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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ghostwind" data-source="post: 3019087" data-attributes="member: 3060">Hmmm, fried worms...I'm not sure there is a good answer to this question. Both have their good and bad.Having a judging panel has always been a double-edged sword. They all do a fantastic job with the tools they are given. However, there are always going to be products that the judges pass over either because they weren't submitted or because there is a certain bias within a judge against a particular product/company. Either way, there is no way you can avoid this because of the existing parameters within the awards system. Since the ENnies first began, there have been certain rules in place that make the selection of judges more of a popularity contest among the EN World crowd than one of who really is best qualified for the judge position. When it was just the EN World awards, that was fine. But now that the awards are much larger and have the backing of Gen Con, there should be more of an effort towards having individuals that not only come from EN World but other prominent communities and websites. I don't have access the to exact rules, but I seem to remember that one of the qualifications for being a judge was that you couldn't be associated with other review websites, companies or have been published at all. Personally, I think that the publishing limitation should be restricted to only having been published since the previous year's awards. You got a lot of very good potential judges out there that would be good if they weren't disqualified for having their name in a book back in 2002 when the d20 craze was at its height.Additionally, voting for judges should be done on the ENnies website and not here on EN World where the results can be biased. As is stands, a person can view who has the most votes and then make a decision. The voting should be blind, just as the awards.I disagree with this. Either eliminate the d20 award altogether in favor of a Best Game category, or split the awards in Best d20/OGL Game and Best non-d20/OGL Game.Limitation of books will come across as too unfair and potentially damage the awards' credibility. What is needed is to sharply define the definitions so that mega books like Shackled City, Ptolus, Rappan Athuk Reloaded are precisely fitted into their proper categories. If they meet the criteria of more than one category, then they should be eligible for more than one award.These are the awards whose definitions need to be expanded upon and further defined.I think Best Paraphernalia would dimish the awards. If you really want to add a category, I would favor one that focuses upon and awards innovation within the industry. This would be something that is not only a fresh idea but also presented in such a manner that hasn't really been done before. Dread would be one such game. A potential nominee for next year would be Open Mind Games' Combat Pad because of its simplicity and ability to make you think "why didn't I think of this?"The other two questions require some more thought before I can give you a good answer.</blockquote>

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