Discussion Topic: What do the Fandom Awards mean to you?

[paranoid_woman]

The Numb3rs Awards are open now, as we all should know by now.

Which brings up a question in my mind about all awards in all fandoms, and lillyg is totally going to laugh when she sees this public post.

How do you make your choices when it comes to who and what to nominate?

In my particular case, I do tend to read the fics my favorite writers publish

Comments

[mustangcandi]

I think you make some good points here but I also think that some things aren't being considered.

Yes, I nominate my friends for a lot of things... but you also have to consider that a lot of my friends are my friends because I met them through fandom. I know them because of something they posted in some community. We started talking, we became friends... but ultimately, I know them because of something they wrote or made. This doesn't mean that my nominating them is favoritism simply because they are my friend - it means they created something that touched me, moved me, captivated me and in turn, they themselves became someone that moved me or captivated me. I know that had it not been for Numb3rs, I don't think you and I would have ever become friends because how else would I have met you?

I also think you have to consider the sheer volume of fic/icons/videos etc that gets posted. If someone writes over 100 fic in a year, of course they are going to get more recognition than someone who only wrote two. But chances are, both are going to get nominated if they wrote something that was really good.

I actually believe that most everything that gets nominated deserves to be nominated. I think lists of nominations are a great way to represent the fandom: the best of the best if you will. Quite frankly, I could give two poops about who wins because if they are on that list - they are representing that fandom and they are there for a reason. THAT is what's important. I also think that awards are a great way to get people to read things they may have missed during the year or wouldn't normally read. I know that I won't vote in a category unless I read everything in that category, and by doing that - I read things I never would have thought to read... and I am almost always amazed by how many wonderful pieces there are, created by and nominated by other fans just like me.

I agree with you that awards can become a popularity contest, but I also think it's unfair to say that ALL of the awards are based on popularity. Last year, for the N3 Awards in particular, I know a couple authors who had never been nominated and who posted maybe only one or two things ever... but they won. I also have to say that just because the same people win, doesn't mean that they didn't deserve it. There are some truly talented folks in fandom and what they create is just amazing. You can't help that. While some authors/vidders/graphics might get voted just by name alone, there are still a lot of folks who vote for what they think is best. I know that I vote for what moved me the most, even if I have to vote against something I nominated. If the work is good, it will get my vote. And that's all you can really do.

I actually wish more people voted for the awards BECAUSE of the popularity contest. If more people voted and participated, we might see a wider spread on who wins the awards because everyone has different tastes.

A very good topic for discussion indeed. Sorry my reply was so long winded. You know brevity was never my strong suit. haha.

[paranoid_woman]

Candi - first let me tell you that I never meant to upset you by raising this issue. To be honest, I was pretty sure people were going to get mad at me anyway for saying how I feel about the awards, but I didn't state things were exactly the way I described them here. That's why I asked people to vote for this poll, because I wanted to see what this means to others and try to understand why I feel this way.

I do know that I would have never met you if it weren't for this fandom and savecolby. This, of course, applies to a thousand other friendships. Like you said, it is more likely that you vote for those who are in your f-list because you follow their work more than you follow a new writer's fics. I totally get that and it happens to me too.

The authors who won and had just posted one of two fics are definitely really talented to be able to get that much attention in such a little period of time. *nods* I think that's great.

I also never said that the ones who won didn't deserve it. I think what bothers me and some other people is to see the same name with a thousand awards, but now that I think about it, it's kind of... I don't know, it makes no sense that I get worried about this. Because, yeah, winning is totally different from getting nominated, and being nominated is good enough because you are recognized for your work.

I obviously used the wrong words to express myself in this post. I needed to say what I said but I never meant to offend you.

[mustangcandi]

Sweetie, you didn't offend me. The only thing that offended me was lillyg's "Numb3rs Fake Awards" and the only reason that offended me is because ALL of the committee members are my friends and they work REALLY hard and spend A LOT of time from January until April - time that they don't always have to spend. They do their best to keep the nominations fair. The voting is out of their hands - all they can do is only let ONE person cast ONE vote in each category. And even lillyg didn't offend me with her comment because every one is entitled to an opinion. I know you weren't slamming the awards committee, you were posting a point for discussion... but name-calling (again, not by you) is a bit unfair.

You are completely entitled to your opinion, and like I said, you made some good points. I didn't mean to make you think that I was upset with you or that you offended me, because that's not the case. Quite truthfully, as I mentioned to toomuch over in Merci's, I'm sorry that you do feel that there is a popularity skew when it comes to the awards. This very well may be the case, but I think that every one (myself included) may be overgeneralizing the problem when there are so many factors that need to be considered when saying something is "popular." I'll use myself as an example: I would love to believe that every one on my f-list likes me because I try to treat every one with respect and fairness, regardless of opinion or heritage or whatever. If someone reads my fic because they know me or are on my f-list or are friendly with me in one of my communities, I can't help that 100 people know me. I can only hope that if they read what I wrote, they like what they see. My name is recognized because I spam the crap out of people's f-lists with picspams and announcements, and comments. I have an addiction - I can't stay away from Numb3rs or LJ. I post and participate because I love it. I have a lot of fun talking to people and spreading the Numb3rs love. So, my name is almost always on the newsletter (usually more than once.) I wouldn't say this makes me popular (sometimes probably the exact opposite. haha)... just, vocal. It's the same with any election. If Candidate A sits back and says nothing - a lot of people aren't going to know they exist, particularly if Candidate B is out every day in people's faces.

I actually think your post makes a good argument for why more people should participate in awards. Get the noms in that you feel are underrepresented, post recs for them in your LJ or when the theme is right at numb3rsfanrecs, post recs in character or theme specific communities (I know that savecolby, davidsinclair, ian_nikki, n3_fanvids - yes, all communities I mod - all LOVE to have recs but rarely do.) Even the playing field. Get someone else's name out there so that people will stop thinking I'm nuts for posting so much. (LOL)

Seriously, you didn't offend me because I honestly think that every one is entitled to an opinion even if I may not agree with that opinion. Your thoughts are your own and you deserve to have them. I still love you just the same as I did yesterday, maybe even more because you bravely posted something that has obviously got a lot of people thinking about this. *hugs*

[paranoid_woman]

Hey, it's okay. You run communities, you're doing your best at giving fandom something they can enjoy. Of course you're going to be seen and recognized for it. It's like spikedluv, who should be recognized for working so hard in all the comms she mods.

I'm glad I didn't offend you. I don't mind at all people not agreeing with me. *hugs back* Still, I feel like I have to go silent on fandom for a few weeks until everyone calms down. :(

[mustangcandi]

I honestly don't know why this went sour. I thought that every one was making some really good points - for both sides of the argument. I still don't see this as a negative thing. Maybe we all need to take a step back. I feel like we've had a really good discussion here - there's no need for anyone to be rude.

*sighs* I'm sorry that you feel like you need to take a step back. I still admire you for posting it because I think this has been a very good thing in general. *hugs you*