SMOF News, volume 3, issue 47

Inept fraudulent voting at Worldcon, looking at new WSFS business inspired by Chengdu, and news in brief.

Fake Hugo Voters Detected

Glasgow 2024, this year’s World Science Fiction Convention (Glasgow, August 8-12) has released a statement about its detection and removal of ballots cast under false names. In part:

A large number of votes in 2024 were cast by accounts which fail to meet the criteria of being “natural persons”, with obvious fake names and/or other disqualifying characteristics. These included, for instance, a run of voters whose second names were identical except that the first letter was changed, in alphabetical order; and a run of voters whose names were translations of consecutive numbers. 

Many of these votes favoured one finalist in particular, who we will call Finalist A.

…

In addition to patterns observable in the data, we received a confidential report that at least one person had sponsored the purchase of WSFS memberships by large numbers of individuals, who were refunded the cost of membership after confirming that they had voted as the sponsor wished.

The ballots involved have been removed from the final vote counts. Finalist A will not be named, as the committee has no evidence that they were involved in or aware of the block-voting effort.

There are precedents for Hugo administrators removing block-vote attempts even when everyone involved is a verifiable real person. The point that many of these members were not “natural persons”, however, may be relevant to another kind of voting.

Rumored Write-In Campaign for 2026 Worldcon

There is currently only one official bid to hold the 2026 World Science Fiction Convention, LA in 2026 (actually for Anaheim). However, rumors are now circulating of a write-in bid to take Worldcon back to China.

If such a campaign exists, it may face two hurdles. The first is that even a write-in bid must officially file documents before the close of voting. Section 4.6.1 of the constitution of the World Science Fiction Society (PDF) sets out the requirements:

(1) an announcement of intent to bid;

(2) adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed site’s facilities, such as a conditional contract or a letter of agreement;

(3) the rules under which the Worldcon Committee will operate, including a specification of the term of office of their chief executive officer or officers and the conditions and procedures for the selection and replacement of such officer or officers.

Given the Chengdu Worldcon’s late change of venue, this year’s site selection administrator might well demand to see a full contract before declaring a bid officially filed.

The second problem, if the fake members voting for the Hugos are also part of this bid, is that section 4.3 explicitly bans “non-natural persons” from voting anything but “No Preference”.

People intending to attend a 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim are encouraged to vote in any case.

WSFS Meeting Agenda Posted… Mostly

This week has also seen the posting of the agenda for the WSFS Business Meeting to be held at the Glasgow Worldcon. This would ordinarily include all new proposals submitted for consideration, but the agenda begins with the explanation of a dilemma:

Two of the items submitted to the Business Meeting are motions of censure regarding the 2023 Hugo Awards which make statements about the administration of the 2023 Hugo Awards and the persons involved. We are concerned that publication of these items, as well as public debate about them in Glasgow 2024 spaces, will bring us out of compliance with Scottish libel and defamation law and expose Glasgow 2024, the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), and/or its members to significant legal liability.

The parliamentary workaround is to treat them as motions to form disciplinary committees which will report to next year’s Worldcon in Seattle.

In addition to a bunch of proposals passed along from last year for ratification, and typical business like committee reports and eligibility extensions, this year’s agenda has a wide variety of new proposals, mostly inspired by fallout from revelations about the 2023 Hugo Awards and wider debates about the governance of WSFS. The main themes are:

• Addressing the specific individuals involved in the 2023 Hugo scandal. D.11 and D.12 are the unprinted censure motions. D.13 is an official apology to the creators of the unjustly disqualified works.

• Limiting the discretion of the Hugo administrator. F.5 would require explanations for all disqualifications. F.7 would simply ban any disqualifications for any reason other than local law, and allow Retro Hugo voting if the new rule is broken. F.8 similiarly tries to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate disqualifications, with illegitimate categories made eligible for Retro Hugos. F.9 would ban administrators responsible for illegitimate disqualification from ever administering them again.

• Speaking of the Retro Hugos… F.19 would end the Retro Hugos after 2026. F.20 would retain them and shorten the required interval before they could be held for a given year.

• Revamping the Mark Protection Committee and its relationship to WSFS. The MPC is a permanent committee which controls the intellectual property of WSFS, such as the Hugo Awards name.
  
  Small changes include F.3, which calls for the MPC to issue explicit written licenses to use the WSFS IP; D.8, a request from the MPC to increase its funding; and F.4, expanding the formalized procedures to provide for more meetings and a way to officially expel members of the MPC.
  
  F.6 calls for removal of the MPC and all Hugo voting administration into a separate corporation, supported by licensing fees.

• Revamping the Hugo voting process. D.10 would establish a committee to evaluate and recommend possible changes.
  
  F.10 suggests a Software Advisory Committee to force Hugo administrators to use specific software and a Hugo Oversight Committee, with representatives from US and European creator associations, that can dismiss a given year’s Hugo administrators and force the Hugos to be delayed a year. F.11 proposes a weaker body that would simply observe Hugo and site selection voting, and report back to the Business Meeting.

• Restricting site selection. F.12 attempts to narrow who is eligible to vote for future Worldcon sites. F.13 instead requires prospective sites to meet benchmarks on specified indexes of freedom and democracy, to keep local governments or laws from interfering with the normal operations of Worldcon. (Scotland, where local law has now actually interfered with the normal operations of Worldcon, passes these benchmarks easily.)

• Opening up the Business Meeting for more participation. C.4 would allow proxy voting. F.15 calls for additional business meetings to be held outside of Worldcon. F.14 proposes a mechanism for ratification of proposals by the full membership of Worldcon. D.9 simply calls for a committee to be formed to suggest improvements.

In Brief

• Retro World Expo (Hartford, Connecticut, August 23-25) has added Bob Neal, Macho Nacho Productions, and Caleb Ashton as guests.

• Spooky Empire (Charleston, South Carolina, August 23-25) has added Adam Green and Joe Lynch as guests.

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 23-25) has added Andy Serkis as a guest.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Geena Davis, Corbin Bleu, Katey Sagal, Maria Zhang, and Ian Ousley as guests.

• Cincinnati Comic Expo (Cincinnati, Ohio, October 18-20) has added Alison Sealy-Smith, George Buza, Howard Chaykin, and Bart Sears as guests.

• Trek Long Island (Hauppauge, New York, May 30-June 1) has added Susan Sackett as a guest.

• Seattle Worldcon 2025 (Seattle, Washington, August 13-17, 2025) has named Brandon O’Brien as its Poet Laureate.

Event Calendar

Weekend of July 26-28

• Confluence 2024, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA

• NärCon 2024, Linköping, Sweden

• Aurawra (anthropomorphic), Sydney, Australia

• Continuum (gaming), Cranfield, UK

• Fling.con (gaming), Schertz, Texas, USA

• Board Game Days, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Go Play NW 2024 (gaming), Seattle, Washington, USA

• World Boardgaming Championships, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA

• GriffCon24 (miniatures gaming), Harlow, UK

• Epic42 With Intel (LAN gaming), Kettering, UK

• Dream Con (anime), Austin, Texas, USA

• AnimeFest, Arlington, Texas, USA

• AnimeCom: Entertainment District Arc, Kingston, Jamaica

• Wasabicon PDX (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA

• AnimeIowa, Coralville, Iowa, USA

• OokiiSoraCon (anime), Helena, Montana, USA

• Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA

• Advík 2024 (anime), Prague, Czechia

• AFA Creators Super Fest 2024 (anime), Singapore

• Pretty Heroes (female-centered anime), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Comic-Con International, San Diego, California, USA

• Shore Leave 44 (media), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

• Alias Entertainment Expo: Battle Arena (media), Tunapuna, Trinidad & Tobago

• Corpus Christi Comic Con, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

• GalaxyCon Raleigh (media), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

• Comic Con Manchester, Manchester, UK

• MegaCon Live Manchester (media), Manchester, UK

• GalaCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Waiblingen, Germany

Weekend of August 2-4

• Diversicon 31/Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• AMA-CON, Amarillo, Texas, USA

• PulpFest 2024, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK

• CanFURence 2024: As Seen On TV (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Gen Con 2024 (gaming), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• StarCon (gaming), Rye, New Hampshire, USA

• 24 Hour Board Game Marathon, Ilminster, UK

• AnimagiC (anime), Mannheim, Germany

• Anime Town Louisiana, Gonzales, Louisiana, USA

• Otakon (anime), Washington, DC, USA

• Otakuthon (anime), Montréal, Québec, Canada

• Otakukon 2024: Chuunin Exams (anime), Harare, Zimbabwe

• Really Cool Comic Con, Flint, Michigan, USA

• Bell County Comic Con, Belton, Texas, USA

• Enid Comic Con, Enid, Oklahoma, USA

• Monster-Mania 59 (horror media), Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

• STLV: 58-Year Mission (Star Trek), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Starfleet International Conference 2024 (Star Trek), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• CybFest NW (Transformers), Kent, Washington, USA

Weekend of August 9-11

• Geek Out at Staten Island, Staten Island, New York, USA

• Key City Steampunk Convention: Steampunk Noir, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

• Furrydelphia (anthropomorphic), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

• HandyCon Lucky 13 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK

• Game & Party Con, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

• Pixel Con (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Long Island Retro Gaming Expo (video games), Garden City, New York, USA

• Fragapalooza 2024 (LAN gaming), Leduc, Alberta

• Utah Retro GameXpo 2024 (retro video games), Davis, Utah, USA

• Grand Tribunal (Ars Magica RPG), Cheltenham, UK

• AniNite 24 (anime), Vienna, Austria

• AniBash (anime), Rochester, New York, USA

• Abunai!: Kitsune Matsuri (anime), Veldhoven, Netherlands

• Queen City Anime Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Anime 414, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Anime Revolution, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Anime-zing!, Rock Island, Illinois, USA

• Animethon 2024, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Mid City Micro-Con (comics), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

• Comic Market 104 (fan comics), Tokyo, Japan

• Wicked Comic Con, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Fandom Fest 2024 (media), Schenectady, New York, USA

• D23 Expo (official Disney), Anaheim, California, USA

• TFNation (Transformers), Birmingham, UK

Weekend of August 16-18

• Epic Nerd Camp, Darlington, Maryland, USA

• NecronomiCon Providence 2024 (H. P. Lovecraft), Providence, Rhode Island, USA

• Furdance Budapest (anthropomorphic), Budapest, Hungary

• Argentina FurFiesta (anthropomorphic), Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Texas Furry Siesta 2024: Walk On the Wild Side (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Dragonflight Gamecon, Bellevue, Washington, USA

• Coulee Con (gaming), La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

• Lone Star Game Expo, Grapevine, Texas, USA

• Field of Games, Silverstone, UK

• Phoenix Con (gaming), Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

• Gratislavia (gaming), Wrocław, Poland

• MaricopaCon 2024 (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• HistoriKC Fest: Midwest Madness (historical boardgaming), Olathe, Kansas, USA

• Nashcon (miniatures gaming), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Tokonatsu (anime), Henlow, UK

• Hikari (anime), Poznań, Poland

• Shikkaricon (anime), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

• Colossalcon Texas (anime), Round Rock, Texas, USA

• RakuCon Manchester (anime), Manchester, UK

• Stars of Time (media), Weston-super-Mare, UK

• TERRIFICON (media), Uncasville, Connecticut, USA

• RisuCon (media), Rockville, Maryland, USA

• Fan Expo Chicago (media), Rosemont, Illinois, USA

• Fairfax Comic Con, Chantilly, Virginia, USA

• Station Unity 2024 (media), National Harbor, Maryland, USA

• UniCon 2024 (media), Riga, Latvia

• Flame Con X (LGBT+ media), New York City, New York, USA

Weekend of August 23-25

• Bubonicon 55, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

• Dni Fantastyki, Wrocław, Poland

• OutsideCon 2024, Burns, Tennessee, USA

• Camp Feral!: Business Casual (anthropomorphic), Algonquin Park, Ontario

• IndyFurCon: Monsters vs. Mechas (anthropomorphic), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• DenFur (anthropomorphic), Denver, Colorado, USA

• Weekend at the Asylum (steampunk), Lincoln, UK

• Northeast Ohio Steampunk Festival, Burton, Ohio, USA

• MillCon 3 (music), Peterborough, UK

• FallCon 37 (gaming), Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Tacticon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA

• Brussels Games Festival, Brussels, Belgium

• Norwich Games Con, Norwich, UK

• Retro World Expo (gaming), Hartford, Connecticut, USA

• Great Escape on the Lake (gaming), Bradford, New York, USA

• CrashCityCon (gaming), Roanoke, Virginia, USA

• 2D Con: Survival (video games), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Windblume (Genshin Impact), Mesquite, Texas, USA

• Kokorokon (anime), Collinsville, Illinois, USA

• Superstar Anime, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

• Conjutsu (anime), Fairfax, Virginia, USA

• PopCult Anime Con, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

• Ganbatte 2024 (anime), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

• Fan Expo Canada (media), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention, Tampa, Florida, USA

• Dublin Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland

• Hub City Comic Con, Lubbock, Texas, USA

• Soda City Comic Con, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• Covington Comic Con, Covington, Tennessee, USA

• Long Island Doctor Who Convention, Holtsville, New York, USA

• Everfree NW (My Little Pony), Bellevue, Washington, USA

Coda

• LEGO made from meteorite dust (The Register)

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