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brad-torgersen [2021/08/28 18:54]
127.0.0.1 external edit 		brad-torgersen [2021/08/30 01:04] (current)
nonnymousely Redlink fixing. Not sure that the winterfox solution will last longerm.
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 //I'm starting to think this whole tale Brad Torgersen is telling about how he and the puppies are the lone freedom fighters waging an against-all-odds battle the Trufan oppressors is actually a piece of performance art. I may nominate it for Best Dramatic Presentation next year. -- //Nonnie [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134519.html?thread=702485879#cmt70248|discussing]] Torgersen's defense of the Sad Puppies. //I'm starting to think this whole tale Brad Torgersen is telling about how he and the puppies are the lone freedom fighters waging an against-all-odds battle the Trufan oppressors is actually a piece of performance art. I may nominate it for Best Dramatic Presentation next year. -- //Nonnie [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134519.html?thread=702485879#cmt70248|discussing]] Torgersen's defense of the Sad Puppies.
  
-[[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/about/|Brad R. Torgersen]] is a science fiction author. His work has received some critical acclaim; he has been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_R._Torgersen|nominated]] for prominent science fiction awards such as the Nebula and the Campbell, and he won the Writers of the Future contest in 2009. However, meme's interest in him primarily stems from his integral role in the [[w/page/95875079/Hugopocalypse|Hugopocalypse]], when he led several right-wing authors and editors in a successful attempt to fill up the 2015 Hugo ballot with a handpicked slate that pushed all other works off the ballot. Torgersen made several outrageous statements in defense of the slate nominees (as well as slates as a whole), which meme has dissected.+[[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/about/|Brad R. Torgersen]] is a science fiction author. His work has received some critical acclaim; he has been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_R._Torgersen|nominated]] for prominent science fiction awards such as the Nebula and the Campbell, and he won the Writers of the Future contest in 2009. However, meme's interest in him primarily stems from his integral role in the [[Hugopocalypse]], when he led several right-wing authors and editors in a successful attempt to fill up the 2015 Hugo ballot with a handpicked slate that pushed all other works off the ballot. Torgersen made several outrageous statements in defense of the slate nominees (as well as slates as a whole), which meme has dissected.
  
 He is also a Chief Warrant Officer in the US Army Reserve. Nonnies discussed his military status [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134016.html?thread=699511168#cmt699511168|here]].  He is also a Chief Warrant Officer in the US Army Reserve. Nonnies discussed his military status [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134016.html?thread=699511168#cmt699511168|here]]. 
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 The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award|Hugos]] are a set of prestigious awards in the field of fantasy and science fiction. They are awarded by popular vote; anyone who pays a nominal fee can nominate up to 5 works or people in each of several categories (such as Best Novel, Best Short Story, and Best Professional Artist), and the top 5 nominees in each category are placed on the final ballot. Voters then rank the nominees for each category in order to determine the winner. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award|Hugos]] are a set of prestigious awards in the field of fantasy and science fiction. They are awarded by popular vote; anyone who pays a nominal fee can nominate up to 5 works or people in each of several categories (such as Best Novel, Best Short Story, and Best Professional Artist), and the top 5 nominees in each category are placed on the final ballot. Voters then rank the nominees for each category in order to determine the winner.
  
-In 2013, fellow author Larry Correia announced that the Hugos had a insular bias; people who were popular among the tiny subset of fandom which were Hugo voters kept getting nominated, he claimed, even though their works weren't really popular in fandom as a whole. To change this, he [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/01/08/how-to-get-correia-nominated-for-a-hugo/|announced]] an effort to get one of his novels on the ballot; the idea was that it was a good work but was being unfairly shut out because he wasn't friends with the big-name fans at Worldcon (the convention where the Hugos are presented). He [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/01/16/how-to-get-correia-nominated-for-a-hugo-part-2-a-very-special-message/|christened]] this effort the 'Sad Puppies' on the basis that puppies would be very sad if good authors continued to be denied Hugos. Unfortunately for him, this effort [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/04/01/the-sad-puppies-hugo-campaign-sorta-successful-for-everybody-but-me/|failed]] and his novel did not reach the final ballot. So he [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/01/14/sad-puppies-2-the-illustrated-edition/|tried again]] in 2014, [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/03/25/my-hugo-slate/|recommending]] several works as part of the Sad Puppies 2 campaign. These included two of Torgersen's as well as one of his own and one of noted lunatic [[w/page/81478085/Vox%20Day|Vox Day]]'s, though no more than 2 per category. Many of the slate works [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/04/20/a-blow-has-been-struck-against-puppy-related-sadness/|got on the]] ballot (but not the two that were ineligible; Correia didn't do a very good job of vetting them), but they were [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/08/18/hugo-aftermath-post/|crushed]] in the final vote, and non-Puppy works won all the awards.+In 2013, fellow author Larry Correia announced that the Hugos had a insular bias; people who were popular among the tiny subset of fandom which were Hugo voters kept getting nominated, he claimed, even though their works weren't really popular in fandom as a whole. To change this, he [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/01/08/how-to-get-correia-nominated-for-a-hugo/|announced]] an effort to get one of his novels on the ballot; the idea was that it was a good work but was being unfairly shut out because he wasn't friends with the big-name fans at Worldcon (the convention where the Hugos are presented). He [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/01/16/how-to-get-correia-nominated-for-a-hugo-part-2-a-very-special-message/|christened]] this effort the 'Sad Puppies' on the basis that puppies would be very sad if good authors continued to be denied Hugos. Unfortunately for him, this effort [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2013/04/01/the-sad-puppies-hugo-campaign-sorta-successful-for-everybody-but-me/|failed]] and his novel did not reach the final ballot. So he [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/01/14/sad-puppies-2-the-illustrated-edition/|tried again]] in 2014, [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/03/25/my-hugo-slate/|recommending]] several works as part of the Sad Puppies 2 campaign. These included two of Torgersen's as well as one of his own and one of noted lunatic [[vox-day|Vox Day]]'s, though no more than 2 per category. Many of the slate works [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/04/20/a-blow-has-been-struck-against-puppy-related-sadness/|got on the]] ballot (but not the two that were ineligible; Correia didn't do a very good job of vetting them), but they were [[http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/08/18/hugo-aftermath-post/|crushed]] in the final vote, and non-Puppy works won all the awards.
  
 With Correia having failed twice, Torgersen [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/announcing-sad-puppies-3/|took over]] the Sad Puppies efforts for 2015 and started by asking for recommendations in the comments of his original Sad Puppies 3 post. [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/category/tornadoes-in-teacups/sad-puppies-3/page/4/|Agreeing]] with Correia's view that Worldcon had become too insular and was nominating the same old favorites every year, he claimed that the Puppies would shake things up by getting new, popular works onto the ballot. Their presence would, he said, encourage more fans to come to Worldcon, since they would see works that they liked being honored (instead of stuff only the graying Worldcon regulars cared for). He also had a [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/how-you-can-aid-the-valiant-sad-puppies-3-campaign/|logo]] made for the project. With Correia having failed twice, Torgersen [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/announcing-sad-puppies-3/|took over]] the Sad Puppies efforts for 2015 and started by asking for recommendations in the comments of his original Sad Puppies 3 post. [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/category/tornadoes-in-teacups/sad-puppies-3/page/4/|Agreeing]] with Correia's view that Worldcon had become too insular and was nominating the same old favorites every year, he claimed that the Puppies would shake things up by getting new, popular works onto the ballot. Their presence would, he said, encourage more fans to come to Worldcon, since they would see works that they liked being honored (instead of stuff only the graying Worldcon regulars cared for). He also had a [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/how-you-can-aid-the-valiant-sad-puppies-3-campaign/|logo]] made for the project.
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 Torgersen was [[http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/5293256.html|roundly mocked]] (including by [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131034.html?thread=680550362#cmt68055|meme]]) as people tore apart his analogy and also discussed how his complaint was, literally, that one could no longer judge books by their covers. A parody twitter feed was also created ([[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690518619#cmt690518619|meme discussion]]). Torgersen was [[http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/5293256.html|roundly mocked]] (including by [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131034.html?thread=680550362#cmt68055|meme]]) as people tore apart his analogy and also discussed how his complaint was, literally, that one could no longer judge books by their covers. A parody twitter feed was also created ([[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690518619#cmt690518619|meme discussion]]).
  
-In any event, the Sad Puppies (and their companions, the Rabid Puppies, led by [[w/page/81478085/Vox%20Day|Vox Day]] who copied Brad's slate and added a few nominees of his own) did manage to [[http://www.jasonsanford.com/blog/2015/3/yes-the-sad-puppies-campaign-swept-the-hugo-awards|sweep]] the ballot. Their victory was slightly weakened when several authors withdrew, either feeling that their placement was illegitimate or just not wanting to be associated with Torgersen and Day, but enough remained that most categories were dominated by the Puppy nominees.+In any event, the Sad Puppies (and their companions, the Rabid Puppies, led by [[vox-day|Vox Day]] who copied Brad's slate and added a few nominees of his own) did manage to [[http://www.jasonsanford.com/blog/2015/3/yes-the-sad-puppies-campaign-swept-the-hugo-awards|sweep]] the ballot. Their victory was slightly weakened when several authors withdrew, either feeling that their placement was illegitimate or just not wanting to be associated with Torgersen and Day, but enough remained that most categories were dominated by the Puppy nominees.
  
 Torgersen, upon hearing complaints about the slate (such as Jason Sanford's [[http://www.jasonsanford.com/blog/2015/3/yes-the-sad-puppies-campaign-swept-the-hugo-awards|decrying]] of slate tactics), [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/sad-puppies-visual-numbers-and-who-gets-to-be-a-real-fan/|declared]] that people were just trying to rule that he and the other Puppies were not true fans. He [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/former-tor-editor-still-longs-to-gatekeep-the-field/|decided]] to come up with a new name to describe people that wanted to gatekeeper the Puppies out, eventually [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/chorf-its-a-word-now/|settling]] on Cliquish, Holier-than-thou, Obnoxious, Reactionary Fans, or CHORFs.  Torgersen, upon hearing complaints about the slate (such as Jason Sanford's [[http://www.jasonsanford.com/blog/2015/3/yes-the-sad-puppies-campaign-swept-the-hugo-awards|decrying]] of slate tactics), [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/sad-puppies-visual-numbers-and-who-gets-to-be-a-real-fan/|declared]] that people were just trying to rule that he and the other Puppies were not true fans. He [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/former-tor-editor-still-longs-to-gatekeep-the-field/|decided]] to come up with a new name to describe people that wanted to gatekeeper the Puppies out, eventually [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/chorf-its-a-word-now/|settling]] on Cliquish, Holier-than-thou, Obnoxious, Reactionary Fans, or CHORFs. 
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 Shortly after the ballot was released, meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131336.html?thread=683944456#cmt68394|discussed]] the criticism Torgersen was receiving. It also came out that Torgersen hadn't actually checked with everyone to see if they were willing to be part of his Hugo takeover attempt, despite Torgersen's claims to the contrary, and meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131336.html?thread=683617032#cmt68361|noted]] this as well. Shortly after the ballot was released, meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131336.html?thread=683944456#cmt68394|discussed]] the criticism Torgersen was receiving. It also came out that Torgersen hadn't actually checked with everyone to see if they were willing to be part of his Hugo takeover attempt, despite Torgersen's claims to the contrary, and meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/131336.html?thread=683617032#cmt68361|noted]] this as well.
  
-A couple days later, legendary fantasy writer George R. R. Martin [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/419232.html|called out]] the Puppies for enabling the sexist, racist, anti-Semitic, and general-purpose lunatic [[w/page/81478085/Vox%20Day|Vox Day]] by voting his slate and keeping him as a member of the Puppies in good standing. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690582363#cmt690582363|agreed]] with his callout, and John Scalzi [[http://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/04/20/keeping-up-with-the-hugos-42015/|chimed in]] with similar thoughts. At the same time, Torgersen [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/gulag-diary-day-6/|posted]] an overwrought 'letter from a gulag' about the sad fates of those who defy the SJW thought police; nonnies [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132850.html?thread=691804914#cmt69180|mocked]] this [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690592603#cmt690592603|repeatedly]], and one [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690633051#cmt690633051|noted]] that this nonsense made GRRM seem too charitable in assuming that Torgersen was a basically honorable guy except for his support of Day.+A couple days later, legendary fantasy writer George R. R. Martin [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/419232.html|called out]] the Puppies for enabling the sexist, racist, anti-Semitic, and general-purpose lunatic [[vox-day|Vox Day]] by voting his slate and keeping him as a member of the Puppies in good standing. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690582363#cmt690582363|agreed]] with his callout, and John Scalzi [[http://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/04/20/keeping-up-with-the-hugos-42015/|chimed in]] with similar thoughts. At the same time, Torgersen [[https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/gulag-diary-day-6/|posted]] an overwrought 'letter from a gulag' about the sad fates of those who defy the SJW thought police; nonnies [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132850.html?thread=691804914#cmt69180|mocked]] this [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690592603#cmt690592603|repeatedly]], and one [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/132443.html?thread=690633051#cmt690633051|noted]] that this nonsense made GRRM seem too charitable in assuming that Torgersen was a basically honorable guy except for his support of Day.
  
-Nick Mamatas [[http://file770.com/?p=22013&cpage=4#comment-252892|listed out ]]the Puppy nominees and showed how they were all either friends of Brad, mentors of Brad, or people Brad worked with on a close professional basis. A [[https://naomikritzer.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/vox-days-involvement-in-the-sad-puppies-slate/comment-page-1/#comment-191|commenter]] on Naomi Kritzer's site also showed that only about 10% of his slate picks came from recommendations on his site; he came up with the rest himself, apparently just by looking at what his friends and mentors had available. Puppy [[w/page/98923156/Michael%20Z%20Williamson|Michael Z Williamson]] explicitly [[http://file770.com/?p=22962&cpage=1#comment-276488|confirmed]] that this was how his book 'Wisdom from my Internet' got on the slate. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134519.html?thread=702388599#cmt702388599|discussed]] [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/133216.html?thread=694411360#cmt694411360|this]].+Nick Mamatas [[http://file770.com/?p=22013&cpage=4#comment-252892|listed out ]]the Puppy nominees and showed how they were all either friends of Brad, mentors of Brad, or people Brad worked with on a close professional basis. A [[https://naomikritzer.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/vox-days-involvement-in-the-sad-puppies-slate/comment-page-1/#comment-191|commenter]] on Naomi Kritzer's site also showed that only about 10% of his slate picks came from recommendations on his site; he came up with the rest himself, apparently just by looking at what his friends and mentors had available. Puppy [[michael-z-williamson|Michael Z Williamson]] explicitly [[http://file770.com/?p=22962&cpage=1#comment-276488|confirmed]] that this was how his book 'Wisdom from my Internet' got on the slate. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/134519.html?thread=702388599#cmt702388599|discussed]] [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/133216.html?thread=694411360#cmt694411360|this]].
  
 Correia and Torgersen both tried to distance themselves from Vox Day, but meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/133571.html?thread=695921091#cmt695921091|wasn't having it]]. (Torgersen would later compare Day to a 'weed that must not be watered'; meme was [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/137169.html?thread=718635473#cmt718635473|bemused]] by the analogy). Meme also re-examined Torgersen's claims that he'd contacted the people on his slate in light of an exchange on File770, in which the case of Juliette Wade--an author who had been on the slate but then asked to be removed--was [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256182|discussed]]. Torgersen claimed that Wade had [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256182|requested]] to be removed from it so that the CHORFs wouldn't target her for destruction on account of being affiliated with Puppies. Juliette herself showed up and [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256184|said]] that this was nonsense; Torgersen had made the slate sound like it was just a rec list, so Wade had agreed to participate; when she learned that voters were supposed to copy it wholesale, she was incensed and demanded to be removed. Fear of CHORFs never came into it. (Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/136300.html?thread=713754988#cmt713754988|mockery]].) Correia and Torgersen both tried to distance themselves from Vox Day, but meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/133571.html?thread=695921091#cmt695921091|wasn't having it]]. (Torgersen would later compare Day to a 'weed that must not be watered'; meme was [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/137169.html?thread=718635473#cmt718635473|bemused]] by the analogy). Meme also re-examined Torgersen's claims that he'd contacted the people on his slate in light of an exchange on File770, in which the case of Juliette Wade--an author who had been on the slate but then asked to be removed--was [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256182|discussed]]. Torgersen claimed that Wade had [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256182|requested]] to be removed from it so that the CHORFs wouldn't target her for destruction on account of being affiliated with Puppies. Juliette herself showed up and [[http://file770.com/?p=22293&cpage=2#comment-256184|said]] that this was nonsense; Torgersen had made the slate sound like it was just a rec list, so Wade had agreed to participate; when she learned that voters were supposed to copy it wholesale, she was incensed and demanded to be removed. Fear of CHORFs never came into it. (Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/136300.html?thread=713754988#cmt713754988|mockery]].)
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 While meme hasn't discussed Torgersen's actual fiction much, there was a thread [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/149815.html?thread=796659511#cmt796659511|discussing]] how he'd screwed up NASA's relation to the US military in a story. While meme hasn't discussed Torgersen's actual fiction much, there was a thread [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/149815.html?thread=796659511#cmt796659511|discussing]] how he'd screwed up NASA's relation to the US military in a story.
  
-Editor (and [[w/page/46349159/Winterfox|Winterfox]] stan) Nick Mamatas did say at one point that Torgersen's career was moribund, but nonnies [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/140986.html?thread=742347194#cmt74234|noted]] that Torgersen actually does have some critical and commercial success, his Hugo-related inanity notwithstanding. +Editor (and [[winterfox-supporters|Winterfox]] stan) Nick Mamatas did say at one point that Torgersen's career was moribund, but nonnies [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/140986.html?thread=742347194#cmt74234|noted]] that Torgersen actually does have some critical and commercial success, his Hugo-related inanity notwithstanding. 
  
 As the Hugo award ceremony approached, Torgersen [[http://madgeniusclub.com/2015/08/02/pcad-ib/|wrote]] a thinly-veiled analogy featuring a crusty drill instructor telling new recruits that, if they're going to colonize space, they can't waste time whining about privilege--they've just gotta toughen up and take their lumps. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/151871.html?thread=808271167#cmt808271167|showed]] this all the respect it deserved, which wasn't much.\\ As the Hugo award ceremony approached, Torgersen [[http://madgeniusclub.com/2015/08/02/pcad-ib/|wrote]] a thinly-veiled analogy featuring a crusty drill instructor telling new recruits that, if they're going to colonize space, they can't waste time whining about privilege--they've just gotta toughen up and take their lumps. Meme [[http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/151871.html?thread=808271167#cmt808271167|showed]] this all the respect it deserved, which wasn't much.\\
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