I should note that while I am interested in what is going on with the Hugos and would like for the Final Ballot to represent the best of SF for the previous year, I do not participate in the nominating process myself. My backlog of reading material is several decades long and I actually use the final ballot, or short list, to provide me some guidance for reading material for the current year. If I am able to get to a number of items on the list then I will participate in the voting in the appropriate categories.
Looking at the Hugo winners and runners-up over the years will give you good guidance to selecting a reading list. (My problem is not getting to them until the voting is well over.) It will also give you an idea of which authors were consistently honored by the community. (I am really surprised to see that Iain M. Banks only had one nomination in his career. Be sure to put Iain M. Banks on your reading list. To be confused with Iain Banks.)
There is also discussion in the community about who can nominate for the Hugos. Currently, members of the past, current and future Worldcon can nominate for final Hugo ballot, although only members of the current Worldcon can vote on the Hugos. I understand that the inclusion of the non-current Worldcons was intended to make the nominations more inclusive. As it stands now, the voters who joined Sasquan (current Worldcon) to nominate their slate will also be able to nominate a slate in 2016 (Kansas City), at no extra cost.
Some have suggested that nominating be limited to current members and attending members of previous Worldcons or fans who have at least attended a recent Worldcon. This is wrong on so many levels. Traditionally, fans interested in the Hugos supported a Worldcon even if they didn’t have the wherewithal to attend. And sometimes it may be a number of years before a fan can attend in person. One of the nice features of site selection is that if you vote to select the site of the next Worldcon you are a supporting member of the winning bid, whether your site won or not.
I don’t know if the expansion of the nominator pool to include past and future Worldcon members has increased the number of Hugo nominations or the number of attending Worldcon members. If it hasn’t I would recommend limiting nominations to members of the current Worldcon.
Making Light has been discussing ways to resolve the DoS attack on the Hugos by the Rabid Puppies. This discussion is focused on the nominating process.
I am leaning towards allowing the nominator to nominate up to 4 works in a category, throw away the nominating ballot once 2 of the 4 have made the Final Ballot and putting the top 5 works on the voting ballot. In Schneier’s formula, x=4, y=2, z=5.
There are a number of weighting methods described in Option 3 and discussed in detail in the comments. I am still open to which method is best but I am starting with Option 3d. I don’t think there actually is a “best”, but there may be a preferred method for administration and management.
It is summer again and time to plan for Worldcon. This year it is in Montreal – Anticipation. I was in Montreal a few years ago and remember that there was an international fireworks competition over the summer, so I googled online and found the schedule. A more current schedule is here. They have a different country every Saturday. The Fireworks are at the old Expo Park site and you can get on a bridge and be eye level with them going off in front of you. It was impressive. The Con is August 6-10, and by the Schedule I see that the US is competing on the August 1st and South Africa is on August 8th.
So, I have planned a convoluted way to get to Montreal in time to see the US compete. I am flying into Albany Thursday evening, spend the night there and then take the train from Albany to Montreal – through the Adirondacks – and arrive in Montreal Friday Evening. And then return to Albany by train after the convention and fly back home the next day. I just hope there are no hidden pitfalls in Albany to worry about.
Should have a few days to sightsee around Montreal before the fun begins. Now, is it worthwhile to rent a car and travel into the countryside for a day?
I was checking out of the Bubonicon hotel this morning and boarded an elevator with an elderly couple. They must have both in their 70’s; he was walking with two canes.
She saw my badge and asked if the Klingons were still around. I immediately flashed back to the masquerade MC’s (Victor Milan) comment the previous evening about an older mundane couple that had that “deer caught in the headlights” look after getting onto a elevator full of Klingons. (Bubonicon is known for having a lot of hall costumers.)
