NB
I was taught at Halt Abuse that the best way to keep drama out of my life is to ban the drama-mongers and not get into arguments with people - just ban them if they cause trouble for me.
Well, I brought that teaching into other areas of my online life, but trying to be subtle about it backfired spectacularly: I've gained a new hater and... I'll be ( Read more... )
Last year, I set up a multi-fandom awards program to honour great fanfiction writers and their stories by offering nominations by genre. It worked really well and I got a fair few nominations. Winners were chosen by poll and everyone was happy.
This year I wanted to make it bigger and better, but the blot that has spoiled the horizon of other fanfic awards programs has reared its ugly head: drama.
What it is, I wanted to exclude five people from the program because I don't feel right giving out prizes to people who spread negative comments about me on the internet. BUT they have supporters/enablers who want to force me to let them on. Here's the problem: these people have already gone and made an almighty fuss to such a degree that even if I did cave in, I doubt it would make any difference. I've nothing to gain by giving them what they want. There would still be whining and carping about me.
It has been mooted that continuing with my current stance might cause people right across the board to stay out of it because they run the risk of being intimidated or hassled themselves if they take part. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened: that is my issue with those people, after all.
One option is to make it a club or group thing where only members can nominate people. But that's a bit exclusive and smacks of cronyism. Besides, it might not keep the drama-llamas out of the Awards. However, keeping things as they are also smacks of cronyism.
I can't win.
It seems to me that some people would rather see an awards program shut down than have one up that they don't like. And that, readers, is why there aren't a lot of fanfiction awards programs. The drama-llamas and their enablers/supporters shut them down by whining and carping till the mods can't take it any more.
I really hope this will blow over soon, but to be honest, I may well have to restructure the Awards if I'm going to get them to work at all.
This entry clarifies the issues I wanted clarified.
I have decided not to participate in the Golden Quills, at least until such time as it becomes a contest where no one's entry is refused because of online gossip/disagreement/feuding.
I strongly believe that if someone is running a fanfiction awards competition, entries should only be refused if they break a rule pertaining to the story, not the author. Otherwise, it is not an open contest, it is a contest only open to those writers with which one has good relations.
I will try to stay neutral in the feuds that you and others have discussed. They don't really concern me directly anyway. I am sorry not to compete in the Golden Quills; but I feel strongly that eligibility should not depend your feelings towards the entries' writers, regardless of who is right and who is wrong in various quarrels.
I hope you might consider changing your mind - you cannot control the carping and other stuff, but you might lessen it, and salvage the Awards as a viable and growing competition.
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You're right, Raksha. End of. It's not an open contest and I won't say it is when it's not. I intended it to be open until I was caught on the hop. Now I'll have to restructure it. If you elect not to particpate, fair dues.
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