This has been a really interesting discussion, but I think we might have reached a familiar stalemate here. In the end, the Merriweather Committee will run their awards in their own way; they're the ones putting the work into it, so they get to set the rules. Questions and concerns have been aired, and it's up to the M-Com to decide how/if to respond.
On the flip side, individual authors can decide if they'd like to participate in the Merriweathers, the Kerths, both, or neither. This is *not* a competition between the Kerths and Merriweathers; that would be comparing apples to oranges -- tempting, perhaps, but ultimately fruitless.
I personally think it's great to have such a different approach for the Merriweathers (variety being the spice of life and all that), and wish them well.
PJ
