Member Awards 2010 - Voting open

[Malte279]

Once again it is time to open the annual award voting of the GOF and as tradition has it I will open by plagiarizing on a historical speech or document (I’m curious who will recognize who or what I am spoofing).

Good morning my fellow GOF members.
Until the latest of our award votes on the forum the GOF had no harmful degree of competitive spirit about the awards. Members of the GOF could, with time and as required, participate in the award voting and the regular discussions and activities of the GOF without any negative influence whatsoever resulting from the one for the other.
There has been some action following the last award voting that proved a risk to the spirit and consequently continuation of the award voting by bringing in insistence of individuals to get an award whether or not the other GOF members agreed and taking ill if they did not.
In the councils of GOFment we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether deliberate or non-deliberate, by ambitiously award-seeking complexes. The potential for the undesirable rise of misplaced eagerness for glory exists and might persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger the fun of the award voting or its nature as a democratic process.
With all this serious talk, let’s get down to the fun part and open the voting

The voting for the first eight awards ends on Friday the 18th of June. The eight awards to be voted upon are:
~Fanart Award
~Feedback Award
~Friendly Member Award
~Helpful Member Award
~Philosopher Award
~Proactive Award
~Project Award
~Role Play Gamer Award.

[Malte279]

Very often it is extremely difficult to decide whom to vote for on a given award. There is one award however about which I am absolutely certain this year as I feel that the candidate for whom I cast my vote has really done extraordinarily. The award I am talking of is the Feedback Award and the one who I think deserves it most is Pangea. Compared to the feedback we have had so far in the GOF I think Pangea has really brought in a totally new level. He has credited almost every piece of fanart that has been posted here since he has joined us and he has done so by much more than the mere politeness of a “It looks awesome!” kind of phrase but has really examined the art he was reviewing with an obvious interest that in itself must flatter the artist and compel his or her gratitude. But Pangea is not a flatterer while his reviews are really kind and polite he does not subject himself to the limitations which politeness imposes on some reviewers who, for a misunderstood concept of politeness, dare not criticize what needs to be criticized and thereby give up honesty for fear of offending anyone. Pangea has never been shy to point out where things can be improved and has thereby helped artists a lot to further improve their works and I don’t know of any case in which his critical remarks came across as impolite or unfounded. Reviewers like him are really hard to find and are (I apologize for sounding so economical now, I don’t mean to) of incredible worth to any community they join. I really feel that his great job in reviewing the art posted in the GOF must be rewarded. Therefore my vote for the Feedback Award goes to Pangea .

The Proactive Award is often tricky. Amongst all the activity on a board so large as the GOF it is tough to figure out whose activity did so much to promote the board and the community or to introduce new elements to it that it would warrant this person to be given the special recognition expressed through this award. Sometimes people who bring about new things or new ideas may not even be aware of it at the time when they do it not realizing that they set the stone in motion that will create an avalanche... this is not meant to sound so destructive when we are talking about activities which prove so beneficial to the GOF. The reason for this long introduction speech is that I don’t think the candidate I want to cast my vote for expected for her idea to find such a resonance as it did. This is no reason however not to give credit for the good idea. On August 3rd 2009 a member of this board posted a simple thread titled “Ask me anything”. Within a few weeks there were dozens such threads up and two admins and a mod who happened to be in front of a screen in Sweden at the time were quite impressed at the success of the “ask me movement” (and created their own ask me threads). Unlike some other activities there is also a lot of content to the “Ask me” threads which help to get to know each other better and I think I am not speaking for myself only when I say that members really enjoy seeing new posts in their personal “Ask me” thread. By now the “Ask me threads” have an own section which enjoys a great popularity and it feels like the threads had been there all along in spite of the fact that the first one was started less then a year ago. And it was Amy who got the stone rolling. For the introduction of this simple but great and successful idea to the Gang of Five my vote for the Proactive Award goes to Rat_Lady7.

Compared to the other activities of the GOF the Projects have become a bit less active within the last months. I personally bear the blame for letting the land before time audio play project slide. I just didn’t have either the time, the leisure or the mood (and sometimes all of those) to devote to this project. I am sorry for that and one of the main reasons for me to bring it up in the first place is to give credit to Kor for writing a really good draft for a land before time audio play which should not be forgotten. The project that has sparked more interest than most (maybe even more than all) other projects in the GOF so far is the land before time computer game for which Tim has won a well deserved Project Award last year. There is however another Member of the GOF who I think deserves great credit for her role in this project as well as another project of her own. She has done much to create the webpage about the land before time computer game, she has created graphics for the game, she has lend great support to those who are working with the game, and she has created an independent project altogether by creating a Deviantart group devoted to the land before time fanart to which many members of the GOF have contributed their art. I am talking of Iris and because of all this my vote for the Project Award goes to Mumbling.

[Mumbling]

I shall briefly why I think certain awards must go to peoples

For the Fanart Award I would like to nominate Ptyra. I think she has been particularly active with her flyer drawings. I love the fact that you can see she is really improving. You've done a great job on developing your special characters and giving flyers a special spot in the Land Before Time fanart world. Great job!

Second of all for the Feedback Award I would like to nominate Pangaea. You have been giving me some very useful advice on my clay figures, and I have seen you active in other people's topics as well. I'm glad we have you here as a member!

Now for the Friendly Member Award I choose you! The Friendly Sharptooth!... (yay pokemon reference). While not particularly active on the GOF anymore, we have talked on MSN often. You have been there to check (or rewrite parts) of my English assignments for school, which I think can be quite messy sometimes (knowing my style of writing). Also you have been kind enough to send me a present randomly, which I think is very nice! So thanks for that

The most Helpful Member this year for me was definitely Malte279. He helped me (and Tim) by talking to us in times where it was quite necessary, trying to encourage us both to take action against the scammer. While it had no physical effect (we didn't catch the scammer nor got the money back), it sure helped me (and I bet for tim as well) mentally, to keep our sanity. Thank you so much for being there in those hard times!

I fear I have been too inactive when it comes to the GoF to decide on someone for the Philosopher Award . I have not been checking many land before time discussion related topics, so I won't cast my vote in this section (unless something miraculously pops up in my head).

My Project Award nomination goes to action9000 for still keeping up with creating the game even with your recent personal issues. I think you are doing an awesome job and should keep doing it until we have version 1.0!

Role Play Gamer Award - No opinion, I am not active in that section


There is one vote I have not yet decided on, this is the 'Proactive member award'. I shall add it later!

[LBTFan13]

Ah it's that time again. Well, here are my nominations:

Fanart Award - This one was difficult for me because there is a lot of really strong fanart here on GOF. It came down to two people once again, but I have decided to go differently from before. The person I am nominating has shown true expertise in their artwork, even to the point where they could easily work as a designer for Universal. So it is with great pleasure that I nominate LBTFan, the one without the 13 by their name, for Fanart Award.

Feedback Award - This time around, I am nominating a person who not only has given the GOF a lot of feedback in numerous areas, but also me personally. Whenever I am working on something, she always gives her opinion on how it stands and how it could be improved. She has also given much feedback on various topics throughout GOF. That is why I am nominating DarkHououmon for Feedback Award.

Friendly Member Award - This is also hard because there a lot of really friendly members here on GOF. This person I am choosing however I have never seen disrespect another member in any shape or form. He is usually among the first people to greet a new member, and he goes above and beyond to make a person feel welcome. That is why I nominate Kor for Friendly Member Award.

Helpful Member Award - This person was a no brainer for me for this award. She has helped me through numerous problems I have faced in my life, most notably my roommate problems. She also provides assistance to other users who are in need, maybe not in an extreme like me but in the same manner. Also, she really helped me sort out certain things in my fanfic series. I am pleased to nominate Cancerian Tiger for Helpful Member Award.

Philosopher Award - This was also a no brainer for me. This person has always provided meaningful analysis in various topics. He always provides a new depth to discussion, and goes above and beyond simply saying "I like this because this,". I nominate Malte for Philosopher Award.

Proactive Award - To be proactive means to create topics that have meaning and are for the good or better of the forum. This person was once again a no brainer for me because all of her topics have been highly meaningful and nice additions to the forum. Just by the Ask Me section alone, she has started a trend that now consists of multiple threads. I happily nominate Rat_Lady for Proactive Award.

Project Award - I sound like a broken record now. Again, no brainer. This person has demonstrated prestige knowledge in her music videos and betas, and has been my inspiration for my videos. Short and simple, not much else to say. I nominate DarkHououmon for Project Award.

Role Play Gamer Award - This is the most difficult for me, since I seem to be most active in this session. There are plenty of strong role players in the section, but one continues to provide strong characters. Before I reveal him, I would like to make an honorable mention to MrDrake. He has become quite an impressive RP'er lately and delivers quality characters. Having said that, for my nomination.  His current RP "A New World, Same Old Faces" has provided a truly dark look into the future of the Great Valley as well as its inhabitants, and his character Longtail continues to grow. I nominate GreatValleyGuardian for Role Play Gamer Award.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I won't vote in every category, since I don't know enough about some of the activities that go on in certain areas of the forum, but here's what I do know:

~Feedback Award - Third Pangaea. He knows an insane amount of info on dinosaurs, and is always willing to share it with others.

EDIT: Put "She" instead of "He" on accident. Sorry Thanks for catching that, Rat_Lady.

~Friendly Member Award - For the past few months, MrDrake and I have gotten to know each other over PMs, and I've noticed that I'm not the only one hes spent a lot of his time talking to and getting to know better. In the role-play section, he's extremely open to befriending other users characters with his own, and above all others takes time to ensure he comments on what other users contribute.

~Philosopher Award - This one may come as a bit of a surprise, since I don't think we've ever been on the same side of an argument, but above all other users, Noname has consistently shown an interest in the philosophical and political debates undertaken in the AM section, and has always kept his points and arguments level-headed and sourced. While I know Malte is the obvious choice for this award, and he'll no doubt win it anyway, I have always admired Noname because he tends to be in the minority (sometimes alone), and yet he still sticks to his guns, illustrates his stance, and does not stoop to logical fallacies and personal attacks. In short, I can argue his points, but I can't argue his spirit.

~Proactive Award - Pokeplayer984 has always maintained a steady supply of new threads, including everything from movie reviews, to screenshots, to video uploads, to electronics/technology discussions. And he shows no sign of stopping. I'd call that pretty proactive.

~Project Award - Gotta go to Mumbling for all the effort I've seen her put into the RPG, but Malte has already nominated her. I guess I second the nomination.

~Role Play Gamer Award. - The founder of the one RP series I've participated in on the Internet, Serris appears in numerous role-plays throughout the RP section, and is both reliable and flexible as a GM. He does not disappear for long periods of timeand cause his RPs to fall stagnant, and he allows his players the flexibility to contribute to the plot to degrees that they feel like they're helping construct a universe, rather than just playing in one.

[Amaranthine]

Erm...I think you mean he, since Pangaea is indeed a Mars symbol.

Letz zee...

The Fanart Award has to go to someone that not only is proactive in the arts, but someone that really works hard within the arts. This is definitely a tricky choice since there are three canidates that I really think deserve this award, but I really think no one could have rightfully recieved this award as much as Ptyra. Not only does she draw certain characters I heart, she is able to listen to critisim and take advice from it. That's definitely something I don't think I would ever do.

Feedback Award- This was definitely a no brainer. Pangaea does an awesome job giving the sandwich form of critique, good things first, then critique, then good stuff again. He also does an awesome job giving his opinion to others if he believes something isn't right or someone is not being treated well. I really admire his courage and his eloquent way to writing.

More will definitely be coming up...I just need to think a bit more about it.

[Amaranthine]

Role Play Gamer-There were a lot a members I think that deserve this award. However, I don't think any member could deserve this award much more then Kor. He's always providing feedback about rping, he joins so many rps it's not even funny! :huh: He also does a nice, accurate portrayal of Petrie in the "In the Land Before Time" rp. And I'm glad he still plays in the rp.

Friendly Member Award-This is definitely NOT a no brainer, since there are so many friendly people here. However, if I were to choose a member who seemed to always have something nice to say to everyone, who ALWAYS greets them in the "Welcome" section, this award definitely belongs of Cancerian Tiger. She's such a sweet, beautiful spirit in our community, and I really feel blessed to have her as a friend. :^.^:

Proactive Award- Sometimes I wonder if this award is just a nice way to say the said person is a complete blow hard. I guess part of that is true, but also the proactive award is granted to the said person that has provided a lot to the community. I think out of all the members here however, I think Pokeplayer984 really deserves this award this year. He has posted so many topics about LBT and about many things. I may not agree with his views on certain things, but he still sticks to what he says and that’s always awesome if someone can do that, no matter what other people say. He even posts all his project vids of Dink and so many other things. I was thinking of putting him in the Project nomination, but the proactive award seemed to have fit a bit more I think for him.

Project Award This award definitely goes to Mumbling for all her efforts on helping with the RPG project. While Tim was away with some things going on in his life, she was there to help with the project, and she even came out of her comfort zone and started a new form of fanart! That really takes a lot of guts and a lot of flexibility to try and experience different forms of art.

[Caustizer]

Fanart Award - Though there are many great artists on the site, the one who has done the most for me would have to be Sky.  He always takes the time to make my requests, and does an excellant job worthy of the movie animators themselves.  Far Away Home simply would not be the story it is without the artwork to go along with it.

Feedback Award - No debate on this one.  Pangaea is 100% deserving of this award for the time he takes to not only review but correct everything that I write on a weekly basis.  Though me and him differ on a few subjects such as humor and music, we are both at heart LBT fans and have achieved a profound friendship through this site.

Friendly Member Award - Again, Pangaea deserves this one because he is always nice all the time, and has always been honest about how he feels.  Though a bit too sensitive at times, he has a passion for the Gang of Five that runs deeper then any other member I can bring to light.

Philosipher Award - In my mind this award is very well suited for someone who involks thought in their posts and provides good insight into matters that are too complex for some to understand.  To that end, I nominate Malte for the exorbant amount of efford he puts into every post and the passion he has for thought and the LBT.

Proactive Award - There are a few members who are on here all the time and constantly contribute to the site, so it was really hard to single one out specifically.  To that end, I'll have to nominate Cancerian Tiger because of her contributions to my story while doing other things on the site.

Role Play Gamer Award - The member who has the most passion for role play gaming in my mind is Serris, and while my interest comes and goes he always remains completely devoted to Darwin's Soliders and Insane Cafe, carrying through until the end and then starting another one!

[landbeforetimelover]

I don't know if this is the best place to put this, but I just wanted to let you all know that I will NOT be voting this year so please don't nominate me for anything.  I would vote, but I'm afraid that I haven't gotten the chance to get to know the newer members well enough to vote fairly.  It is unfair for me to just vote for those of you who I know well just because there are so many of you that I don't really know.  I wouldn't have even said anything except I didn't want to seem like a jerk or have people worried that I wasn't voting.  I have always voted in the past so this decision of mine would have seemed unusual had I not said anything.  Not to mention the fact that I don't want a vote wasted on me when it could go to someone who could actually potentially receive the award that goes along with it.

[MrDrake]

Okay, me to vote now!

Ahem.

For the Fanart Award, as I have only seen very few fanart stuff on here, I shall give it to The Great Valley Guardian, I mean, from what I have seen of his drawings, I find them to be rather interesting as it is.

The Feedback Award shall go to....hmm...tough one that one, but I believe that I shall give it to Noname, I mean, he has been givign good feed back on what posts of his I have seen, going into detail about things and what have you.

The Friendly Member Award is an easy one for me as the one who has been friendly to me all this time....is none other than LB&T, my vote goes to him for the sole reason that he and I have been getting to know each other through PMs quite a bit now and he's just been nothing but friendly in those PMs as it is.

Oooh the Helpful Member Award is also a rather tough one to go by, but I believe I shall still nominate someone for this one, and it shall go to Noname, why might you ask? I don't entirely know of a good reason on why, but it just feels right is all....

For the Philosopher Award, I'm actually going to be staying out of this one, I usually stay out of the topics in general, so I have no vote on that one at all.

Ah the Proactive Award, and I do know what it means too.....and my vote fot that one goes to Nick22, I've seen him on quiet a bit as it is, so yes, he does get my vote on that part.

Hmm the Project Award, not sure on that one, as I haven't really looked into the whole project one myself, so I believe I shall keep out of that one myself.

Ah, last but not least, the Role Play Gamer Award, so far, out of those I have RPed with, which might I add, is a rather tough one actually, but it shall go to none other than Noname....but it was still a close one, since others do have an honourable mention StarfallRaptor, LB&T, Serris, Nick22 and The Great Valley Guardian

Well, there goes my votes, two I am keeping away from, so I have no say in those matters.

[Noname]

I don't have many votes to cast at this time, but there is one person who I believe finally deserves her due.

Ptyra gets my vote for fanart, as she has shown skill, determination, and frankly, while her images of Pterano are good, it is her backgrounds that I like the most of any I have seen on this site. While there are only so many pictures of snakes, pterodactyls, and household appliances one can stand (all of which look pretty good), it is important to recognize effort and improvement over time, both of which she has shown.

[Nick22]

Role Playing_ There are many worthy roleplayers, on the rp forum.Serris, Mr Drake and Kor to name just three but my vote this year goes to a poster whose roleplay has covered more pages than any other. having the longest roleplay is an accomplishment worth noting and it is for this reason that i vote forNONAME.
Proactive-
 There are a number of posters who can be counted on to be here frequently, and it was not easy choosing the poster i was going to vote for. Ultimately i choose NONAME because of his contributions, to the forum over the course of the past year. Honorable mentions in this award go to Serris, Cancerian Tiger anbd Mumbling.
 fRiendly Member- While there are not shortage of friendly posters here  so again this vote is not easily cast. But thanks to his efforts over the past year I nominate Kor for this award.

[tempestwheel]

Feedback Award-I vote for Caustizer, as he's given me some very helpful feedback over the course of my stories.

Friendly Member-I vote for Cancerian Tiger, as she's nice and easy to get along with, plus she also likes horror movies  

[Lain_EX]

[edit] I'm sorry, but I'll have to forefeit in my voting due to some reasons. One beng that I forgot what were the categories about.

[2007excalibur2007]

Hmmm... let's see...

I'd like to vote Noname for the Role Playing Award. Like what Lain said, he's a good RP-er.

I'd also like to vote DarkHouomon for Project Award, for she makes pretty creative and epic MVs. Oh and I'm also voting her for Friendly Member Award; she's a really fun person to talk to.

I think that's about it from me. I haven't been paying enough attention to some other stuff in here for me to vote more.

[Noname]

I read the rules, and will give six other categories now, having already covered fanart.


Feedback Award: I vote for Pangaea, who has been helpful when it comes to anything related to dinosaurs, which is a major issue on this forum, for sure.  

Friendly Member Award: I vote for Metadude, as he has been not only friendly towards me, but enthusiastic about the RP games and everything in general.

~Helpful Member Award: MrDrake gets my vote, as he has been a great asset to everything I have ever done with him.

~Philosopher Award: This one was a hard one... but my vote goes to Pokeplayer, who is always talking about an item of some importance, often with insightful comments.

~Proactive Award: I vote for Nick22, who has, along with me and Kor, maintained very high posting rates, and like the others, makes up a large part of the GoF itself. Statistically, a random post is most likely to be Nick's, mine, or Kor's.  

~Project Award: Mumbling gets my vote for this, partially because it is hard to think of anyone else with a project of such scope on the GoF.

[Cancerian Tiger]

Like others have said, there are so many members here I feel are worthy of the member awards, but only a few members receive awards.  That bein' said, I shall cast my votes now.

Fanart Award: There have been many members who have emerged as great fanartists, and I have been very impressed with a particular member's fanart.  Sky comes in a very close second, but my vote for Fanart goes to Ptyra.

Feedback Award: I don't have to think twice about who deserves this award.  Not only is the particular member very helpful in reviewing fanfics but also makes interesting posts in general.  My vote for Feedback goes to Pangaea.

Friendly Member Award: This one is the hardest for me, as everybody here is insanely friendly.  The member I have in mind is very friendly and fun to have around on the GOF, and has grown to be a very good friend of mine, and so my vote goes to Rat_lady7.

Helpful Member Award: This one is tough as well.  I would normally vote for landbeforetimelover due to his extensive knowledge of computers and willingness to assist members, but since he's not voting, my vote will have to go to someone else.  The member I have in mind is also helpful with technology issues along with making good-natured posts in heated topics in attempts to diffuse conflicts.  That said, my vote goes to DarkHououmon.

Philosopher Award: This member is very levelheaded and keeps their cool during times of conflict on the GOF.  The posts they make are very insightful and make others think.  Therefore, my vote goes to Malte.

Proactive Award: This member has made many contributions to the AM section,the Party Room, and has started a successful RP.  My vote goes to Rat_lady7.

Project Award: I understand this has been a busy year and not as many projects have been put on display by members, and hopefully this will improve over the next year.  I still continue to be impressed by DarkHououmon's MVs, and so my vote goes to DarkHououmon.

Role Play Gamer Award: Since joining the RP section, I have gotten to know many good RPGers.  This one is quite difficult, and while I have not joined any of this member's RPs as of yet, I still find the success of his series of RPs to be impressive.  Therefore, my vote goes to Serris.

Best of luck to everyone .

[SouthPawRacer]

Jeez, it's been a while since I posted... I might as well chip in as well.

I do think that the friendly member award should go to MrDrake - ever since he joined, he's been nothing but outgoing and friendly towards everyone else.

And the Philosopher award should go to Malte - his posts always provoke deep thought in me and make me reconsider my views on a subject.

Like many others, I'll need to think about the others for a small while.

[Serris]

Fanart Award - This award goes to Sky. His artwork is simply put, amazing. It displays a fusion of the LBT animator's style and his own unique style. Great Valley Guardian gets an honorable mention for his unique art style and collage.

Feedback Award - It is the rare reviewer who is simultaneously straightforward and polite. It is still rarer, for that same reviewer to provide advice on nearly every piece of fanart and fanfiction. It is for these reasons that I nominate Pangaea for this award. An honorable mention goes out to Caustizer for his reviews on nearly every chapter of Twilight Valley

Friendly Member Award - This member is the epitome of politeness and grace. While she may not always agree with everyone, she manages to remain respectful of other people's views. And she also makes new members feel welcome to this community. My vote goes out to Cancerian Tiger. An honorable mention goes out to Kor, who takes everything in stride and never lets his emotions get the better of him nor lashes out at anything.

Helpful Member Award - While every member here is helpful to some degree, there are some who go beyond that and do something extraordinary. Pangaea is one of those. He not only helps fan fiction authors in proofreading and providing ideas, he also helps those who are curious about paleontology. To top if off, his "LBT Glossary" has been an invaluable resource for fan fiction authors. An honorable mention goes out to the GOF's computer savant landbeforetimelover. He has provided an invaluable service for those who need help with their computers.

Philosopher Award - While I may not always see eye-to-eye with this member's views, they are still thought provoking and interesting. It is for this reason that I nominate Noname. An honorable mention goes out to DarkHouomon for being laconic but yet bringing up salient and interesting points in debates.

Proactive Award - It is the rare member who spurs the creation of an entirely new subforum with a single topic. It is for this reason alone that I nominate Rat_Lady7. Honorable mentions go to Nick22, Noname and Kor. They are the three most prolific posters on this forum and they bring a unique flair to this forum.

Project Award - This award goes out to Mumbling. Not only has she played a major role in the RPG project, she also designed the site for it. Furthermore, she has created a Deviantart group where other LBT fans can place their artwork. An honorable mention goes out to DarkHouomon for her simply stunning music videos.

Role Play Gamer Award - Because I am extremely active in this area, I find it hard to nominate just one person. I have RP'd with some stunningly talented people: Noname, Nick22, LB&T, Kor and Starfall all receive an honorable mention for their sheer talent in RP'ing. But the award goes out to MrDrake. His characters are very deep and blend perfectly well with the RP's settings and mesh perfectly with the other characters.

[Mumbling]

My proactive award vote goes to Rat_lady7 She has started a hype with her Ask me topics, and has created quite some topics that keep the GoF running.

I'd like to mention Landbeforetimelover here, who sadly does not join into the awards, for having designed the pretty buttons, header and background we use every day