Hi everyone,

I'm working my way around the various boards where conflict conflagrated due to my or ENnies staff tread with regards to the Fear the Boot situation.

Please allow me to apologize to the Hosts and Producers of Fear the Boot for my and my staff's behaviour. I unfairly held FtB up to a higher standard than the one by which we acted.  They pleaded with their fans to stop the attacks, and some of us, rather than walking away thankful for the reprieve, chose to continue the fight.

I'd also like to retract any implication that the hosts actively engaged in a smear campaign.  Yes, their fans did, and we retaliated in kind, but the hosts were quite commendable in their efforts to resolve this issue peacefully.  If only some of us (mostly me) had the tact to do the same!

We are developing a code of conduct to which all staff will have to agree to adhere in the public dealings of the Awards, and I will make every effort to lead by example from now on.  We will also start up an ennieawards.com set of forums so that if we feel we need to discuss something in a public forum we can invite those interested to do so rather than having to chase down threads across the 'Net on other boards and be perceived as "invading" other boards.

The Board -comprised of Russell Morrissey, Richard J. Miller, and I- still stand by the decision to ask FtB to withdraw, but deeply regrets the subsequent multi-board ugliness that ensued as a result therof.  There was a lot of miscommunication between the sides and misunderstandings which led to a comedy of errors- except nobody seems to be laughing.

If you have anything else to say about the ENnies, I encourage you to do so via my email denise@ennieawards.com.  I don't think I'm going to have enough time to watch all these boards what with getting ready to leave for Gen Con.  Thank you for your understanding.

Quote from: DeniseWe are developing a code of conduct to which all staff will have to agree to adhere in the public dealings of the Awards...The Board -comprised of Russell Morrissey, Richard J. Miller, and I-

Reading between the lines: Michael Morris had no right to imply an official position on the issue and we will try to make him keep his mouth shut in the future.
 
It seems like it was his comments more than the decision that stirred things up.  On the bright side, the minor controversy probably gave FtB more attention than they would have gotten for winning an Ennie in a minor category like best podcast.

Quote from: NicephorusIt seems like it was his comments more than the decision that stirred things up.  On the bright side, the minor controversy probably gave FtB more attention than they would have gotten for winning an Ennie in a minor category like best podcast.

Irony, thy name is life...

Seanchai