The fiery demise of F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre became File 770’s most-followed story of 2010, an outcome guaranteed when a New York Times reporter linked to Andrew Porter’s account in the paper’s profile of the late author.

There was also sustained interest in Peter Watts’ and Cheryl Morgan’s harsh experiences with authorities while either departing or entering the U.S. Hundreds of fans followed File 770’s coverage of Watts’ trial and sentencing.

Yet the single topic that produced more controversy than any other was Frederik Pohl’s nomination for the Best Fan Writer Hugo, an award he subsequently won.  Three of the Top 10 stories – Shy, Retiring John Scalzi (which despite its name became a forum about Pohl’s nomination), Overserved at The Drink Tank? and Hole New Issue – were propelled up the chart as fans returned to read the many comments people made in the debate.

The other topic to yield more than one Top 10 post was WisCon’s decision to cancel Elizabeth Moon as its guest of honor, as the arguments begun in the original post spilled over to a follow-up post about a mundane newspaper’s coverage of the story.

Here is the complete Top 10 list of most frequently viewed posts for the year 2010, according to Google Analytics.

1. Andrew Porter: Authorities Query Whether Fire Victim Is MacIntyre
2. Peter Watts Receives Suspended Sentence
3. Overserved at The Drink Tank?
4. Lost Prop Auction Coming in May 2010
5. Hole New Issue
6. SF3 Cancels Elizabeth Moon as WisCon GoH
7. Cheryl Morgan Refused Entry to US
8. Moon, WisCon Covered in Mundane Press
9. Shy, Retiring John Scalzi
10. 2010 Hugo Voting Statistics Posted