Well, I will say what I think now and not wait till September.
1. I agree in principle with a rating system and with certain types of stories not being eligible. 2. I disagree with a system by which stories rated 5 - and these stories only - have to be defended by the author upfront. This is unfair, because peope are trusted to correctly rate stories 1-4, but not 5. It is also unnecessary, because since presumbaly all 5 rated stories now have to go to a panel anyway, they might as well go to that panel without the author having to write an essay on them first. 3. I can understand that the rating system itself can not be changed at this point, since that would require changes to the website. But I don't see why the requirement to defend the story upfront cannot simply be dropped. 4. Personally, I find the rating system as it has been posted now confusing and inconsistent. Especially the prase "even an adult might find upsetting" is extremely vague since different people find different things upsetting, depending on their personal
I'm trying not to discuss what should be changed now, for the reasons I've given several times. I have saved this email and will keep them in mind when we have our discussion in September.
There was one suggestion you made, and I want to explain why we can't just make that change for 2012. You said:
3. I can understand that the rating system itself can not be changed at this point, since that would require changes to the website. But I don't see why the requirement to defend the story upfront cannot simply be dropped.Let's say we did that. We still have the requirement that certain types of content (graphic sex, graphic violence, etc.) aren't eligible for the MEFAs. And we're in exactly the same situation we were in 2011. I still have that huge question of what to do if I find out a story isn't eligible, but find out very late in the awards. Do I let it compete even though it's ineligible? Or do we set up some kind of deadline and don't pull stories after that date for any reason? Both of those are pretty big policy
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You misunderstood me. I said if the story has to go to the ratings panel anyway, then you could easily drop the requirement for the author to provide an unfront explanation/justification. That's the one that really bugs me.
I'm sorry - I've read so many emails these last several days, I think I'm going a bit bleary-eyed. :^P I'm fine with making that explanation optional.
What I'll probably do for longer stories is ask to have a few chapters you want the panel to focus on, and also offer to pass along any other information or concerns the author has. But that last part will be optional. for shorter stories I can just tell the ratings panel to look at this story, without going to the author for more information first.
That sounds much better, thank you. Initially, I was under the impression that the author had to provide a lengthy explanation/justification, and I think that would seriously discourage some people from participating. I have a suggestion to make about how the whole screening process could be a little fairer and less looking to single out 5-rated stories, but that can wait for the September discussion.
I still have that huge question of what to do if I find out a story isn't eligible, but find out very late in the awards. Do I let it compete even though it's ineligible? Or do we set up some kind of deadline and don't pull stories after that date for any reason? Both of those are pretty big policy changes, much bigger than the change most people are objecting to; I'm not going to make them just as my own decision, and I'm too exhausted and busy to make a good decision right now in any event.Of course these are big changes as well, especially for those who run the awards, but please do not underestimate any changes made or requirements put on the author's doing nomination season. I know that in the past (even with the experience of a categoriser) I often wondered: is most of this required information really needed? The explanation of adult scenes in a story in a field: that might have appeared a small change, but for especially novel writers it’s a daunting task to know exactly those scenes, where in the story and such. The staff
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1. I agree in principle with a rating system and with certain types of stories not being eligible.
2. I disagree with a system by which stories rated 5 - and these stories only - have to be defended by the author upfront. This is unfair, because peope are trusted to correctly rate stories 1-4, but not 5. It is also unnecessary, because since presumbaly all 5 rated stories now have to go to a panel anyway, they might as well go to that panel without the author having to write an essay on them first.
3. I can understand that the rating system itself can not be changed at this point, since that would require changes to the website. But I don't see why the requirement to defend the story upfront cannot simply be dropped.
4. Personally, I find the rating system as it has been posted now confusing and inconsistent. Especially the prase "even an adult might find upsetting" is extremely vague since different people find different things upsetting, depending on their personal
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I'm trying not to discuss what should be changed now, for the reasons I've given several times. I have saved this email and will keep them in mind when we have our discussion in September.
There was one suggestion you made, and I want to explain why we can't just make that change for 2012. You said:
3. I can understand that the rating system itself can not be changed at this point, since that would require changes to the website. But I don't see why the requirement to defend the story upfront cannot simply be dropped.Let's say we did that. We still have the requirement that certain types of content (graphic sex, graphic violence, etc.) aren't eligible for the MEFAs. And we're in exactly the same situation we were in 2011. I still have that huge question of what to do if I find out a story isn't eligible, but find out very late in the awards. Do I let it compete even though it's ineligible? Or do we set up some kind of deadline and don't pull stories after that date for any reason? Both of those are pretty big policy ( ... )
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What I'll probably do for longer stories is ask to have a few chapters you want the panel to focus on, and also offer to pass along any other information or concerns the author has. But that last part will be optional. for shorter stories I can just tell the ratings panel to look at this story, without going to the author for more information first.
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