User blog comment:Sprinklemist/Featureds/@comment-1874924-20120314235322

The Mike/Zoey fanart on this month's ballot isn't the first, either. The last couple of ballots had a Dakota fanart, also with no apparent fanfic connection.

We should definitely restrict FI canon-character nominees to pics pertaining to a specific story, for the simple reason that this website is dedicated to fanfiction. The artwork is strictly a sideline to that. I endorse allowing third-party FI nominations, with the creator having "veto power".

On the subject of Features, I propose an addition to the Featured Story nominating rules, namely that all FS nominees must be at least 50% complete as measured by either elimination progress (for competition stories) or by chapter count. It would be an embarrassment to the wiki to Feature an early-stage story only to have it cancelled later; and although no such story has won yet, a couple have come close. Indeed, the now-cancelled Total Drama Hotel would probably have won if Reddy hadn't withdrawn it at the last minute. (Kudos to Reddy for that, but some authors might not be so conscientious.) Although cancellations or "dyings" after the 50% mark do occur, they are rare. This rule would not apply to stories such as Fake Souls or The Beasts of Wawanakwa (or, for that matter, FS winner TWE) where each chapter stands more or less alone and there is no fixed endpoint. To weed out dying fics, we might also consider requiring unfinished FS nominees to have had a chapter posted in the last 3 months, or whatever interval the admins might agree on.

As for the FC themes, I'm afraid I can't help you there, but I'll let you know if I get any ideas. I do agree, though, that it might be too early for a "bit player" theme.