Trek fic.

Rocky, Awards Coordinator
Stephen, Chief Technical Officer and Guru

Dear Rocky,

1) I unavoidably feel disturbed by point 9 of the overview, that given the lack of stories here, it could be
a final year for the Awards.
I have enjoyed many stories here down the years, and do what I can giving heartfelt comments.

2) I decided that I am unable to contribute directly by writing my own.
I feel both that I am not competent enough, and that this is not my most natural medium.
As a basic example, I recently started a wiki on my fiction ideas, at a URL similar to my blog address,
sometimes given below.
It is nowhere near any of the marvellous fiction, which I have been fortunate enough to savour here.

3) I am not making the perhaps-expected appeal for more stories.
I think that would be too selfish of me, as a mere reader.
I only try to continue giving support wherever I can.
It matters enough to me, that I de-lurk to express my feelings here.

Rocky wrote:
> ASC AWARDS VOTING OVERVIEW
> ...
> 9. One Final Word:
> Due to the shrinking volume of stories posted over the past year,
> serious consideration was given to not having Awards this year. Some
> series, in fact, barely had enough stories to warrant even one
> category. If this trend is not reversed, this could be the last year
> for Awards.
>
> Like any other contest, the ASC Awards depend on your participation.
> If you have read and enjoyed a fic on the newsgroup this year, please
> take the time to comment. If you have posted a story yourself, you
> know how good it makes you feel when someone leaves you feedback.
> Please take a look at the other stories and consider doing the same.
> The awards staff works long and hard to set the awards up and keep
> them running smoothly. It is a labor of love for us. Please indicate
> by your participation in these awards that there is still an active
> interest in Star Trek fic.
> ...

--
Alan Heah
http://alanheah.blogspot.com/
now also on Facebook

On Mar 1, 10:13 pm, Alan Heah <fy...@singnet.com.sg> wrote:

> 1) I unavoidably feel disturbed by point 9 of the overview, that given the lack of stories here, it could be
> a final year for the Awards.

What can I say, Alan--we are pretty disturbed by the prospect as well.
But unless there is a major turnaround, there may not be any choice.
Sentiment/nostalgia simply isn't enough when clearly there is
currently little or no interest in the newsgroup. Leaving aside the
practical considerations that it takes an awful lot of work to set up
and run the awards (and you may be surprised to learn that the bulk of
the work is the same regardless of how many or few stories are
involved), I think we'd all prefer to see the awards go out on a high
note as opposed to continuing when there are so few stories (and
interested participants) as to render them essentially meaningless.


> 2) I decided that I am unable to contribute directly by writing my own.
> I feel both that I am not competent enough, and that this is not my most natural medium.
> As a basic example, I recently started a wiki on my fiction ideas, at a URL similar to my blog address,
> sometimes given below.
> It is nowhere near any of the marvellous fiction, which I have been fortunate enough to savour here.

I think you may be selling yourself short here. If you've got the
ideas, why not give them a chance? New writers do not necessarily
spring into being as fully-formed virtuosos--all of us are continually
learning and honing our craft as we write. There are also people who
wouldn't mind giving a helping hand to someone starting out, giving
constructive criticism and or acting as a beta. (I'd volunteer, though
you'd have to wait till Awards are over and I've had a chance to
recover).

> 3) I am not making the perhaps-expected appeal for more stories.
> I think that would be too selfish of me, as a mere reader.
> I only try to continue giving support wherever I can.
> It matters enough to me, that I de-lurk to express my feelings here.

Well, I'm not too proud. We need more writers and stories, as well as
feedbackers who make writers feel that someone really does care.

And on that note, awards begin tomorrow, folks! Stay tuned for further
posts. And in the meantime, if you haven't already, please go register
at
http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/register.php.

-Rocky