SMOFS in a Room

[kevin_standlee]

It appears that the Westercon 63 committee has decided to file a write-in bid to host the 2010 NASFiC as part of Westercon 63. That is, if they win, the 2010 West Coast Science Fantasy Conference in Pasadena would also be the 2010 North American Science Fiction Convention. The filing deadline for the ballot having passed, Pasadena's bid can only run as a write-in against Raleigh, the only group that filed a bid before the deadline.

Comments

[dave-gallaher.livejournal.com]

I think Deb Geisler said it all.

[redneckotaku.livejournal.com]

I think they are crazy. Can that hotel hold 2,000 to 3,000 people? They can't get my vote because I have already voted for Raleigh a few weeks back, so I didn't forget about it at Worldcon.

[buddykat.livejournal.com]

As long as the hotel can hold up to 2000 people, they should be fine. The last few NASFiCs have had about 1700 warm bodies; the last one (except Dragon*Con) to have more was in San Diego in 1990 - and there's no way of knowing if that's warm bodies or total memberships (including supporting).

[bovil.livejournal.com]

ala_mokita has chaired a Worldcon (2005) and a NASFiC (1999) before. He's crazy, but not clueless.

[redneckotaku.livejournal.com]

I am not saying he is clueless, but you have to try to succeed. You have to at least have posters and/or a party at Worldcon to get a 200-300 people to vote for it. They have their fannish backs against the wall because Worldcon site selection closes in 33 days.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

NASFiC is a strange animal. A lot of people just don't care about it, even people who care enough to vote in Worldcon site selection and Hugos.

I haven't been able to find the ballot details for the past NASFiC site selections, so I can't say what the average ballot count is, but it's going to be lower than Worldcon site selection. Uncontested Worldcon site selections have, in some cases, had far less than 1,000 total ballots.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a social experiment. How many people are really going to vote in a contested NASFiC race? How many votes is a serious write-in candidate without a campaign going to get?

Remember, they've already got a convention in the works. If they lose, they've still got a convention. If they win, they've got most of their groundwork laid.

[sethb.livejournal.com]

I remember "Vote for Both!" (It might have won, and I suspect it did.)

It isn't necessary to do much to get votes, if fans think your idea is a wonderful hack.

[bosswriter.livejournal.com]

This blows my mind.

Does Westercon think they are so great that they should steal a bid from Raleigh who has done the work, campaigned and will probably host a fine NASFiC? Let's not forget that they lost a Worldcon bid a few years back so this is a real kick in their face if they lose to a write-in.

This sounds like ego boo at best and plain west coast bullying at worst.

I for one hope that no one votes for Westercon.

I hope that you, Kevin, did not support this.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

The first I heard of it was when I saw it on Tadao Tomomatsu's Twitter feed. The mere fact that I report something having happened doesn't mean I'm either supporting or opposing it.

[sethb.livejournal.com]

If Raleigh can lose to a bid that announces a month out and doesn't throw any parties, don't you think it deserves to?

[bovil.livejournal.com]

I think you need to go back and read what you wrote, and then do a little fact-checking.

Does Westercon think they are so great that they should steal a bid from Raleigh who has done the work, campaigned and will probably host a fine NASFiC? Let's not forget that they lost a Worldcon bid a few years back so this is a real kick in their face if they lose to a write-in.

Westercon is a traveling convention, like Worldcon and NASFiC. There isn't "Westercon" but rather a series of dozens of different separate conventions that share a name. The folks bidding Pasadena aren't "Westercon" but rather Westercon 63.

Do they think they're so great? It's LA. Of course they do.

Steal a bid? Hyperbole. They're running, they'll probably lose, but if they win they win fair and square.

Losing Worldcon bids? Well, the LA folks never won a contested Worldcon bid until they bid for 2005 (and KC, who they were bidding against for '05, had numerous self-inflicted wounds during the campaign). They know about losing bids, they've done it.

A kick in the face? You shouldn't be bidding a traveling convention if you don't expect to win (cough... cough... Denver... cough... cough...) but you also shouldn't be bidding a traveling convention unless you're ready to lose.

I for one hope that no one votes for Westercon.

That's a false hope. You'll find a lot of people who attend both Westercon and Worldcon regularly, regardless of location, are also regular site selection voters for both. If they're not regular site selection voters, they still understand the process and are easier to spur to vote if they take an interest in the race.

Regardless of my position on Pasadena (and, truthfully, right now I'm undecided), I think a contested race is good for a traveling convention. It's boring when there's no contest. Total ballots cast are low.

The Chicago/Columbus/Denver race was fantastic, and forced all of them to work hard at their campaigns. It also taught some people a few lessons on stupid mistakes to not make in a 3-way race. Reno entering the 2011 Worldcon race lit a fire under Seattle. Reno put together a really solid campaign. It's just a shame that Seattle couldn't run to completion and had to drop out. I know their reasons, though, and don't blame them.

It's going to be interesting if this non-campaign Christian is promising (and will carry through on) will push Raleigh to bring out their big guns. Pasadena has a lot of groundwork laid. They've got a (admittedly incomplete) website, they've got a facilities contract, and they've got past Worldcon and Westercon chairs and department heads involved.

[laurahcory1.livejournal.com]

It was Charlotte, not Raleigh, that lost the '04 WorldCon bid--same state, different city, different bidcom.

[chocolatescifi.livejournal.com]

They're being a bit greedy, aren't they?

[katster.livejournal.com]

Well, hey, it got me to vote in a NASFiC race I was seriously considering passing on. ;)

So if that's the point of the exercise, well played!

-kat