Susan Hawkins, Webmistress
Advanced Creations Business Award (site closed)

Since there are two parts to the question, I will answer it in two ways. First, how long should the criteria be? As short as possible. Your visitors don't want to get bogged down reading 5 pages of criteria. If you can, keep it short and use one sentence, bulleted points.

Second, how detailed should the criteria be? Very detailed. Your visitors need to know exactly what you're looking for and what you're not looking for. The more descriptive you are with your criteria, the less chance you have of someone applying for your award thinking that their site meets your criteria, when in your eyes it doesn't.

How can the criteria be short and descriptive, you say? A very good question. You can give two sets of criteria: a short one and a detailed one. You can either link them together by points or just have the "seasoned" award hunters read the short one and the "newbie" hunters read the detailed one. Unfortunately, the newbies may not want to go through the detailed criteria when a shorter version is available!

In my opinion, your criteria should be as detailed and descriptive as possible on as few pages as possible. This way, there is a better chance of award hunters actually reading it!

Wendy Russell, Webmistress
Casey's Celtic Charm Award

Great question! Let's see, this is something we all wrestle with from time to time. I believe that most people have a short attention span, myself included. The quicker the reading the better.

However, the criteria must be thorough and to the point. The key to a successful awards program may be offering the most information and guidance to the applicant in the fewest possible words.

At our Awards Program, we use point form explanations in a table format, which tends to be easier for the eyes to follow. We keep the criteria as brief as possible without losing the intent of the meaning. We also have a tips section that more fully explains each of the criteria points. It's an optional feature, however. Applicants are encouraged to read the tips, but this is not a requirement.

A simple and logical navigational format guiding the applicant through the awards program is always useful.

Luuk Francken, Webmaster
LTS Grail Award

A simple question, but a complex answer. Some award givers believe that criteria should be restricted to a maximum number of words. Most applicants don't read long criteria, they say, because it takes too much time. Applicants will be more inclined to read shorter criteria, because it takes less time.

Is it true that applicants read shorter criteria? I don't think so. Most of them simply go straight to the application form and apply. If there's a "secret" word to be filled in, they screen through the criteria searching for it. They don't really read the criteria in the process, so that tactic doesn't work either.

It's great to keep the criteria short and concise, but they must be clear in their meaning. Although it may seem easy, writing criteria is one of the most difficult things you will ever do. Every word must be carefully weighed to make sure it conveys the right meaning.

This is the crux of the matter. Criteria must never be vague or open to interpretation. Their meaning must always be as clear as possible. There must never be a possibility that the words and sentences will be interpreted in different ways by different people. This means hard thinking while you write them. Try to put yourself in the place of the reader. Sure, you know what a certain point means, but does the reader?

For example, a disqualifying rule could be "Pages that take longer than 2 minutes to load." Sounds great to you because you compare it with the performance of your modem and connection speed. It could be explained a little better, however, so your readers are not left with a different interpretation than you intended.

Cable connections and ADSL connections load pages very fast, but some people are still struggling with a 28.8 modem and a telephone line. If you are one of them, your disqualifying rule is not fair to the applicant. You must elaborate. You should say something like, "Pages that take longer than 2 minutes to load, using a 28.8 kbs modem." This may take a little longer to read, but at least the meaning is clear.

If you want to clarify certain rules in your criteria, you can add a page with more details or a popup window with explanations. As long as you put them on separate pages, they won't add length to your criteria. Just link to them from the rules that you want to clarify.

For these reasons, I believe that criteria must never be restricted to a maximum number of words. It's up to the award giver to decide what the rules and restrictions are going to be for the award and to describe them in a way that readers can understand. In some cases, it may take a lot of words to do this. You must think for the reader and use whatever number of words you feel is necessary to make the meaning clear.

In conclusion, your criteria should be as short as possible, but the meaning must be clear to all the readers. You are the master of your own award program, and you alone should decide how long the criteria will be. So, the answer to the question is clear: There is no answer. It's all up to you!

Helen Bruce, Webmistress
Lone Star Design Award

Criteria should spell out, in detail, what is expected of the award seekers so that there is no question in their minds when the applications are submitted. If you are going to award only personal sites, this should be mentioned so that commercial sites will know and not apply. The more precise your criteria is, the more apt you are to get applications which meet the criteria. This saves both you and the award seeker a lot of needless frustration.