We're ramping up for our Grand Opening in a just a few days now. There's a great, big change you need to know about. From now on, we're only taking nominations from people we like.
Fortunately, we're not terribly discriminating, so you're still invited back on Oct. 1.
But wait, there's less. As in, you don't have to scroll through all the comments to figure out what to nominate. We'll be posting a form, thanks once again to the technical wizardry of Sheila Ruth.
The form will ask for a single nomination in a single genre. Fill it out. Send it. It comes back blank, ready for another round. Try to weasel another nomination in the same genre and it ... eletrocutes you. Nah, it just calls you insulting names and tells you to try again. Same thing if you nominate a book that's already been suggested by someone else.
So, you say, where is this magical form? Oho--we're saving that for our special day. Hint: It's October 1st.
Oh, and you'll need to find ISBN numbers on Amazon, but don't worry about that just yet. While you're there, buy some stuff using our affiliate ID so we can raise money.
More on the fundraising stuff another time. Much more.
See you Oct. 1!
--Anne Levy, Cybils Supreme Maximum Leader*
*tell me if you like my new title. Do ya? Do ya? I think it really fits me. See here for past discussions on my title.
Wow, that form sounds like it will be a big help!
Will it be generating lists as it goes? I think it would be cool if every morning the lists of books already nominated could show up here. Some of us are such Cybils geeks that we (at least, I hope it's "we") spent far to much time in years past pouring over the comments every day to see what new books had been nominated...
I have a question--sometimes people nominate books for a genre they don't ultimatly belong in. Will it let a person nominate a book in sci fi/fantasy, say, that's already on the middle grade list?
Posted by: charlotte | September 27, 2009 at 04:03 AM
Sounds very reasonable! Having been on the end of tracking down books without ISBNs etc. I am glad that is part of the process.
Posted by: Liz B | September 27, 2009 at 05:46 AM
What an EXCELLENT idea, like a ballot: fill in your SINGLE choice in each genre, turn it in, and step away from the website!
Thank you, Sheila, for saving Anne and everyone so much work...
Posted by: tanita | September 27, 2009 at 06:23 AM
Like this idea. Also another big thanks to Sheila!
Oh, by the way, Ann, like your new title!
Posted by: Kim Baccellia | September 27, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Love it, love it, love it! That's going to make things so much easier.
Can't wait until October 1! Wooo!!!
Posted by: Abby | September 27, 2009 at 01:27 PM
Wow, that sounds great! Good work! I think it will simplify things quite a bit.
Posted by: Alysa | September 27, 2009 at 06:15 PM
Thanks, everyone! Anne, I love the way you described it. You made it so clear and understandable! To answer questions:
- I think the current plan is that every day a new post will be automatically generated with a list of books nominated in the last 24 hours. A post with the full list for each genre will be manually updated periodically.
- A book can only be nominated once. Period. If the book has already been nominated, for any category, it won't let you nominate it again. If organizers think it belongs in a different category, we'll move it.
I LOVE your new title, Anne!
Posted by: Sheila Ruth | September 27, 2009 at 06:22 PM
Thanks for answering my questions, Sheila!
I'm glad there are plans for lists--I will be looking daily! Although I would also be happy to look hourly...
Posted by: Charlotte | September 28, 2009 at 07:40 AM
How cool! Isn't it great that there are techy people to help make everything easy and organized! Thanks, Sheila!
Posted by: Semicolon | September 28, 2009 at 08:46 AM
Even though I've known about this for so long, I'm still REALLY GEEKED about it! YAY SHEILA!! Woo!
Posted by: Jackie Parker | September 28, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Out of curiosity, can you submit several forms from the same computer/IP address--ie, if there are several people in the same household who want to nominate? Is it one ballot per IP, or one ballot per person/login ID?
Posted by: Finn | September 29, 2009 at 04:02 AM
Finn: it's one ballot per person, so multiple people in the same household can each nominate, as long as they have separate email addresses. We're trusting that everyone won't abuse this. ;-)
Charlotte: For the obsessive among us (including me) who like to watch the nominations coming in, I've actually come up with a way that the nominations can be viewed live, up-to-the-minute, but your browser has to support iFrames for you to be able to see the live nominations list. There will also be daily updates posted to the blog, and a static nomination list that doesn't require iFrames will be updated periodically.
Jackie and Semicolon: Thanks!
Posted by: Sheila Ruth | September 30, 2009 at 06:31 AM
Wow, Sheila, that iFrames thing sounds cool! It sounds like something beyond the reach of my household technology :) but I will try anyway...
Posted by: Charlotte | September 30, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Well, most current browsers support iFrames, so chances are you're good. It's the older browsers that might have a problem, and I assume it won't work with text browsers or text-to-speech readers.
Posted by: Sheila Ruth | September 30, 2009 at 10:29 AM