CRITERIA:

All Levels: An annual award can qualify if it meets all the other criteria in a respective level and posts new nominees at least once every two months.  Also, a nominee's badge can be provided for display to only applicants listed on the award program's nominee page as they are officially being considered for the award.

• Prerequisites compliance... Non-rated and 3.5 to 5.0 rated programs being submitted for an initial and upgrade rating review, respectively, must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.  (Owners of 3.5 to 5.0 rated programs in good standing just need to check the "Revised date" to make sure no changes to the Prerequisites have occurred since their program was last reviewed.)

• Program's Age Relative To Achieving 5.0 Elite Rating Level

  • Non-rated award programs (by Award Sites!)... It is exceptionally rare to achieve this level through an initial rating request and with no chance for any program under a year old.  (Only one program has achieved the 5.0 level since 2000 and was well established.)   It is critical for an award program to be well-established with a history of consistent excellence. Most programs reaching this level have been established at least three years and usually through an upgrade rating review.

  • Rated award programs by Award Sites... While being upgraded to 5.0 below the 4.5 level is possible, it is very rare.  Your program must be rated with Award Sites for at least one year before it will qualify for 5.0 Elite consideration.

  • Being rated at the top level by another service or having another 5.0 rated program at Award Sites! does not influence how your program will be reviewed by the Award Sites! Rating Panel.

• Well-defined purpose (like a mission statement)

• Separate award page with detailed criteria (what a site will be judged on)

• Submit form with demographic requirements other than name, email address, and site URL are optional.

• Special Winners List Requirement... Separate winners' page is required with at least ten "quality" winners listed along with a description of each one.  (Screenshot of each winning site is advised for a top level or a single issued award.)

• Overall site must . . .

  • Be excellent in all areas, especially in content, site design, and navigation, which present a visually pleasing and informative visit.

  • Have quality download time that is relevant to bandwidth and individual visitor connection speed with emphasis on dial-up connection.  (Flash and other sites requiring a long download periods need to post a notice, static option, and/or skip introduction as it applies to pages, sections, or the entire site.)

• Excellent designed award graphic (sample okay) that represents the purpose must be displayed.  Byte size under 10k is advised, but a larger size up to 15k would be considered.  Sample image must be displayed or easily accessible for viewing by visitors.

• Must have direct link to award program's main page (criteria / information / introduction) including if it is in frames or flash format.

• Easy to find navigation link to the main award page must be on all  other pages if the award is part of a website.  (Visitors need to find the award program from any where within a site.)

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission

• An e-mail link as an alternative to form submission and for purposes of contacting with questions / assistance.

• Stated review time period and who will be notified (winners or everyone)

• Judging process via an experienced review panel for optimum objectivity is a plus, but not required.  Still an individual judge must be experienced as would be indicated by the winners listed prior to requesting a rating.

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

  e.g. "Properly viewing all aspects of this award program requires at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and/or Netscape Communicator v6.0."

• A period award will  have an exceptional purpose and/or detailed explanation of its specific criteria.

• Prerequisites compliance... Non-rated and 2.5 to 4.0 rated programs being submitted for an initial and upgrade rating review, respectively, must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.  (Owners of 2.5 to 4.0 rated programs in good standing just need to check the "Revised date" to make sure no changes to the Prerequisites have occurred since their program was last reviewed.)

• Program's Age Relative To Achieving 4.5 Prime Rating Level

  • Non-rated award programs (by Award Sites!)... It is very rare to achieve this level through an initial rating request, especially with programs that are under a year old.  Most programs reaching this level have been established at least two years and usually through an upgrade rating review.

  • Rated award programs by Award Sites... While being upgraded to 4.5 below the 4.0 level is possible, it does not occur too often.  How long your program has been established applies in upgrade consideration, as well.

  • Being highly rated by another service or having another rated program at Award Sites! does not influence how your program will be reviewed by the Award Sites! Rating Panel.

• Has everything required for a Level 5.0 Rating (see criteria for more info), but still has some minor rough edges in one or more areas like criteria, content, or design.  (e.g. lack of consistency in a criteria point, weak presentation of one of its pages, a minor overall site design / presentation problem, weak navigation, and/or a combination of insignificant issues with several areas . . . and all it takes is just one issue to miss the 5.0 level.

• The award graphic must be excellently designed and should be under 15k.  (Pixel size is usually not an issue with this level.)

• Judging process can be by an individual or panel.

• Stated review time period and who will be notified (winners or everyone)

• Submit form with demographic requirements other than name, email address, and site URL are optional.

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

4.0 Rating Level

• Prerequisites compliance - Non-rated and 2.5 to 3.5 rated award programs being submitted for an initial and upgrade rating review, respectively, must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.  (Owners of 2.5 to 3.5 rated programs in good standing just need to check the "Revised date" to make sure no changes to the Prerequisites have occurred since their program was last reviewed.)

• Meets most of the requirements of the Level 5.0 Rating (see criteria for more info), but still has some rough edges in areas like criteria, content, and/or design.  (e.g. lack of consistency and/or some weakness in overall criteria, presentation still lacking, overall site design / presentation problem, weak navigation, and/or a combination of minor issues with several areas . . . Even one critical issue could prevent achieving the 4.5 level.

• The award graphic must be excellently designed and should be under 15k. (Pixel size is usually not an issue with this level.)

• Site where program is located must be able to meet the criteria of the top award / level.

• Additional Winners List Requirement... Separate winners' page with several "quality" winners listed  with a description of each one.  (New award programs must have some experience regardless of how well they are presented and the winners must be reflective of the award.)

• Judging process can be by an individual or panel.

• Stated review time period and who will be notified (winners or everyone)

• Submit form with demographic requirements other than name, email address, and site URL are optional.

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

  e.g. "Properly viewing all aspects of this award program requires at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and/or Netscape Communicator v6.0."

3.5 Rating Level

• Prerequisites compliance - Non-rated and 2.5 to 3.0 rated award programs being submitted for an initial and upgrade rating review, respectively, must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.  (Owners of 2.5 to 3.0 rated programs in good standing just need to check the "Revised date" to make sure no changes to the Prerequisites have occurred since their program was last reviewed.)

• The award program's overall site can be excellent in most areas . . . and is capable of achieving recognition from higher rated programs.

• Has good to better general criteria, but might require better explanation / refinement in several areas.  (See 5.0 Rating level criteria for more specifics.)

• It may be one of the more popular awards, because it is highly promoted and/or well-established with many links.  However, popularity does not mean better!  (Benefits to winning sites beyond just the award graphic is another consideration if presentation and design are good.)

• Daily awards with "cool", "hot", or other descriptive words and/or short phrases used as the only criteria can qualify if the program and overall site excels in all other area.

• An annual award can qualify if it meets all the other criteria and posts new nominees at least once every two months.  Also, a nominee's badge can be provided for display to only applicants listed on the award program's nominee page as they are officially being considered for the award.

• Award graphic quality should be good to excellent and with at least a sample image being displayed on the information/criteria page.

  • Image size should not be over 20k as it indicates ignorance or insensitivity relative to bandwidth consideration and display size on the winners' pages.  (Pixel size should be under 35,000, but is secondary to file size.)

  • No program located on a free hosting service will achieve beyond the 2.5 rating level regardless of meeting all other aspects, if the hosting service prevents (blocks) the sample image being displayed on Award Sites!  (No exceptions)

• Stated review time period and who will be notified (winners or everyone)

• Submit form with demographic requirements other than name, email address, and site URL are optional.

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

  e.g. "Properly viewing all aspects of this award program requires at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and/or Netscape Communicator v6.0."

• Prerequisites compliance - Non-rated and 2.5 rated award programs being submitted for an initial and upgrade rating review, respectively, must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.  (Owners of 2.5 rated programs in good standing just need to check the "Revised date" to make sure no changes to the Prerequisites have occurred since their program was last reviewed.)

• It may be one of the more popular awards, because it is highly promoted and/or well-established with many links.  However, popularity does not mean better!

• An annual award can qualify if it meets all the other criteria and posts new nominees at least once every two months.  Also, a nominee's badge can be provided for display to only applicants listed on the award program's nominee page as they are officially being considered for the award.

• Has decent to good general criteria, but still requires more detail and synergy with the intent of each award offered. (Daily awards with "cool", "hot", or other descriptive words used as the only criteria can qualify, if the program and overall site excels elsewhere.)

• Award graphic quality should be above average and with at least a sample image being displayed on the information/criteria page.

  • Image size over 20k and/or near the 40,000 square pixel limit (e.g. 200 x 200) might prevent achieving this level as it indicates lack of graphic design ability relative bandwidth consideration and display size on the winners' pages.

  • No program located on a free hosting service will achieve beyond the 2.5 rating level regardless of meeting all other aspects, if the hosting service prevents (blocks) sample image being displayed on Award Sites!  (No exceptions)

• Site's design, presentation, content, download time, and/or navigation needs improvement to win what the Award Sites! rating panel collectively considers to be at least a 3.5 rated award.  (This factor can vary be each rating panel member, but is based upon long-term site design and top level award program experience.

• The site must be able to win its own award.

• Stated review time period and who will be notified (winners or everyone)

• Winners List Requirements . . . Starting in January 2006

  • Separate winners' page.

  • Winners must be listed under the year and month with "No Winner Selected" or similar notice of non-selection for each award and level offered, as warranted.  (This requirement doesn't apply to previous years.)

  • At least one new winner must be listed within 60 days of the current date for at least one award or one level of a multi-level award . . . "No Winner" must be listed if it applies elsewhere.

• Submit form with demographic requirements other than name, email address, and site URL are optional.

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

  e.g. "Properly viewing all aspects of this award program requires at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and/or Netscape Communicator v6.0."

2.5 Rating Level

• Prerequisites compliance - Award program must first comply with the 20 Prerequisites, which includes plagiarism, copyright, and listing winners.

• No purpose for award listed or purpose is vague / confusing

• Has criteria listed, but lacking in details, confusing, contradictory, and/or overreaching relative to purpose and /or other aspects within the program / site.  (e.g. content of site relative to requirements of award)

• May have a good award graphic, but the design and/or content of the site is lacking relative to the award being given . . . or just the opposite.  Also, image size might be 25k to 30k and/or near the 40,000 square pixel limit (e.g. 200 x 200).

• Site's design, layout, presentation, content, download time, and/or navigation requires varying degrees of improvement. (e.g. too many graphics per page, bad grammar, hard to read text, unpleasant color scheme) . . . It could also be just one aspect that prevents reaching the 3.0 level.

• No link requirement or password access prior to submission.

• Any award program incorporating features that require a certain minimum version of Internet Explorer and/or Netscape above 5.0 must state prominently what is required or will not be rated above 2.5 nor upgraded beyond its current level.

  e.g. "Properly viewing all aspects of this award program requires at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and/or Netscape Communicator v6.0."

These Six key areas are a must!

1. Copyright / Intellectual Property Policy
   Award Sites! respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our listed members to do the same, which includes use permission being stated with any associated copyright / intellectual property by another.  (See removal rule associated with unauthorized use and plagiarism further down this page.)

2. Linking to the award's information or criteria page is required . . . It cannot be to the site's main page unless it is a stand alone award program.

3. Rating Level Banner Required Placement (based on 800 x 600 resolution) -- Award Sites! takes the proper display of its respective rating level banners seriously as considerable effort goes into reviewing programs for a rating.  (Size reduction allowed if approved by Award Sites!, but not more than 25%.)
   
   Member Badge Optional Display [MB] (based on 800 x 600 resolution)
   Owners of 3.5 to 5.0+ rated award programs can display at the original size only instead of the RLB and based upon the same requirements below for the RLB . . . The RLB must be displayed when the MB image size is a problem.  (Displaying the RLB on an index page and MB on a membership page is acceptable.)

   1. APs with ratings from multiple services

      Index/Entry, Criteria, or Membership/Affiliations/Indices Page -- No Scroll:
      Displayed on either or all of these pages that do not require a scroll.  And it is advised to list it before other rating service images to properly denote the importance of being rated by the leading and oldest rating service.  (Prominent placement of link to Membership/Associations/Indices page required with AP's navigation system.)

      OR

      Index/Entry, Criteria, or Membership/Affiliations/Indices Page Scroll Required - Must be associated with the first link that takes applicants / visitors to other pages of the award program.  And it is advised to have it before other rating service images.  (No scroll rule still applies for display on Membership/Indices Page.)

   2. APs rated just by Award Sites!
      Placement should be at the top of the page or no more than two scrolls unless navigation links are at the bottom of a page and associated with the rating level banner.

4. Award's image should not utilize another's copyright design without permission (see "Removal" Rule below).

5. An award program cannot change the status of its winners without precedent in the criteria or rules of engagement . . . Meaning that past applicants submitted and judged by the criteria in place at the time of application are not subject to revision, at a later date, to new conditions of criteria and requirements. Their status should hold based on what they received originally. No change should be allowed due to any future alterations in an award program.  (Suspension with link deactivated on listing will occur if compliance is not met within a specified time . . . Then removal would occur if still in non-compliance on the 14th day after the suspension deadline.)

6. Winners List Requirements (Once Rated)
   Lists must remain active relative to how often an award is given and not older than 60 days from the current date (See Removal).  If necessary, a statement / reference (e.g. "No Winner Selected") needs to be posted in lieu of a winner(s) for a given period to remain in compliance of an active winners list within 60 days of the current date.  Please review below according to the selection of your program's winners...

   • Weekly and Monthly issued awards... Winners must be listed under the year and month with "No Winner Selected" or similar notice of non-selection, as warranted.

   • Quarterly, bi-annually, and annually issued awards... Winners must be listed under year and month(s) of issuance and will be considered inactive if a winner or appropriate message is not posted within 60 days of the stated issuance date.

7. Listing rejected sites . . . is not allowed as it demeans the respective sites and their representatives.

8. An award program cannot disqualify a site with content about legal activities like hunting, boxing, football, and etc. for violence purposes unless otherwise stated "specifically" in the criteria.

Upgrade / Downgrade Rules

1. 120 Day Waiting Period . . . after date of any initial, upgrade, or unchanged rating notification
2. Must be displaying the most recent rating level banner design as listed on Award Sites!

3. Winners List Requirement... Starting in January 2006, the following requirements are mandatory to be eligible for upgrade review.

   • Winners must be listed under the year and month with "No Winner Selected" or similar reference of non-selection for each award and level offered, as warranted.  (This requirement doesn't apply to previous years.)

   • The most recent listing of a winner(s)" or "no winner" must occur within 60 days of the current date of an upgrade rating request.

4. Upgrade rating period can take up to 6 weeks after submittal.

5. Downgrading . . . While chances are remote, downgrading of an award program can occur if it does not keep up with the standards of the respective rating level criteria -- based on the current date . . . not when its level was achieved.  This will not be a policing action, but will be reaction to any upgrade request or correspondence from a third party.  The matter will then be presented to the AS! Rating Panel to determine its validity with any subsequent notification from AS! to the AP owner, which will include an appropriate length of time (at least two weeks) to bring the AP into compliance so it can remain at its current level before being downgraded to another level.

6. Images From Geocities and other free service providers . . . will not display on AWARD SITES! (Alternative server is required before upgrade rating request can be submitted.  Otherwise, award program will be given two weeks to do so or be downgraded to 2.5)

1. For more than three weeks and up to three months will not affect your programs listing and rating if an email is sent informing Award Sites! so an appropriate notice can be placed on your listing without affecting your rating. (Rating level banner must . . . remain on display with link at AS!)

2. Failure to notify AS! of temporarily suspending your program will lead to an email concerning the listing's removal until it becomes active with no guarantee of being reinstated at the same rating level.  (Any longer period will require temporary removal with the possibility of being reinstated at the same level.)  This process allows each situation to be handled on an individual basis.  (Winners list should reflect the temporary inactive status during months involved.)

REMOVAL Reasons:
(Certain cases will be reviewed individually to determine an actual length of removal time including possible permanent ban.)

1. Copyright infringement and/or plagiarism . . . Any unauthorized use of proprietary / intellectual property within the site, including outside of the award program, and regardless of purpose / intent.  AS! may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, suspend and/or terminate the listing of any member who has repeat infringes, including a permanent ban.  (Authorized use permission of respective copyright item must be listed onsite.)

2. Access or update problem, including winners list . . . is not corrected within a short period after the site has been advised.

3. Change in URL . . . of award page or image happens without notifying Award Sites! and failure to respond after being notified by AS!

4. Failure to properly display . . . rating level banner and linking to Award Sites! will result in an AP owner being notified by email that compliance must be met in one week (7 days) unless otherwise stated in the official notice by Award Sites!

5. Practicing, sponsoring, supporting, and/or encouraging ILLEGAL activity on your site, including links to sites of this nature, will result in immediate removal.

6. Spamming . . . others concerning an award's program.  (Action taken only upon receiving complaint and inadequate response from offender.)

7. Inappropriate actions . . . directed to submitters, visitors, or other award owners (i.e. insulting/vulgar language, hate, or any other distasteful occurrences) is confirmed.

8. Invalid Email Address . . . that causes an inability to contact

9. Any threat of negative action if desired upgrade is not received will result in program's removal from Award Sites! without further consideration.

10. Implementing password requirement to visit program.