If we're going to ask for names of Merriweather judges to be revealed, then we need to have the names of Kerth judges revealed, don't we? But since the point of Kerth voting is that the judges (i.e. the voters, not the K-Comm) remain anonymous, I don't see why people are upset about Merriweather judges remaining anonymous.
On the other hand, I also don't see why M-Comm is upset by the use of pseudonyms by authors. In the fiction contests I've entered, I don't recall that I was required to use my real name--only to sign a statement that the submission was my own original work.
I'm also troubled by the lack of two items that are standard in RWA chapter contests. I've always received a copy of the scoresheet with all the scoring questions and my scores for each question listed by judge (identified only by number, such as J31). I don't understand the rationale for not including that information, which is extremely useful for the contestant.
I've also always received a spreadsheet which contains all the total scores for each of the entrants (identified only by entry number, such as C17), arranged in descending order by score. I understand what the M-Comm said about that, and a fun-and-games fanfic contest is certainly different than a contest for aspiring professionals who are competing for a chance to be read by an acquiring editor. Since knowing your placement in the group could be potentially hurtful, I can see that information being withheld from a contest like this. However, I don't see any reason not to tell how many submissions there were. If there aren't enough submissions to make a contest of it, set a minimum number and extend the entry date (which I've seen done in several contests) until enough submissions are received. But don't withhold reasonable information.
