I still don't do Millennicon......

[poltr1]

This is a repost from five years ago, with some edits. My opinion hasn't changed much since then.

This weekend is Millennicon, a science fiction convention in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Although its goal is to be a literary con (face it, authors are cheaper to bring in than stars), there are often many media fans there as well.


So, if I'm a fan, why am I not there? The first reason is that I don't think the convention changes that much from year to year. There are the same attendees, the same programs (with some variation), the same guests (but different guests of honor each year), the same concom, the same roles, the same situations. Now, many people in the fan community happen to *like* the same old thing, year after year. As for me, I want a different experience year after year, not the same experience over and over again. Now, maybe I wouldn't mind so much if this was a relaxacon, with little or no programming.

The second reason is a little more personal.

At my last Millennicon (in 1999), I was doing a panel on Babylon 5 with members of one of the local SF clubs (Starward Bound). I had another commitment of the Friday night of the convention -- I was to volunteer at a local church's fish fry that night -- and asked the programming chair to not schedule the convention on Friday. Lo and behold. the panel was scheduled for....Friday night at 9 PM. So I had to back out of the fish fry commitment so I could be at the convention, and at the panel.

Well, we (my now ex-wife mariasmom and I) got there at 8:45pm, behind a few folks dressed as Klingons who wanted their Klingon persona names on their badges instead of their real names, which delayed registration. My membership was "comped" (complimentary membership) because I was on the panel, but mariasmom (who wasn't) had to pay the full one-day price of $20, even though the dealers' room and art show were closed by the time we arrived. We were a few minutes late to the panel, which went pretty well. Since mariasmom was busy with wedding preparations, she couldn't attend the rest of the convention.

I wrote a letter to the convention committee describing the situation, and asked for a partial refund of $10 for mariasmom's membership. Their response was, essentially, "Sorry; no full or partial refunds". For a fan-run convention, I was ticked that they were trying to gouge fellow fans, especially since two of the higher-ups knew mariasmom. I'd expect something like that from a Creation con, but not a fan-run convention. And I was tired of their crap. My counter-response was, "Fine. I'm taking my convention business elsewhere." And I haven't been back since. Neither has mariasmom.

The third reason is that it's too close on the schedule to another convention I'd rather go to. (FilkOntario).

And there's a fourth reason. With a noble name like Miami Valley Fandom for Literacy (the organizers of the con), I'd expect some lofty mission statement, annual reports, etc. And other than their website, I haven't seen much activity to remedy local illiteracy.

Now I know that some folks work hard to put on this convention every year, and I'm thankful that they do. (Because if they didn't, someone like me would have to step forward.) But to do this to long-time convention attendees is just plain ridiculous. I won't stop people from attending the con, but I won't go myself.

Comments

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

If the organizers have special conditions built in to their entry fees that would address "late night entry" or something to that effect, then yes - I could see it.

As a performer with Snakes Rising, I got compt into events all the time. I always took care, however, to either ask my companion to pay entry or I paid it myself. To not pay would be like cheating myself out of band allowance as well as cheating the event organizers out of money they paid upfront for any number of expenses.

You are right about setting a precendent. Gotta be justifiable and fully equitable.