Why the merger of two categories?

[PaulofCthulhu]

If you live within the US and you have all your ducks in a row, there's no reason to spend more than $10 all told to mail 6 CDs. Now, if you're a procrastinator like me, then all bets are off, of course...

- and the vast majority of the English language tabletop games podcasts are from North Armerica (usu. USA) anyway. So for most podcasters that should be a fair indication of costs.

I always found it curious that there are so few non-American podcasts. I don't know why.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

In the end, we weren't being annoying for the sake of being annoying. We were establishing a policy and format (archaic or not) to steamline the judging of podcasts because, last year, things didn't go especially smoothly in the category. The ENnies are constantly morphing and changing to reflect the needs of the companies and individuals that wish to participate.
I think it's pretty awesome that the organization is so responsive to the greater gaming community.

I agree with that. The ENnies have shown over the years that they do morph to adapt to new situations. It seems like it happens very slow because they only have one chance a year to do it, but it happens. Honestly, it can't be easy having so many people to please.

I wonder if a multiple choice private poll just for the podcasters could be put together to see if they would feel short changed by a reduction of some sort in the amount of listening for adjudication?

Note that this is done already by the Parsec Awards held at DragonCon. Those allow only a 30 minute clip, be it continuous audio or a sampling. Personally I don't like the 30 min. clip because it really is limiting and it's one of the reasons why, though the Parsecs are for Podcasting in general, you still see very small submission numbers.

I prefer and would rather a minimum number of shows, like was done this year for the ENnies. That allows a podcaster to really choose some good shows (we all have crappy ones here and there) that showcase the content, style of hosting and of the show, consistency of production values and gives the judges a more clear idea of what the show offers to the general community.

The only thing I see that could be an issue is the disparate lengths of all our shows; where my own shows tend to run 45 minutes to an hour, some adhere to a strict 30 min rule, others are 2+ hours, and some go from 15 minutes to 1 hour from one episode to the next.

 

[fusangite]

People can make purchases or send money through Paypal and all conversions are handled (I believe there are also alternatives to Paypal that do precisely the same) with no effort to the receiver whatsoever.

Yes. But courier/mail service is not one of the things that is handled through Paypal. How does Paypal apply to the specific currency conversions you advocate in your proposal.

PDFs in past ENnies were handled by CD submissions.

I know that.

So, podcasts were actually handled sensibly in the past and rather than upgrade the handling of PDFs in the same manner, the way podcasts were handled was downgraded?

Why don't you ask QD and Piratecat, who were judges this year whether last year's model worked better or this one?

Indeed. Why should entrants not all shoulder some of the burden collectively through a entry fee system

Because administering the system is a giant hassle as you, yourself, have demonstrated in your last couple of posts. Furthermore, I see no justification for increasing the entry costs for Indy publishers who give us six fairly expensive books from their very small print runs every year. I see no legitimate reason to increase their costs for entering.

Seems to me a simple five dollar fee per entry is precious little to require for process and handling of entries,

Administering this system is a hassle. Having run non-profit organizations in the past, I can say with some certainty that collecting five dollar fees from a variety of groups and individuals is more trouble than it's worth, especially in an international organization where at least four different currencies are in use.

Please look carefully at the amount of inconvenience, complexity and general busywork you are proposing simply to avoid you and your friends mailing some CDs.

 

[Mark]

Yes. But courier/mail service is not one of the things that is handled through Paypal. How does Paypal apply to the specific currency conversions you advocate in your proposal.

If I set up a simple interface for someone to pay a fee, they can pay from anywhere and Paypal converts it to US currency.

Because administering the system is a giant hassle as you, yourself, have demonstrated in your last couple of posts.

It is simply one additional column on a spread sheet.

Furthermore, I see no justification for increasing the entry costs for Indy publishers who give us six fairly expensive books from their very small print runs every year. I see no legitimate reason to increase their costs for entering.

Anyone with shipping costs that exceed the fee is essentially exempt from the fee.

Administering this system is a hassle. Having run non-profit organizations in the past, I can say with some certainty that collecting five dollar fees from a variety of groups and individuals is more trouble than it's worth, especially in an international organization where at least four different currencies are in use.

Having done similar, I can tell you it is not difficult at all. You set up a simple interface and keep track on the same spreadsheet where you are keeping track of all other things that go along with the submission process.

Please look carefully at the amount of inconvenience, complexity and general busywork you are proposing simply to avoid you and your friends mailing some CDs.

It is almost no work at all and would probably come close to financing the ENnies.

 

[madwabbit]

 

[Mike Jones]

I strenuously advocate for judging podcasts as whole episodes. Many podcasts are divided into discrete segments or bits, and picking out highlights might be easier for them, but others have a consistent theme that runs the whole 30 or 60 minutes of the show. If the Animalcast were only allowed a 30 minute highlight reel, I feel we would have been severely shortchanged.

Part of the appeal of a good podcast for me is that it engages me and keeps me consistently entertained for its duration. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I always listen to them as entire episodes. That's how they are meant to be listened to, and I think that's how they should be judged.

Maybe it doesn't have to be 5 episodes, but it should be whole ones. At least for me.

 

[Xath]

Tempers are flaring, and posts are getting snippy. It's great that you all have passion for the ENnies, but please keep it civil folks.

 

[Master of the Game]

Maybe I shouldn't point out that the whole ENnies/podcasting thing is at least partially my fault, but here goes:

So, I wasn't a judge this year, but last year, when I was, I asked that a category be created for podcasts. I had just discovered them, quickly became a fan, and really wanted to get them out there.

Of course, at the time I only listened to four or five shows and unlike a lot of people I have vast amounts of free time. I commute 3 or so hours a day at least and I spend 10 to 12 hours a day sitting around doing almost nothing (well, I work on game stuff a lot). So it never occurred to me how hard it might be for some people.

Then we got 23 entries, a fair number of which came toward the end of the judging cycle and we all had to go back and listen to months worth of shows to get caught up. Once I had a tally on my blog, so I may have to go back and look at it, but I think it ended up being several hundred hours worth or content most of which we listened to in the last month or two of judging.

So yeah, it was a lot.

That said, I'm actually a big fan of the method that was used this year, at least so far as narrowing it down to 5 episodes goes. Honestly this thread was the first I had heard of it, I wasn't a judge this year, and while I keep in touch with ENnies stuff I was decidedly out of the loop for a while, caught up in life after a pretty bad car wreck. Still, I think it's a great idea as a potential judge and a fan of podcasts. I like that you get to hear the whole episode, because so many great shows really build as they go along, and the best will often refer to things that happened earlier. The more you hear, the more you really get to know a show, and not just whatever funnies or reviews or whatever that they send in.

As for the CD thing, eh, I could take it or leave it. It does seem like it would be a heck of a lot easier for the judges. Personally I have plenty of time and a high speed connection at home and work, but I learned during my term that it's not such a good idea to speak for everyone. Sure, it's likely not a huge deal for a judge to sit down and download five episodes of your show, but if there are 20+ shows again, that's 100 or more episodes, and some shows run pretty long. For some that might be a real pain. Besides, CDs are just plain easier to use and keep up with.

I understand that there is a time and money commitment involved with doing it, and I certainly wouldn't diminish the value of a man who stands up for his beliefs by limiting his carbon footprint whether I agree with him or not, but there is a time and financial burden for the judges as well. Customs fees can get hefty, some stuff needs to be picked up from FedEx or the post office or what have you, and there is simply a lot to do, especially at the very end. If you can help them out a bit by sending in a CD, why not?

You see, for the most part they're the ones who set the rules, and for whatever reason, they decided they wanted CDs, so give them a break and help them out. If you don't want to, or feel like it's illogical then I can understand that, but they seem to find it a bit easier.

If the expense is too much, then use the excellent idea upthread to band together.

Whatever works for you, just make sure it works for them as well.

The podcasting award was created to spread the word about the format when it was still fairly new. To recognize the hard work you guys do and the value you add as a community. If you think the demands are unreasonable I guess I can see your point, but it was done for you, and you do deserve them. But it's done by people who have a lot to do and very little time to do it, so if you do want to participate, consider helping them out a bit.