Worldcons & Entitlement Culture

[kevin_standlee]

As I expected, L.A.con IV will not have convention-provided internet service because the amounts the hotels and convention center want to charge for it are absurdly expensive. I should be, but am not, astonished at the people who have complained that the convention should do it anyway, who have said, "But [fill in local convention name here] held somewhere else has free access; that means you should, to," or assume that the L.A.con IV committee only just now noticed the situation.

Internet access has been one of many, many things the committee has been chasing down. Despite what some people may think, I expect it was not the most important thing. In fact, there were a lot of more important things. I know from my own experience that one of the hard parts about chairing is having to pick between multiple things when you'd like to have them all. You can't always get everything you want. Deal with it, folks! If you need internet access that badly, you can buy it yourself from the hotel or convention center. Would you really be happy to see your membership go up by enough to cover the cost of "free" internet service?

Some things are more important at a Worldcon than free internet service. Holding the Hugo Awards or the Masquerade, for instance.

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I've always thought internet lounges at cons were a little strange. After all, isn't the point of being at the con (whether Worldcon or PoDunKon, to, you know, attend the convention and perhaps talk to other fans? Kind of feel the same way about computer gaming.

[redneckotaku.livejournal.com]

I go to a much bigger convention than this and there is no internet lounge or Wi-Fi Access. It is Otakon in Baltimore. Baltimore also has a free Wi-Fi network that you can get from outside of the building. People don't think the Internet is the biggest thing to their con going experience. I go to conventions to meet people and attend the convention, not livejournal all day.

[sfrose.livejournal.com]

There are some people who need the Internet access to stay in touch with relatives/friends/work* at home. But that might be a 15-60 minutes a day thing. Not spend the entire con there. Internet Lounges may always look full, but it is usually not the same people there, but others rotating in and out.

* At Chicon 2000, my boss was worried that I would be away for a week. What if something went wrong? I asked for a loaner laptop and Internet access and I would check in every day. I was given a Mac and a VPN with an 800 number. Yes, it was dialup, and yes I needed to watch the the time so that I didn't spend more than the hour (at which point the Hyatt's cost for 800 calls skyrocketed) but it met her needs.

BTW, it was at the Internet lounge at ConJose that the Australia in 2010 website was created.