Dave Selig, Webmaster
Ultraweb Awards

Ms. Thirunakkarasu poses a very interesting and challenging question. Over the past several years, I have visited many fine programs with and without status pages. I do not believe that they are essential for an award program, but they can add interest, utility and interactivity to one.

Status pages come in at least two varieties. One type displays information about the status of individual applications. Another provides information about the status of your award program and administrative information.

Individual Status Pages

An individual status page is especially useful if your award program attracts a large volume of applicants and you do not expect to review applications within a short time. It informs your existing applicants that their applications are being reviewed or will be reviewed within a certain time. It also shows potential applicants that your award program is active.

A status page could include basic information such as when the application was received, when the review will commence, when the review is expected to be completed, and when the review has been completed.

I recommend keeping the identities of applicants confidential (not showing first or last names or revealing website information). I do not recommend displaying an individual's interim or final results on a status page. If you generally complete your website reviews within a couple of weeks of receiving the applications, an individual status page may be excessive.

Award Program Status Pages

Information about the administrative and statistical status of an award program is fascinating and useful. By looking at the total number of applicants and percentage of those who win your award, a potential applicant can quickly determine whether you have a popular award program and whether you have high, medium, or low expectations and conditions for granting an award.

For example, if your statistics show that only 3 to 5 percent of all applicants win your award, potential applicants are on notice that you expect high quality work from webmasters (even if they do not read your criteria).

Aside from general statistics, it is appropriate to include information about the schedules of your judges, non-active periods, and other relevant information that will keep applicants and other visitors informed about the status of your award program.

Dunja Zeyss, Webmistress
Dream Worker Award

Status pages are helpful because applicants can see how their site evaluations are progressing. They don't have to email the award giver to find out what's happening, which reduces the demands on the award giver's precious time.

A status page should only include the name of the webmaster, the name of the website, and the number of visits to the applicant's site. Details such as the number and date of the application are acceptable, but not necessary. Status pages which only list current applications are also OK, in my opinion.

Status pages which list unsuccessful applicants, especially those with comments such as "no" or "no award," are definitely not acceptable. They are discouraging and demeaning to applicants and should never be used.

Wendy Sears, Webmistress
Assess Risk Web Award

The answer to the question "are status pages helpful" will often depend on two things:

Status pages are provided by award givers to enable their applicants to follow the evaluation process. To this end, they must contain three basic elements:

However, there are additional elements that can be included:

More personalised status pages can provide further information that is accessible to, or only identifiable by, the specific award applicant. For example:

So, how helpful are status pages? If applicants simply want to know whether or not they have gained an award, then status pages are very helpful. Often the alternative is to hear nothing, as many award givers reserve the right to notify winners only. Applicants tend to assume the worst in this situation.

If award applicants are expecting a detailed analysis of their site or an explanation for their failure to attain an award, then they will not find the status page particularly helpful, unless it is personalised. The reality is that personalised status pages are the exception rather than the rule.

Do status pages help award givers? Often they are created to eliminate the need to write to unsuccessful applicants, and they are very helpful in this respect. But if award givers expect to eliminate all enquiries from unsuccessful applicants, then they will find that a status page is not much help, unless they apply a more personalised approach. And even with personalised status pages, the elimination of all enquiries is never guaranteed.

Debra Sharp, Webmistress
Mesweet's Awards

As an award applicant, I think status pages are very helpful. They tell me if my site has actually been seen by an evaluator. As an award giver, I think it's a very nice addition to an program, if you have the time to keep it up to date.

In my opinion, there is a right way and a wrong way to present status pages.

WRONG: Indicating the actual name of the site or the person who applied for the award.

It's already a gut-wrenching feeling when you learn that you didn't win an award. But to let the whole world know that you applied for one and didn't receive it can be quite humiliating.

RIGHT: Using codes or numbers instead of the actual name of the site or the person who applied for the award.

Codes and numbers keep it between the applicant and the evaluation team. The information remains private. Using codes and numbers shows respect and consideration for the feelings of the people who apply for your award, which is the right way to do it.

Due to time constraints, I do not have a status page at my site, although I feel it would be helpful to my applicants. If time ever allows me to create and maintain one, then it would contain the following:

Fabian Lorenzen, Webmaster
El Fabi Awards

There is a lot of controversial discussion these days about the usefulness of status lists, especially in the German speaking awards community. Most people agree that a status list can be very helpful to both awardmasters and applicants. If it's done right, a status list will help to organize an award program and give applicants a clear idea of how their site evaluations are progressing.

Some awardmasters use the status list to provide more than basic information about the date of an application and whether or not the site has been visited. They publish comments about their impressions of the applicant's site, which is causing most of the controversy. People have different opinions about publishing this kind of feedback in public. Some think it should be sent by personal eMail.

In my opinion, it's good to give applicants some feedback about the outcome of their evaluations and, perhaps, a little information about why they were not successful in winning an award. Publishing this feedback in public will give all applicants a better understanding of what it takes to win the award.

However, I don't think it is good to criticize anyone in public. The comments should always be polite and objective, never insulting or supercilious. Applicants want feedback when they apply for an award, so they should be tolerant of suggestions and polite criticism. This doesn't mean they deserve to be treated with disrespect by an awardmaster.