Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:52:20 -0400
From: Ted White <twhite8 at cox.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Lee's message
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

swstiles at comcast.net wrote:

[...]
> >
>  First of all, let me offer my condolences to any friends or relatives
>  of Rabbi David's who may be reading this.
>
>  I've never heard of David Honigsberg until reading the above. The
>  reason I mention that is this: on the third weekend of April I'm
>  going to be a Art GoH at RavenCon in Richmond, and one of the things
>  I hope to do is deliver a fake profile of a nonexistent s.f. pro of
>  the Golden Age.
>
>  The name I've selected for this nonexistent pro: Konigsberg. (And
>  some of the fake s.f. cover art I've prepared displays that name.)
>
>  The reason I chose this name is that years ago I read an account of
>  the last days of WW II, when Goebbels produced a propaganda film
>  about the city of Konigsberg holding out heroically in a previous
>  war. It cost millions and had a cast of many thousands. This was to
>  inspire Germans in 1944-45 to do likewise. But when the Russians
>  finally approached, the city of Konigsberg wisely and quickly
>  surrendered. Since my fake author, Konigsberg, is a loser, this
>  struck me as appropriate and funny.
>
>  However, now I'm wondering if the similarity of names might strike
>  some as offensive.
>
>  What do you think?

I wouldn't worry about it.  There is also some name similarity to actual
people in SF's past -- just enough to make your hoax plausible.  You're
not using David Honigsberg's actual name, he was not widely known in
fandom (witness reactions on this list), and probably will be unknown to
most of your audience.

There is the potential for this kind of thing with almost *any* name you
might have chosen, after all.

--Ted White