telperion1
in
mefas
MEFA Unsung Heroes
Hey guys,
Earlier today I was thinking about the MEFAs (not a rare occurrence these days!). Specifically, I was thinking about the members who help out. See, I know a lot of people associate the MEFAs with my name because I am the one whose name is at the bottom of the announcements, and I am often the one who answers questions. However, I am far from the only one who is involved. If anything, the MEFAs are like an iceberg: 10% visible, 90% below the surface.
I talk sometimes about some of these volunteers, but I usually talk about the ones I actually have regular contact with. There are lots of other people who do jobs just because they need to be done. I can call on them and tell them what needs to be done, and then they just run with it. Usually these people do such a good job that it is easy for me to forget they are even there. Which I know I really shouldn't, because they are invaluable to the whole process. For me the MEFAs can be a real juggling act; I try to give my attention to as much as I can, and areas that are working well, I tend to forget about because I *can.*
That's no excuse, though. So I want to take a moment to thank just some of the people who don't get NEARLY as much credit as they deserve, and without whom these awards would not be happening.
First and foremost of this list is Elliska. She has been a very dependable volunteer since she first got involved (I think in 2005?), and has always been willing to pitch a helping hand wherever needed. I'm not sure there's been a part of the awards (nominations, categorizing, voting, or "clean-up") where she hasn't been doing something behind the scene. She is a liaison and has already signed up to be a categorizer. More importantly, it is Elliska who looks at everyone who tries to join the MEFAwards list, checks out for spammers, and sets up membership accounts for the legitimate ones. After the post-mortem I at least get to take a few weeks off and recuperate; Elliska does not get a day off. She is also one of the most reliable volunteers I've worked with. I seriously doubt that these awards would be happening if I didn't have her help. Because she does her job so well, it is all too easy for me to forget her effort. But that's only because it doesn't require any effort on my part. Thank you, Elliska. I mean that.
Tanaqui and Aranel are two names that you probably hear fairly often, but you may not realize the full extent of their work. Go and check out the FAQ sometime, even if you think you understand the awards. Look at all the ways those FAQs link to each other. All the special formatting. And realize that someone had to take the Word documents in which I wrote the FAQs and convert them into computer files. Now look at the way it fits into a complicated website pretty seamlessly. And consider that these FAQs are available both when you're logged in and when you're not - and that the same computer documents work for both people who can access the rest of the website, and who can't. It's complicated, sophisticated code, and someone has to write and update it. And that takes a lot of tedious work. That someone is Tanaqui. She does this on *top* of her other volunteer hours coding this website, which are substantial.
Aranel does a tremendous amount of work as well. One of the biggest time-consuming parts of this year's coding was the archive. The list of stories itself is very useful, and took a lot of technical work. But Aranel also took the 2004 reviews and formatted them by hand. This was not a matter of simply pulling data from a website database, because in 2004 the votes were posted to the MEFAwards Yahoo group as emails, not entered into a website. Aranel also went through all the names and grouped stories together where the author was nominated under different pseudonyms.
Most importantly, these two put up with me. The MEFAs are the first time I have ever tried to coordinate a project of anything like this magnitude - which of course means I make mistakes. Vague coding requirements. Lots of forgetfulness on my part. (I can't tell you how many times I've said "Oh, did I forget to mention..."!) They listen to my suggestions and those of others, and make them work. Or explain why it can't work. They deserve a lot more recognition than I give them for that.
Another person who deserves a lot more recognition than she gets is Inkling. If I told you one thing that Inkling has done I'd have to tell you a hundred. Suffice it to say that there has never been a time that I've come to her with a special project that she has said no to. And, like Elliska, she is a perpetual and continuous volunteer: liaison, categorizer, and just general jack-of-all-trades during the voting season.) Most importantly, Inkling is my release valve. When I need someone to kvetch to, she is there to listen, to reassure me, and to help me see the problems more clearly. I think I would have quit my involvement a half-dozen times in the last few years if not for her support, both emotionally and practically. (Elliska has been great about this as well.)
Banner makers are another group that don't get nearly enough credit. Go and check out http://www.mefawards.net/fanart/, and you will see some really nice artwork. What you won't see is the name of the artists who created them, unless you click on an image. And when a member selects a banner, they just display the banner - not who created it. I hesitate to mention names because I know I'll forget someone, but I know that nau_tika and elea24 have both created banners. Rhapsody and Llinos also created a lot last year. And I am certain that there are others! But all of these artists who share their work with us deserve our appreciation.
As does Fiondil. Fiondil is a new volunteer who has taken on the job of making sure we have a good assortment of banners. Think how diverse fandom is, how diverse the contributions to the MEFA are every year, and imagine trying to make sure that every little niche has an appopriate banner to select if they win. Now multiply that by three because you also need a good selection of banners for nominees and people who reach their reviewing goal. Fiondil also has taken on the dreary work of uploading peoples' submissions, something I am very glad to delegate. Thank you, Fiondil!
And I don't want to forget AmandaK, Baranduin, and nau_tika, who personalized the winners' banners so quickly to display what place was won. They all did a really top-notch job, and I don't think they were recognized even once. (Rhapsody, AlexCat, Ainaechoiriel, and other people did similar jobs in previous years.)
I see that I've gone on for quite some time already, and the more and more I think about the MEFAs, the more "unsung heroes" I think of. Annmarwalk posted all of the reviews made last year, to both here and the mefas LJ. Imhiriel has read many, many reviews looking for formatting errors, like incorrectly-marked quotes. Sulriel has helped on many, many projects, such as preparing lists of previously-nominated pieces and adding accounts to the MEFA website when people joined MEFAwards - another person I can turn to when I need help. I can't even begin to name all of the people who have participated in the post-mortem every year - and that's a time commitment of at least an hour a night, for over a month in most cases.
You get the idea. There are so many people to thank, I can't even name them all.
But I do want to recognize three people who, though they don't volunteer in the same capacities anymore, really helped give the MEFAs their start. Those three people are Ainaechoiriel, Anthony, and Rhapsody. Rhapsody created the banner website, including the software that allows us to vote for banners (when we still did that). She also adminned this section of the awards, uploading all of the banners submitted and communicating with artists. Anthony actually built the site we saw in 2005 - all by himself, building on code from H. Weinreich but donating so much time I'm kind of scared to know the actual tally. And Ainae brought these awards to the Tolkien fandom and got them started. Without them, we wouldn't be here.
I know full well that there are people I am failing to mention, mostly because I have run out of room but also because you do such a damned good job that I never have to give your part of the awards a second thought. Thank you.
And thank you, again, to everyone I did mention. I am sorry I don't draw attention to you more often, because you really are invaluable.
Marta
(MEFA Admin.)
Earlier today I was thinking about the MEFAs (not a rare occurrence these days!). Specifically, I was thinking about the members who help out. See, I know a lot of people associate the MEFAs with my name because I am the one whose name is at the bottom of the announcements, and I am often the one who answers questions. However, I am far from the only one who is involved. If anything, the MEFAs are like an iceberg: 10% visible, 90% below the surface.
I talk sometimes about some of these volunteers, but I usually talk about the ones I actually have regular contact with. There are lots of other people who do jobs just because they need to be done. I can call on them and tell them what needs to be done, and then they just run with it. Usually these people do such a good job that it is easy for me to forget they are even there. Which I know I really shouldn't, because they are invaluable to the whole process. For me the MEFAs can be a real juggling act; I try to give my attention to as much as I can, and areas that are working well, I tend to forget about because I *can.*
That's no excuse, though. So I want to take a moment to thank just some of the people who don't get NEARLY as much credit as they deserve, and without whom these awards would not be happening.
First and foremost of this list is Elliska. She has been a very dependable volunteer since she first got involved (I think in 2005?), and has always been willing to pitch a helping hand wherever needed. I'm not sure there's been a part of the awards (nominations, categorizing, voting, or "clean-up") where she hasn't been doing something behind the scene. She is a liaison and has already signed up to be a categorizer. More importantly, it is Elliska who looks at everyone who tries to join the MEFAwards list, checks out for spammers, and sets up membership accounts for the legitimate ones. After the post-mortem I at least get to take a few weeks off and recuperate; Elliska does not get a day off. She is also one of the most reliable volunteers I've worked with. I seriously doubt that these awards would be happening if I didn't have her help. Because she does her job so well, it is all too easy for me to forget her effort. But that's only because it doesn't require any effort on my part. Thank you, Elliska. I mean that.
Tanaqui and Aranel are two names that you probably hear fairly often, but you may not realize the full extent of their work. Go and check out the FAQ sometime, even if you think you understand the awards. Look at all the ways those FAQs link to each other. All the special formatting. And realize that someone had to take the Word documents in which I wrote the FAQs and convert them into computer files. Now look at the way it fits into a complicated website pretty seamlessly. And consider that these FAQs are available both when you're logged in and when you're not - and that the same computer documents work for both people who can access the rest of the website, and who can't. It's complicated, sophisticated code, and someone has to write and update it. And that takes a lot of tedious work. That someone is Tanaqui. She does this on *top* of her other volunteer hours coding this website, which are substantial.
Aranel does a tremendous amount of work as well. One of the biggest time-consuming parts of this year's coding was the archive. The list of stories itself is very useful, and took a lot of technical work. But Aranel also took the 2004 reviews and formatted them by hand. This was not a matter of simply pulling data from a website database, because in 2004 the votes were posted to the MEFAwards Yahoo group as emails, not entered into a website. Aranel also went through all the names and grouped stories together where the author was nominated under different pseudonyms.
Most importantly, these two put up with me. The MEFAs are the first time I have ever tried to coordinate a project of anything like this magnitude - which of course means I make mistakes. Vague coding requirements. Lots of forgetfulness on my part. (I can't tell you how many times I've said "Oh, did I forget to mention..."!) They listen to my suggestions and those of others, and make them work. Or explain why it can't work. They deserve a lot more recognition than I give them for that.
Another person who deserves a lot more recognition than she gets is Inkling. If I told you one thing that Inkling has done I'd have to tell you a hundred. Suffice it to say that there has never been a time that I've come to her with a special project that she has said no to. And, like Elliska, she is a perpetual and continuous volunteer: liaison, categorizer, and just general jack-of-all-trades during the voting season.) Most importantly, Inkling is my release valve. When I need someone to kvetch to, she is there to listen, to reassure me, and to help me see the problems more clearly. I think I would have quit my involvement a half-dozen times in the last few years if not for her support, both emotionally and practically. (Elliska has been great about this as well.)
Banner makers are another group that don't get nearly enough credit. Go and check out http://www.mefawards.net/fanart/, and you will see some really nice artwork. What you won't see is the name of the artists who created them, unless you click on an image. And when a member selects a banner, they just display the banner - not who created it. I hesitate to mention names because I know I'll forget someone, but I know that nau_tika and elea24 have both created banners. Rhapsody and Llinos also created a lot last year. And I am certain that there are others! But all of these artists who share their work with us deserve our appreciation.
As does Fiondil. Fiondil is a new volunteer who has taken on the job of making sure we have a good assortment of banners. Think how diverse fandom is, how diverse the contributions to the MEFA are every year, and imagine trying to make sure that every little niche has an appopriate banner to select if they win. Now multiply that by three because you also need a good selection of banners for nominees and people who reach their reviewing goal. Fiondil also has taken on the dreary work of uploading peoples' submissions, something I am very glad to delegate. Thank you, Fiondil!
And I don't want to forget AmandaK, Baranduin, and nau_tika, who personalized the winners' banners so quickly to display what place was won. They all did a really top-notch job, and I don't think they were recognized even once. (Rhapsody, AlexCat, Ainaechoiriel, and other people did similar jobs in previous years.)
I see that I've gone on for quite some time already, and the more and more I think about the MEFAs, the more "unsung heroes" I think of. Annmarwalk posted all of the reviews made last year, to both here and the mefas LJ. Imhiriel has read many, many reviews looking for formatting errors, like incorrectly-marked quotes. Sulriel has helped on many, many projects, such as preparing lists of previously-nominated pieces and adding accounts to the MEFA website when people joined MEFAwards - another person I can turn to when I need help. I can't even begin to name all of the people who have participated in the post-mortem every year - and that's a time commitment of at least an hour a night, for over a month in most cases.
You get the idea. There are so many people to thank, I can't even name them all.
But I do want to recognize three people who, though they don't volunteer in the same capacities anymore, really helped give the MEFAs their start. Those three people are Ainaechoiriel, Anthony, and Rhapsody. Rhapsody created the banner website, including the software that allows us to vote for banners (when we still did that). She also adminned this section of the awards, uploading all of the banners submitted and communicating with artists. Anthony actually built the site we saw in 2005 - all by himself, building on code from H. Weinreich but donating so much time I'm kind of scared to know the actual tally. And Ainae brought these awards to the Tolkien fandom and got them started. Without them, we wouldn't be here.
I know full well that there are people I am failing to mention, mostly because I have run out of room but also because you do such a damned good job that I never have to give your part of the awards a second thought. Thank you.
And thank you, again, to everyone I did mention. I am sorry I don't draw attention to you more often, because you really are invaluable.
Marta
(MEFA Admin.)