judging ethics

[I. Marc Carlson]

Personally, I'm of the mind that while I might be perfectly able
to judge material my spouse were to have entered in a contest (thankfully
not a problem lately... ) with the same amount of objectivity that I
would judge a perfect strangers, not everyone will believe that I can
do that.  Therefore, it's just better to avoid judging those catagories
where her material will appear.

OTOH, while the topic of judging A&S events has come up, there is something
that I have noticed over the years and have wondered about.  What can be
done with the question of different judges having different criteria, and
has anyone else had a problem with this?  Obviously there is a certain
difference in emphasis that is desirable, but I have often noticed that
judges place differing weights on the questions of authenticity, versus,
how well it conveys the overall impression, versus levels of documentation
and so forth.  What are the opinions, particularly those of you who have
judged numerous competitions, out there on this topic?

Personally, while I am strongly interested in authenticity, I also place
a strong emphasis on coveying a "medieval" impression.  I do tend to be
a bit fussy about documentation, even if that's just to say "I thought it
looked cool and made it up" (which while it may lose points for authenticity, 
it certainly has the benefit of honesty), as opposed to "Due to my extensive
study of the topic (but no sample bibliography) I know this to be correct".
I also tend to believe that items in competition are there for constructive
(preferably just as documented by me) criticism (as opposed to Display items
which are there for adulation).  The combination of these two ideals in the
areas of documentation and criticism have cause me some trouble in the past
when I've inadvertantly offended people.

Anyone else have thoughts?

"Mihi Satis Apparet Propter     Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn
  Se Ipsum Appetenda Sapientia"	University of Northkeep
 -- St. Dunstan			Northkeepshire, Ansteorra
				(I. Marc Carlson/IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu)