There was a pick of the month long before there was a ratings panel, so I don't think so. Handling of it seemed to pass around a lot even before.
That's right, single members did it for long periods before, then the ratings panel started adding to it once the functionality of the site switched over to AGA, and now the community can. There's no reason not to, providing people make some half decent picks!!
[...]
Thanks for the answers, Babar and Mods

.
@Mods: I'll not disappoint you with my pick (or at least I like to pretend so!

)
Ancient Alien is the game which I'm considering to put forward. But then, there are some games which I had started to play and remain to be completed. I'll submit my entry for consideration after completing those games

.
[...] We really need to do a drive for some new panel raters soon too, cos people get busy...
You're right. I've seen many games in the database which were released more than one year ago and still they are not rated by AGS Panel. I also found a special case where a demo was rated for players, won the best demo of year award but it still wasn't rated by the panel. Yes, I'm talking about CaptainD's demo game here.
I would like to join the AGS Ratings Panel as I've quite a free time on my hand, after all, what else you can expect from a college student

? Too bad, I joined the forums only 5 months ago

.