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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FDP Mike" data-source="post: 306595" data-attributes="member: 325">Focus on the fans!I really like the current nomination and voting system, particularly because the entire process remains in the hands of the fans, with the publishers kept far away from having any influence other than campaigning for any nominated products.Any suggestion that the slate of nominees was somehow "rigged" in favour of WotC questions the integrity of the judges, which simply is unfair and unfounded.  The five judges did an incredible amount of work on their free time in service of the EN World community, and they should be applauded (again) for their efforts -- especially because their nominations presented a truly superb portrait of the quality products available in d20/D&D land, from WotC and others.  Let's remember that fans voted for WotC products to win, not the judges.I think that because the awards are the ENnies, the judges should be picked from the EN World community.  A polling/voting process just like this year's is simple and democratic.  Nothing needs changing there.  If those "outside" of the EN World community feel that all of this is too "insular," then it's really their prerogative to get involved (i.e., put up or shut up).  Ryan Dancey's suggestions for changing the voting/nominating process open up more problems than they solve, IMHO.I've seen a few good suggestions for potential added categories -- yet let's not try to make judging even more burdensome.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  I like the idea of a "Best Product Overall" category: beyond all the separate types of products (i.e., rules supplement, campaign supplement, adventure, aid/accessory), what was The Best product published for d20/D&D?  If that's a WotC product, then the will of the fans must be accepted.  What if one year, though, it's a Fiery Dragon product?  WHOO HOO!!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />There's no need that I can see to start having multiple awards such as 2nd place or a Critic's Choice.  The "KISS" rule is best, perhaps: just keep it simple.  Truly, getting nominated is an honour unto itself; winning is the gravy.  Maybe when Morrus returns, he might post a list of the top 3 in each category, but without voting results -- merely for curiosity's sake.Originally, I was under the impression that the ENnies were for d20 publishers, such publishers defined generally as being "not WotC"; at least, this is how they were run last year.  I do feel strongly that WotC is not technically a d20 publisher in the sense that even Sword & Sorcery is (and must be).  If, however, we consider exactly what the ENnies are for, then including WotC can make a lot of sense: i.e., for those of us who remember "Eric Noah's Unofficial 3E News" (I hope that I got the title right!), this whole on-line community began as a fan site dedicated to tracking the development of the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons -- not "d20" as we've come to define it, but D&D specifically.  That Eric -- and Morrus after him -- also provided an invaluable venue for d20 publishers is a fortunate happenstance for which many of us are very grateful.  So, if we recall EN World's roots, having WotC in the nominations is pretty much a no-brainer.  Moreover, the attraction of a "d20" company such as, say, Fiery Dragon potentially beating WotC head-to-head carries its own sort of drama and intrigue.  (FDP did this, in a way, by getting a Best Adventure nomination while WotC did not.)  Thus, if everyone is clear as to what the ENnies represent, WotC's inclusion (or exclusion) will be more understandable.GenCon utterly fascinated me: all of these people in one place for the sole purpose of playing games over the course of four days.  (Can you tell it was my first GenCon?  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> )  If we hold on to the fact that d20/D&D is about playing games and having fun, we can maybe hold on to the larger "purpose" of the ENnies: honouring those products and publishers that contribute to our fun . . . or, at least, to the fun of those people who contribute to and enjoy the EN World community.Hmm, I suppose that's enough for now.  I really should get back to editing . . . .</blockquote>

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