Hugo Disappointment

[kevin_standlee]

Although Lisa was not planning on nominating very much for this year's Hugo Awards, because she has not seen or read very much, she was nevertheless quite disappointed to receive today her copy of the 2017 Hugo Awards ballot, mailed with her progress report from Helsinki on February 13. I assume that Worldcon 75 did not make arrangements for mailing from the US as some past non-US Worldcons have done. In any case, it's too late. There is no way Lisa could have filled out a ballot and got it in the mail fast enough to make the deadline, which is Friday. And no, she won't fill out a ballot online, on principle. Besides, because she doesn't have e-mail, the only way she could have done an online ballot would have been to read her choices to me for me to fill in to a ballot on her behalf.

If the stats come back with an announcement that "there were no paper ballots," this mailing schedule might be the reason why.

Comments

[stevendj.livejournal.com]

She could also have voted by downloading and printing a paper ballot, or having someone download and print a paper ballot for her.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

While it is true that she could do those things, this makes the assumption that every person has a computer and internet access, does it not?

[stevendj.livejournal.com]

No, it makes the assumption that everyone either has a computer and Internet access, or has a friend or acquaintance with a computer and Internet access. Someone whose "principles" would extend so far as to be unwilling to permit others to use computers and Internet access on their behalf is, IMHO, behaving unreasonably.

It also makes the assumption that people who are interested in voting on the Hugos are generally familiar with the Hugo voting schedule, and will mildly exert themselves in the case of missing or delayed mail; a slightly less valid assumption as applied to the existing situation, given that the Hugo deadline is earlier than last year (but still later than some previous years).

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

Sigh. I guess we should have realized they were marching toward that failure by mailing the PRs from Finland and said something earlier. I'm betting there are people who haven't even received their PRs yet (raises hand; not that I usually nominate and I could online).

[(Anonymous)]

You can always go to your local public library for internet and printing access.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

You'd have to already know that Worldcon had decided that members without internet access aren't really "people" and can be ignored.

[(Anonymous)]

Come on... Join the 21st century! Don't people really have access to computers at e.g. community centers or libraries or yes indeed with a help of a friend or family member? If someone is reluctant to get e.g. a gmail address but would still like to vote for Hugos, well, too bad. If I sound unfeeling, I'm sorry. It's that even my 78-year-old mother who is not technologically savvy has an email account, a computer and internet access and knows how to use them even if she really does not like it, and she is not really that well off financially

There are costs and complications for organizing for mailing paper progress reports from the US. I'm not sure that it would have been really worth it anyway...

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Okay, so your position is "If you do not have internet access, you're irrelevant and shouldn't even participate in Worldcon." Is that correct?