I miss Chaoyang Trap, a newsletter that did a lot to explain Chinese culture. The phrase "boundary ball" in particular I think is very useful, and is one I was reminded of this evening.
yeah, this is a sub-post about the Hugos (or, I mean, mainly it is just sharing an article I think is good. but it is also a sub-post about the Hugos).
I'm seeing people say that McCarty's opacity and obstructionism in refusing to reveal the grounds on which entries were ruled ineligible is incredible. And I'm seeing people argue about the legal or political threats that China might have used to eliminate certain entries from the awards. But I'm not seeing much consideration that the people running the awards from the Chengdu side might have proactively chosen to remove certain entries without any explicit sign that they must do so. Or that they might indeed be right about that decision, if that decision is not to cause consequences for them in the future. Or maybe not - how can you know?