* What are the Jeds?
The Jeds are annual fanfiction awards recognizing the best in the West Wing fandom.
* How are the winners determined?
By you! The Jeds winners are
selected through votes from the readers. The votes are calculated
automatically with a script; the committee does no actual counting.
* Which stories are eligible?
All West Wing stories are
accepted, as long as they fit the categories for which they were
nominated, and were finished and posted between December 1,
2002 (last year's cut-off date) and November 14, 2003. There is no
restriction as to genre, rating, pairing, or length. Please note that
works in progress, series, and drabbles are only eligible in the
Outstanding Work in Progress, Outstanding Series, and Outstanding Drabble
categories, respectively.
* What counts as a work in progress?
A work in progress is a single story that is continuing, and posted
part-by-part. Works in progress are not eligible for awards other than in
the Outstanding Work in Progress category. A former work in progress that
is complete is to be treated as an ordinary story, and is eligible for
awards.
* What counts as a series, then?
A series is a number of interconnected stories or vignettes which are each
complete in and of themselves. Individual parts of series are eligible for
individual awards, but a series as a whole is only eligible in the
Outstanding Series category.
* And what counts as a drabble?
A drabble is a work of fiction of 150 or fewer words. Drabbles may only
be nominated in the Outstanding Drabble category.
* How do I nominate a story?
The nomination phase begins on
November 15, 2003, and ends on November 30, 2003. Simply click on the
'nominees' link in the navigation menu, and fill out the form as
indicated. Note on URLs: You will be asked to provide a URL for the
story you are nominating; make sure you have it before sending the form.
Entries without URLs pointing to a valid web page will be disregarded.
URLs must link DIRECTLY to the story, and NOT to the main page of an
archive or mailing list. Links to mailing list posts are welcome as long
as the archives are public. Links to livejournal entries are
allowed.
* Can I nominate myself?
Absolutely.
* Can I nominate something that was nominated last year?
Normally things can only be nominated once. The three exceptions are
Original Characters, Works in Progress, and Series. Works in Progress
and Series may only be nominated again if new parts have been added, and
Original Characters may only be nominated again if new stories have been
written that include that character. Rewritten versions of stories can
only stand if the original versions did not stand in previous Jeds
competitions.
* Can I nominate a story in more than one category?
There is no limit to how many categories a story can be nominated for, as
long as it meets the category requirements.
* Can I nominate more than one story in a single category?
Yes.
* How can I remove a story of mine from consideration?
If you'd
like the committee to remove a nominated story of yours for any reason,
please email them at thejeds@thejeds.net, and they will do so.
* In Primary Voting, we can vote up to five times for the same story,
right?
Wrong. Only one vote per person per story will be
counted.
* In Primary Voting, we're supposed to vote for five stories. Can we
vote for fewer than five, or does that invalidate our ballots?
You may vote for between one and five stories in each category.
* In Final Voting, do we have to vote in every category, or does that
invalidate our ballots?
You may vote in as many or as few categories as you like.
* How do you make sure people don't cheat when they vote?
Our
voting script has mechanisms in place to prevent cheating. People who
try to vote more than once will have only their first votes counted (and
the committee will know who they are!). So save the committee and
yourselves the effort -- don't cheat.
* How many awards are given out?
There will be a first, second and third place for each category. There are
44 categories, which brings it to a total of 132 winners.
* When will we know who won?
Winners will be announced on
January 20, 2004, here on the Jeds website. Announcements will be made
on most major West Wing mailing lists, on relevant livejournal
communities, and on the Jeds
livejournal.