The idea about independent panels was bouncing around my head again and I came up with something that would work without too much possibility for abuse.

There are, at pretty much any given time, more than 3,000 members online, which seems like a good place to start. How about randomly picking 10 or 12 judges for a month, among the active members?

It would be a great opportunity for the members to become actively involved in the process, quite democratic, and a bit like a community service - in a very positive way, of course. Maybe Rendo would also be willing to throw in a gift certificate or something, at the end of the month, as a little 'Thank You'.

The panel members would be taken off the eligible candidates' list for the next eleven months, which pretty much guarantees diversity, opens the way for varying opinions and perspectives - and curbs favoritism.

I realize that some members would be less than enthusiastic and others simply won't have the time to look through the postings and make their picks, but we have a lot of members! I'm sure we could find many who'd love the opportunity. It seems better to me, than asking directly for volunteers (which might open the door for too much favoritism again) and getting 'professional' judges would have even more ghastly consequences in the long run.

The nuts and bolts need to be worked out, of course, but it's any idea.

The system is definitely often unfair and tends to get abused quite a bit Tony. It can get under your skin, but I mostly agree with dbrv6 and flaviok.
I don't cut and paste, but it's simply impossible to leave detailed comments on all the postings that deserve them - and I'm convinced that there are lots of great artist here on Rendo whom I haven't even discovered yet.
I see plenty of superb artists here, who certainly don't get the attention they should get. I also see lots of artists, who may not yet be that technically proficient, but pour their hearts and souls into their artwork - which, in my opinion, doesn't make them any less deserving. For that matter, I'm learning something new every day myself.
As far as the charts go, I don't really care if you want to scrap them altogether and take the rating system with them, while you're at it. Unfortunately, something else will inevitably crop up in their place...
I'm a bit leery about independent and impartial panels, because as always, "who guards the guardians?"
There are other galleries with such panels out there and many of them seem to turn eventually into all self-important little tin-gods who have, because it's human nature, their own preferences and favorites. I'm not so sure if that's the way we want to go.