telperion1
in
mefas
2010 Calendar, + Call for Volunteers
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.)
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.)