Worldcon Groundhog Day

Another year another Worldcon approaches and another set of controversies about how the supposedly highlight of the SF calendar organises itself arrive.

This year would never have been normal thanks to the COVID epidemic and what would have been a con in New Zealand has turned into a virtual online con. I was never going to attend New Zealand and cannot justify for loved ones staying online all weekend so I just declare from the outset I’m mainly a Hugo voter this year but I’m always interested how fandom itself works or perhaps doesn’t.

Issue 1 - Award nominees not getting any/many suitable slots on Worldcon panels. Yes this may sounds a bit familiar already but quite a few Hugo nominees found they were getting no/few or very unsuitable slots on panels either not related to their speciality or more troubling those who are black or people of colour being given very little or few slots. A group of nominees signed a open letter to the Worldcon here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UNlCm4aNr62qNGRVw1z_ysTwosRcKWUzpURDf0h8lVg/mobilebasic and while the organisers announced a series of measures to refund or do better in the future it’s clear not much is changing as it’s too late.

Now this may sounds familiar but let’s see way back in the summer of erm 2018 SAN José has a a similar issue with the scheduling and lack of diversity and through some serious effort made amends but hey lessons would be learned. Ahem.

I recall a Facebook message saying Worldcon teams really really worked hard to learn from previous teams. Well I’m not sure that is being handled very well I note there is a ongoing body to help assist cons - there have been over seventy Worldcon so you’d think it wouldn’t be hard to have assembled a better way of ensuring lessons learned such as number of guests or perhaps there is a secret lessons learned folder passed in secret and it got mistranslated this time from the original Klingon. Well let’s hope next time that gets better.

If that feels unkind then it’s because I notice one counter argument for this is there are just too many damn categories and nominees these days. Not like in the old days when we threw famous writers in the swimming pool you young whippersnappers. Pardon me for looking at the old timers with a look of less than fond exasperation . It’s not hard to know how many likely nominees there are and indeed you could simply ask as voting closes what are the expected numbers not even identities of the panel and build around that. You could also have some minimum standards on diversity on panels but hey you just say fandom is too big and varied to how it was in the day.

Issue 2 - and to be fair this one could have been spotted earlier and perhaps speaks to the relative privilege of Worldcon audiences. We have two bids for 2022’s Worldcon and one is in the US and one is in Saudi Arabia. I’m sure the Saudi group are a lovely committed group of SF fans but the fact remains that in Saudi Arabia LGBT rights are non existent and actually a crime. Some have now raised concerns that as this bid vote approaches is this really a suitable place for any SF world convention where many guests and attendees would be viewed as effectively breaking the law by virtue of existing. apparently such a view is controversial and shows a clear lack of understanding about how Worldcon works you young whippersnappers.

Counterargument 1 - let they without sin cast the first stone

Some sympathy for this as the U.K. and US the areas most likely to have conventions are both run by awful governments and quite conservatives. Setting rules makes us hypoctical.

True but the fact remains the largest part of Worldcon voters are hey wouldn’t you know from the US and U.K. in fact looking at who gets nominated for Hugo awards….so perhaps being a little more honest with ourselves that yes we accept this is where our narrow definition of SF largely resides but we are open to other places if they meet certain standards.

Counterargument 2 - it’s the will of the people

Hey don’t worry because the voting will prevent this. You want get any horrible voting results through democracy - looks to camera. Yes don’t worry because a sophisticated electorate would never let this happen…looks to camera.

New Zealand won with just over 600 votes in a round of 700 in a con that was circa 5 or 6 thousand people. It’s not exactly universal suffrage. It’s not like the voting at Worldcon has been hijacked by special interest groups for at least two or three years now how on earth could that happen again…again.

Counterargument 3 - hey anyone can bid so why don’t you put your money where your mouth is.

OK I hold my hand up I don’t want to run a convention. My day job is taxing enough but I think this is hugely disingenuous of the proponents of this view. Worldcon is designed to be run by a different group each year.

Yes the WORLD conventions advice for future bidders is here all http://www.wsfs.org/committees/worldcon-runners-guide/

but it’s not exactly helpful is it? What do Worldcon do to promote getting other countries and fandoms to bid? These things aren’t cheap. Do they offer actual critique and support? Technical advice? I don’t know and looking say at the advice on a programming I can’t see anything about diversity in it?

If I sound less than gracious in this blog I apologise but my anger is that I read the Worldcon Constitution and there are whole pages devoted to what is or is not a Hugo award; protection of Worldcon Marks but I couldn’t see diversity or free speech being protected.

A genre that is supposed to be progressive once again shows some shortcomings and I’m very tired of hearing from people who are in privileged positions in fandom that this is how it is. They were very happy that younger groups supported them to get out of the Sad Puppies debacle that an ossified Worldcon approach had led to them hijacking now those people are pointing out some problems with the Worldcon they seem to be pointed the other way and say please be quiet you don’t understand the ways of the Worldcon. Come to us once a year at the business meeting in person and not like we would have this regularly through virtual meetings but then we shall listen to you and we shall like the Ents moot and decide what to do. By the way why aren’t fanzines in PDF? Let’s not forget the John W Campbell award did change quickly but only after a blistering speech at the awards ceremony when a little bit of thought and discussion could have amended this years ago.

Here is the test if Saudi Arabia weirdly did win - what exactly would happen? The rules say nothing - so unless Fandom once again pulls together and effectively awards No Convention is we don’t go then there is little to stop an embarrassing, uncomfortable and divisive moment in SF