Nature decrees that certain things tend to rise – such as the hitcounts on blog posts filled with bad news. Sometimes there are exceptions – in December, Sue Mason’s winning the 2014 Rotsler Award attracted more readers than the rest of the tragic and toxic news items that commanded attention all month long.

That included a couple of older posts which returned to the top 10 due to new links from Jim C. Hines’ and Jason Sanford’s blogs. Those authors have also been tracking the continuing fallout from Ohio’s Context convention. Since the committee addressed harassment complaints in September there have been resignations, the directors of the parent corporation dissolved the board, and now the future of con seems in jeopardy.

In another story, George R.R. Martin managed to find the silver lining after computer hackers and threats derailed Sony’s plans to release The Interview. He was one of the independent theater owners who stepped up offering to play the film, and it screened was his Jean Cocteau Theatre in Santa Fe.

Here are the top 10 posts for December 2014 according to Google Analytics.

1. Sue Mason Wins 2014 Rotsler Award
2. Two More Con Code of Conduct Complaints Go Public
3. Stu Shiffman (1954-2014)
4. Craig Ferguson’s Relative Dimensions in Time and Space
5. Dublin 2019 Worldcon Bid Proposes Code of Conduct
6. Early Science Fiction Clubs: Your Mileage May Vary
7. Resignations From Context Committee Over Harassment Policy Enforcement
8. George R.R. Martin Offers To Screen “The Interview” at His Theater
9. Almost The Final Frontier
10. Ohio’s Context: Mostly Dead?
11. Furry Convention Evacuates After Chlorine Gas Released in Stairwell