Top 10 Posts for February 2021

News about Jason Sanford’s expose of the Baen’s Bar forum, and about Baen publisher and now-former Worldcon GoH Toni Weisskopf dominated the Top 10 in February.

A month after the January 6 insurrection in Washington DC, Jason Sanford published “Baen Books Forum Being Used to Advocate for Political Violence” on Patreon. Baen publisher Toni Weisskopf responded by putting the Baen’s Bar forum on hiatus, a move explained in a statement to users that emphasized her refusal to “commit censorship of lawful speech” and assurance that the posts in the Bar “do not represent the publisher’s opinion, except in a deep belief that free speech is worthy in and of itself.”

Weisskopf was scheduled to be a guest of honor at DisCon III (2021 Worldcon), to be held in Washington, DC (if an in-person con is possible). How some were using Baen’s Bar and her stance towards them were such a source of controversy within the committee that they withdrew the GoH invitation. There were reports of committee departures because the decision wasn’t made immediately, and of a couple who resigned afterwards because of the decision.

Here are the ten most frequently-read posts for February 2021 according to Google Analytics.

  1. Weisskopf Announces Hiatus for Baen’s Bar
  2. DisCon III Removes Weisskopf as a Guest of Honor
  3. Weisskopf, Correia, Weber Defend Baen’s Bar; Jason Sanford Subjected to Harassment Over His Report
  4. Baen Strikes Back; Sanford Under Growing Storm of Harassment
  5. Pixel Scroll 2/19/21 Why, I Sweep My Scroll With A Geiger Counter Every Day, And Nary A Pixel!
  6. Walt Boyes on the Consequences of Taking Down Baen’s Bar
  7. Pixel Scroll 2/20/21 (I’m Picking Up) Good Vibraniums
  8. Pixel Scroll 2/15/21 A Hit! A Palpatine Hit!
  9. Pixel Scroll 2/21/21 He Was Born With A Gift For Pixels, And A Sense That The World Was Scrolled
  10. Pixel Scroll 2/22/21 Sacred Locomotive Files

SCROLL-FREE TOP 10

  1. Weisskopf Announces Hiatus for Baen’s Bar
  2. DisCon III Removes Weisskopf as a Guest of Honor
  3. Weisskopf, Correia, Weber Defend Baen’s Bar; Jason Sanford Subjected to Harassment Over His Report
  4. Baen Strikes Back; Sanford Under Growing Storm of Harassment
  5. Walt Boyes on the Consequences of Taking Down Baen’s Bar
  6. Worldcon 76 Moves for Summary Judgment in Del Arroz’ Defamation Suit
  7. Rowena Morrill (1944-2021)
  8. 2021 World Fantasy Awards Judges Announced
  9. 2020 Novellapalooza | File 770
  10. 2020 Recommended SF/F List | File 770