Golden Os FAQ Version 7.08
Stephen aka Old Man ASC
Version 7.08
This document is a detailed guide to the Golden Orgasms, the annual fanfic
awards of ASCEM. It draws heavily upon the main ASCEM FAQ's appendices for
basic information like character codes and story descriptors. ASC* FAQs
can be found at:
http://www.trekiverse.us/FAQs/
Table of Contents
1: Introduction
2: Eligibility
3: Categorization
4: Schedule
5: Voting Rules
6: Key Personnel
7: History
8: Rulings
9: Current Categories
10: Credits
Version History
---------------
7.00 Opened FAQ for 2007
7.01 Added ASC Awards Scale for Ruth Gifford Award
7.01 Added the 5 vote option piloted last year.
7.02 Revised Section 3 for better headers and organization.
7.02 Revised Section 4 for better headers and organization.
7.03 Added reminder about registration opening.
7.03 Truncated Category Listing pending first checkballots.
7.04 Section 9 Category List Update #1
7.04 Rule 2.B added: Not competing
7.04 Rule 3.A annotated as 3.A.1 through 3.A.4
7.05 Corrected phrasing in rules 3.F, 5.D.5, 6
7.06 Section 9 Category List Update #2
7.07 Section 9 Category List Update #3
7.07 Ruling 8.G added
7.07 Tentative Period Schedule made in Section 4
7.07 Added Results tentative date and dinner hint
7.08 Section 9 Category List Update #4
7.08 Dinner Hint expanded
7.08 Schedule updated in Section 4
Section 1: Introduction
-----------------------
The intention of the Golden Os is to recognize those stories which have had
the most impact on the readers in the calender year designated.
Section 2: Eligibility
----------------------
Part A: General
All stories posted to ASCEM in a calender year are eligible to win, and
categorized unless the author orders their removal during check balloting.
Part B: Noncompeting Stories
If a story is not competing, or for some reason has been removed from a
particular category, it shall be listed on a page dedicated to this, which
will link to the stories and provide an option for review. This category
is provided for FYI purposes and will not be counted.
Section 3: Categorization
-------------------------
Part A: General
1) Stories are categorized based on the codes provided by the
author. Occasionally the codes will be incorrect. That is what the Check
ballot phase is for. If you find your story is incorrectly categorized
during that period (up to 48 hours before the voting period begins) you may
request a correction. The buck stops at the Coordinator, however.
2) The Categories are done based on the at least 5 stories by at least 2
authors rule (referred to as the 5x2 rule) Authors are encouraged to use a
2x4 to make sure their favorite category meets this rule. If a category
has 20-25 stories in it, story size may be used to split the
category. Sometimes categories may be judged to be too similar, (having
almost the same stories in it) which will result in two categories being
combined.
3) Categories are classed as 3 vote or 5 vote, depending on how many
stories are in them. (Threshold TBD) The Ruth Gifford Award is currently
the only comment based category.
4) A story may fit in many categories, of which there are several levels.
Part B: Top Level
There are Stories, there are poems/filks ... these are the top level
categories. One or the other fits. There is also an author and new author
category.
Part C: Series (Level 2)
Every story/poem/filk/author fits in a series. It's either TOS, TNG, DS9,
VOY, ENT, or MIS.
Part D: Relationship (Level 3)
Stories on ASCEM generally fit into several different types of mutually
exclusive categories for each set of codes given.
1) There is the Het category, which is for the m/f pairing.
2) Slash covers the m/m and f/f codes. (It should be noted that often m/m
and f/f are additionally broken out as well in a level 3.5 category)
3) Then there is Group, which is codes involving more than a pair. (See
Ruling b)
4) Single is codes involving just one character.
5) Friendship, stories coded with an & are indicated as this.
Part E: Pairings (Level 4)
This is perhaps the most complex level, the meat of the Awards.
1) If there is a code that fits the 5x2 rule, there is a category for it.
2) In addition, if there is a character who has enough stories coded with
his name and a character of a particular sex, excluding any previously
coded stories for that code in part a.
3) any time a Level 3 category is split into Level 4 categories below it,
there will be an Other category for any stories that met the Level 3
category but didn't have a Level 4.
Part F: Size Splits
In the event that categories have 20-25 stories, size splits may occur
based on the size of the saved posts. The following are the size ranges:
Drabble 100 words
Vignette under 12K
Short 12-28K
Short Story 28-50K
Novelette 50-100K
Novella 100-210K
Novel 200K-1MB
Epic Over 1MB
Where there are not enough stories to fill a category, groups
shall be combined in a catch-all category as follows:
Vignette + Drabbles = Vignette
Vignette + Short = Short
Vignette + Short + Short Story = Short Story
Short Story + Novelette = Short Story
Novelette + Novella = Novella
Novelette + Novella + Novel = Novel
Novella + Novel = Novel
If there aren't 5x2 stories of Epic length, the stories will
be placed in the next largest-sized story group without
affecting the category name.
It should be noted that while splits of categories do occur
based on size, it's possible due to subcategories dropping out
at each level for some stories to win awards with different
names. For instance, a 7K K/S Challenge Story may end up in:
Challenge Short Story
K/S Short
TOS Vignette
See Section 8 Rulings for specific rulings on categorization
Section 4: Schedule
-------------------
The schedule of the 2007 Golden Os is still somewhat up in the air. Please
check this regularly for updates.
Checkballots schedule:
1st ENT January 24
1st DS9 January 25
1st TOS January 26
2nd ENT January 27
1st TNG January 27
2nd DS9 January 28
1st VOY January 28
2nd TOS January 29
1st MIS January 29
Fnl ENT January 30
2nd TNG January 30
Fnl DS9 January 31
2nd VOY February 3
Fnl TOS February 4
2nd MIS February 4
1st OVR February 4
Fnl TNG February 5
Fnl VOY February 6
Fnl MIS February 7
2nd OVR February 7
Fnl OVR February 10
The following is the tentative voting schedule:
Voting Period 1:
February 1st - 14th
Comprising ENT & DS9
Voting Period 2:
February 8th - 21st
Comprising TOS
Voting Period 3:
February 15th - 28th
Comprising TNG & VOY
Voting Period 4:
February 22nd - March 7th
Comprising Overall Categories including ones for each series
A full list of categories for this year as of the time of this posting
(with size splits in progress) will be listed later in this FAQ.
The Results will come out by the Ides of March. The 2007 Awards Dinner
will be on xxx XXX Xxxxxxxxxx XXX-XX
Section 5: Voting Rules
-----------------------
Part A: General
This year registration will be required, in order to prevent vote
stuffing. Registration will not be possible until a week before the awards
open, however.
Voting will occur in 2 week long periods. All voting will be done via a
web page off of the Golden Os website at:
http://www.trekiverse.us/GoldenOs/
Part B: Voting Types
The Golden Os has three types of voting. Generally categories work in your
top 3 choices, but larger categories may give you your top 5
choices. Finally there is the Comment Based, in which your comments on
particular people result in the points based on length.
Part C: Voting Scales
1) For Three Choice: 3 for First, 2 for Second, 1 for Third
2) For Five choice: 5 for First, 4 for Second, 3 for Third, 2 for Fourth, 1
for Fifth.
3) For Comment Based: 1 point for 1-20 characters, 2 for 21-80, 3 for
81-250, 5 for 251-500, 9 for 751-1100 and 10 for anything more.
4) Points are tallied at the end of the awards period. First, Second and
Third place will be announced. If there is a tie for first or second,
second or third may not be given.
Part D: Other Voting Information
1) Once an id submits a vote, a correction is not possible. Make your
selections carefully.
2) The Comment field is for either the attention of the Archive/Awards
Staff or comments on the category as a whole for the Three and Five Vote
Categories. Comments will be anonymous but posted to the group unless you
put your name in the comment field.
3) Links will be provided to the stories in the archive. A review link
will be added this year to those stories.
4) The Golden Os Coordinator has the authority to disallow votes if he
believes there is ballot stuffing.
5) Should a work or author be found to have competed in a category that it
does not fit in, the Golden Os Coordinator reserves the right to disqualify
the work or author. The newsgroup will be informed in this case.
6) The Coordinator also reserves the right to disqualify a work/author for
ballot stuffing or otherwise interfering with the operation of the website.
7) A contact Tech Support link will be provided for voting problems.
Section 6: Key Personnel
------------------------
The Golden Os takes many people to run. These are this year's job holders:
Awards Coordinator: Stephen Ratliff
Stephen handles most issues during the awards. If it's not
his job, he knows whose it is.
SoS FAQ Maintainer: AcidQueen
Picking up this job from j.juls, AQ is only the second to
hold this vital job of collecting the list of stories posted.
Categorizer: Cait N.
Cait provided the inital categorization of stories based on
the codes given by the authors and collected by AQ. She also
assisted in the correction of those categories.
Tech Support: Stephen Ratliff
This is where Stephen always is. He takes care of the nuts
and bolts.
ASCEMS & General Assistant: Sileya
Sileya handles ASCEMS and is providing header and general assistance.
Vote Counters: Stephen & Cait
Section 7: History
------------------
In 1997, the group alt.startrek.creative.erotica was created, moving the
former alt.sex.fetish.startrek into the alt.startrek.creative
hierarchy. (ASCE was later replaced with ASCEM, a moderated version.) As
ASC had it's ASC Awards for stories staring in 1995, the new group felt it
would be wise for ASCE to have it's own awards. So Ruth Gifford started
the Golden Orgasms, now often referred to simply as the Golden Os.
The intention of the Golden Os is to recognize those stories which have had
the most impact on the readers in the calender year designated.
The Golden Os have been run under several Coordinators, starting with Ruth
for the 1997 Awards. For the 1998 Awards, Ned Fox ran them. He started
out the 1999 Awards, but unfortunately could not finish it, resulting in
the ad-hoc Gang of Four finishing that Awards period. From 2000 to 2002,
Mary Ellen ran the awards. In 2003, in absence of anyone stepping up,
Stephen Ratliff, the ASC Awards founder and long time Golden Os Tech
Support stepped up. In 2004 JM ran the awards. In 2005, Stephen stepped
back up, with a delayed awards. He has remained in that position.
Section 8: Rulings
------------------
Several rulings have been made regarding categorization over the years,
that should be taken into account during categorization.
a) Any story that was erroneously left out in the year prior for a category
may be made part of that category the next year, if the staff is notified
of the error and that category exists that year.
b) A group story that is all of the same sex may be classified as a slash
story, but may only be classified as a het story if the sexes are evenly
divisible.
c) If a story fits in a pairing category such as: K/S or K/f,
then it is NOT added to Other Het or Other Slash unless it contains a
separate pairing that doesn't fit into a pairing category
d) Ships are considered female.
e) Fruit is considered female.
f) Generally a weapon is considered female ... unless given a male name.
g) Poems and Filks shall not be in pairing categories with stories.
Section 9: Current Category List
--------------------------------
The following are the expected categories for the 2007 awards. Appearing
on this list indicates that we know that the category will definitely
happen. Expect this list to expand or contract as time progresses.
A: Author Awards
Best Author
Greywolf Award for Best New Author
TOS Author
TNG Author
DS9 Author
VOY Author
ENT Author
All Series Authors
B: The Original Series
TOS Story
TOS Drabble
TOS Slash Drabble
TOS Het Drabble
TOS Other Drabble
TOS Kirk/Spock
TOS Kirk/McCoy
TOS Spock/McCoy
TOS Spock/Uhura
TOS Sarek/Amanda
TOS Spock/Sulu
TOS Spock/Chapel
TOS Kirk/Uhura
TOS Kirk/Chapel
TOS Scott/Uhura
TOS Sulu/Rand
TOS Kirk/other female
TOS Spock/other female
TOS McCoy/female
TOS Kirk/other male
TOS Spock/other male
TOS Chapel/other male
TOS Uhura/other male
TOS Other Slash
TOS Other Het
TOS Group
TOS Series or Suite
TOS NVIATWAS Challenge
TOS THFFF Valentine's Day Challenge
TOS SLFE
TOS Ship Tales Challenge
TOS ASCEML Fic Exchange
TOS Improbable Pairings Challenge
TOS Blue Christmas Challenge
TOS Golden Rule Challenge
TOS It's Green Challenge
TOS Good in Red Challenge
TOS Spiced Peaches
TOS Kirk/Spock Advent Calender
TOS Spock/McCoy Feast
TOS Other Challenges
TOS Other Fest
TOS Humor
TOS VOY Poem or Filk
TOS Het
TOS Slash
TOS Other
C: Next Generation
TNG Story
TNG Drabble
TNG Het Drabble
TNG Slash and Other Drabble
TNG Picard/Crusher
TNG Data/LaForge
TNG Picard/Riker
TNG Picard/male
TNG Riker/male
TNG Other Het
TNG-DS9 Other Slash
TNG-DS9-ENT Humor
TNG Series or Suite
TNG Improbable Pairings Challenge
TNG SLFE
TNG NVIATWAS Challenge
TNG Ship Tales Challenge
TNG Other Challenge
TNG Slash
TNG Het
TNG Other
D: Deep Space Nine
DS9 Story
DS9 Drabble
DS9 Slash Drabble
DS9 Het and Other Drabble
DS9 Garak/Bashir
DS9 Odo/Kira
DS9 Bashir/male
DS9 Bashir/O'Brian
DS9 Worf/male
DS9 Other Slash
DS9 Other Het
DS9 Series or Suite
DS9-ENT Humor
DS9 NVIATWAS Challenge
DS9 Improbable Pairings Challenge
DS9 ASCEML Fic Exchange
DS9 Good in Red Challenge
DS9 It's Green Challenge
DS9 SLFE
DS9 Other Challenge
DS9 Het
DS9 Slash
DS9 Other
E: Voyager
VOY Story
VOY Drabble
VOY Het Drabble
VOY Slash Drabble
VOY Other Drabble
VOY Janeway/Chakotay
VOY Chakotay/Paris
VOY Paris/male
VOY Doctor/male
VOY Neelix/male
VOY Tuvok/male
VOY Other Het
VOY Other Slash
VOY Het
VOY Slash
VOY Other
F: Enterprise
ENT Story
ENT Drabble
ENT Slash Drabble
ENT Archer/Reed
ENT Tucker/Reed
ENT Archer/Sato
ENT Other Slash
ENT Other Het
ENT NVIATWAS Challenge
ENT Other Challenge
ENT Series or Suite
ENT Slash
ENT Het
ENT Other
G: Other
Ruth Gifford Award for Non-story contribution (Comment Based)
Section 10: Credits
-------------------
This FAQ is based on Datalaur's FAQs from 1999-2004, and was rewritten at
the last minute by Stephen for 2005. A major overhaul was completed to
reorder and revise the FAQ based suggestions by Rocky in 2006.
Section 9 is provided as stories are categorized by Cait.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages
can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML.