Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction,rec.games.int-fiction
Path: nntp.gmd.de!news.ruhr-uni-bochum.de!news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de!news.rwth-aachen.de!newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de!hrz-ws11.hrz.uni-kassel.de!news.th-darmstadt.de!fu-berlin.de!nntp.coast.net!nntp.primenet.com!netcom.com!erkyrath
From: erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)
Subject: Re: Annual IF Awards
Message-ID: <erkyrathDxzzFE.JpJ@netcom.com>
Followup-To: rec.arts.int-fiction,rec.games.int-fiction
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
References: <DxxwJI.Ipq@canon.co.uk> <51pnmo$kd2@er5.rutgers.edu> <51s5l7$clj@ecuador.earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 20:54:50 GMT
Lines: 35
Sender: erkyrath@netcom2.netcom.com
Xref: nntp.gmd.de rec.arts.int-fiction:16491 rec.games.int-fiction:17429

Cardinal Teulbachs (cardinalt@earthlink.net) wrote:

> >>There's seems to be interest (extrapolating from a couple'a posts :-) in
> >>yearly IF awards, similar to oscars and emmies, with a similarly
> >>memorable name, like "The Floyds", rather than "The Annual IF Awards".

> I'm not so keen on this idea. I mean, I understand the sentiment it
> springs from, but any time you put authors into competition against
> one other in this way, there arises a kind of politics which has been
> heretofore happily missing from our little corner of the world. The IF
> Contest is bad enough, but it at least has the virtue of limiting its
> opinions to those who choose to be subjected to them, so I don't
> complain about it.

I tend to agree, but even more, I think that there aren't enough games 
for a yearly award. The competition worked because they were *short* 
games, and the honored readership could turn out a dozen games in a few 
months.

And categories like "Most important overall contributor?" Uh, how many 
candidates are there *other* than Graham?

> With the kind of whatever's-out-there judging you
> appear to be talking about, however, you will accomplish little more
> than creating a party line and a clique of kingmakers to service it.

I don't think it would be that extreme, but with so few games, the class 
of winners and the class of losers would be of similar size. That just 
doesn't feel right.

--Z
-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
