And you see, it's precisely because Cheryl had won and been nominated for a Hugo in the past that she was careful to not sign her posts on TheHugoAwards.org with her own name or take anything but nominal credit for it. Oh, sure, a bunch of WSFS SMOFS — particularly MPC members and Business Meeting regulars — knew that she'd done most of the heavy lifting that made THA.org possible, but I'd say that most of her notoriety came from Emerald City and her other fanwriting. But those same SMOFS tend not to like Cheryl, so they've (IMO) convinced themselves that the only way she ever won a Hugo (including the one she won before the HAMC was formed — must have been time travel) was due to nefarious means.
Remember that when Emerald City was first nominated, there were a bunch of people screaming that it wasn't a "real" fanzine because it was published primarily online and that only ink-on-paper fanzines were "real." (Yes, I know that seems absurd today, but it was common in the early days of e-zines.) Cheryl's been collecting brickbats from hidebound traditionalists for years. I think they've convinced themselves that "Since I don't like her or her work, and I'm obviously the Standard Fan And Everything Thinks Like Me, then clearly she must be doing something illegal and Must Be Stopped."
If anyone could be accused of using THA.org to put his own name forward, it would have been me. I signed my own posts on the site and happily made much of the site's existence. And I have been known to appear in the "they also ran" lists for Fan Writer. If being a notable SMOFS with a high-profile position running the Hugo Awards Marketing Committee was an automatic ticket to a silver rocket, it would be me. But no, I got my Hugo trophy the hard way — by chairing a Worldcon that had two leftover trophies. (And even then, I've tried to "give something back" by loaning that trophy out to a library exhibit, the SF Outreach Project at WonderCon, and to this year's Hugo Award Administrator because she needed a trophy rocket to use to help evaluate base designs this year.)
It's not as though Cheryl isn't aware of potential conflicts of interest. In 2002, when she was one of the people helping run the ConJosé web site, and in particular our version of online Hugo nominating and voting, she quietly took her name out of contention because there was too much possibility of her being accused of manipulating the Hugo results by means of the online voting process. But because she didn't make a big deal about it, hardly anyone knows and doesn't give her credit for doing something that, as far as I know, no other Worldcon webmaster has ever done. (Not that there have been too many Worldcon webmasters who are past Hugo Award nominees!)
no subject
Remember that when Emerald City was first nominated, there were a bunch of people screaming that it wasn't a "real" fanzine because it was published primarily online and that only ink-on-paper fanzines were "real." (Yes, I know that seems absurd today, but it was common in the early days of e-zines.) Cheryl's been collecting brickbats from hidebound traditionalists for years. I think they've convinced themselves that "Since I don't like her or her work, and I'm obviously the Standard Fan And Everything Thinks Like Me, then clearly she must be doing something illegal and Must Be Stopped."
If anyone could be accused of using THA.org to put his own name forward, it would have been me. I signed my own posts on the site and happily made much of the site's existence. And I have been known to appear in the "they also ran" lists for Fan Writer. If being a notable SMOFS with a high-profile position running the Hugo Awards Marketing Committee was an automatic ticket to a silver rocket, it would be me. But no, I got my Hugo trophy the hard way — by chairing a Worldcon that had two leftover trophies. (And even then, I've tried to "give something back" by loaning that trophy out to a library exhibit, the SF Outreach Project at WonderCon, and to this year's Hugo Award Administrator because she needed a trophy rocket to use to help evaluate base designs this year.)
It's not as though Cheryl isn't aware of potential conflicts of interest. In 2002, when she was one of the people helping run the ConJosé web site, and in particular our version of online Hugo nominating and voting, she quietly took her name out of contention because there was too much possibility of her being accused of manipulating the Hugo results by means of the online voting process. But because she didn't make a big deal about it, hardly anyone knows and doesn't give her credit for doing something that, as far as I know, no other Worldcon webmaster has ever done. (Not that there have been too many Worldcon webmasters who are past Hugo Award nominees!)