kevin_standlee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kevin_standlee) wrote2007-10-19 12:16 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2007-10-19 12:16 pm
How Not to Handle a Guest
Other people have already commented on this, and I'm a bit late to the party, but in case you haven't seen it before: United Fan Con 'Uninvites' Peter David.
It appears that he had been invited to be a convention guest (travel expenses paid, no appearance fee), and that the convention had used him in their advertising, but then decided that they couldn't afford his expenses and that paying for the Big Name Media Guests was much more important, so they uninvited him.
The comments are somewhat interesting, including the guy (who acts a bit like a sock-puppet for UFC, but it's hard to say) who claimed that David shouldn't have said anything at all about this, to which I say "rubbish" and think stronger terms.
And there is further nonsense from someone who has no real idea of what she's talking about regarding convention economics -- despite apparently losing her shirt running one -- and seems to think that conrunners are Out To Get Her just because she's a poor little media fan.
Incidentally, because it came up in one of the side conversations regarding this, I would like to remind people that I wrote a while back about where the Worldcon's money goes. ConJose, and most other Worldcons, are pretty open with their finances. I'll send anyone who wants it a copy of ConJose's final budget spreadsheet -- just write to me directly.
Meanwhile, I'd like to remind people that "professional/amateur" and "professionally/amateurishly" are different things -- in fact, they probably form a 2x2 grid. Either kind of event is capable of treating people in either way.
Update, October 23, 1300: UFC reinvited David. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that they did so under apparently pressure (and money freeing up somewhere else) or that David was willing to come anyway. As he said (more or less), he's coming because of the people who said they were going to UFC to see him, not for UFC's organizers' sake.
It appears that he had been invited to be a convention guest (travel expenses paid, no appearance fee), and that the convention had used him in their advertising, but then decided that they couldn't afford his expenses and that paying for the Big Name Media Guests was much more important, so they uninvited him.
The comments are somewhat interesting, including the guy (who acts a bit like a sock-puppet for UFC, but it's hard to say) who claimed that David shouldn't have said anything at all about this, to which I say "rubbish" and think stronger terms.
And there is further nonsense from someone who has no real idea of what she's talking about regarding convention economics -- despite apparently losing her shirt running one -- and seems to think that conrunners are Out To Get Her just because she's a poor little media fan.
Incidentally, because it came up in one of the side conversations regarding this, I would like to remind people that I wrote a while back about where the Worldcon's money goes. ConJose, and most other Worldcons, are pretty open with their finances. I'll send anyone who wants it a copy of ConJose's final budget spreadsheet -- just write to me directly.
Meanwhile, I'd like to remind people that "professional/amateur" and "professionally/amateurishly" are different things -- in fact, they probably form a 2x2 grid. Either kind of event is capable of treating people in either way.
Update, October 23, 1300: UFC reinvited David. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that they did so under apparently pressure (and money freeing up somewhere else) or that David was willing to come anyway. As he said (more or less), he's coming because of the people who said they were going to UFC to see him, not for UFC's organizers' sake.
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Yes, you're right about the value-for-money of a Worldcon. But I can actually see the point of some people who think it's too expensive. Those people are actually interested in only one aspect of the event, or possibly a small number of pieces. From their point of view, they shouldn't have to pay for anything other than the bit they want. I expect such people are dissatisfied at paying a single price to go into Disneyland if they only want to ride one ride, either.
And let us not just "bash media fans" here -- this same complaint about having to pay for more than you want could be made by, say, fanzine fans who would prefer to hand out in the fan lounge all weekend, or costumers who think the only purpose of the convention is to have the Worldcon Masquerade, or dealers who don't think people should have to pay anything to enter the Dealers Room, or... well, I could go on.
Everyone has their own special interest. Me, I recognize that my membership is paying for the entire experience, and that it's very difficult to pull individual pieces out of it without destroying the overall event.
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See, you charge the set price for the con and then add special, let's call them tickets, that permit entry to the specialized areas: gaming, filking, fanzine lounge, dealer's room, programming, film room, anime room, art show. That's it...free market cons. If a room can't sustain itself with the tickets it sells, they are effectively "voted off" the con the next year.
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No, those would be the people who should be going to Costume-Con.
Real costumers know that the purpose of a WorldCon is to attend all the great parties after one has survived the Masquerade.
:-)
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I think it's more F&SF - a little of everything.