Best of the Web '97 Rules

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The BOTW Award process follows this procedure:

1. Nomination

Anyone is invited to nominate sites for each of the categories (see the Nomination Form). From the list of nominees, we will select between five and ten for each category. The selection is based mostly on the number of hosts that nominate each site. We use the term "mostly" because there is some cleaning we do to remove inappropriate sites and reduce the effects of form spamming.

Note #1: Although we have no way of screening for this, we would request that only relatively experienced Webbers nominate sites. (i.e. people that have been to enough sites to be sure that their nominations are better than the norm out there.)
Note #2: It is alright for you to nominate yourself, if you think you stand a chance at winning!

2. Voting

Once the nomination process is complete, a final ballot will be posted here (with forms). It will contain links to each nominee's site so voters can browse through them before making a selection. Any users, both novice and experienced, are encouraged to vote.

Note #1: Please, no campaigns. We want this to be an honor bestowed on you by others, not a political contest. If you do link to our site from your page, please link either to our home page or the current year's home page, not directly to the nomination form; we'd like visitors to read the rules before nominating.
Note #2: Please, no ballot-stuffing. The final vote will require a valid email address; any vote with a bad address (i.e. one from which mail bounces) will not be counted.

3. The Awards

In each category, the site with the most votes (after adjusting for repeated hosts) will receive the award. There may also be 2-4 honorable mentions, depending on the voting results. The winners will be able to display the Best of the Web '97 logo (or one like it) on their page(s), with text describing the award received. Of course they are under no obligation to display this award!

There will also be a permanent page at this site, describing each winner/honorable mention and providing links to their sites.