2015 Hugo Award winners

jgaiser · 08-23-2015, 09:03 AM

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/08...wards-winners/

Lots of "No Award".

gbm · 08-23-2015, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/08...wards-winners/

Lots of "No Award".

IMHO anybody who voted " no award" on the majority of their ballet should be blacklisted, not allowed to vote for a couple of World Cons.
Note: I said vote not nonanate.

bernie

HarryT · 08-23-2015, 09:53 AM

So what effect did the supposed ballot rigging have in the end?

Shane R · 08-23-2015, 10:10 AM

Can anyone explain in easy to understand language what the whole sad puppies thing was about?

darryl · 08-23-2015, 10:23 AM

I have not hitherto taken a personal position in the whole Sad and Rabid Puppies saga, simply because I am not familiar with enough of the Nominations/Winners over the period concerned. I will add that I read Ancillary Justice which I enjoyed and thought was a deserving winner in its category and year. I was also unimpressed with the Puppies nominations this year which I thought were very good stories but lacked that something extra which should be present to win such an Award. However, if what has happened is what I suspect has happened then I am about to side with the Puppies out of sheer disgust and the credence that the Puppies allegations have been given by the apparent conduct surrounding the cancellation of these awards. The Hugo's site at:

http://www.thehugoawards.org/ states so far as relevant:

The members of the World Science Fiction Society rejected the slate of finalists in five categories, giving No Award in Best Novella, Short Story, Related Work, Editor Short Form, and Editor Long Form. This equals the total number of times that WSFS members have presented No Award in the entire history of the Hugo Awards, most recently in 1977.

I have had a quick look at the Constitution of WSFS and the only provision that I could find dealing specifically with the cancellation of awards in a category is as follows:

Section 3.6: “No Award”. At the discretion of an individual Worldcon Committee, if the lack of nominations or final votes in a specific category shows a marked lack of interest in that category on the part of the voters, the Award in that category shall be canceled for that year.

Looking at nomination and votes cast in the no award categories would seem to indicate that this rule could not apply.

Alternately, there is a business meeting at each Worldcon with a quorom of 12 members physically present. Only attending as opposed to supporting members can vote at this Business Meeting. There does not seem to be any specific power given to the Business Meeting to cancel awards in particular categories though a specific power may not be necessary. There are also Standing Rules and other guidelines I have not looked at. It appears, however, that a small minority has managed to frustrate the wishes of the majority. The Minutes of this Business Meeting will also make interesting reading as that Meeting seems to have authority to alter the Constitution.

If this is in fact what has happened then I am disgusted by it. A small group who consider themselves to have superior taste have apparently managed to subvert a democratic process.

UPDATE: There seems to be some suggestion that large numbers of voters actually voted for no award. I don't know off the top of my head whether such a vote would even be valid. However, if this is the case it may provide a justification for the application of Rule 3.6 I quoted above. However, I think the wording of the announcement as the decision to cancel being the vote of the members rather than just the Committee concerned and the "reasons" tend to indicate that the decision was taken by the business meeting. I suppose we will have to wait and see.

HarryT · 08-23-2015, 10:29 AM

The whole thing strikes me as ridiculous. Campaigning to support your favoured candidate is an entirely legitimate part of the electoral process. The Hugo awards have always been a popularity contest, not a mark of literary merit.

fjtorres · 08-23-2015, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

So what effect did the supposed ballot rigging have in the end?

Prove the Hugos are meaningless.

DrNefario · 08-23-2015, 11:06 AM

The awards weren't cancelled, No Award is always on the ballot. It's a preferential ballot, and it's always likely that there are some nominees you don't like, so you can put "no award" above them. Since most of the shortlists were rigged by trolls this year, a lot of people didn't want any of the entries to win.

Some people are treating it as a victory over the idiot Puppy campaigns*, but it still looks like everyone loses to me.

*If you think SF fandom has "gone wrong", somehow, then maybe try picking a great book and getting behind it, instead of flooding the ballot with mediocrities and insulting and alienating the neutrals whose votes you need.

darryl · 08-23-2015, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

The awards weren't cancelled, No Award is always on the ballot. It's a preferential ballot, and it's always likely that there are some nominees you don't like, so you can put "no award" above them. Since most of the shortlists were rigged by trolls this year, a lot of people didn't want any of the entries to win.

Some people are treating it as a victory over the idiot Puppy campaigns*, but it still looks like everyone loses to me.

*If you think SF fandom has "gone wrong", somehow, then maybe try picking a great book and getting behind it, instead of flooding the ballot with mediocrities and insulting and alienating the neutrals whose votes you need.

"The members of the World Science Fiction Society rejected the slate of finalists in five categories, giving No Award".

So exactly what is it you say happened? I have no problem, for instance, if the number of no award "votes" was a majority. I also have no problem if the number of votes left in a category after the no award "votes" is very small. What is the "state of finalists" which is referred to? Why not give some meaningful detail? As I said in my previous post, I have hitherto been neutral. I will wait and see, and do hope I am wrong, but quite frankly I smell a rat here.

jgaiser · 08-23-2015, 11:32 AM

Hugo Award statistics. Both nomination numbers and final vote:

http://www.thehugoawards.org/content...Statistics.pdf

Tobias Buckell's attempt at Hugo ballot without SP/RP entries

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2015/08...ely-have-been/

darryl · 08-23-2015, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Hugo Award statistics. Both nomination numbers and final vote:

http://www.thehugoawards.org/content...Statistics.pdf

Tobias Buckell's attempt at Hugo ballot without SP/RP entries

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2015/08...ely-have-been/

Thanks for posting the figures. It appears that I was wrong in smelling a rat. A majority of voters did indeed vote for "no award" in particular categories. It is sad that this occurred, but I have nothing to complain about. We have one side nominating particular books, and apparently having the numbers to enforce their wishes at that stage. Then we have their opponents voting no award and apparently having the numbers to succeed in this. The beauty of democracy in action. It is too much to hope for people to vote on the merits of the works concerned. This award is clearly worthless at the moment. Whether it has just become so or has been for many years, I don't know.

gbm · 08-23-2015, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

The awards weren't cancelled, No Award is always on the ballot. It's a preferential ballot, and it's always likely that there are some nominees you don't like, so you can put "no award" above them. Since most of the shortlists were rigged by trolls this year, a lot of people didn't want any of the entries to win.

Some people are treating it as a victory over the idiot Puppy campaigns*, but it still looks like everyone loses to me.

*If you think SF fandom has "gone wrong", somehow, then maybe try picking a great book and getting behind it, instead of flooding the ballot with mediocrities and insulting and alienating the neutrals whose votes you need.

There where no stories nominated by Trolls, If you think so then you have a problem. You do not like a story--or any of the stories in a category--then do not vote in that category, please do not vote "no award".

I have no problems with organized campaigning for or a against a book/story, I do have a problem with organized campaigning for a "no award" especially if based on the authors politics not the merits of the story.

If I let "the politics of the author" pick my list of authors "I" like to read, it would be very short.

I hope we can leave off this

in a couple of days until next year.

bernie

jgaiser · 08-23-2015, 12:23 PM

I think that one thing we can all agree on is that something needs to be done about the nomination process. As far as the awards are concerned, they've always been a popularity contest. That said, for the most part the contest actually produced some very fine pieces of work. After three years of SP/RP manipulation, that's getting harder to do. I did try to read some of the SP/RP nominations and for the most part they just weren't that good.

Ekaros · 08-23-2015, 12:52 PM

Ah the we take our toys and go home choice was seemingly successful for them. Wonder how it does in long run.

taosaur · 08-23-2015, 01:13 PM

I'm flabbergasted to see so many people here decrying the "No Award" votes. It was the only option left to have any meaningful awards given. Even still, the only reason deserving candidates made it on the ballot in a couple categories is because the Puppies' nominees withdrew their works out of conscience.

Yes, they absolutely trolled the nominations, by rallying uninformed people from outside the fandom to invade the nomination process in support of the "culture war." Oh so coincidentally, many of the works nominated were authored by the organizer of this campaign. It was a publicity stunt propped up on delusions of some PC (Paranoid Canard) cabal, which got all the AHWs (Antisocial Hegemony Warriors) a-frothing, regardless of whether they'd ever heard of a Hugo award previously.

08-23-2015, 09:03 AM	#1
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,281 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	2015 Hugo Award winners http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/08...wards-winners/ Lots of "No Award".

08-23-2015, 10:23 AM	#5
darryl Wizard Posts: 3,108 Karma: 60231510 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7	I have not hitherto taken a personal position in the whole Sad and Rabid Puppies saga, simply because I am not familiar with enough of the Nominations/Winners over the period concerned. I will add that I read Ancillary Justice which I enjoyed and thought was a deserving winner in its category and year. I was also unimpressed with the Puppies nominations this year which I thought were very good stories but lacked that something extra which should be present to win such an Award. However, if what has happened is what I suspect has happened then I am about to side with the Puppies out of sheer disgust and the credence that the Puppies allegations have been given by the apparent conduct surrounding the cancellation of these awards. The Hugo's site at: http://www.thehugoawards.org/ states so far as relevant: The members of the World Science Fiction Society rejected the slate of finalists in five categories, giving No Award in Best Novella, Short Story, Related Work, Editor Short Form, and Editor Long Form. This equals the total number of times that WSFS members have presented No Award in the entire history of the Hugo Awards, most recently in 1977. I have had a quick look at the Constitution of WSFS and the only provision that I could find dealing specifically with the cancellation of awards in a category is as follows: Section 3.6: “No Award”. At the discretion of an individual Worldcon Committee, if the lack of nominations or final votes in a specific category shows a marked lack of interest in that category on the part of the voters, the Award in that category shall be canceled for that year. Looking at nomination and votes cast in the no award categories would seem to indicate that this rule could not apply. Alternately, there is a business meeting at each Worldcon with a quorom of 12 members physically present. Only attending as opposed to supporting members can vote at this Business Meeting. There does not seem to be any specific power given to the Business Meeting to cancel awards in particular categories though a specific power may not be necessary. There are also Standing Rules and other guidelines I have not looked at. It appears, however, that a small minority has managed to frustrate the wishes of the majority. The Minutes of this Business Meeting will also make interesting reading as that Meeting seems to have authority to alter the Constitution. If this is in fact what has happened then I am disgusted by it. A small group who consider themselves to have superior taste have apparently managed to subvert a democratic process. UPDATE: There seems to be some suggestion that large numbers of voters actually voted for no award. I don't know off the top of my head whether such a vote would even be valid. However, if this is the case it may provide a justification for the application of Rule 3.6 I quoted above. However, I think the wording of the announcement as the decision to cancel being the vote of the members rather than just the Committee concerned and the "reasons" tend to indicate that the decision was taken by the business meeting. I suppose we will have to wait and see. Last edited by darryl; 08-23-2015 at 10:48 AM. Reason: Update Addendum

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
2012 Hugo Award Winners	DMcCunney	News	25	09-10-2012 10:15 PM
2011 Hugo Award Winners	DMcCunney	News	39	08-25-2011 09:54 PM
2010 Hugo Award winners announced	DMcCunney	News	57	09-11-2010 11:17 AM
2009 Hugo Award Winners	Alexander Turcic	Reading Recommendations	23	08-15-2009 07:02 PM
2008 Hugo Award Winners	DMcCunney	News	45	08-12-2008 04:55 PM

08-23-2015, 09:53 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	So what effect did the supposed ballot rigging have in the end?

08-23-2015, 10:10 AM	#4
Shane R Fanatic Posts: 518 Karma: 4274548 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: None	Can anyone explain in easy to understand language what the whole sad puppies thing was about?

08-23-2015, 10:29 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The whole thing strikes me as ridiculous. Campaigning to support your favoured candidate is an entirely legitimate part of the electoral process. The Hugo awards have always been a popularity contest, not a mark of literary merit.

08-23-2015, 11:06 AM	#8
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,100 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	The awards weren't cancelled, No Award is always on the ballot. It's a preferential ballot, and it's always likely that there are some nominees you don't like, so you can put "no award" above them. Since most of the shortlists were rigged by trolls this year, a lot of people didn't want any of the entries to win. Some people are treating it as a victory over the idiot Puppy campaigns, but it still looks like everyone loses to me. If you think SF fandom has "gone wrong", somehow, then maybe try picking a great book and getting behind it, instead of flooding the ballot with mediocrities and insulting and alienating the neutrals whose votes you need.

08-23-2015, 11:32 AM	#10
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,281 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Hugo Award statistics. Both nomination numbers and final vote: http://www.thehugoawards.org/content...Statistics.pdf Tobias Buckell's attempt at Hugo ballot without SP/RP entries http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2015/08...ely-have-been/

08-23-2015, 12:23 PM	#13
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,281 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I think that one thing we can all agree on is that something needs to be done about the nomination process. As far as the awards are concerned, they've always been a popularity contest. That said, for the most part the contest actually produced some very fine pieces of work. After three years of SP/RP manipulation, that's getting harder to do. I did try to read some of the SP/RP nominations and for the most part they just weren't that good.

08-23-2015, 12:52 PM	#14
Ekaros Illiterate newbie Posts: 661 Karma: 1702090 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Finland Device: Sony PRS-T1	Ah the we take our toys and go home choice was seemingly successful for them. Wonder how it does in long run.

08-23-2015, 01:13 PM	#15
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	I'm flabbergasted to see so many people here decrying the "No Award" votes. It was the only option left to have any meaningful awards given. Even still, the only reason deserving candidates made it on the ballot in a couple categories is because the Puppies' nominees withdrew their works out of conscience. Yes, they absolutely trolled the nominations, by rallying uninformed people from outside the fandom to invade the nomination process in support of the "culture war." Oh so coincidentally, many of the works nominated were authored by the organizer of this campaign. It was a publicity stunt propped up on delusions of some PC (Paranoid Canard) cabal, which got all the AHWs (Antisocial Hegemony Warriors) a-frothing, regardless of whether they'd ever heard of a Hugo award previously.

Advert

Advert