Author's Note: My stupid computer will simply not indent. Sorry if I offended anyone :P.
I'm sure many of you read Cobd's article last week. In her article, she announced the Whyville Times Awards. For those of you that forgot, the Whyville Times Awards were created to honor the best articles that writers submit every year.
There are 13 awards, Article of the Year, Contribuation to the Times Award, Breakthrough Article of the Year, the Leila Science Award, the Interview of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Help Article of the year, Gallery Article of the Year, Report of the Year, Entertainment Prize, The Poetry Prize, the Prose Prize, and the Award for Outstanding Column.
Well, that's that. After reading this article, I decided to (oh, alright, I won't lie! Cobd suggested for me to) interview some Whyvillians about the awards.
Vancyon: What do you think about Cobd's idea of the Whyville Times Awards?
Ps2man1: It's a good idea and it should have been thought of years ago.
Rochrox: I think it's an amazingly incredible idea!!
Rex13: Well, I think it's a great idea. I'm happy for the people who get recognized.
Lyd1212: I think it's very cool. It will garner more attention for the Times. Which could be good or bad. Either more great writers appear or the quality lowers because new writers will write, no offense, worse pieces.
Bllyjo: I think they're a great idea, and I'm not sure why Whyville didn't already have it.
Nerdishh: I think it is just nifty :].
Ferrari5x: I like the idea, but I'm concerned about the outcome.
Vancyon: Why or why not?
Ps2man1: Because good writers deserve recognition.
Rex13: Cobd's idea for the Whyville Times Awards is a great idea becuase it makes people spread their opinons about the many great articles written throughout the year.
Rochrox: Well, first of all, there are a lot of really great articles in the Times, that become forgotten. The WTA will be an awesome way to give those articles some recognition! Plus, all the Whyville citizens get to be involved with the voting on the best articles of the year. Some folks don't even read the Times (shocking, I know), so this gives them the opportunity to see some of the Times' best articles. It's going to be fun!
Lyd1212: Well, I think that the Times depends on it's writers, and more and more of the great writers are leaving, like Kaila. Author's Note: Kaila is just taking a break. We need "new meat" to keep the quality high.
Bllyjo: Well, they reward writers with an actual award just for writing well.
Play2live: I think they're cool because they give Times readers the chance to read the best of the best articles in the Times for this year.
Nerdishh: It gives the stand-out articles of the year a chance to be recognized.
Ferrari5x: It will be rewarding to those who make an honest effort and spend a lot of time to make quality articles for our Times.
Vancyon: What is your favorite award and why?
Play2live: The Report of the Year award, because it's informative and it's about Whyville.
Ps2man1: We'll see when the results come out.
Rochrox: I have a couple of favorite awards. First of all, the Award for Outstanding Column is great. Columnists put in a lot of effort every week, so it'll be great to see their hard work and dedication noticed. Second, I like the Entertainment Prize. Being able to entertain people through articles isn't that easy, so those who are good at it definitely deserve some recognition!
Rex13: I like the award that shows the people . . . the Breathrough Article, you tell me, Zach. I like it becuase it should get the person to write more if people like it enough.
Lyd1212: I like Breakthrough Article of the Year! It's hard to write your first piece, and sometimes people don't like it. And man do they TELL you! :\
Bllyjo: Probably the Breakthrough, because not many people would think of that and emerging writers who maybe aren't as good as veteran writers can get some recognition.
Nerdishh: Best Article of the Year because it's the biggest one.
Ferrari5x: The Contribution to the Times Award, because it can be rewarded to those who don't have superb writing skills, but make a difference any way.
Vancyon: Do you think the WTA will encourage people to write for the Times more?
Ps2man1: I don't think it will get new writers but I think it WILL get the existing writers to write more, especially towards the end of the year before the awards.
Rochrox: I hope that it will. I've heard talk of writers saying this year they would try to write more articles, and I've heard a few new writers say this as well.
Lyd1212: I think so. But not for the right reasons. Some may just want the award and not be in it for the love of writing and everything.
Bllyjo: DEFINITELY. Awards always get people to do stuff. ALWAYS.
Play2live: Perhaps, if they wanted to try harder to get their name in the WTA next year. Or if they wanted to just win the award itself.
Nerdishh: Yes, becuase I think they would put more effort in their writing in hopes of winning a award.
Ferrari5x: Yes, but I don't like the idea of people writing just to be rewarded. They should put thought and time into their writing, not just go for whatever gets the biggest response.
Vancyon: If you could, what would you do to improve the WTA?
Ps2man1: Make Ps2man1 win all of the awards.
Rochrox: Well there's a couple of nomination categories that I would add. Maybe a "Most Inspirational Article" or "Best Whyvilley Article". There are some great articles that just don't fit into any of the categories that were given this year!
Lyd1212: Add a Most Improved award. Some writers start off rocky, but it turns into something great. They should be considered and honored for the hard work it took to get to that point!
Bllyjo: Maybe have a voting stage where they put a list of nominated articles and Whyville votes for which one to win.
Play2live: I would let there be more than one winner for each category, perhaps 2, so that there would be more of a selection.
Nerdishh: Uhm . . . probably just make sure articles from the beginning of the year aren't forgotten about because they are still eligable.
Ferrari5x: I would try to make it fair to everyone. The way it is set up now, it looks like it could be biased towards certain people, like Oldbies or friends of the judges. I am also assuming that many articles will go unnoticed, even when they deserve recognition. People are likely to vote for their friends, or even their own articles.
It was hard, but I even got an interview with the best person in the world *cough* Vancyon *cough*.
Vancyon: What do you think about Cobd's idea of the Whyville Times Awards?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* I think it's something that should have been thought up years ago!
Vancyon: Why?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* Because it recognizes people that spend countless hours writing to the Whyville Times. I admire Cobd for putting so much effort into this!
Vancyon: What is your favorite award and why?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* My favorite award is the Poetry Award. Poetry rarely goes recognized in the Whyville Times, and is easy to read, and if written right, inspirational.
Vancyon: Do you think the WTA will inspire new people to write for the Times?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* Well, somebody by the name of Vancyon has already been inspired to write in the Times . . . so, yes.
Vancyon: If you could, what would you do to improve the WTA?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* I would host a show (we'll talk about that later, Cobd). I think that articles that have been nominated or have won should have a gold star by them to indicate that it's a good article, maybe a silver star for nominated articles? The writers could also have something in their City Records. I also think there could be a new category title, something like "Best Articles" or "Award Winning Articles".
Vancyon: One last thing. Can I have your autograph?
*Cough* Vancyon: *Cough* Sure, kid.
And that is the end of my article!
Cobd and the Times Editor want your suggestions! Post in the BBS what you think could improve the Whyville Times Awards!
