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Why Bother?
Sep. 22nd, 2009 02:10 pmI sometimes wonder why I bother being open with Worldcon financial figures, when I read people (no, I'm not going to link to it, but some of the people who read this LJ have probably read it) implying that the reason Worldcons are so expensive is because their first priority is feeding the committee's faces. At least the implication wasn't directly that we were in it to line our pockets. (My >$50K in personal debt laughs at the idea that I've been involved in conrunning to make money.)
You could eliminate every bit of convention-purchased F&B from a Worldcon's budget and it would bring the cost down -- possibly as much as $5 per member, but probably not that much.
I would like to see some of these people who are convinced that all we do is deliberately waste money and steal it from the poor fans to just try running one themselves. I'm reminded of a Corflu feedback session in which I sat in the back row and listened to a bunch of people who have never hesitated to take shots at "SMOFS" complain about how difficult and expensive it was to put on a 100-person Corflu.
I would also like to be able to organize a Worldcon where that at-the-door membership was commensurate with the cost of other local conventions -- say $125 for five days. (Some of the people complaining about the cost are comparing $50 for two days to a convention that's five days long.) And as soon as I don't have to work for a living and have $500,000 I can afford to risk underwriting half the cost of a modern Worldcon, I'll bid for one.
You could eliminate every bit of convention-purchased F&B from a Worldcon's budget and it would bring the cost down -- possibly as much as $5 per member, but probably not that much.
I would like to see some of these people who are convinced that all we do is deliberately waste money and steal it from the poor fans to just try running one themselves. I'm reminded of a Corflu feedback session in which I sat in the back row and listened to a bunch of people who have never hesitated to take shots at "SMOFS" complain about how difficult and expensive it was to put on a 100-person Corflu.
I would also like to be able to organize a Worldcon where that at-the-door membership was commensurate with the cost of other local conventions -- say $125 for five days. (Some of the people complaining about the cost are comparing $50 for two days to a convention that's five days long.) And as soon as I don't have to work for a living and have $500,000 I can afford to risk underwriting half the cost of a modern Worldcon, I'll bid for one.
