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Hi HN, something I've been working on for awhile. Here's how it works: - We hold sci-fi writing contests on particular scientific and technological topics. Ide

Hi HN, something I've been working on for awhile. Here's how it works: - We hold sci-fi writing contests on particular scientific and technological topics. Ideally these contests will be sponsored by startups, research labs, and other organizations that want to promote their tech. E.g. a biotech startup sponsoring a contest about biology or CRISPR. Here's the first contest, for example: https://dotscifi.com/contests/near-future-moon/ https://dotscifi.com/contests/near-future-moon/ - The winners get crypto, cash, or other prizes. - The stories are then published under a Creative Commons license, making them free to read and share. This will help promote science and tech to a larger audience. The concept is somewhat similar to SciFutures [1], except that everyone can read the stories and our goal is to promote science and tech, not just create ideas for private companies. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14958329 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14958329

bduerst 5y ago
There are many sub-genres in sci-fi that criticize technology for it's downsides. How do you plan on impartially dealing with stories that criticize the technology being promoted by your sponsors?
- keiferski 5y ago
  I posted a bit about this in another comment. Basically I think we can avoid it by having multiple ways of picking the winners.
  - bduerst 5y ago
    Sure, that aligns with the authors, but what do you do when your winner heavily criticizes your sponsor and portrays them in a bad light? It doesn't necessarily mean the story is correct - it is science fiction after all - but how will get sponsors with this conflict of interest?
    - keiferski 5y ago
      Well, in some sense this is an inevitable problem with any contest that a) has sponsors and b) isn’t just making propaganda. I think the solution will just be to have a variety of funding sources and a variety of ways that winners are chosen. Ideally the “corporate” sponsors won’t be the only sources of prize money, but one among many. Even then, I don’t really foresee any controversial organizations being a sponsor anyway. More like: engineering company sponsors contest about physics. Overall, the goal is to create great literature, not write polemics, so I am not particularly worried that this will be an issue. Certainly there is always the chance that the winning story will be harshly critical, but great sci-fi is usually nuanced, not black-and-white.
meeks 5y ago
The submission page has a text box for submitting the story on a Google form. This seems like a bad experience. Can you also allow for submitting via a link to a Google Doc at least to preserve formatting of the text? I think this might be a better experience for the author. Just include an email address that the author should share the google doc with so you get access.
- keiferski 5y ago
  That’s a good idea, thanks. I will update the form to have a link option.

bduerst 5y ago

There are many sub-genres in sci-fi that criticize technology for it's downsides. How do you plan on impartially dealing with stories that criticize the technology being promoted by your sponsors?

keiferski 5y ago
I posted a bit about this in another comment. Basically I think we can avoid it by having multiple ways of picking the winners.
- bduerst 5y ago
  Sure, that aligns with the authors, but what do you do when your winner heavily criticizes your sponsor and portrays them in a bad light? It doesn't necessarily mean the story is correct - it is science fiction after all - but how will get sponsors with this conflict of interest?
  - keiferski 5y ago
    Well, in some sense this is an inevitable problem with any contest that a) has sponsors and b) isn’t just making propaganda. I think the solution will just be to have a variety of funding sources and a variety of ways that winners are chosen. Ideally the “corporate” sponsors won’t be the only sources of prize money, but one among many. Even then, I don’t really foresee any controversial organizations being a sponsor anyway. More like: engineering company sponsors contest about physics. Overall, the goal is to create great literature, not write polemics, so I am not particularly worried that this will be an issue. Certainly there is always the chance that the winning story will be harshly critical, but great sci-fi is usually nuanced, not black-and-white.

meeks 5y ago

The submission page has a text box for submitting the story on a Google form. This seems like a bad experience. Can you also allow for submitting via a link to a Google Doc at least to preserve formatting of the text? I think this might be a better experience for the author. Just include an email address that the author should share the google doc with so you get access.

keiferski 5y ago
That’s a good idea, thanks. I will update the form to have a link option.