There were quite a few questions about the ribbons at the TWoP boards, so I thought I would post my clarifications here too.
The moderators at MTT, most often me, award the ribbons you see besides some stories. We don't have any specific criteria to do so. We don't meet in committee to do this. I pick stories that I think are worth reading, but people are free to disagree with my picks. In fact, I expect that many people do. I will read many different types of stories, but certain types appeal more to my tastes than others so that certainly influences my choices. Reviews are your way as readers to lavish praise on those stories that you think are worth reading. You can also take time to recommend those stories to others on message boards or on your blog.
As xoxoxo mentioned on TWoP, the ribbons are just a perk for the admins of the archive, probably one of the few fun things to do amongst all the work this archive generates for us. I don't want this to turn into the Toby to my Michael Scott (as in "Every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way.")
I hope that clarifies some things. :)
--Morning Angel on June 29, 2007 04:26 am 16 Comments
Having said that, the ribbons have always been a sort of 'Admin's Choice' type of thing, you know? So, pretty much exactly what you described them as. ;)
This explanation needs to be emblazoned in ten foot high letters all over this site, because there are lots of people who seem to think getting a blue ribbon is the end all, be all of this site. And even though you keep saying that it's "just one person's opinion," the fact remains that it is perceived among many as praise from Caesar.
Personally, I look to the quality of reviews I get as all the praise I need, but I will also admit that getting a ribbon recently made me feel, even for a moment, that I'd somehow "arrived." :)
Keep up the good work, Morning Angel.
I admit, I am one of the complainers. Only because I think it tells readers that these stories are better than others. When I first started to read on here. I used the ribbons to decide who to read first. I was under the impressions that these rewards had significant meaning. They are also placed on the Featured section more and get more main page time.
Being that I have written a fair share of stories so far and have yet to get one the "Coveted prizes" tells me that I am not up to the administrators standards. So I plug on and so do many of the other contributors. I have developed my own following. I am just glad that you finally put it in black and white on the main page. When I first joined the board it took me a little research to totally understand this.
That being said, I do notice that the three commentors above that agree with this system have all been awarded ribbons. It is easy to like the club when your already a member.
I wasn't necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with the ribbon system, just pointing out that the general feeling is that ribbons are everything. Like Ellique, when I first started here I had the same experience. I didn't realize it was just one person who was handing them out, and I read a lot of good "ribboned" stories, I also read several that I felt didn't deserve the recognition.
I won't lie; it's nice to have gotten one, but overall I think the whole system should be overhauled. I know the "star" system recently got an adjustment, and that's cool. But it still makes little sense to me. You can give a story a rating from 1 to 10, yet only five stars appear? Can't something be done about that? Or at least suggest that people be a little more honest when rating a story. Nobody grows as a writer if everyone around them is a "yes" man or woman. But that's just this reporter's opinion. :)
You can give a story a rating from 1 to 10, yet only five stars appear? Can't something be done about that?
Each number represents half a star. It is pretty common on most systems that use a star rating systems(such as movie reviews) to use half stars, and the numbers 1 through 10 allow the users to do this on this system also, allowing for more degree of variation.
Or at least suggest that people be a little more honest when rating a story.
This has been done, it occurs almost in a cycle ever so many months, and ultimately how users choose to use the rating system cannot be policed, as it is no ones place to tell someone how they choose to voice their opinion.
Ratings are subjective, as is how the ribbons are chosen to be awarded, there is no technical criteria to meet, it is just one or two peoples opinions.
I don't want to see the fun sucked out of the one thing the admins get to do here that brings them a little joy- it can't be taken seriously, it's just a little fun for us. We just can't please everyone, although we do try very hard to do so.
Ellelque- I'll be completely honest with you, as you are one of the authors who has complained about not being worthy of a ribbon, and has put the ribbons on a pedestal as a highly coveted prize. Maybe you will get a ribbon at some point, but as it stands now, I wouldn't put one of your stories up for one. That's not to say that they're bad stories, because they're not, but I personally look for something that really strikes me, gets me in a place where I'm completely drawn into that universe and the world around me slips away. I look for something outstanding, with great use of imagery, that has a unique concept. This is where I get completely honest. While your stories are not bad, I don't personally find them particularly unique or outstanding. But that's just me, my opinion, people can feel free to disagree with me. I don't say any of that to discourage you though, I really hope you keep trying, writing, and innovating.
At this point sicokitty, because my inquiries have caused such an defensive response, if I did get a ribbon, I would find it to be patronizing. Believe it or not, I actually prefer to earn my praise. I would have been happy with a simple review signifying that someone "High Up There" (i.e. you or Morning Angel) had taken the time to read my work. But I know we are past that. I am actually very happy with the number of readers I get. In the future, I do not expect to get a ribbon from you nor any of the administrators even if I write something worthy of a Pulitzer.
But, I do want to tell you personally that I do appreciate you creating this board and giving me and so many other's an outlet. I know I may seem ungrateful. But I am not. This board has given me an outlet I so needed for my creative side. I hope you do not go as far as to suspend my membership because I have become a Toby, to your Michael.
Linda
If you were to get a ribbon, it would be because you earned. We're not in the business of patronizing people.
I have only taken the time to read through your work as a result of the ribbon complaints. I'm pretty busy myself, and now only read stories by my favourite authors, or those that come highly recommended to me. What I said above is my honest review of your work, and I can leave it in a proper review if you really want me to.
No one is trying to be defensive here, you demanded an explanation, we are simply giving you one.
In the future, I do not expect to get a ribbon from you nor any of the administrators even if I write something worthy of a Pulitzer.
Please, Ellelque. Get over yourself. You have been treated more than fairly by the admins and everyone else here and to insinuate otherwise is insulting.
I find it hard to believe that there is such an inherent flaw in the system given that this is the first time since the site started a year ago where somebody had a public tantrum over the ribbons.
If it bugs a writer that much, there are other venues to post in. fanfiction.net comes to mind. Or set up your own site and make a blue ribbon background. The admins of the board don't deserve such a kerfuffle over basically nothing.
And yeah, I've received a blue ribbon on some things I've written. And I've pouted when I didn't get a ribbon on something I thought was really good. And I've said on more than one occassion "what the hell were they thinking?" when I see a story with a ribbon and I don't like it at all.
That's why I have a pillow with the admin's faces silk-screened on so I can kick it when that happens. And then I feel fine. ;-)
Adieu, Adieu
Well, after much negative and positive feedback, I have decided that MTT is not the place for me. SicoKitty, thank you for your honesty. Your board is growing very fast and you are going to be dealing with a lot more authors. If you only read your favorites and you are the bearer of awards, aren't you neglecting all your new writers? Maybe you should pick a few more people that you like, maybe your favorite authors, to take on some of the tasks so that every story on the board gets a read and gets a chance. That was my only grudge with the ribbon system. There are too many new people coming on the board to keep up with just a few judges. And yes, it is judgment no matter how much you and MA state it is just a perk. I did a little research. 99% of the negative feedback has been from ribbon owners, all positive from those not "blessed" with ribbons. That says it all. The supportive people are too afraid of retributions that they see I have received.
Sicokitty, you have been so very patient. For some reason Morning Angel has been so defensive and aggressive in her responses to me. The reason I even got on the soapbox is because in my initial inquiry about the ribbon, seeking guidance on what I can do better to qualify, she informed me "If you make an issue of it, you are not helping your case." Essentially, I took that as a threat. Not very nice to a person who was new to the board and just wanted clarification. I think Morning Angel "gets off" a little too much on her power on MTT and TWoP. When you put up a comment box, you should be willing to accept the Pos and Neg comments. In my country, American, freedom of speech is encouraged. It is not encouraged on this board without retribution.
So I will bother you no more and I will remove my stories. Hopefully in the future I can discover a place that is kinder and more appreciative to its contributors. The contributors are the reason for the flocking mass of readers. All of them, even the mediocre ones like me, not just the exceptional writers that you flag. I hope to find a site where everyone is special, not just a cliquish few. Good luck all you writers out there.
The proof that we are not censoring you is that we never deleted ANYTHING you ever posted. I'm not even going to delete this, although God knows I probably should since you are fabricating a problem that never existed in the first place. You are "quoting" things I never even said, and making me sound like I was a bully when I spent so much time trying to explain the system to you. In fact, YOU apologized for the tone of your initial emails. So I don't know where this is all coming from.
Clearly, I get off on power that I told you I never even imbued to those ribbons in the first place anyway. You were the one hellbent on saying the ribbons meant anything. I'm doing this for fun, always have been, always will be. I love the people here and I would never do anything that I think would be detrimental to the atmosphere or enjoyment of reading or writing fanfic. By posting comments deploring your lack of ribbons and trying to attract sympathy while attacking us for being meanies, the only person you ended up hurting is yourself.
It is sad that you have kept up this behaviour because there was absolutely no reason why you couldn't have continued to post here. You kept asking if I was going to ban you for asking questions about the ribbons, and I kept saying no to you. I never even made a single comment even suggesting that idea. Since you still appear adamant that we somehow got on your case, I agree that this site probably isn't for you. Best of luck in your future endeavours.
As a bestower of ribbons, I just wanted to add my voice to this discussion - even though I was not here for the last few conversations.
I understand that having a story featured on the front page gives those stories a longer "shelf life" for lack of a better phrase. As an author myself I'm sometimes amazed how quickly stories are added to the achive - and how quickly stories disappear from the "Most Recent" heading. I understand authors might want to be featured for that purpose.
My picks are usally stories that are similar to the types of stories I myself write. It is a personal preference and again - means nothing more than the fact that I (or another mod) enjoyed a story.
Linda, it is disheartening to me that choosing to focus on gaining the approval of the MTT moderators became a goal rather than focusing on the many readers who enjoyed your stories. I have featured stories of authors that are extremely new to this archive so to imply that the procedure is based on favoritism is arguable. To imply that Morning Angel has been anything less than patient and helpful throughout this discussion is categorically untrue.
I sincerely hope that you continue to write for your own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others who liked your style of writing.