Hey guys,

Some of you may notice a problem accessing our web site over the next
few days. There is an issue with paying for our next year's service. We
have the money -- thanks so much for your donations! -- but it is taking
time to transfer the money from PayPal (where we collect it) to the
company that hosts our website. I thoroughly expect this all to be
resolved by early next week. It is just taking a little time.

In the mean time, if you attempt to access the site
http://www.mefawards.net/ you will get an error message, saying that the
site is temporarily unavailable. This really is temporary. We promise!

In addition, if you email any address ending in "@mefawards.net," the
email will probably not go through. You can continue to contact us at
mefasupport@..., and I will make sure that the message gets to the
right person. Or you can post to this group.

This will not affect anything connected to the MEFAs that isn't actually
run by our website. For instance, this Yahoo group and the LJ community
will still be operational. And your banners should still display,
because they are stored on a different website.

Thanks in advance for your patience and support, both of our site and of
the awards in general. It is, as always, very appreciated.

Marta (MEFA Admin.)

Hey everyone,

I'm moving the 2009 stories into the archive tonight (4/26), so the MEFA Archive
will be down for a while. It should be back very soon, though!

Aranel

The 2009 stories have been imported and the archive is now available again!

Since this is a process that transfers a lot of data from one database to
another, you may want to give your stories a check and makes sure all the info
is correct (including awards and reviews) to each story. Please let me know if
you notice any errors, no matter how small!

Thanks!

Aranel

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "Aranel" <araneltook@...> wrote:
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> I'm moving the 2009 stories into the archive tonight (4/26), so the MEFA
Archive will be down for a while. It should be back very soon, though!
>
> Aranel
>

Hey guys,

I know that some of you are excited about the 2010 awards, and are probably
eager to get started. I'm excited, too. I've spent the last few months talking
with MEFA volunteers and awards participants about some of the suggestions that
some of you made last January, so we can continue to improve the awards. Thanks,
everyone, for your suggestions and thoughts.

Here are some of the biggest changes we've decided on.

==> The schedule for the 2010 awards will be arranged so it doesn't end at the
end of November (because of NaNoWriMo) or at the end of December (because of the
holidays). We're still finetuning some  details, but will hopefully announce it
in the next few days.

==> In the past, authors have emailed their liaisons when they accepted their
nominations, and when they completed the nomination form. While authors are
still encouraged to do this, if they would find it helpful, keeping up with
exactly who has emailed in is a real headache for volunteers, and I imagine is
confusing for newer authors as well. Therefore we decided to streamline the
process. When authors begin the form, we will assume they want to compete. There
will also be a checkbox authors can mark on the form to say they accept the
nomination; they are no longer required to email their liaison on completing the
form.

==> The nomination form is being reorganized, to make it clearer which questions
are primarily to help categorizers and which are mainly for the benefit of the
author's readers.

==> Along similar lines, we've added some characters and time periods to fill in
holes in our lists, to make it easier for authors to describe their stories.
Most significantly, there are now several character groups in the "Characters
for Categorization" list. This should help us categorize stories about the
relatives of major characters more effectively.

==> Previously subcategories could be any size between five and thirteen stories
large. But some people thought thirteen was too large, and others thought five
was too small. We've adjusted the size range to 6-12.

==> In recent years, honorable mentions were based on the number of points in,
across the whole awards. We added up all the points earned by all entries,
divided by the total number of pieces competing (to get the average number of
points). Any piece scoring above that average got an honorable mention, if it
didn't also win an award in its subcategory. However, some categories naturally
attract more readers (and so more votes) than others, and so scores in those
groups will naturally run high. This is unfair to stories in the less popular
categories. So we decided we would go back to awarding a set number of honorable
mentions in each subcategory. The exact number of honorable mentions awarded in
each category will be determined by the size of its subcategories.

Just to be clear: this won't actually change the number of honorable mentions we
hand out. It just insures that they're more fairly distributed.

==> Several members have questioned our use of "Review Junkie," since for many
people being a "junkie" isn't anything to brag about! While we don't usually get
into policing language, enough people find this offensive that we decided to
change our term. We'll change the FAQs to refer to this part of the awards as
the "Review Goal." Banner makers can still use the phrase "MEFA Junkie" if they
like, but we hope that they will create banners with a wide variety of phrases.

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

There are also several small changes to the website that I think you'll enjoy.
To mention just one, we now let you specify an alternate URL, so we can switch
our links in case your archive goes down mid-awards. But really, these changes
are too numerous to list them all here. They should be obvious as you use the
website for the upcoming awards.

I've tried to contact everyone who made a suggestion, to let them know what came
of it. However, if I overlooked your suggestion, please email me at
mefasupport(at)mefawards(dot)net, and I'll tell you what was decided. We
discussed nearly every suggestion that was made, with a few exceptions that
we'll discuss as the awards progress.

At your service and your family's,

Marta (humble MEFA Admin.)

Marta and all the volunteers!!, Thank you again for all you do.

Becky/Sue L (Huffman) Burkheart [how did life get so complicated?!?]
  ~ A Hard Hero is Good to Find ~ www.WritingHorses.com

All about Horses of North Texas, their people & the games they play ~
http://www.examiner.com/x-40428-Fort-Worth-Equestrian-Examiner



On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 8:47 PM, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...> wrote:
> Hey guys,
>
> I know that some of you are excited about the 2010 awards, and are probably
eager to get started. I'm excited, too. I've spent the last few months talking
with MEFA volunteers and awards participants about some of the suggestions that
some of you made last January, so we can continue to improve the awards. Thanks,
everyone, for your suggestions and thoughts.
>
> Here are some of the biggest changes we've decided on.
>
> ==> The schedule for the 2010 awards will be arranged so it doesn't end at the
end of November (because of NaNoWriMo) or at the end of December (because of the
holidays). We're still finetuning some  details, but will hopefully announce it
in the next few days.
>
> ==> In the past, authors have emailed their liaisons when they accepted their
nominations, and when they completed the nomination form. While authors are
still encouraged to do this, if they would find it helpful, keeping up with
exactly who has emailed in is a real headache for volunteers, and I imagine is
confusing for newer authors as well. Therefore we decided to streamline the
process. When authors begin the form, we will assume they want to compete. There
will also be a checkbox authors can mark on the form to say they accept the
nomination; they are no longer required to email their liaison on completing the
form.
>
> ==> The nomination form is being reorganized, to make it clearer which
questions are primarily to help categorizers and which are mainly for the
benefit of the author's readers.
>
> ==> Along similar lines, we've added some characters and time periods to fill
in holes in our lists, to make it easier for authors to describe their stories.
Most significantly, there are now several character groups in the "Characters
for Categorization" list. This should help us categorize stories about the
relatives of major characters more effectively.
>
> ==> Previously subcategories could be any size between five and thirteen
stories large. But some people thought thirteen was too large, and others
thought five was too small. We've adjusted the size range to 6-12.
>
> ==> In recent years, honorable mentions were based on the number of points in,
across the whole awards. We added up all the points earned by all entries,
divided by the total number of pieces competing (to get the average number of
points). Any piece scoring above that average got an honorable mention, if it
didn't also win an award in its subcategory. However, some categories naturally
attract more readers (and so more votes) than others, and so scores in those
groups will naturally run high. This is unfair to stories in the less popular
categories. So we decided we would go back to awarding a set number of honorable
mentions in each subcategory. The exact number of honorable mentions awarded in
each category will be determined by the size of its subcategories.
>
> Just to be clear: this won't actually change the number of honorable mentions
we hand out. It just insures that they're more fairly distributed.
>
> ==> Several members have questioned our use of "Review Junkie," since for many
people being a "junkie" isn't anything to brag about! While we don't usually get
into policing language, enough people find this offensive that we decided to
change our term. We'll change the FAQs to refer to this part of the awards as
the "Review Goal." Banner makers can still use the phrase "MEFA Junkie" if they
like, but we hope that they will create banners with a wide variety of phrases.
>
> ********************
>
> There are also several small changes to the website that I think you'll enjoy.
To mention just one, we now let you specify an alternate URL, so we can switch
our links in case your archive goes down mid-awards. But really, these changes
are too numerous to list them all here. They should be obvious as you use the
website for the upcoming awards.
>
> I've tried to contact everyone who made a suggestion, to let them know what
came of it. However, if I overlooked your suggestion, please email me at
mefasupport(at)mefawards(dot)net, and I'll tell you what was decided. We
discussed nearly every suggestion that was made, with a few exceptions that
we'll discuss as the awards progress.
>
> At your service and your family's,
>
> Marta (humble MEFA Admin.)
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Hey guys,

A few days ago I mentioned that we would start the 2010 awards soon, but that
the other volunteers and I were still fine-tuning the schedule. We've now
decided that we'll kick things off on May 15, which is (*eep!*) about two weeks
away. That means:

1. Nominations will be accepted: May 15-June 15
2. All nominations must be finalized by: June 21
3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15
4. Reviewer Goals must be set by: August 15
5. Voting ends: December 15
6. Results Posted: December 18

One thing you'll notice is that we've shortened the nomination season to one
month. (Before, it has been 5-6 weeks.) My hope is, since we've simplified the
amount of emails authors have to send to their liaisons, nominations can be
finalized more quickly. We also didn't want to end the awards at the end of
November or at the end of December, since those are very busy times for many of
our participants - but we couldn't see a good way to do that except for
shortening the awards by two weeks. We considered shortening the voting season,
but thought that would create even more problems for more people.

To help with the shortened nomination period, I highly encourage you to spend
the next two weeks getting ready to nominate stories. Think of it like the first
two weeks of nomination season. You can't enter your nominations into the
website, obviously, but you can do everything but that. You can decide what you
want to nominate, make sure you have all the information you need, even contact
the author to let her know you want to nominate her, so she'll be expecting an
email from a MEFA volunteer. You can also enter your nominations as soon as
possible (don't wait until the end of nominations to see if someone else will
nominate it). That will really help us get all the nominations ready to compete
on time.

You can check whether a story has been nominated in the past by using our MEFA
archive:

http://mefawards.net/mefa-archive/

Eligibility requirements are the same as they were in 2009, but in case you need
a reminder:

http://mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQeligibility

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

Nominating stories is probably the most important job you can do right now,
because without nominations we won't have a good awards. You can also start
talking up the awards with your friends. But if you want to do something more
formal to help the MEFAs, read on. :^)

1. Banner Coordinator

We need someone to organize banner creation. Your first job would be to work
with the banner artists, to make sure we have a good variety of banners. You
would also need to work with me and other volunteers, to discuss changes we want
to make in how we handle banners. Finally, you would be a "banner makers'
advocate." If they do not like the way we're handling the banners part of the
awards, you should listen to their concerns and discuss them with me to see how
we can change things.

You do *not* need to be a banner artist yourself; some knowledge of graphics is
helpful, but the banner coordinator mainly makes sure that the banner portion of
the awards runs smoothly.

Requirements:

--- available May 15-beginning of January, at least every 3-4 days and more
often in certain periods
--- basic familiarity with online graphic-sharing website (e.g., Photobucket,
picasa, etc.)
--- general knowledge of Tolkien fandom
--- general familiarity with MEFA rules about banners
--- an ability to manage other volunteers
--- a willingness to enforce rules

2. Banner Creators

If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and icons for
nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their review goal.
Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you credit.

Requirements:

--- graphics skills
--- willingness to follow directions

3. Beta Testers

Starting next week, we'll need people to try to "break" the 2010 site. If you
have time to nominate some test stories and are willing to discuss whether the
site does what you expect, we want you!

Requirements:

--- available May 8-May 15 (preferably every day)
--- basic technical skills
--- basic familiarity with past MEFA websites

4. Author Liaisons

Author liaisons work with authors to make sure they fill out their forms
correctly. This is a great first step to get involved with volunteering, as you
will have the full attention of myself and other long-term volunteers. It also
allows you to deliver good news to authors (which can be quite fun). But to do
it, you *do* need a fair amount of time and patience, as you will be explaining
a fairly complicated process to authors, some of whom may not know anything
about the awards.

Requirements:

--- available regularly May 15-June 21 (esp. June 15-21), preferably every day
--- positive and friendly personality
--- ability to follow directions
--- willingness to ask questions
--- basic familiarity with MEFA policy and Tolkien canon

5. Promoters

As always, we need people to make MEFA announcements at non-MEFA groups. If you
know of a place where Tolkien is discussed, and you're willing to make
announcements there, let me know the place. I ask that you officially "sign up"
so I can make sure only one person is making announcements at each place, and so
we can credit you on our website.

Requirements:

--- available regularly May 15-December 15 (preferably at least twice a week)
--- familiarity with a Tolkien group that would benefit from MEFA announcements
--- willingness to ask questions

6. Ratings Committee

When authors are unsure what rating is appropriate for their story, we invite
them to have a group of volunteers look at the particular scene, and tell you
what rating is appropriate for your story. (Authors can also provide context for
the scene.) This means that we need members willing to read these scenes and
make recommendations. The ratings panel will consist of three volunteers and one
alternate.

Requirements:

--- available regularly May 15-June 21 (preferably every day or two)
--- familiarity with MEFA ratings policies
--- willingness to apply those policies to specific stories
--- willingness to read potentially objectionable content -- some of which may
be sexually explicit (m/m, m/f, and f/f) or graphically violent

As the awards progress there will be other ways to volunteer. I'll let you know
about those as they come up.

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

If any of these tasks interest you, please let me know by emailing me at
mefasupport(at)gmail(dot)com. Please do this even if you volunteered last year;
I don't assume you still want to volunteer. If you think you'd like to help but
aren't sure you quite qualify, email me anyway and we'll discuss whether you'll
be able to handle the job.

P.S. - I may have already mentioned it, but on May 12 the 2009 site will no
longer be available. Reviews and basic story information will still be available
through the archive. However, if you need anything else off the 2009 site,
please get it before May 15.

At your service (and your family's),

Marta (humble MEFA admin.)

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Sulriel of Menegroth <sulriel@...> wrote:
>
> Marta and all the volunteers!!, Thank you again for all you do.
>
> Becky/Sue L (Huffman) Burkheart [how did life get so complicated?!?]
>  ~ A Hard Hero is Good to Find ~ www.WritingHorses.com
>

Thanks for the appreciation. As always, it's --well-- appreciated. *g*

Marta

Hello!

Uhm, just one question, concerning Marta's e-mail:

> 3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15

What exactly is "check ballots"? *blush* Being a part of MEFA only one year
(2009), and not being a native speaker, I do not recognize the phrase. Once you
tell me, I'll probably remember I saw it last year, but right now, I am not sure
what that is.
 
Thanks, bye,
 
Ellynn
 
 
 
P.s. Looking forward to new season! .)))))))




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hiya Ellynn,

No problem - it's a good question to ask, since other newer members might be
confused as well.

After all the nominations are in, a group of volunteers go to work sorting
it into main categories and subcategories. These are the groups you will
actually be competing in, and that determine awards results come December.
It's a group of 6-12 stories, poems, etc., and the highest-scoring piece
gets first place, the next highest gets second place, and so on.

Anyway, in July, we give authors an opportunity to check that we've actually
put your story in the right category and subcategory. When we sort the
stories, there are a lot of mouse-clicks over at the website, and with 600+
stories it's possible we made a technical mistake. For instance, maybe you
wrote a Horror story but it ended up in the Humor category - two groups that
are next to each other alphabetically (so the kind of mistake a volunteer
could make when entering things onto the website), but obviously a *huge*
different in content. It's not really a free-for-all where you can say your
story would fit better in some other subcategory. But it does give you the
opportunity to say "wait, that's not how I described my story. Are you sure
that's right?"

I'll be posting a list of all the nominated stories, grouped by the category
and subcategory they ended up in. I'll be posting those lists here. If you
see a story that looks like the volunteers made a mistake on, you can ask
about it during check ballots. After that, the categories and subcategories
are "set," meaning we only move tings in very rare circumstances (like when
WIPs are completed).

Marta

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Ellin Ithilwen
> Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 5:24 PM
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [MEFAwards] ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
>
>
>
> Hello!
>
> Uhm, just one question, concerning Marta's e-mail:
>
> > 3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15
>
> What exactly is "check ballots"? *blush* Being a part of MEFA only one
> year (2009), and not being a native speaker, I do not recognize the
> phrase. Once you tell me, I'll probably remember I saw it last year,
> but right now, I am not sure what that is.
>
> Thanks, bye,
>
> Ellynn
>
>
>
> P.s. Looking forward to new season! .)))))))
>

> No problem - it's a good question to ask, since other newer members might be
confused as well.
> After all the nominations are in, a group of volunteers go to work sorting
it into main categories and subcategories.
 
Oh yes, just like I thought - now that you described it, I remember that part of
season from last year and I know exactly what it is. :) I remember the list of
stories devided in categories you sent us last year. I just wasn't sure about
the phrase "check ballots".
 
Thanks a lot, bye,
 
Ellynn




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Just so you know, I'm interested in being a liaison again!  I really enjoyed
working with authors in that way, so I'm excited about helping out in that way
again.

In the meantime, I'll start looking for things I want to nominate.  I haven't
been very active with writing or reading lately, so this will be a good reason
to get re-involved again.

Thanks to all who are getting things organized for us so that we'll enjoy the
2010 MEFA season as much as we have past seasons -- or more!

Lin

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "aure_enteluva" <marta.fandom@...> wrote:
>
> Hey guys,
>
> A few days ago I mentioned that we would start the 2010 awards soon, but that
the other volunteers and I were still fine-tuning the schedule. We've now
decided that we'll kick things off on May 15, which is (*eep!*) about two weeks
away. That means:
>
> 1. Nominations will be accepted: May 15-June 15
> 2. All nominations must be finalized by: June 21
> 3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15
> 4. Reviewer Goals must be set by: August 15
> 5. Voting ends: December 15
> 6. Results Posted: December 18
>
> One thing you'll notice is that we've shortened the nomination season to one
month. (Before, it has been 5-6 weeks.) My hope is, since we've simplified the
amount of emails authors have to send to their liaisons, nominations can be
finalized more quickly. We also didn't want to end the awards at the end of
November or at the end of December, since those are very busy times for many of
our participants - but we couldn't see a good way to do that except for
shortening the awards by two weeks. We considered shortening the voting season,
but thought that would create even more problems for more people.
>
> To help with the shortened nomination period, I highly encourage you to spend
the next two weeks getting ready to nominate stories. Think of it like the first
two weeks of nomination season. You can't enter your nominations into the
website, obviously, but you can do everything but that. You can decide what you
want to nominate, make sure you have all the information you need, even contact
the author to let her know you want to nominate her, so she'll be expecting an
email from a MEFA volunteer. You can also enter your nominations as soon as
possible (don't wait until the end of nominations to see if someone else will
nominate it). That will really help us get all the nominations ready to compete
on time.
>
> You can check whether a story has been nominated in the past by using our MEFA
archive:
>
> http://mefawards.net/mefa-archive/
>
> Eligibility requirements are the same as they were in 2009, but in case you
need a reminder:
>
> http://mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQeligibility
>
> ****************************************
>
> Nominating stories is probably the most important job you can do right now,
because without nominations we won't have a good awards. You can also start
talking up the awards with your friends. But if you want to do something more
formal to help the MEFAs, read on. :^)
>
> 1. Banner Coordinator
>
> We need someone to organize banner creation. Your first job would be to work
with the banner artists, to make sure we have a good variety of banners. You
would also need to work with me and other volunteers, to discuss changes we want
to make in how we handle banners. Finally, you would be a "banner makers'
advocate." If they do not like the way we're handling the banners part of the
awards, you should listen to their concerns and discuss them with me to see how
we can change things.
>
> You do *not* need to be a banner artist yourself; some knowledge of graphics
is helpful, but the banner coordinator mainly makes sure that the banner portion
of the awards runs smoothly.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available May 15-beginning of January, at least every 3-4 days and more
often in certain periods
> --- basic familiarity with online graphic-sharing website (e.g., Photobucket,
picasa, etc.)
> --- general knowledge of Tolkien fandom
> --- general familiarity with MEFA rules about banners
> --- an ability to manage other volunteers
> --- a willingness to enforce rules
>
> 2. Banner Creators
>
> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and icons
for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their review
goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you credit.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- graphics skills
> --- willingness to follow directions
>
> 3. Beta Testers
>
> Starting next week, we'll need people to try to "break" the 2010 site. If you
have time to nominate some test stories and are willing to discuss whether the
site does what you expect, we want you!
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available May 8-May 15 (preferably every day)
> --- basic technical skills
> --- basic familiarity with past MEFA websites
>
> 4. Author Liaisons
>
> Author liaisons work with authors to make sure they fill out their forms
correctly. This is a great first step to get involved with volunteering, as you
will have the full attention of myself and other long-term volunteers. It also
allows you to deliver good news to authors (which can be quite fun). But to do
it, you *do* need a fair amount of time and patience, as you will be explaining
a fairly complicated process to authors, some of whom may not know anything
about the awards.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (esp. June 15-21), preferably every day
> --- positive and friendly personality
> --- ability to follow directions
> --- willingness to ask questions
> --- basic familiarity with MEFA policy and Tolkien canon
>
> 5. Promoters
>
> As always, we need people to make MEFA announcements at non-MEFA groups. If
you know of a place where Tolkien is discussed, and you're willing to make
announcements there, let me know the place. I ask that you officially "sign up"
so I can make sure only one person is making announcements at each place, and so
we can credit you on our website.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-December 15 (preferably at least twice a week)
> --- familiarity with a Tolkien group that would benefit from MEFA
announcements
> --- willingness to ask questions
>
> 6. Ratings Committee
>
> When authors are unsure what rating is appropriate for their story, we invite
them to have a group of volunteers look at the particular scene, and tell you
what rating is appropriate for your story. (Authors can also provide context for
the scene.) This means that we need members willing to read these scenes and
make recommendations. The ratings panel will consist of three volunteers and one
alternate.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (preferably every day or two)
> --- familiarity with MEFA ratings policies
> --- willingness to apply those policies to specific stories
> --- willingness to read potentially objectionable content -- some of which may
be sexually explicit (m/m, m/f, and f/f) or graphically violent
>
> As the awards progress there will be other ways to volunteer. I'll let you
know about those as they come up.
>
> *************************************
>
> If any of these tasks interest you, please let me know by emailing me at
mefasupport(at)gmail(dot)com. Please do this even if you volunteered last year;
I don't assume you still want to volunteer. If you think you'd like to help but
aren't sure you quite qualify, email me anyway and we'll discuss whether you'll
be able to handle the job.
>
> P.S. - I may have already mentioned it, but on May 12 the 2009 site will no
longer be available. Reviews and basic story information will still be available
through the archive. However, if you need anything else off the 2009 site,
please get it before May 15.
>
> At your service (and your family's),
>
> Marta (humble MEFA admin.)
>

Hi Lin,

> Just so you know, I'm interested in being a liaison again! I really
> enjoyed working with authors in that way, so I'm excited about helping
> out in that way again.
>

Excellent; I'll mark you down and will be getting in touch in the next few
days.

> In the meantime, I'll start looking for things I want to nominate. I
> haven't been very active with writing or reading lately, so this will
> be a good reason to get re-involved again.
>

I've heard comments from a lot of people to the same effect. I'm looking
forward to reading stories that I missed over the last few months, as people
nominate them.

Marta

I'd be happy to be a breaker. .. .you know I'm good at that.  And am
happy to be on the ratings committee again.

Becky/Sue L (Huffman) Burkheart [how did life get so complicated?!?]
  ~ A Hard Hero is Good to Find ~ www.WritingHorses.com

All about Horses of North Texas, their people & the games they play ~
http://www.examiner.com/x-40428-Fort-Worth-Equestrian-Examiner



On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 6:49 PM, linaewen0 <marggrenawalt@...> wrote:
> Just so you know, I'm interested in being a liaison again!  I really enjoyed
working with authors in that way, so I'm excited about helping out in that way
again.
>
> In the meantime, I'll start looking for things I want to nominate.  I haven't
been very active with writing or reading lately, so this will be a good reason
to get re-involved again.
>
> Thanks to all who are getting things organized for us so that we'll enjoy the
2010 MEFA season as much as we have past seasons -- or more!
>
> Lin
>
> --- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "aure_enteluva" <marta.fandom@...> wrote:
>>
>> Hey guys,
>>
>> A few days ago I mentioned that we would start the 2010 awards soon, but that
the other volunteers and I were still fine-tuning the schedule. We've now
decided that we'll kick things off on May 15, which is (*eep!*) about two weeks
away. That means:
>>
>> 1. Nominations will be accepted: May 15-June 15
>> 2. All nominations must be finalized by: June 21
>> 3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15
>> 4. Reviewer Goals must be set by: August 15
>> 5. Voting ends: December 15
>> 6. Results Posted: December 18
>>
>> One thing you'll notice is that we've shortened the nomination season to one
month. (Before, it has been 5-6 weeks.) My hope is, since we've simplified the
amount of emails authors have to send to their liaisons, nominations can be
finalized more quickly. We also didn't want to end the awards at the end of
November or at the end of December, since those are very busy times for many of
our participants - but we couldn't see a good way to do that except for
shortening the awards by two weeks. We considered shortening the voting season,
but thought that would create even more problems for more people.
>>
>> To help with the shortened nomination period, I highly encourage you to spend
the next two weeks getting ready to nominate stories. Think of it like the first
two weeks of nomination season. You can't enter your nominations into the
website, obviously, but you can do everything but that. You can decide what you
want to nominate, make sure you have all the information you need, even contact
the author to let her know you want to nominate her, so she'll be expecting an
email from a MEFA volunteer. You can also enter your nominations as soon as
possible (don't wait until the end of nominations to see if someone else will
nominate it). That will really help us get all the nominations ready to compete
on time.
>>
>> You can check whether a story has been nominated in the past by using our
MEFA archive:
>>
>> http://mefawards.net/mefa-archive/
>>
>> Eligibility requirements are the same as they were in 2009, but in case you
need a reminder:
>>
>> http://mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQeligibility
>>
>> ****************************************
>>
>> Nominating stories is probably the most important job you can do right now,
because without nominations we won't have a good awards. You can also start
talking up the awards with your friends. But if you want to do something more
formal to help the MEFAs, read on. :^)
>>
>> 1. Banner Coordinator
>>
>> We need someone to organize banner creation. Your first job would be to work
with the banner artists, to make sure we have a good variety of banners. You
would also need to work with me and other volunteers, to discuss changes we want
to make in how we handle banners. Finally, you would be a "banner makers'
advocate." If they do not like the way we're handling the banners part of the
awards, you should listen to their concerns and discuss them with me to see how
we can change things.
>>
>> You do *not* need to be a banner artist yourself; some knowledge of graphics
is helpful, but the banner coordinator mainly makes sure that the banner portion
of the awards runs smoothly.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- available May 15-beginning of January, at least every 3-4 days and more
often in certain periods
>> --- basic familiarity with online graphic-sharing website (e.g., Photobucket,
picasa, etc.)
>> --- general knowledge of Tolkien fandom
>> --- general familiarity with MEFA rules about banners
>> --- an ability to manage other volunteers
>> --- a willingness to enforce rules
>>
>> 2. Banner Creators
>>
>> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and icons
for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their review
goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you credit.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- graphics skills
>> --- willingness to follow directions
>>
>> 3. Beta Testers
>>
>> Starting next week, we'll need people to try to "break" the 2010 site. If you
have time to nominate some test stories and are willing to discuss whether the
site does what you expect, we want you!
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- available May 8-May 15 (preferably every day)
>> --- basic technical skills
>> --- basic familiarity with past MEFA websites
>>
>> 4. Author Liaisons
>>
>> Author liaisons work with authors to make sure they fill out their forms
correctly. This is a great first step to get involved with volunteering, as you
will have the full attention of myself and other long-term volunteers. It also
allows you to deliver good news to authors (which can be quite fun). But to do
it, you *do* need a fair amount of time and patience, as you will be explaining
a fairly complicated process to authors, some of whom may not know anything
about the awards.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (esp. June 15-21), preferably every
day
>> --- positive and friendly personality
>> --- ability to follow directions
>> --- willingness to ask questions
>> --- basic familiarity with MEFA policy and Tolkien canon
>>
>> 5. Promoters
>>
>> As always, we need people to make MEFA announcements at non-MEFA groups. If
you know of a place where Tolkien is discussed, and you're willing to make
announcements there, let me know the place. I ask that you officially "sign up"
so I can make sure only one person is making announcements at each place, and so
we can credit you on our website.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- available regularly May 15-December 15 (preferably at least twice a week)
>> --- familiarity with a Tolkien group that would benefit from MEFA
announcements
>> --- willingness to ask questions
>>
>> 6. Ratings Committee
>>
>> When authors are unsure what rating is appropriate for their story, we invite
them to have a group of volunteers look at the particular scene, and tell you
what rating is appropriate for your story. (Authors can also provide context for
the scene.) This means that we need members willing to read these scenes and
make recommendations. The ratings panel will consist of three volunteers and one
alternate.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (preferably every day or two)
>> --- familiarity with MEFA ratings policies
>> --- willingness to apply those policies to specific stories
>> --- willingness to read potentially objectionable content -- some of which
may be sexually explicit (m/m, m/f, and f/f) or graphically violent
>>
>> As the awards progress there will be other ways to volunteer. I'll let you
know about those as they come up.
>>
>> *************************************
>>
>> If any of these tasks interest you, please let me know by emailing me at
mefasupport(at)gmail(dot)com. Please do this even if you volunteered last year;
I don't assume you still want to volunteer. If you think you'd like to help but
aren't sure you quite qualify, email me anyway and we'll discuss whether you'll
be able to handle the job.
>>
>> P.S. - I may have already mentioned it, but on May 12 the 2009 site will no
longer be available. Reviews and basic story information will still be available
through the archive. However, if you need anything else off the 2009 site,
please get it before May 15.
>>
>> At your service (and your family's),
>>
>> Marta (humble MEFA admin.)
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Marta,

I plan to create banners again this year.

I'd like some help, though: I think you hinted at some changes this year,
like the wording for Review Junkies? I really want to know *all* the
rules/guidelines as soon as possible, so I don't have to keep going back and
re-working banners that I'd already made. (I never know when my Banner Muse
will hit -- or desert me entirely -- in fact, I've already made a couple of
new ones for this year....). Is there a FAQ for banner-makers up yet, or do
you have a source doc that explains the rules, or at least any changes for
this year?

With the changes to the Review Junkie wording, I'll probably cut down to
only one Review text -- whichever is the most popular -- rather than having
two texts, "Commended Reviewer" (which takes up an awful lot of space....)
and "Review Junkie". That way I'll only make 3 versions of each banner, not
four (Nominee, Review X, and Winner -- and I'm leaving "Winner" banners
blank this year).

Secondly, a request for you and/or the Banner Coordinator this year: if you
are going to have separate areas to post the different banner types (i.e.
Nominees vs. Reviewers vs. Winners), please designate those areas and send
out locations and passwords at the *beginning* of the process. Whenever I
make a banner, I make all the various versions immediately... and last year,
it was just a huge pain to go back and revisit banners that I had already
"finished", because the location/password was posted for Nominees first,
then much later the loc/pw for the other places. I want to be able to finish
a banner, post it all the places it's going to be needed, and be DONE with
it.

Thanks for all your work, Marta! These awards have really gotten better and
better each year.

*note to self: next time, hit "Send".....*

- Barbara


On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 12:42 PM, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...>wrote:

>
>
>
> 2. Banner Creators
>
> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and
> icons for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their
> review goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you
> credit.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- graphics skills
> --- willingness to follow directions
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

DAMMIT!  I meant to send this to you personally, not to the list.... my
apologies!

Serves me right for getting distracted with RL while I'm composing an
email.... *sigh*  Mind like a steel sieve.....

- Barbara


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elena Tiriel <elenatiriel@...>
Date: Mon, May 3, 2010 at 6:14 PM
Subject: Re: [MEFAwards] ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com


Marta,

I plan to create banners again this year.

I'd like some help, though: I think you hinted at some changes this year,
like the wording for Review Junkies? I really want to know *all* the
rules/guidelines as soon as possible, so I don't have to keep going back and
re-working banners that I'd already made. (I never know when my Banner Muse
will hit -- or desert me entirely -- in fact, I've already made a couple of
new ones for this year....). Is there a FAQ for banner-makers up yet, or do
you have a source doc that explains the rules, or at least any changes for
this year?

With the changes to the Review Junkie wording, I'll probably cut down to
only one Review text -- whichever is the most popular -- rather than having
two texts, "Commended Reviewer" (which takes up an awful lot of space....)
and "Review Junkie". That way I'll only make 3 versions of each banner, not
four (Nominee, Review X, and Winner -- and I'm leaving "Winner" banners
blank this year).

Secondly, a request for you and/or the Banner Coordinator this year: if you
are going to have separate areas to post the different banner types (i.e.
Nominees vs. Reviewers vs. Winners), please designate those areas and send
out locations and passwords at the *beginning* of the process. Whenever I
make a banner, I make all the various versions immediately... and last year,
it was just a huge pain to go back and revisit banners that I had already
"finished", because the location/password was posted for Nominees first,
then much later the loc/pw for the other places. I want to be able to finish
a banner, post it all the places it's going to be needed, and be DONE with
it.

Thanks for all your work, Marta! These awards have really gotten better and
better each year.

*note to self: next time, hit "Send".....*

- Barbara



On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 12:42 PM, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...>wrote:

>
>
>
> 2. Banner Creators
>
> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and
> icons for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their
> review goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you
> credit.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- graphics skills
> --- willingness to follow directions
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

yeah.  I did the same thing, then when I did reply privately to a
later mail panicked and thought I'd sent it back to the list.  eep!
(need more coffee.. I'm at work and still have four hours on the
clock, I should be more alert than this!)

Becky/Sue L (Huffman) Burkheart [how did life get so complicated?!?]
  ~ A Hard Hero is Good to Find ~ www.WritingHorses.com

All about Horses of North Texas, their people & the games they play ~
http://www.examiner.com/x-40428-Fort-Worth-Equestrian-Examiner



On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 8:17 PM, Elena Tiriel <ElenaTiriel@...> wrote:
> DAMMIT!  I meant to send this to you personally, not to the list.... my
> apologies!
>
> Serves me right for getting distracted with RL while I'm composing an
> email.... *sigh*  Mind like a steel sieve.....
>
> - Barbara
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Elena Tiriel <elenatiriel@...>
> Date: Mon, May 3, 2010 at 6:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [MEFAwards] ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
>
>
> Marta,
>
> I plan to create banners again this year.
>
> I'd like some help, though: I think you hinted at some changes this year,
> like the wording for Review Junkies? I really want to know *all* the
> rules/guidelines as soon as possible, so I don't have to keep going back and
> re-working banners that I'd already made. (I never know when my Banner Muse
> will hit -- or desert me entirely -- in fact, I've already made a couple of
> new ones for this year....). Is there a FAQ for banner-makers up yet, or do
> you have a source doc that explains the rules, or at least any changes for
> this year?
>
> With the changes to the Review Junkie wording, I'll probably cut down to
> only one Review text -- whichever is the most popular -- rather than having
> two texts, "Commended Reviewer" (which takes up an awful lot of space....)
> and "Review Junkie". That way I'll only make 3 versions of each banner, not
> four (Nominee, Review X, and Winner -- and I'm leaving "Winner" banners
> blank this year).
>
> Secondly, a request for you and/or the Banner Coordinator this year: if you
> are going to have separate areas to post the different banner types (i.e.
> Nominees vs. Reviewers vs. Winners), please designate those areas and send
> out locations and passwords at the *beginning* of the process. Whenever I
> make a banner, I make all the various versions immediately... and last year,
> it was just a huge pain to go back and revisit banners that I had already
> "finished", because the location/password was posted for Nominees first,
> then much later the loc/pw for the other places. I want to be able to finish
> a banner, post it all the places it's going to be needed, and be DONE with
> it.
>
> Thanks for all your work, Marta! These awards have really gotten better and
> better each year.
>
> *note to self: next time, hit "Send".....*
>
> - Barbara
>
>
>
> On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 12:42 PM, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...>wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. Banner Creators
>>
>> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and
>> icons for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their
>> review goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you
>> credit.
>>
>> Requirements:
>>
>> --- graphics skills
>> --- willingness to follow directions
>>
>>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Serves me right for getting distracted with RL while I'm composing an
email.... *sigh*  Mind like a steel sieve.....


  *hugs* Barbara!


Story of my life. Well, most of the time, anyhow. Every Mother's Day I'm tempted
to ask for four hours just to myself... but always end up doing a
whole-family-all-together day because isn't that what moms are all about? (Don't
answer, not looking to start a debate if opinions vary on this concept, just
reflecting on life in general and my life in particular.)

"Mind like a steel sieve"--I like it. The variation we use around here is "My
mind's like a steel trap, and thoughts are water... leaking right through."

Want to take this opportunity to thank all those who volunteered last year
(don't remember if I did--I started a "thank you" email but don't know if I
finished and sent it, when the awards ended), and thank in advance those who
will be helping with the current year.

As a homeschooling mom, I thought that things would get easier as the dc grew
older and more independent. What I didn't count on was the subjects getting
harder, and the schedule ever more complicated (read that: crazy).

Hats off to you for keeping the MEFAs going. Perhaps if the dc are in swim team
this summer I can print off stories to read by the poolside during practice
sessions... I keep hoping for more reading (and writing) time.

Anyhow, thanks again,
Lin (Jean)
aka Lindelea (but not so often as I'd like, these days)




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hiya Lin(delea),

> Hats off to you for keeping the MEFAs going. Perhaps if the dc are in
> swim team this summer I can print off stories to read by the poolside
> during practice sessions... I keep hoping for more reading (and
> writing) time.
>

Glad to see you pop in. It's a pleasure - a guilty pleasure at times, with
time stolen from offline obligations for our "mad hobby," but a pleasure,
definitely.

Do feel free to review whatever you have time for, if you can manage it.

Marta

P.S. - To Elena Tiriel - I have your email, and am collecting some info for
you. As soon as I have it, will be in touch, from the mefasupport addy.

>
> P.S. - To Elena Tiriel - I have your email, and am collecting some info for
> you. As soon as I have it, will be in touch, from the mefasupport addy.


Thank you, Marta!  And my apologies to the group for the unintentional
spam.....

- Barbara


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'll be happy to make banners again:)

Nath

.............................................~o^=o>
.....................................~o^=o>
..............................~o^=o>
........................~o^=o>


--- On Mon, 3/5/10, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...> wrote:

> From: aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...>
> Subject: [MEFAwards] ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, 3 May, 2010, 20:42
> Hey guys,
>
> A few days ago I mentioned that we would start the 2010
> awards soon, but that the other volunteers and I were still
> fine-tuning the schedule. We've now decided that we'll kick
> things off on May 15, which is (*eep!*) about two weeks
> away. That means:
>
> 1. Nominations will be accepted: May 15-June 15
> 2. All nominations must be finalized by: June 21
> 3. Check ballots posted: July 7-July 15
> 4. Reviewer Goals must be set by: August 15
> 5. Voting ends: December 15
> 6. Results Posted: December 18
>
> One thing you'll notice is that we've shortened the
> nomination season to one month. (Before, it has been 5-6
> weeks.) My hope is, since we've simplified the amount of
> emails authors have to send to their liaisons, nominations
> can be finalized more quickly. We also didn't want to end
> the awards at the end of November or at the end of December,
> since those are very busy times for many of our participants
> - but we couldn't see a good way to do that except for
> shortening the awards by two weeks. We considered shortening
> the voting season, but thought that would create even more
> problems for more people.
>
> To help with the shortened nomination period, I highly
> encourage you to spend the next two weeks getting ready to
> nominate stories. Think of it like the first two weeks of
> nomination season. You can't enter your nominations into the
> website, obviously, but you can do everything but that. You
> can decide what you want to nominate, make sure you have all
> the information you need, even contact the author to let her
> know you want to nominate her, so she'll be expecting an
> email from a MEFA volunteer. You can also enter your
> nominations as soon as possible (don't wait until the end of
> nominations to see if someone else will nominate it). That
> will really help us get all the nominations ready to compete
> on time.
>
> You can check whether a story has been nominated in the
> past by using our MEFA archive:
>
> http://mefawards.net/mefa-archive/
>
> Eligibility requirements are the same as they were in 2009,
> but in case you need a reminder:
>
> http://mefawards.net/MEFA2009/index.php?page=FAQeligibility
>
> ****************************************
>
> Nominating stories is probably the most important job you
> can do right now, because without nominations we won't have
> a good awards. You can also start talking up the awards with
> your friends. But if you want to do something more formal to
> help the MEFAs, read on. :^)
>
> 1. Banner Coordinator
>
> We need someone to organize banner creation. Your first job
> would be to work with the banner artists, to make sure we
> have a good variety of banners. You would also need to work
> with me and other volunteers, to discuss changes we want to
> make in how we handle banners. Finally, you would be a
> "banner makers' advocate." If they do not like the way we're
> handling the banners part of the awards, you should listen
> to their concerns and discuss them with me to see how we can
> change things.
>
> You do *not* need to be a banner artist yourself; some
> knowledge of graphics is helpful, but the banner coordinator
> mainly makes sure that the banner portion of the awards runs
> smoothly.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available May 15-beginning of January, at least every
> 3-4 days and more often in certain periods
> --- basic familiarity with online graphic-sharing website
> (e.g., Photobucket, picasa, etc.)
> --- general knowledge of Tolkien fandom
> --- general familiarity with MEFA rules about banners
> --- an ability to manage other volunteers
> --- a willingness to enforce rules
>
> 2. Banner Creators
>
> If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need
> banners and icons for nominated authors, winning authors,
> and reviewers who meet their review goal. Let us know you
> want to get involved, so we can give you credit.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- graphics skills
> --- willingness to follow directions
>
> 3. Beta Testers
>
> Starting next week, we'll need people to try to "break" the
> 2010 site. If you have time to nominate some test stories
> and are willing to discuss whether the site does what you
> expect, we want you!
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available May 8-May 15 (preferably every day)
> --- basic technical skills
> --- basic familiarity with past MEFA websites
>
> 4. Author Liaisons
>
> Author liaisons work with authors to make sure they fill
> out their forms correctly. This is a great first step to get
> involved with volunteering, as you will have the full
> attention of myself and other long-term volunteers. It also
> allows you to deliver good news to authors (which can be
> quite fun). But to do it, you *do* need a fair amount of
> time and patience, as you will be explaining a fairly
> complicated process to authors, some of whom may not know
> anything about the awards.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (esp. June 15-21),
> preferably every day
> --- positive and friendly personality
> --- ability to follow directions
> --- willingness to ask questions
> --- basic familiarity with MEFA policy and Tolkien canon
>
> 5. Promoters
>
> As always, we need people to make MEFA announcements at
> non-MEFA groups. If you know of a place where Tolkien is
> discussed, and you're willing to make announcements there,
> let me know the place. I ask that you officially "sign up"
> so I can make sure only one person is making announcements
> at each place, and so we can credit you on our website.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-December 15 (preferably at
> least twice a week)
> --- familiarity with a Tolkien group that would benefit
> from MEFA announcements
> --- willingness to ask questions
>
> 6. Ratings Committee
>
> When authors are unsure what rating is appropriate for
> their story, we invite them to have a group of volunteers
> look at the particular scene, and tell you what rating is
> appropriate for your story. (Authors can also provide
> context for the scene.) This means that we need members
> willing to read these scenes and make recommendations. The
> ratings panel will consist of three volunteers and one
> alternate.
>
> Requirements:
>
> --- available regularly May 15-June 21 (preferably every
> day or two)
> --- familiarity with MEFA ratings policies
> --- willingness to apply those policies to specific
> stories
> --- willingness to read potentially objectionable content
> -- some of which may be sexually explicit (m/m, m/f, and
> f/f) or graphically violent
>
> As the awards progress there will be other ways to
> volunteer. I'll let you know about those as they come up.
>
> *************************************
>
> If any of these tasks interest you, please let me know by
> emailing me at mefasupport(at)gmail(dot)com. Please do this
> even if you volunteered last year; I don't assume you still
> want to volunteer. If you think you'd like to help but
> aren't sure you quite qualify, email me anyway and we'll
> discuss whether you'll be able to handle the job.
>
> P.S. - I may have already mentioned it, but on May 12 the
> 2009 site will no longer be available. Reviews and basic
> story information will still be available through the
> archive. However, if you need anything else off the 2009
> site, please get it before May 15.
>
> At your service (and your family's),
>
> Marta (humble MEFA admin.)
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     MEFAwards-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

Hiya Nath,

Thanks for letting me know. I've marked you down as interested and will make
sure you get the information about banners, as soon as we have a banner
coordinator.

Marta

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of nath kuijpers
> Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2010 1:29 AM
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [MEFAwards] ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
>
>
>
> I'll be happy to make banners again:)
>
> Nath
>
>

[snip]

I don't consider myself to have enough knowledge outside my own niche to be much
use at suggesting banners, but I did notice that there were very few winners
banners featuring Aragorn and Arwen or Boromir and none at all featuring
Denethor.

Linda


--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, Elena Tiriel <ElenaTiriel@...> wrote:
>
> Marta,
>
> I plan to create banners again this year.
>
> I'd like some help, though: I think you hinted at some changes this year,
> like the wording for Review Junkies? I really want to know *all* the
> rules/guidelines as soon as possible, so I don't have to keep going back and
> re-working banners that I'd already made. (I never know when my Banner Muse
> will hit -- or desert me entirely -- in fact, I've already made a couple of
> new ones for this year....). Is there a FAQ for banner-makers up yet, or do
> you have a source doc that explains the rules, or at least any changes for
> this year?
>
> With the changes to the Review Junkie wording, I'll probably cut down to
> only one Review text -- whichever is the most popular -- rather than having
> two texts, "Commended Reviewer" (which takes up an awful lot of space....)
> and "Review Junkie". That way I'll only make 3 versions of each banner, not
> four (Nominee, Review X, and Winner -- and I'm leaving "Winner" banners
> blank this year).
>
> Secondly, a request for you and/or the Banner Coordinator this year: if you
> are going to have separate areas to post the different banner types (i.e.
> Nominees vs. Reviewers vs. Winners), please designate those areas and send
> out locations and passwords at the *beginning* of the process. Whenever I
> make a banner, I make all the various versions immediately... and last year,
> it was just a huge pain to go back and revisit banners that I had already
> "finished", because the location/password was posted for Nominees first,
> then much later the loc/pw for the other places. I want to be able to finish
> a banner, post it all the places it's going to be needed, and be DONE with
> it.
>
> Thanks for all your work, Marta! These awards have really gotten better and
> better each year.
>
> *note to self: next time, hit "Send".....*
>
> - Barbara
>
>
> On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 12:42 PM, aure_enteluva <marta.fandom@...>wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> > 2. Banner Creators
> >
> > If you just want to make banners, we need you too! We need banners and
> > icons for nominated authors, winning authors, and reviewers who meet their
> > review goal. Let us know you want to get involved, so we can give you
> > credit.
> >
> > Requirements:
> >
> > --- graphics skills
> > --- willingness to follow directions
> >
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Hiya Linda,

That seems to vary from year to year. We seem to have not enough hobbit
banners one year, not enough Silm the next, and so on. It really depends on
what banner-makers are most active. We do our best to round out the edges,
and I think the banner-makers do a good job of that, but there will always
be deficiencies.

More use than suggesting banners, would be to make some yourself or to
recruit friends from your corner of the awards to make some. If there are
people who write a certain kind of story, there are (hopefully!) artists who
like working with those same characters. If they want to create MEFA
banners, we're more than happy to find them. We also hope to have more
"generic" banners that can be used for a wide variety of stories - graphics
with landscapes, castles, scrolls, that kind of thing.

Marta

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Linda
> Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 4:17 AM
> To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [MEFAwards] Re: ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
>
>
>
> I don't consider myself to have enough knowledge outside my own niche
> to be much use at suggesting banners, but I did notice that there were
> very few winners banners featuring Aragorn and Arwen or Boromir and
> none at all featuring Denethor.
>
> Linda
>

Hey guys,

Aranel Took is looking for a few brave souls to test out the MEFA site. She and
Tanaqui have made some changes that will help the site work better, and we want
to make sure those changes are working before the awards start "for real" at the
end of the week. If you have a little bit of time to spare, please check it out.

To help out with this:

1. Join the mefa-discussion Yahoo group, where Aranel wants you to post how the
website worked for you.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mefa-discussion/

2. Follow the instructions in msg #2378 of that group.
3. Post to that group with any errors you ran into.

If you have the time, this is a great way to help get the awards ready for the
new year.

Marta

Hi all,

I'm glad to hear there's interest in more 'general' banners, as I much prefer
making those myself:-)

Nath (who should start doodling soon, to get a jumpstart on making things)

> Hiya Linda,
>
> That seems to vary from year to year. We seem to have not
> enough hobbit
> banners one year, not enough Silm the next, and so on. It
> really depends on
> what banner-makers are most active. We do our best to round
> out the edges,
> and I think the banner-makers do a good job of that, but
> there will always
> be deficiencies.
>
> More use than suggesting banners, would be to make some
> yourself or to
> recruit friends from your corner of the awards to make
> some. If there are
> people who write a certain kind of story, there are
> (hopefully!) artists who
> like working with those same characters. If they want to
> create MEFA
> banners, we're more than happy to find them. We also hope
> to have more
> "generic" banners that can be used for a wide variety of
> stories - graphics
> with landscapes, castles, scrolls, that kind of thing.
>
> Marta
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com]
> On
> > Behalf Of Linda
> > Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 4:17 AM
> > To: MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [MEFAwards] Re: ADMIN - 2010 Calendar, + Call
> for Volunteers
> >
> >
> >
> > I don't consider myself to have enough knowledge
> outside my own niche
> > to be much use at suggesting banners, but I did notice
> that there were
> > very few winners banners featuring Aragorn and Arwen
> or Boromir and
> > none at all featuring Denethor.
> >
> > Linda
> >
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2009/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     MEFAwards-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

Hey guys,

With only a few days left until MEFA-time (*eep*), I wanted to do a quick
round-up of where we have volunteers - and where we still need them.

1. Banners - Neume Indil has volunteered as our banner coordinator for this
year (*cheers*), and we have several people who have agreed to make banners:
Elena Tiriel, Elleth, Ellynn, and Nath. But the more the merrier! If you
like playing around with graphics we could still use your help.

(Elena Tiriel, I know I owe you an email and haven't forgotten. Just been
very busy. I'll get back to you soon, I promise!)

2. Author Liaisons - This is probably our biggest need right now. So far we
have the following people signed up as liaisons: Cathleen; Dreamflower;
Dwimordene; elliska; Fiondil; foxrafer; Inkling; and Linaewen. That's
several less than last year. If you volunteered last year and aren't on that
list, please let me know if you still want to volunteer. (Or if you don't
want to; knowing one way or the other would really help.) And if you haven't
been a liaison before, and would like to start, let me know that too, and we
can get you trained up to help.

3. Beta Testing - We're currently testing the 2010 site over at
mefa-discussion. Pop over there if you'd like a sneak peak of the new site,
and if you have some time to try it out.

4. Promoters - We currently have promoters for the following groups:

Aragron_Angst
Blind-Chit-Chat
Book_Talk
Books4theBlind
booktalk
CouncilofRivendell
Henneth Annun Story Archive
Henneth_Annun
In the Hall of Fire: A Tolkien Fanfic Workshop
LOTR DFIC Group
LOTR GFIC Group
LOTR LJ Challenge Group
Many Paths to Tread
Middle-earth news
Silmarillion Writers Guild
Stories_of_Arda
SWG listserv
There and Back
Tolkien_Weekly

If you see a group not listed here, and you'd like to promote there, please
let me know.

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

We're all set for everything else. Thanks for everyone who has already
volunteered.

If you see something on here you'd like to volunteer for please email me at
mefasupport@... so I can help you get started.

Thanks,

Marta (MEFA Admin.)

Sorry for the late reply. If you still need liaisons, let me know.

Agape
On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 2:29 PM, telperion1 <marta.fandom@...> wrote:

>
>
> Hey guys,
>
> With only a few days left until MEFA-time (*eep*), I wanted to do a quick
> round-up of where we have volunteers - and where we still need them.
>
> 1. Banners - Neume Indil has volunteered as our banner coordinator for this
> year (*cheers*), and we have several people who have agreed to make
> banners:
> Elena Tiriel, Elleth, Ellynn, and Nath. But the more the merrier! If you
> like playing around with graphics we could still use your help.
>
> (Elena Tiriel, I know I owe you an email and haven't forgotten. Just been
> very busy. I'll get back to you soon, I promise!)
>
> 2. Author Liaisons - This is probably our biggest need right now. So far we
> have the following people signed up as liaisons: Cathleen; Dreamflower;
> Dwimordene; elliska; Fiondil; foxrafer; Inkling; and Linaewen. That's
> several less than last year. If you volunteered last year and aren't on
> that
> list, please let me know if you still want to volunteer. (Or if you don't
> want to; knowing one way or the other would really help.) And if you
> haven't
> been a liaison before, and would like to start, let me know that too, and
> we
> can get you trained up to help.
>
> 3. Beta Testing - We're currently testing the 2010 site over at
> mefa-discussion. Pop over there if you'd like a sneak peak of the new site,
> and if you have some time to try it out.
>
> 4. Promoters - We currently have promoters for the following groups:
>
> Aragron_Angst
> Blind-Chit-Chat
> Book_Talk
> Books4theBlind
> booktalk
> CouncilofRivendell
> Henneth Annun Story Archive
> Henneth_Annun
> In the Hall of Fire: A Tolkien Fanfic Workshop
> LOTR DFIC Group
> LOTR GFIC Group
> LOTR LJ Challenge Group
> Many Paths to Tread
> Middle-earth news
> Silmarillion Writers Guild
> Stories_of_Arda
> SWG listserv
> There and Back
> Tolkien_Weekly
>
> If you see a group not listed here, and you'd like to promote there, please
> let me know.
>
> **********************************
>
> We're all set for everything else. Thanks for everyone who has already
> volunteered.
>
> If you see something on here you'd like to volunteer for please email me at
> mefasupport@... <mefasupport%40gmail.com> so I can help you get
> started.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Marta (MEFA Admin.)
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey guys,

The 2010 Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards begin at 12:01 AM GMT on May 15.
What exactly that means for you varies depending on where you live. For
instance, here in New York (U.S.A.) the awards start at 8 PM. To find the
exact time the awards start, use the website www.timezoneconverter.com, and
convert "12:01 AM GMT, May 15" into your local time zone.

At 12:01 AM you can start nominating stories. To do so, log in to

http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2010/

and click the link either to nominate a story (where someone else is the
author) or to self-nominate a story (where you are the author). As in
previous years you can nominate up to twenty pieces.

To review some eligibility concerns:

1. Stories are only eligible once as a completed story, and once more as a
WIP. Before nominating, check that the story hasn't competed in the past:

--- For previous years' nominations, check
http://www.mefawards.net/mefa-archive/
--- For stories already nominated this year, click the "Stories" link within
the MEFA2010 site itself.

If the story was nominated before, you may lose your nomination.

2. Stories need to be publicly accessible. You need to have a site you can
point to, that doesn't require people to log in to that website in order to
read the story. If you mistype the URL, or if it doesn't let everyone read
the story, you will lose your nomination.

3. For stories posted on more than one page, there needs to be a way to get
from page to page. The most common way to do this is either by linking to a
"table of contents" (that offers a link to each page), or by providing a
link to the previous and next page in the story.

4. Stories must meet either our General, Teen, or Mature ratings to be
eligible to compete. This doesn't mean a story can't be rated NC17 or Adult
*at its archive*. Different sites have different criteria. But you will want
to read our ratings guidelines and make sure that it meets *our*
requirements for General, Teen, or Mature before you nominate it.

For more info:

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

You will find lots of little changes at the new site, but two bear
mentioning.

1. Acceptance Emails. Authors no longer are required to email their liaisons
that they accept the nomination, or that they are done with the form.

--- When you begin working on the form we assume you accept the nomination.
(You are still encouraged to email in if you won't begin the form right
away, so we know you have received the email.)
---- At the bottom of the form, there is a checkbox you select to say you
are finished with the form. You should click this in addition to setting the
status to "Author Satisfied with Form." But you do *not* have to email your
liaison to let him or her know that you are done with it.

2. Alternate URLs. In previous years web sites have become unavailable in
the middle of the MEFAs. This obviously puts some authors at a disadvantage.
To help with this, we are encouraging (not requiring) all authors to include
an alternate URL. In the case that a site goes down, we will change your
primary URL to the alternate one for you. However, it is *very important*
that you check that these alternate URLs are correct; your liaison won't
check them for you, and it's your responsibility to make sure they work.
Alternate URLs are optional, but if you choose not to include one, it's up
to you to get in touch with us if the site where your story is hosted, goes
down.

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

Also: if you are still interested in volunteering, we need the following:

1. A Welcome Manager. Essentially you would send a quick email to all new
members other than authors, welcoming them to the site and answering any
questions they had. You can pass on any questions you aren't sure of to me.
The purpose of this is to give new members someone to go to with their
problems. Think of it like a liaison for non-authors. *g*

2. Banner Makers. Our banner coordinator, Neume Indil, is getting things
organized and we will soon have some banners for nominees available. If you
haven't volunteered yet but want to make banners, let me know.

3. Promoters. If you know of a group not receiving announcements from the
MEFAs, and would like to make announcements there, let me know. You can find
a list of the sites already receiving announcements at:

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

If you're interested in helping out in any of these ways, shoot me an email
at mefasupport@...

Thanks,

Marta (MEFA Admin.)

I've just tried to nominate three different stories and each time got the
message that the form was incomplete, even though I had filled in all asteriksed
fields.

I got the same message...

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "annettekupke" <annette@...> wrote:
>
> I've just tried to nominate three different stories and each time got the
message that the form was incomplete, even though I had filled in all asteriksed
fields.
>