I would make the argument that a convention membership subsidizes the parties, even if indirectly. Unless you're throwing a closed room party (perhaps not on the party floor) you have an obligation to the attendees to permit them entrance, much like a union negotiated contract usually applies to all employees, not just union members. Also, at that Archon there really wasn't jack-all for anyone to do to socialize in the evenings except the room parties. There wasn't good socialization space anywhere else at that time, unless you didn't mind an ibcredibly loud dance or a consuite (see below) and there were no conversation panels at that point. The consuite had no effective difference from the parties, which is what made it particularly stupid- they were serving beer there, free, with the only limitation being that you be of age. Made the consuite a rather unpleasant place to be- I spent a great deal of the time holding a guy's head over a garbage can as he puked. I wouldn't have wanted to spend social time in there, and had even less inclination to eat any of the munchies after what I saw going on in there. Yuck.