That is very sad - you deserve those nominations.

I know from sideline involvement in the similar process over here with the similar Sir Julius Vogel's that there is a lot of pushing and pulling around categories and things do get moved and dropped. But never after public release - that is just wrong.

I'm sorry that you've experienced this disappointment, but I also think it's a shame that you were hoping for a nomination in the first place. Awards were not your reason for creating ASiF and they are not an appropriate indicator of your success. That you have achieved a nomination in ASiF's first year is remarkable. Please don't expect too much too soon, or let something like this stop you from enjoying the participation and support that you have generated in the community through your project.

I had no idea what you were talking about so I went and checked it out and omg I am raging on your behalf. Thats so mean!

*giggle* plus I figured out your real name from looking at the noms... not that you wouldn't have told me if I'd just asked

Umm, how can nobody be eligible for the Fan Achievement award?

OK, first, I agree that its unprofessional to not check the ballot properly before it was released. It would have been more unprofessional to go through the whole process with it incorrect, especially if it meant ruling some things out at the final ballot. But it would have been better to have not told people incorrect categories in the first place.

Second, I am going to say that I am part of the committee that suggested the changes to the ballot. That doesn't mean I agreed with all the changes personally, but I am in a position to explain the changes. I can say there was no bias or personal intent, and all changes were made after discussion between a whole committee. Changes were made on the basis of eligibility only - imagine if a large number of people had nominated a short story for novel, should we leave the story in the wrong category just because that was the popular choice for nomination? Decisions were made with similar reasoning.

The reason why you aren't eligible for fan achievement is very simple. The fan achievement category is defined in the rules as being for achievements 'not eligible in existing categories'. So, if you are eligible for fan production, you are therefore logically not eligible for fan achievement.

I know its disappointing.

I wasn't aware that Ben had much against the Ditmars, his beef was with the AAs I thought. The Ditmars are run by fans, and in this case they are being run by fans who have never done it before. Its a screw up, but they are in a difficult position.

Short story/novel is a strange case, but if it was something more easily confused, like short story/novella, I think votes for one category should count as votes in the other. For example, 100 votes for Aspect Hunter (from Daikaiju, one of the things I voted for) as a short story should just be transferred to it as a novella.

I don't know if that happened here, but if nominations have just been thrown out because of confusion, I think you have grounds for complaint.

Also, did they write and explain the decision to you, or re-release the ballot paper and let you discover you had been dropped? Because that would be rather awful.

I was just thinking this morning we should get round to voting. But that sort of thing may change my mind. Commiserations.

Thanks for the clarification.

There are two committees - the Ditmar subcommittee, and the natcon standing committee. The Natcon standing committee was the one that recommended the changes, but we only found out about the nominations at the same time as everyone else.

The short story vs novel was just to illustrate that the correct category is the correct category no matter what the vote - some of the mistakes made were not so obvious, and were missed.

I sort of see the logic of Fan Production being only things not eligible in other categories... and I could even be convinced that ASiF isn't a Fanzine (I wasn't sure which categories it best suited which is why, like many others evidently, I nominated it in several categories). But this is a lousy way to do it - rereleasing the ballot without making it clear what has changed and why, or contacting you personally to explain.

And by the way, Ticonderoga Online isn't a fanzine either! They pay for fiction.

putting the past president on the committee isn't really practical - the ditmar committee is usually a sub-committee of the natcon committee, which changes every year and can be from very different states, groups of people, etc - but I think I will be recommending that the natcon standing committe (which usually does include the previous natcon chair) should have a chance to vet any nominations before they go out.

You have my sympathy; it must be very disappointing to have this happen. But rest assured, regardless of awards, ASif! is a terrific achievement and I for one really appreciate the time you put into it. Respect!

It is unfortunate they didn't warn you first, or attempt to explain the situation to you...

The removal of Fan achievement makes sense, as others have noted, if it's an award only for stuff that doesn't get recognised elsewhere. Will be interested to hear why it was dropped from the fanzine category though...

I doubt it was anything personal, though you're right to be miffed at the way it was handled...

but as others have said, you should be very proud to be on there... and you know, the fact that the site originally made the nominations for three different categories would seem to indicate it's pretty popular, to get enough support with a split vote!

It sounds like a big mess although the number one thing to keep in mind is that ASif! rocks and I, for one, feel privileged to be working alongside you cause you rock too!

(When was the last time the best film of the year won the Oscars or the best album won a Grammy?)

I know exactly what you mean! ;-)

Please don't be too harsh on the Ditmar subcommittee, despite your misgivings - they are a very stressful thing to run, no one is getting paid to do it, and mistakes are going to happen if you haven't coordinated a set of awards before.

True.