And we're off!
Posting starts today!
In a few minutes we'll be kicking off the posting for McShep Match 2011 with the first two entries.
Our two teams of intrepid artists and writers have worked hard over the last couple of months to bring you a pair of entries each day for the next month to fit the prompt they claimed. Once you've read a story or viewed the artwork, please vote in the poll at the end of the post, which asks you to rate it on how well it fits the prompt and how much you enjoyed the entry. Please note that the wording is deliberate - we want to know how much you actually enjoyed it, not how good you think it objectively is.
There are no team themes this year - the teams are merely named after Sheppard and McKay in the spirit of the friendly rivalry the two of them have been known to engage in on the show. Olease be fair to our participants and don't vote based on who your favourite character is, or ask others to do so.
Voting
Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. Anything other than one of those digits will be ignored in terms of votes, but possibly boggled at in passing.
Please note that only the mod making each post will be able to see the poll results, and will not be sharing them with the teams or non-participants in any way, so please don't ask how your team is doing! More importantly, please also note that participants are not allowed to vote in the polls. This applies to anyone who will have an entry posted for the fest, so if you're a backup taking part you can't vote but if you had to drop out you can. Team members are more than welcome to point, prod or push their friends over to read and vote, however, and should feel free to pimp their team's efforts as madly as they like. *g*
Please vote with one journal each only. If we find anyone voting with multiple journals not only will all their votes will be disqualified but the team may receive a penalty on their scores.
Once all entries have been posted the mods will take the average scores for each entry on their team and from those work out the averages for each team. The total of the final three scores will determine the winning team.
This means it doesn't matter how many entries you either read or vote on - you don't need to read both entries for a prompt in order to vote, or all entries in the fest, as it's not a direct win/lose between each pair of entries and each entry will have its result calculated individually at the end.
Warnings
Our participants are required to warn for character death, non-con, underage (below 18), bestiality, and necrophilia if they appear in their entry. Please note that these warnings may be obscured, so if any of them are deal-breakers for you be sure to check them.
Problems
If you have a problem with an entry posted as part of McShep Match, please direct your concerns to the mods at mcshep_match@refugeeblues.com rather than posting a comment to the entry itself. We also recommend checking the Rules and FAQ beforehand in case it is covered there.
Anon memes
There are several anon memes which may have review threads about entries posted in McShep Match. Although our participants are welcome to seek out these memes for themselves, we will be deleting any links left on this community. If links are posted, please do not respond, just wait for a mod to remove it. We recommend authors and artists avoid the memes unless they are sure they can handle criticism that may not be constructive.
Top Commenters
Like last year, at the end of the fest we will be awarding prizes for the top five commenters overall. If there is a tie it will be decided on word count, so substantial comments will definitely work in your favour! Only one comment per entry will be counted, and it must be directed at the author or artist rather than saying hello to a long lost friend in the comments. If you comment anonymously (not signed in to any journal or ID) you will need to sign your comments in some way in order to take part. Participants can also take part in this contest, and are not required to comment on their own entry, although it is perfectly acceptable to do so.
Now, on with the posting!
Your mods,
fluffyllama (for Team McKay) and trobadora (for Team Sheppard)