the unbearable unrepresentativeness of judging

[lobelia321]

The Starless Night Awards:

No cimorene111?
No badgermonkey?
No sheldrake?
"Encouragement" for eyebrowofdoom?

"Silliest sex scene" for Up Shit Creek? (Well, I suppose that's a compliment.)

And what do you mean, I didn't win every single award single-ficcedly?

*is nonplussed*



More of a readers' poll

Not so much an award as a readers' poll. Total fairness. Total transparency. Total readers' choice and no jury. Everyone just nominates fic they love, say: maximum of ten. No categories except the category of Good Writing. Everyone gets one go at nominating. I count 'em all up and the ones with most votes get a gold star. (Or should that be a gold washer on a chain?) Minimum fuss.

Good idea? Or stupid idea?

Comments

[crazybutsound]

Actually, if you really restrict it to ten fics per person, and don't do votes but simply count the nominations, I think it would be a good idea. All in all, awards are all about the popularity anyway, but I'd feel less cheated in my votes, you know? I don't so much care about being mentioned as I care about seeing the people I think are deserving get a mention. Because what you just said up there? Kinda made me cringe. Along with "Special Encouragement for cupiscent. Not to mention that I found those "special encouragement" mentions kind of maybe a tad bit insulting. Could be just me, though.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise cupiscent got 'encouragement' as well. I only saw eyebrowofdoom. Well, neither of those writers are beginners or struggling so yes, the 'encouragement' is an insult.

Actually, I would just be *interested* in what's most popular. I know what my Friends like but to cast the net wider, give kudos where it's due, and maybe net a few hitherto unsuspected recs in the process... :-)

[crazybutsound]

Yep, cupiscent got that encouragement thing for Ring Pull, no less (at least I think that's what I read, as now the site won't load and I can't check). I think that's the one thing that got me. And I hadn't seen eyebrowofdoom was in that list, as well, so... lol.

I really hate that I've been sounding like an ungrateful bitch about the awards since this morning, but I must admit that that particular category just... it made my skin crawl. Everything else, I may not entirely agree, but after all, there were so many fics nominated, so many different judges with different tastes... and I also think the categories weren't such a good idea, because even though I think Az chose right with yours given the choice she had, I still think a few fics got awards for things that are not relevant at all (like mine, still can't get over that "songfic" thing). But yeah, the one thing I just can't get over is that 'special encouragement' list. Maybe it's a question of how the category is formulated more than anything else.

So I kinda like your idea a lot, now that I think more about it. :-)

[azrhiaz.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good idea.

Note that I only had three fics to look at in the "silliest sex scene" category, and I didn't think "Rover And Dom" was silly at all. I mean, yes, some might automatically extrapolate silliness from the fact it's a stuffed dog, but I found the fic quite dark, actually. (That said, you know I loved it.)

I find it odd that they posted the judges; I thought it was blind judging. Eh, well.

And yes, the "special encouragment" awards...the hell? I didn't know they were doing that.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Heh, Rover and Dom was, oddly, not in the 'silliest sex scene'. I'm not sure what is meant by 'silly', that is the problem. So, although I don't want to be irkled, I actually am because it's not clear whether the sex is silly because silliness was the point of the fic or whether my fic is actually silly.

Anyway, it's not about the love. We all, presumably, know how much we are loved because we read our feedback, :-) So, hm, I'm actually not quite sure what it *is* about.
What do you think awards should be about?

[azrhiaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was, actually. It was one of the three I was told to consider. *confuzzled*

And I don't know about the other judges, but I did my level best to judge on artistic merit and how well the fic in question met the requirements of the category. I had many more fics in the "Best AU" category to consider, and I didn't just "vote for friends", which seemed to be the prevailing method of a fair number of other judges, frankly. So, in my category, grammar counted, as did deft handling of exposition, narrative focus, yadda yadda.

In the case of "Up Shit Creek", it was, again, one of three nominated fics (barely enough for a category, really, IMO, but I did what they asked me to do). The other fic was lighthearted and thoroughly fun, but I felt that your writing was tighter. I definitely do not think of your fic as "silly", and was actually a bit suprised to see either of yours there. But I did think it fit the category inasmuch as there was a certain absurdity to the situation as you set it up, and it was well done. And I've already said why "Rover And Dom" didn't strike me as silly in the slightest, or even absurd.

*exhales* So, in answer to your last question, I'd say a properly done awards situation would be a chance for fics to be looked at closely with a critical eye and recognized for quality craft. However, as we have all noticed by now, it's far more likely to be a popularity contest.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were one of the judges!! And if you were confuzzled by the categories, how could you have judged properly? And yes, what with millions of categories and many fics appearing like jill-in-the-boxes in multiple categories, how could more than a handful end up in one of the lesser categories? And I've already previously ranted about entire categories devoted to Viggorli et al. and only *one* measly slot for 'other' (to encompass Karl, John, the other John, David, and so forth and so forth).

Anyway, yes. I find I have run out of things to say. Because it is 10 December and I am waiting for Berlin pics!!!!

[azrhiaz.livejournal.com]

I only judged "Silliest Sex Scene" and "Best AU". I do agree, there were far too many categories, and some with a million nominations, and others with barely any at all. As has been noted by others, it was very hobbit-centric.

Anyway, best of luck with finding faboo pics. :)

*hugs*

[gabbyhope.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* Why have something along those lines at all? People have different tastes, so good for them. It's the popular kids who'll win, done and done.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is also true. This is the drawback! Popularity does not equate quality. Although in fanfic it often does, to my surprise.

I don't know. Am just irked, that's all.

[gabbyhope.livejournal.com]

I'm irked as well. I was irked when they announced it. I mean, really. It's too big a fandom, and the cliques are like woe. Why even bother? To each his own, I say, and that goes with fanfic, as well.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, to each his own but what I have liked about past contests (Jenn's song contest) is that a contest can be a sort of rallying point, a fandom node, if you know what I mean. And that is fun.

[azewewish.livejournal.com]

*boggles*

Since when do Belinda & Dee need encouragement? And Zarah only winning in one category is completely mind-boggling.

Very much so with the insulting. But, y'know, this little contest was kinda screwed anyway, given how Hobbit-centric it was and how weirdly she did up the categories & judging. I'm not a fan of contests anyway, and this one just kinda clinches why. If you're going to have a contest, make it for brandnew fics & it's all blind judging.

*nods*

< /off soap box >

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Well, I sort of liked Jenn's song contest last year. It also produced loads of good new fics (your death fics!!!). But yes, this one, I don't think I will even mention them on my site and will remove banner because it is too misleading and possibly pandering to something I don't quite hold with. The categories were totally odd -- and fics were kind of pressed into those categories straitjacket-like.

[anna-maria.livejournal.com]

I think it's a good idea, myself. If nothing else it would produce a list of highly-recommended fics, which would be nice for those of us who still haven't yet read all the good stuff in this fandom. And since in the Starless Night Awards I've found that I prefer most of the Readers' Choice winners to the "actual" winners, I think your system would work out nicely.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Hm. So many people seem dubious about it that I'm not so sure myself any more. Am I just bowing to the winds of others' opinion? And finding good recs is often a matter of finding the person whose taste you share and then plundering their recs page.

Am not so sure *what* awards are good for. *sizzles brain*

[anna-maria.livejournal.com]

True, but in a fandom as clique-y as this one isn't the idea of everyone coming into something like this and just listing their favorite stories, regardless of friendships and politics, kind of nice? I don't know, sometimes I think people take these things a little too seriously. If you got a wide enough voting base and did away with categories and judges altogether, and kept everything totally blind, the results would at least be interesting, even if they didn't produce anything definitive.

[badgermonkey.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't win anything because didn't you have to stick some banner thing on your site or something? Or reply? Anything whatever it was, I didn't do it because I couldn't work up enough excitement to do the 30 seconds work required. If someone nominated me, that's good enough for me. And, I would be miffed at not winning Every Single Category anyway ;) So.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Yes, you had to put the banner. Why the fuck? There was a banner hoop! Of course, I slavishly pasted it in. But now I'm very inclined to take it off again. And not to bother pasting in the (not entirely aesthetically pleasing) 'I have won' banner.

On a more important point: where are pics of Karl at the Berlin premiere???????????

[sheldrake.livejournal.com]

Bless you. :) The 'encouragement' stuff was good for a laugh, anyway. I mean ... wha?

All I can say is, it doesn't seem to represent the fandom I know. That's obviously a number of people's lotrips experience, but it ain't mine, and I've been here for a while.

I'd be up for nominating fics, I should think.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

It ain't mine neither!!! Who *are* some of those people? And some others whom I know well appeared in such weird guises.

Anyway, much more importantly: Karl! Berlin! Pics! Where??????

[sheldrake.livejournal.com]

Anyway, much more importantly: Karl! Berlin! Pics! Where??????

I don't know nuffing, honestly... I swear it!

*wails*

[viva-gloria.livejournal.com]

I think your 'top ten stories' poll is an excellent idea. If you did want to make it into an award, you could use the readers' nominations to draw up a shortlist (stories nominated more than once) and then vote on that. But really, who's read everything? I used to keep up with the list digests, if nothing else, but there's too much in this fandom: I'm swamped. And disaffected, tbh, but that's just me.

Yes! Yes! Do the 'ten faves' poll!