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1. Awards are decided and announced several months after the completion of the release, so the awards are not connected in time to the excitement of the Sign Off.  In addition, it may be difficult for the community to remember the events of the release in order to make good nominations.
2. Based on the lack of nominations, it appears that the community does not find some of the categories very compelling.

Proposal

Timing

We propose to begin the awards process as soon as the RC milestone is reached and to conclude it no later than 2 months following Sign Off.  This will more clearly attach the awards to the release event.  In addition, it will be easier to get nominations because the release will still be top of mind, since we will be seeking nominations at the tail end of the release instead of months after.

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