What an interesting scenario this is... I would say this definately means my vote is going to be worth it's wieght in gold, and it makes choosing who to give it to all the much tougher.
The bottom line is, who deserves it the most? We all vote for who we like and know best but there are always extra things here and there that other members have done that we never take into account when we make our choice.
This year I decided to vote differently than last year. Rather then put my vote down on members that are always good in that particular area, I voted for members who I felt were trying their best to
become good in that area.
Its the reason why I gave Pangaea the fanart award this year. Giving feedback on the works of others comes naturally to him, but the impressive leap and bound came in the form of drawing up birthday cards for certain members. He is so nervous and humble that they are sent by PM exclusively to the member, so others never notice the great work that he has done.
The same applies for Sky on the Feedback award. Drawing pictures is what he does and he does a heck of a job, but something he has been working on for the past few years is telling me how good I am doing in my work as well. I hope he carries on and gives reviews for other works as well, since I think he is very good at it!
So now to my vote for Appreciated Member this year. Last year's vote felt like it was easy. Brekclub68 deserved a nomination for reasons that I passed along, but over the past year I feel like we have grown distant as friends because I rarely see any of his works anymore.
The member I feel deserves to win the Appreciated Member Award this year is, without further ado,
vonboy because he has taken up the flag of the Fanfiction Award that I rose last year when I argued for it during the 2010 Awards and has run with it in a manner that is currently lacking in myself.
Take it from me... writing stories about something you love is easy once you get people reading and reviewing it, but writing reviews for other people's stories is
exceptionally hard. Often I find myself struggling to read through a story simply because the slightest grammar mistake, error in speech (ie. Petrie talking normally), or underdeveloped plot point turns me off from reading any further.
Some say I am my own toughest critic, but anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am also everyone elses toughest critic as well!
By giving vonboy my vote (and effectively removing myself from the running) I sincerely hope that he comes through on his promises to post reviews for the Fanfiction Award this year, to affirm my belief that he will remain a valuable member on this forum.
Honorable mention also goes out to Littlefoot1616 for taking on the responsibilty of running these awards. They give many parts of this forum a kickstart, and bring people back (like me) who have otherwise been long gone.
Caustizer.
