Consecutively Numbered Money Orders
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“Consecutively numbered money orders” refers to what was considered an attempt to game the 1989 Hugos, when a bloc of nominations of one candidate for the Best Novel Hugo were accompanied by new Worldcon membership applications with fees paid with a series of money orders all from one post office in Brooklyn. At least some of the people whose names appeared on the ballots denied having submitted them — the Worldcon concom was alerted when they inquired as to why they were receiving publications.
The perpetrator was never publicly identified, but after investigating, the 1989 Hugo subcommittee reported that it was confident that the "beneficiaries" of the fraud had not approved it, known about it, or been involved in it.
After the news leaked, all fandom was plunged into war, the novel in question was withdrawn, and Hugo nominations rules were subsequently changed so that in order to nominate, one must have joined WSFS before the nominations period opens. In 2021, the WSFS Business Meeting ratified a constitutional change making the joining deadline January 31 of the awarding year.
| Fanhistory | 1989 |
| This is a fanhistory page. Please add more detail. |
| Fanspeak | 1989 |
| This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc. |
