I am making this post now, so that everyone is already well-informed of the
rules and regs when actual awards time rolls around. Also, this will give
the writers among you a chance to peruse the categories and perhaps write a
story that is deliberatly slanted to win one or more of them. (Do you think
it's an accident that all those Oscar-fodder movies come out late in the
season, so as to still be fresh in the minds of the Academy?) This post will
be repeated in late March, and again in late April. The on-site voting and
nomination rounds will last longer this year, and will begin May 1. Feel
free to forward this post to any Due South (or multi-fandom that includes
Due South) email list or news group.

NOTE:

I have received NO Early Bird nominations thus far, and I’m a little
surprised. Last year, I had so many people wanting to nominate early that I
had to come up with this system for this year, and now….*poof*. No one
seems to be able to think of any stories that they think should be
nominated. I want to stress that if you place an Early Bird nomination YOU
CAN STILL NOMINATE AND VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT DURING THE REGULAR
AWARDS PERIOD (following the regular awards rules, of course).

***

CONTENTS OF POST:

* Introduction
* Eligibility
* Categories
* Nomination
* Early Bird Nominations
* Voting
* Tallying Votes
* Recognition and Notification

***

INTRODUCTION

***

The Due Credit Awards were begun last year to provide an inclusive fan-based
awards system for the peer recognition of excellence in Due South fan
fiction. We accept fiction from many sources rather than a particular
archive or list, and we embrace the vast majority of genres represented in
Due South fan fiction. Awards are given based on a democratic system of
nomination and voting by fellow Due South fans who read and/or write
fiction. Last year, there were hundreds of stories and poems nominated in
this highly successful Awards program, and it is now continuing into it's
second year of commending excellence in fan fiction writing.

This year's Due Credit Awards will see some changes in the categories and
administration. Categories which received few or no votes last year (Best
Male/Male, Best Female/Female, Best RayV/RayK ), and who's stories could be
absorbed into other categories (Best Romance, Best Slash PG-13, etc...) have
been eliminated. The new categories of Best Series, Best Parody or Filk, and
Best Original Character have been added. This year, there will also be two
co-administrators during the voting process. They will receive all votes
directly from the form, and we will not contact each other at all until the
voting is concluded, when we will all compare our tallies.

Full listings of categories and rules are as follows and will be listed on
the Due Credit website starting March 30.

***

ELIGIBILITY

***

All categories are assuming that the works of fanfiction are based upon the
characters and situations of the Due South television series. With the
specific exception mentioned in the Best Crossover category, fanfiction from
other fandoms is not eligible for a Due Credit Award.

All authors must have a valid and accessible (provided on the work or
adjoining websites) email address to be eligible.

All work must be the sole creative endeavor of the author or collaborative
team (this does not apply to quotes from plays, songs, books, poems or other
sources used within the body of a work, provided that the author credits the
original source and does not attempt to take personal credit). Works
suspected of plagiarism will be evaluated carefully by multiple persons. If
plagiarism is found or the suspicion otherwise reasonably substantiated, all
works by that author will be removed from consideration for a Due Credit
Award.

All works must be posted to an internet archive or private fan site. No
works available exclusively on email lists or direct email are eligible.

Works which won or placed in the 1999 Due Credit Awards may not be nominated
again in the same categories.

Works which were nominated but failed to win or place in the 1999 Due Credit
Awards may be resubmitted.

No work classified as pornography may be eligible for a Due Credit Award.
Pornography is not PWP, but is defined as a work or works in which the
sexual activity denies the humanity of the characters involved and reduces
them to purely physical and soulless figures. Sexual acts must either be
between consenting partners, or be portrayed as the criminal act of rape.
Bondage/Domination or Sadism/Masochism works are acceptable as long as the
sexual activity is completely consensual, and the dominated partner has the
ability to end the activity at any time. No work that appears to glorify,
condone, or celebrate rape, child abuse, drug use, prostitution, marital
infidelity, or sexual abuse may be eligible for a Due Credit Award.

No work depicting adult sexual activity with a child under the age of 18 may
be eligible for a Due Credit Award. Sexual activity between consenting
teenagers over the age of 15 may be depicted with discretion, but acts of
rape or sexual violence of any sort may not be portrayed as taking place
against an individual under the age of 18.

***

CATEGORIES

***

Best Story
Any work of Due South fan fiction posted to an internet archive or personal
page.

Best Humor
Any story categorized as "humor" on the hexwood archive, or deemed so by the
nominator.

Best Romance
Any story categorized as "romance" on the hexwood archive, or deemed so by
the nominator.

Best Drama
Any story categorized as "drama" on the hexwood archive, or deemed so by the
nominator.

Best Series
Any collection of three or more individual stories by a single author or
collaborative team in which a single cohesive storyline or plot thread is
maintained throughout. This thread can be in the form of setting, alternate
universe, situation, or character. This category does not apply to a single
story and it's sequel. The stories "Our Mountain," "Endless Is The Night",
"Call Of The Raven", and "Waiting In The Twilight" by Zzzaney would be
considered as some parts of a series, as they maintain the continual thread
of Analise Fraser and her relationship with Benton
Fraser.

Best Original Character
Any character that has not appeared in or been referenced by the filmed
episodes of the Due South television series and that appears in one or more
works by a single author or collaberative team. An example of an Original
Character would be Analise Fraser by Zzzaney, or Francis Parker by
Voyagerbabe.

Best Author
Any author or collaborative team who has posted at least one work of Due
South fanfiction to a personal page or internet archive.

Best New Author
Any author or collaborative team who has posted their first completed work
of a size greater to 10K to hexwood or another internet archive with a
verifiable date since June 1, 1999, and who has posted at least two works.

Best Crossover
Any work which combines characters from the filmed episodes of the Due South
television series with previously established characters from a separate
television series, book, movie, or other entertainment media.

Best Alternate Universe
Any work which expounds upon the premise of events in the Due South
television series having never have occurred, or having occurred in a
significantly different fashion, or that postulates a series of changes
which result in a vastly different tone or situation to the series (Such as
Benton Fraser transferring from the RCMP to CSIS). Slash relationships do
not in and of themselves equate an alternate universe.

Best Episode Addition
Any work which expands upon a scene or plotline from a filmed episode of the
Due South television series, either by revealing a character's inner
thoughts, adding a missing scene, or expanding the conclusion.

Best Parody or Filk
Any work which alters the words of an existing poem or set of song lyrics
for the purposes of parody or adaptation to the Due South television series.

Best Gen Poem
Any poetic work which contains either no romantic pairing, or a romantic
pairing of a heterosexual nature.

Best Slash Poem
Any poetic work which contains a romantic pairing of a homosexual nature

Best Gen NC-17
Any work with a rating of NC-17 (or a sexually derived R) in which there is
either no romantic pairing, or a romantic pairing of a heterosexual nature.

Best Slash NC-17
Any work with a rating of NC-17 (or a sexually derived R) in which there is
a romantic pairing of a homosexual nature

Best Gen PG-13
Any work with a rating of G, PG, or PG-13 (or a non-sexually-derived R with
appropriate warnings) that contains either no romantic pairing, or a
romantic pairing of a heterosexual nature.

Best Slash PG-13
Any work with a rating of G, PG, or PG-13 (or a non-sexually-derived R with
appropriate warnings) that contains a romantic pairing of a homosexual
nature.

Best Fraser/Thatcher
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Constable
Benton Fraser and Inspector Margaret Thatcher.

Best Fraser/Ray V
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Constable
Benton Fraser and Detective Raymond Vecchio, as played by David Marciano.

Best Fraser/Ray K
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Constable
Benton Fraser and Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski, as played by Callum
Keith Rennie.

Best Fraser/Other Man
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Constable
Benton Fraser and a male individual. This may be, but is not limited to
Constable Renfield Turnbull, Detective Jack Huey, Detective Louis Gardino,
Detective Thomas Dewey, Frank Zuko, Lieutenant Harding Welsh, Buck
Frobisher, or a male character of the author's own creation.

Best Fraser/Other Woman
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Constable
Benton Fraser and a female individual. This may be, but is not limited to
Elaine Besbriss, Francesca Vecchio, Jill Kennedy, Victoria Metcalf, Janet
Morse, Mackenzie King, Denni Scarpa, or a female character of the writer's
own creation.

Best Thatcher/Other Male
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Inspector
Margaret Thatcher and any male individual -- either established on the Due
South television series or of the writer's own creation -- other than
Constable Benton Fraser.

Best Thatcher/Other Female
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Inspector
Margaret Thatcher and any female individual either established on the Due
South television series or of the writer’s own creation.

Best Ray V/Other Female
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Detective
Raymond Vecchio as played by David Marciano and any female character,
whether established on the Due South television series or of the author's
own creation.

Best Ray V/Other Male
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Detective
Raymond Vecchio as played by David Marciano and any male character (other
than Constable Benton Fraser), whether established on the Due South
television series or of the author's own creation.

Best Ray K/Other Female
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Detective
Stanley Raymond Kowalski as played by Callum Keith Rennie and any female
character, whether established on the Due South television series or of the
author's own creation.

Best Ray K/Other Male
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between Detective
Stanley Raymond Kowalski as played by Callum Keith Rennie and any male
character (other than Constable Benton Fraser), whether established on the
Due South television series or of the author's own creation.

Best Other Male/Other Female
Any work with any rating that contains a romantic pairing between a male and
female character other than those pairings specified above. Characters may
be established on the Due South television show or of the author's own
creation.

***

NOMINATION

***


To enter an on-site nomination, please observe the following steps:

1. Enter the name of the work into the form box beneath it's category.
2. If the work is posted on a private webpage, please indicate the
address.
3. If the work is posted on an archive, please indicate the appropriate
button.
4. You may nominate as many works as you like in each category.
5. Press the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page when all selections
are made.

You may nominate additional works as often as you like until the end of the
nomination period.

You may nominate a single work in multiple categories.

An author may nominate his/her own work.

Once a nomination has been received for a work, it will be added to the list
of nominees for that category. Only a
single nomination is required for a work to be added to the list of
nominees.

The on-site nomination period will last from May 1 to July 1, 2000. Early
Bird nominations can be made beginning immediately by direct email, but will
not be made official and placed on the webpage until midnight, May 1, 2000.

After midnight, July 1, 2000, there will be no additional nominations
accepted.

Nomination lists as seen on the webpage will be adapted periodically, but do
not always represent all nominated works while nomination is still in
progress.

Nominations may only be removed if a nominated work is deemed ineligible for
the category it was nominated in.

If an author is found to be guilty of plagarism or fraud at any time during
the nomination process, all of that author's works will be removed from
consideration.

***

EARLY BIRD NOMINATIONS

***

Early Bird nominations may be made from the point this notice is posted
until May 1, 2000. They will have the same validity as nominations made
during the official nomination period.

Early Bird nominations will not be posted to the website until the opening
of the official nomination period on May 1, 2000.

Those choosing to use Early Bird nomniations may still nominate works during
the official nomination period, and may continue to nominate as many works
as they desire over the entire course of the nomination period.

All rules as to the validity and constraints of nominations are identical to
those stated above.

Those choosing to use Early Bird nominations do not have the ability to
utilize on-site form nominations for their Early Bird nominations, but may
use the on-site forms during the official nomination period.

Only properly submitted Early Bird nominations are eligible.

Early Bird nominations must be submitted by direct email only. No nomination
posts to email lists or newsgroups will be eligible.

Submission emails must be sent to player@... and must bear the
subject line "Due Credit Early Bird"
Nominations must be written as follows: Category, colon, nomination,
location in parenthesis (with URL provided if the location is a personal
page), comma, additional nominations if applicable.

SAMPLE NOMINATION

Best Author: Paul Gross
Best Fraser/Thatcher: All The Queens Horses (hexwood archive)
Best Story: Call Of The Wild (personal page http://www.mypage.com )
Best Humor: Red White Or Blue (hexwood archive) , Burning Down The House
(hexwood archive), Mountie On The Bounty (hexwood archive)

Early Bird nominations may be made in as many or as few categories as
desired, for as many or as few works as desired.

***

VOTING

***

Go to the appropriate category page and survey the nominated works. When
available, links will be provided to the stories themselves so that the
voter has the chance to read works that may be unfamiliar to him/her.

Works that contain homosexual material, or material rated NC-17 will be
indicated by a small red bullet icon. Works with this icon should not be
read by voters under the age of 17 without specific consent of their parent
or guardian.

To place a vote for a specific work, type the title of the chosen work into
the form box provided at the bottom of the category page. Additional
commentary should be included with the vote. Do not press "submit" until you
have typed the title and any desired commentary. Pressing 'submit' will
finalize your vote.

Your vote may not be changed or altered after submission except in the case
of computer malfunction.

You may not vote more than once for a single story in a single category. You
may vote for multiple stories in a single category. You may vote for a
single story in multiple categories.

EXAMPLE:

You may vote for "Story A", "Story B" and "Story C" in the category of "Best
Romance."

You may vote for "Story A" in the categories "Best Romance", "Best Humor",
and "Best Story."

You may NOT vote three times for "Story A" in the category of "Best
Romance."



Lines of additional comment for a story DO count.

You may not submit a vote for a work in a category for which it has not been
nominated.

You may not submit a vote for a work which is not on the list of
nominations.

Authors may submit a vote for their own work.

If an author is found to be guilty of plagiarism or fraud at any time during
the voting process, all of that author's works will be removed from
consideration and the votes erased.

***

TALLYING VOTES

***

Votes will be tallied by myself as they come in. The form will also
automatically forward copies of each vote to DCAassistant1@... and
DCAassistant2@... . These accounts will be held by two assistants.
One will be a member of Due South slash fandom who does not belong to any
lists I frequent. The other will be chosen at random from Star Trek fandom,
and will have no connection to Due South fandom whatsoever.

Votes will be counted using a point system as follows:

INITIAL VOTE = +1

FIRST LINE OF ADDITIONAL COMMENT = +1

OTHER LINES OF ADDITIONAL COMMENT = +0.5

LINES OF ADDITIONAL COMMENT BEYOND 5= +0

ALL LINES OF ADDITIONAL COMMENT BEYOND 20= +1 total

The maximum number of points a work may receive is 5.

EXAMPLE:

Work with single vote and no lines of comment: 1 point

Work with single vote and one line of comment: 2 points

Work with single vote and two lines of comment: 2.5 points

Work with single vote and five lines of comment: 4 points

Work with single vote and six lines of comment: 4 points

Work with single vote and twenty lines of comment: 4 points

Work with single vote and twenty-one lines of comment: 5 points

Work with single vote and thirty-five lines of comment: 5 points

Each vote tallier will use their own method of recording points, either on
paper or electronically. I will have no control over the methods used by
Assistant1 and Assistant2.

I will not be aware of the identities of Assistant1 and Assistant2 until
after the tally is concluded.

There will be no contact between the three vote talliers except in the case
of suspected cheating.

ISP numbers imprinted by the Geocities form will be used to identify each
computer sending votes.

If ballot stuffing is suspected, an attempt will be made to contact the
individual directly. The use of ISP numbers allows us to know when a single
user of a single computer is attempting to submit multiple votes for a
single story in a single category.

If cheating or ballot stuffing is either proven, admitted to, or if there is
reasonable evidence to support it, all votes submitted from that ISP will be
eliminated.

The work in each category with the highest accumulated point value at the
end of the voting process shall be declared winner. Second and third place
will be determined the same way. No awards beyond third place will be handed
out.

In case of a tie for first, second, or third place, all works with
equivalent point values will receive the appropriate
award.

***

RECOGNITION AND NOTIFICATION

***

All efforts will be made to notify all nominated and winning authors of
their status. Due to email difficulties and time restraints, this may not
always be possible. Please visit the page frequently.

Comments from the voting process will not be saved, only the numbers.
Authors may not be forwarded the letters of comment concerning their stories
due to the logistics of such an endeavor.

Reminders of time remaining for nomination and voting will be posted at
regular intervals on all possible egroups and onelist email lists, as well
as the alt.tv.due-south and alt.tv.due-south.creative newsgroups.

Notification of the winners will be posted on the website August 10, at
which time the list of winners and accompanying awards ceremony will be
posted to all lists and newsgroups which previously received Due Credit
notifications and reminders.

Nomination and voting deadlines are final and non-negotiable.

First through third place winners will receive a customized JPEG image with
their name, their ranking, their category, and the title of their story
overlaid on the Due Credit Awards 2000 logo. These images may be displayed
in connection to the winning stories only.

Mailing lists, writers forums, and web rings are free to display on their
own sites and/or lists the award and/or nominations status of affiliated
authors. However, no such affiliations will be declared on the Due Credit
Awards site itself to avoid apparent connection. The Due Credit Awards are
not prepared, conducted, or administrated in connection with any website,
mailing list, writers forum, or Due South fan organization, and are held
with the intention of providing an equal and neutral forum for recognition
of excellence in Due South fan fiction.

Questions, comments, or complaints should be directed to
player@...


Strwriter

Keeper of Benny's "Looney Tunes" behavior from "North", the deck of Canadian
flag playing cards from "Odds," and Benny's adorable little ear-rubbing
habit.

Organizer of the Due Credit Awards
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/7676/duecredit.html

"The uniform, the motion, the legs...driving like pistons...pumping like
steel...something red going fast always catches the eye."
(Inspector Margaret Thatcher, "Seeing Is Believing.")

"He makes the backs of my knees sweat."
(Sophie Ware, "Getting Married In Buffalo Jump.")