Heavenli24 wrote:I do think that a lot of older stories get forgotten about, and so people only seem to vote for what is being posted right now... which isn't all that much compared to the number of stories being posted 2 or 3 years ago. Therefore it seems like there are only a few different Candy/Dreamer/etc. stories in the entire fandom! As far as I can tell, the same 3 or 4 stories are being nominated in each category, which doesn't seem fair on all the rest of the fics and writers in the fandom - it's like, even if you have tons of completed stories, if you're not currently actively posting anything, then you're unlikely to be nominated.
There are almost 2,000 completed stories posted here on Fanatics alone, plus 200 in progress and close to 1,000 in D&B, plus there's also all the really old ones in the archive, yet quite a few people vote for the same 3 stories in almost every category... do those 3 stories really beat every other Roswell fanfic ever written (or that you've ever read, if you're relatively new to the fandom) in every single category? It gets to the point where I already know which stories a poster will have nominated in a category before I even open the thread to see their post, and also which stories are going to make it through to the final voting rounds... it kind of takes some of the excitement out of the nominations
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Generally speaking, you're right. The awards are typically more a celebration of the current fics that are posted. That's usually because they're current and fresh in everyone's minds, not because they're "OMG, the best thing ever" but because they're the ones that readers are invested in at the time. Unless I'm actively involved in the reading process, I will tend to forget about a fic, unless there's a characterisation or aspect that really screams out at me. That's why it's so great that they have that new category, "Best Old Fanfiction", because hopefully it'll lead to more exposure for those fics and give people ideas for different nominations in the other categories. And just to be facetious, the 1,000 fics in the D&B can only be nommed for "Fic you'd most like to see completed"
Personally, I'm basing my nominating on the fics that I think are the best and if those fics are great in a number of areas, then so be it - in fact, that's probably why I like the fics so much. I'd rather nominate one amazing fic in a bunch of categories that I think it's worthy of winning, rather than nominate three different, somewhat adequate fics for every category just so that people don't think I'm in a clique. My noms are reflections of my personal taste and I don't let other people's opinions influence what I'm doing. I read a lot of fics, but I only continue reading and leaving feedback for the ones I like. I only nominate the best of the ones I'm reading in relation to the category I'm nominating in. Like Sarah said, you like what you like.
If you're unhappy with the noms you're seeing, sign up and nominate the fics that you like. People can often follow suit if you put in a nomination and remind everyone of that fic. It's definitely not a lost cause.
I think the main thing I disagree with you on this point is your assumption that the people nominating have only read the fics they're voting for. When in reality, they've probably looked at the majority of the fics in the genres they like. They just may not have continued reading them if the fics weren't to their taste. You can't expect everyone to enjoy every fic put out there, it doesn't work like that.