I posted one or two on this board with that moniker because I knew the stories wuldn't be read if people knew who the author was.
You *knew* that, did you? And just how did you know that, Cindy? When did you crawl inside my head - and inside the head of every other person who reads stories on these boards - to know what stories by what authors we are or aren't going to read?
Cindy, I don't agree with everything that you have posted on this or any other board. You can probably say the same about me. But that hasn't stopped me from reading many of your stories, and enjoying them. There are some that I just love: Bungee Jumping, My Other Secret Identity, Smile, and Forever leap to mind right away. If you care to check, you'll find that I did post a comment for My Other Secret Identity, and that was certainly
after I knew who you were.
So am I such a unique individual that I'm one of the only ones in FoLCdom who is capable of reading the work of an author that they don't personally get along with? I doubt that.
And your statement, to me at least, is a classic example of one of the concerns raised with the initial announcement of the Merriweather Awards: that previously "published" stories could be entered. How could we trust a judge to fairly adjudicate a story if he/she recognized it as a story written by someone they disliked?
People came on and pointed out how there are over 2000 stories on the Archive and that there would be no way that a judge could remember every one. Well, that's true enough.
But let's say that
I had been a judge in this round. I had read Jenni's, Meredith's, and Paul's story (and Laura U's as well, even though her story never did get judged). I believe I would have recognized all of them, and I can assure that I would have recognized Paul's instantly. I remember it very well. Even with the author's name, title, and any other identifiers stripped from it, I would have known it was Paul's story.
And now say that I bore a personal grudge against Paul. People claimed that even if a judge did recognize a story and "disliked" the author, that they would still be able to judge fairly. Perhaps. I would like to think that I could have in that situation.
However, Cindy insinuates that a person can't even bear to read a fic by someone we don't get along with, so how can a person be trusted to judge it fairly?
Something to bear in mind...
Kathy
