The Universal Fanfic Open (UFO) Awards are multi-fandom, internet-wide awards for the best fanfiction completed in a certain year. There are several stages and several awards involved in the overall process.
Stage One: Nominations
During this stage, readers nominate fanfiction they think is deserving of a UFO award, and second existing nominations if they agree those stories are worthy. Everyone is welcome to nominate stories, whether or not they are members of the .moon community. Nominations can be from any fandom, with a few exceptions as outlined below. Only the very best stories should be nominated. All nominations are checked by the administrator to make sure they are eligible according to the rules. The administrator also contacts the author of each nomination to obtain permission to enter their story in the contest. Nominations may feature any pairing and be of any rating, and are categorized by fandom.
Stage Two: "Best of Fandom" Voting
- The UFO Awards are only for fanfiction based on works of fiction. Original fiction and real-person fiction are not eligible. Examples of material not eligible are stories based on musicians, Reality TV, and news programs.
- Nominated stories must have been completed in the appropriate calendar year. This is usually the current year or the previous year. Only completed stories are eligible for the main fandom categories. (There is a special category for incomplete fanfiction; see the Works in Progress section.)
- Nominated stories must be at least 1000 words long. Drabbles are not eligible.
- You may not nominate or second your own fanfiction.
- You may not second your own nominations.
During this stage, the top three stories for the year from each fandom are decided by an open vote. Everyone is welcome to vote on stories, whether or not they are members of the .moon community. Only stories that have been nominated, seconded, and approved for entry by their authors will be included on the ballot. There must be at least three entries in a fandom's category in order for that fandom to be voted on. Everyone who votes is allowed one vote per eligible fandom, and can vote in as many or as few fandom categories as they choose. Several awards are decided during this stage:
Stage Three: "Best Overall" Voting
- Nominee Awards. Every nomination that is seconded and becomes an official entry will receive a UFO Nominee Award. There will be as many of these awards as there are entries on the ballot.
- Best of Fandom Awards. The three entries that get the most votes will receive First, Second, and Third Place awards in their fandom. There will be three of these awards per eligible fandom.
- Members' Choice Awards. The story in each fandom with the most votes from .moon members will receive a Members' Choice award. There will be one of these awards per eligible fandom. See the Members' Choice section for full details.
- Honorable Mentions. The top ten entries in the "Works in Progress" category will receive Honorable Mention awards. See the Works in Progress section for full details.
During this stage, the First Place winners of the "Best of Fandom" awards will compete against each other for overall fanfiction of the year. Everyone is welcome to vote, whether or not they are members of the .moon community. As this round is multi-fandom, only those who feel they can make a fair and just choice from a wide variety of stories should vote in this category. Security measures will be in place to ensure all voters have read every story on the "Best Overall" ballot before voting. The final awards will be decided during this stage:
Works in Progress
- Best Overall Awards. The three entries that get the most votes will receive First, Second, and Third Place awards for best fanfiction of the year overall.
The quality of a work of fiction cannot be judged fairly until it is complete. However, the .moon community feels it is important to recognize works in progress that have already achieved notable levels of quality. Therefore, incomplete stories may be nominated for the "Works in Progress" special category. These stories will not be included in the "Best of Fandom" voting, but will have a special section of their own on which readers may indicate they are deserving of honors. Instead of selecting a single best story, readers voting in this category may choose as many of the candidates as they wish. When the votes are tallied, the top ten entries will receive Honorable Mention awards, and will all be listed on the archive pages as excellent ongoing stories to watch.
Members' Choice
- Nominated stories must be incomplete. Revisions of older stories are not eligible unless the stories were still incomplete when revisions began.
- Nominated stories must be active works-in-progress. There must have been at least one new chapter added to the story within the appropriate calendar year.
- Nominated stories must be new to the UFO Awards. Once a story has been entered in the "Works in Progress" category, it cannot be nominated again for that category in later years. Past "Works in Progress" nominations are, however, eligible for the main "Best in Fandom" categories once they are completed.
In addition to the main "Best of Fandom" tally, a separate tally of the .moon members' votes will be kept. This tally will use the same ballot and votes as the main poll, but will only count votes cast by logged-in members of the .moon community. The story in each fandom category that earns the most votes from .moon members will receive a Members' Choice award as an additional honor.
Additional Information
Various tracking methods are in place to prevent self-nominations and ballot-box stuffing. Users who are suspected of attempting to cheat the system will be given a warning and a chance to explain their actions. If they continue attempting to cheat after the warning is given, they will be barred from participating in the UFOs. Nominated authors who attempt to cheat after a warning is given will be disqualified from the awards.
If you have further questions after reading this document, try the FAQ.*
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The UFO Awards are hosted by the dotmoon.net multi-fandom community.
