Over the last two years, Performers of the Month has become a very popular feature. As with any popular online fandom feature, some groups have been more vocal in getting their performers to win. That has severely cut back on variety within the feature. To try and level the playing field it became apparent that a full overhaul was needed. As such, over the summer, we went to work reorganizing and reimaging the feature. What is to follow is a list of how the feature will work now in addition to a complete overhaul of the rules. Please read carefully before charging ahead into your nominations when the next round begins because very little is the same as it was in the prior two cycles.
The most immediately noticeable change is that there will no longer be separate categories for actors and actresses. Those separate categories have been done away with in order to launch two new categories. We will now be awarding a Reader’s Choice Performer of the Month and a Staff Choice Performer of the Month. Below is how each category will work as well as all the new rules that will govern the entire feature.
The first round to fall under these new rules will be the January 2018 round that launches on February 1st.
Reader’s Choice Performer of the Month
Nominations:
The nominees that make it to the site poll will be entirely fan chosen. Staff nominees will no longer be included in the Reader poll. That means that instead of taking just the Top 5 we will now be taking the Top 10 (Top 5 actors and Top 5 actresses) and putting them in the poll to compete against each other. That brings us to another new change: performers can now only be nominated for a single episode. That episode number will also factor into which performers make it into the Top 5. If a performer has 100 nominations, but only 25 of those are for the same episode and another performer has 50 nominations but they are all for the same episode then that performer will make it over the other. We’re here to award outstanding performances, so if 50 people think a performance needs to be recognized they are going to get their performer to the poll over the other. Everyone can now make up to 5 nominations for any actor or actress who delivered an outstanding performance in the award month. The form has changed, so you will have to fill it out separately for each nominee up to five nominees. Fill the form out entirely for each submission or your nominations will not count.
Voting:
Other than the fact that there will now only be one poll the voting time frame has been shortened. The polls will now only be open for 3 days. They will launch at 6pm ET on the 8th of every month and close at 6pm ET on the 11th. That has been designed as such to allow for more time to research and write the articles.
Staff Choice Performer of the Month
Nominations:
This will be handled just like the fan side of the contest. All staff members will have a chance to nominate the performers they think delivered the best performances each month. The big difference is that all staff nominations will make it to our poll, but each performer will still only be eligible to win for a single episode.
Voting:
All the nominees will be entered into a spreadsheet where we will then rank them and the winner will be the one with the largest number of votes. The results will be shared in the results post at the end of the voting round.
Rules:
-A person can only nominate 5 performers per month. Those 5 performers must all be different. Anyone trying to submit the same performer for all 5 of their allowed nominations will have all of their nominations disqualified. The submission form has been completely changed, so please be sure to fill it out correctly. If any spots are not filled in your submission will not count.
-Only 1 episode can be nominated per performer. That episode will help determine which performers make it to the poll. Simply just put the episode number in the form. The contest will be working off the understanding that the episode number is for the current season.
-A performer can now only win 1 time per year. Variety has been the one thing POTM has been lacking and we hope this will allow us to recognize more performers than ever before.
-A show can only be represented by 2 winners per year. This is a major change, but one that is also intended to help give POTM additional variety. This change means, for example, if a performer from a show wins in January then another performer from that same show wins in February then no other performer on the show will be eligible again for the rest of the year. This is actually a rule proposed to us through the Reader Survey last summer and we loved the idea. Whomever proposed it, thank you!
-In the very unlikely event the same performer wins both the staff and reader voting that particular month will only have 1 winner article.
-During voting the results will remain hidden and will be revealed only after voting has concluded.
-Performers on streaming shows that release the full season all at one time are eligible for 2 months, so the month the season releases and the following month. That gives people more opportunity to watch and nominate performers from those shows.
-Performers on streaming shows can no longer be nominated for a full season. Nominations must include just a single episode number.
-Voice performers from live action shows are eligible as long as they had a significant part in the episode they appeared in.
-Voice performers from animated shows are eligible.
-Guest stars are eligible.
Winner Articles:
The winner articles will be conducted as they have been, but other staff members will be more involved especially in regards to the Staff Winners. Articles will still be released by the end of each month.
Performer of the Year:
This will still be conducted as usual. At the end of the year all of the winners from each side will be entered into individual polls to produce a Reader’s Choice Performer of the Year and a Staff Performer of the Year.
