Arisia needs an attitude adjustment.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I am sure this will offend many people, and if it does I apologize, but I feel it has to be said.

I am disgusted and appalled at the rudeness and sense of entitlement I encountered from many of this year's staff members. And I am not the only person who noticed this.


An example...
I got up early on Sunday and went down to the staff den, I was there about 15 minutes before it was supposed to open, but the lovely staff den ladies let me in anyway. I told them I needed food so I could take some meds, but I could see they weren't quite ready yet and asked what I could do to help them get stuff put out. They gave me a couple things to do (and a danish so I could take my meds) and I went off to help. At 8:02AM a person walked in, I was just plugging in the kettle to heat water, sie wanted tea so I told hir it would be a few minutes while the water heated that I had just plugged it in. Hir response was very snobbishly "What do you mean the water is not hot yet?" I looked at hir and said well, you weren't here 10 minutes ago to plug it in. You want it faster, then feel free to come in early and help. These ladies were up just as late as the rest of us, they are doing their best." and I walked away.
Sure sie hadn't had hir morning caffiene yet, but that was no excuse to jump all over me because the kettle isn't hot. Sie had a coffee maker in hir room, there was nothing preventing hir from using it. This is just one instance I personally encountered in the den, I witnessed many more acts of rudeness directed at the ladies running the den and other staff members in the den, during my visits there. (I was not den staff, I was just helping out while waiting for the food to be ready.)

In general many staff members were surly, rude, and just basically snappish, many came across with the "I'm staff, I'm better than you" or the I'm staff therefore I'm entitled to [...] ahead of you" attitude.

In my opinion, If you want to be involved in Arisia, and deal with hundreds of fans and random people all weekend and can't keep a pleasant attitude, no matter how stressed you get, or how tired or overworked you are, perhaps you shouldn't be doing that job. It's like any job that involves dealing with the customer, you have to keep it all to yourself so as to not take it out on the unsuspecting and not offend. I was personally offended by many of the attitudes I encountered during the weekend by staff members I did not know and who didn't know me. There are places to let it all out, you shouldn't be snapping and rude to the attendees or they will stop coming and we cant have an Arisia without them.

I have a whole essay/rant about Arisia and it's changing dynamic as of late, How I feel it's strayed from it's original mission to be all inclusive and such, how it's more of a fannish lifestyle and polyamory based con now instead of Science Fiction and Fantasy based as originally intended, and how it really needs to be able to encompass all things equally*, but I will likely not subject people to it.

Personally with the next Arisia being the 20th, I would love to see the theme be "Back to Basics" or "Back to our Roots." But since I am just a lowly staff member, costumer and artist (who BTW has worked at every Arisia in some capacity to the point of never having to purchase a membership to Arisia yet) and really do not want any other responsibility right now, who am I to say what should happen?


*Of the panels offered pre-con, 47 "fannish lifestyle" panels this year and only 12 art, 12 filk, and 8 costume panels is not treating all things equally.

Comments

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

Speaking of filk, was there a filk guest?

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. There was a "Fan Performer GOH"

[hms42]

No

[gardenfey.livejournal.com]

Arisia staff does seem to attract the J personality type (with the exception of the people that I am actually friends with. I'm a P - go figure), though I've had that thought for many years now.

Heh...I'm an off-scale "P."

[happypete.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that some of the intense attitude directed both to me and near me was a little rough. When I was elevator hosting, for example, I tried to share the humor of the situation and empathise with people stuck on the wrong side of the elevator door. You have only seconds to do this as you load and unload.

In several cases I saw people yelling at fans--admittedly sometimes ill-behaved fans who were jumping in front of people on crutches or in wheelchairs to try to get on an elevator. That just leaves a bad taste all-around.

Sorry I think I missed you this con...I wasn't out party-hopping and socializing like I would have preferred to be.

[audioboy.livejournal.com]

The vast majority of the staff people I encountered were awesome in their helpfulness or in their skill at what they were assisting us with, but there was one instance where a member of the staff so upset one of my actors with a moment of that snobbishness you're talking about that they had to leave the stage and go out into the hall to calm themselves down. And this was less than *FIVE* minutes before our show was to begin.

I understand that Arisia needs all the volunteers it can get, but I feel that they risk losing attendees if they're not more careful about who they accept as volunteers.

Other than that incident, it was a thrilling experience, especially for the people in my cast who had never been to a con before. The enthusiastic reception they had from the audience was fantastic.

[totient]

Arisia needs all the volunteers it can get

And that is precisely why a staffer who is rude and snobbish to other staffers is a problem. We can't afford to chase away ten good volunteers like donnad by having one obnoxious one on staff. Please email conchair@arisia.org and let us know who this was.

[ayalanya.livejournal.com]

This year was somewhat sub-par for me, too. I don't tend to go to the panels much, but from what I could tell it was *very* focused on poly and kink, as opposed to, say, sci-fi and fantasy (which is what the con is about). Oh, sure, much of it was "how does it relate to?" - but that still means that those who are monogamous, vanilla, or there because they want to be geeks instead of being horny geeks, were rather overlooked.

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

We are in agreement on this.

I have always thought there has been too much on kink, etc.

Even LJ. One, maybe two panels, OK. More not needed. (Unsure how many there were).

[curly-chick.livejournal.com]

A bit of a response:

I found the Arisia staff to be extremely helpful and nice all weekend. That being said, I was not on staff, so I don't know how Arisia staff interact with each other or others who were meeting their needs. I am also extremely sympathetic given this year is a 4 day con and by Monday morning, I was extremely impressed with the staff because I was exhausted and less than at my best, but the staff were still helpful and receptive.

But what I am writing to comment, specifically, about is the panels. The "alternative lifestyle" panels were the ones late at night and I thought their inclusion was a good way to (a) make sure that the other panels got the space during the day and (b) include them and meet the needs of that fan population. However, I would agree with you that the quality of panels was lacking this year. I am a panel girl and enjoy going each year, but generally don't want to lead a panel. This year, there were fewer panels I was excited to attend, and even fewer that I enjoyed attending. I think that, unfortunately, not all panels are created equal and some of the panelists seemed to be phoning it in a great deal.

I think the way to remedy the thoughts about panel disappointment, however, is to make suggestions for next year and to become involved in the process.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on a lot of this, but wanted to respond to this part:

*Of the panels offered pre-con, 47 "fannish lifestyle" panels this year and only 12 art, 12 filk, and 8 costume panels is not treating all things equally.

Yes, there were a bit too many "fannish lifestyle" panels - but you're forgetting to mention the literature panels (which is how most of us got into fandom in the first place! :) ), the comics panels, the (too few, but still there) science panels, the media panels, the readings... when viewed as a whole, it does look a bit more balanced. I was on six panels this year (down from the original nine, yeek!), and only one was Fannish Lifestyle. Myth and Folklore in Fantasy, in particular, evolved into a fascinating and largely academic discussion.

That said - yes, I agree on the attitude issue, though for me it was mostly the self-appointed elevator nazis. (Not the officially appointed ones. They were cool.) There were a few too many people who were just nasty and bitchy. The problem with a con is that you're limited to who volunteers, and sometimes people want to volunteer not to make it a better con, but to have a) a little power or b) just to get in free.

Most of the people I encountered were great (special props to everyone involved with feeding us weary and hungry panelists!). There are always a few bad apples. It sucks, but I can't think of a solution for it.

I think a "Back to Basics" theme would be great!

"Fannish lifestyle" is definitely more than polyamory and BDSM!

[happypete.livejournal.com]

I was a participant an a well-received "fannish lifestyle" panel on raising our children in fandom. It was a wide-ranging discussion covering the genre as it relates to our kids from Anime to Young Adult SF literature [I couldn't force a "zed" topic, sorry!] , and many points in-between.

As a parent in fandom, I'm glad to have a forum to discuss with other parents who "get it" the process of safely and wisely raising our kids at-con and at home.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

To be perfectly fair, I've seen less than optimal behaviour from those who weren't staff members as well. Nothing I'm going to call out here because I prefer to assume good faith when possible, but it was most certainly there.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I agree.

[tonysalieri.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm.

I'd been holding back a bit on judgement. I don't feel tremendously qualified, since my Barfleet commitments kept me from seeing large swaths of the con as a whole. Part of me can't help wonder how much of this is problems with the con in 2008, and how much of this are issues coming to the surface that have been developing over the last decade or so.

First off, I'm going to say something terribly impolitic: There are people up in the ConCom who probably should think long and hard about whether they should continue on in their positions. Some individuals who may be in over their heads, and that issues, significant ones, have arisen from their inability to deal with the responsibilities properly. It would be unfair, not to mention petty, to name names. Those people know who they are, and I hope they understand the message isn't deliverd with malice, but merely with concern and frank honesty.

However, there were people in the ConCom who are composed purely of Awesome, who worked hard to resolve any stumbling blocks, and who continued to make themselves available and visable throughout the Con. Thus, I am uncomfortable with taring TPTB with a wide brush.

Transition always creates frisson. Whether it be the unexpected and relatively unpopular transition to the Hyatt (which, while the Park Plaza will always hold a place in my heart of hearts, has begun to grow on me with certain advantages of its own) which TPTB were as much a victim of as much as any congoer to the "changing of the old guard". I don't say this to discount the complaints of the original poster, or those who have chimed in. Certainly, I was tremendously disappointed by what little I saw of the Con Suite. Having taken to providing my own food in the hotel room the last two or three years, it didn't affect me very much, but I can imagine the impact it might have had on others. Not to mention the lack of easily accessable restaurants in the new area, and the highway robbery of the vendors in the lobby. I feel staff did make concrete attempts to address problems and be reactive to peoples complaints, like the elevator and stairs situation from last year. Didn't seem to be nearly as bad as last year, at least not until Sunday.

Part of me is also wondering how much of this is just a continuation of people expecting Arisia to be one thing, and then become frozen in time for them. There are people who are complaining that Arisia is becoming too "kink/poly/lifestyle" oriented...the funny thing is, I've heard just as many complaints from the kink/poly/lifestyle circles complaining that Arisia is becoming "old and stodgy" and "isn't nearly as positive and supportive as it was 10 years ago."

Having been at Arisia since 1996, it HAS changed. But I think it's in no small part to the fact that fandom itself has changed. The 20somethings from ten years ago are now the married 30somethings with kids. A friend of mine who teaches school tells me that in the "teen community", Arisia is considered to be "for old people", and that Teh Gnu Hawtness is Anime Boston.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some issues here, far more complex, than what those who are running Arisia on any particular year are doing. There are issues that are multifaceted, and what is a "problem" for one side, is considered "not a problem" for the other. And then there's the god damn stupid crap that shouldn't be happening, and yeah, ConCom's gonna need to address that for next year.

Thank goodness we have this fancy new technology now. It's definitely been a positive change, in terms of communication between the "Con Body", since 1996.

[thepinnacle.livejournal.com]

This really ought to be a seperate post!

You have definitely captured a lot of what my friends and I have been feeling about the Con in this comment. I may very well link to this when I post my Arisia summary in the next few days.

[thepinnacle.livejournal.com]

One of the elements that contributes to many of the things brought up in this discussion is the dichotomy between diversity and tolerance.

Arisia used to have a lot of the first and enough of the second. Now, it seems, the con is aimed at a smaller audience and there is less tolerance for Fans outside of that audience.

I think that there is probably less tolerance and patience over all.

[ron_newman]

I found this year's Arisia to be friendly and fun. But I'm not disabled (at least not in a way that requires use of an elevator), and didn't use the elevators at all.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

As one of the gimps there who would sometimes have to let four or five or six elevators go by with no room for me, I'd say it sort of sucked not to be able to use the stairs.

I wish I knew how to contact the mob of young teenagers who got off the elevator and said, "It's okay, we'll use the stairs!" when I wanted to ride from the sixth to the second floor. I can't tell, of course, which of those riders I saw take the elevator from the third to the second, or similar short rides, were actually able to take the stairs -- when I'm on foot, which is manageable in many contexts, I still can't take stairs too often, but don't look "disabled" -- but it was amazing to see how many apparently hale adults sort of shuffled their feet and looked away when the teenagers got off for me.

[dalious.livejournal.com]

i remember the hot water thing sunday morning, i was so tired i couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or not. she walked in a few minutes behind me. i for one appreciate all the work that the workers of the staff den put in. its what i need after pulling an all night or an extra long security shift.

[ron_newman]

Speaking of hot water -- there didn't seem to be any at most of the sinks I tried in the men's rooms.

[recombatant.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely correct in all of your points. Especially the BS lifestyle panels.I wouldn't even normally attend one but I was with other folks who were curious so I went along. I got into some trouble when some alternate lifestyle panel didn't like me, even though I was saying that my feeling was that they were as human as anyone and they shouldn't accept any labels or attempts to categorize them or to be set apart. Thing is... they WANT to be outsiders and they endeavor to set themselves apart. So they don't want to hear that they are the same as anyone else. Fine with me. Panel Nazis. I got annoyed and left.

Which put me in a very bad mood. So when someone in the food line tried to cut in line I went ballistic. Major peeve for me even when I'm in a good mood. Sigh.

I was Arisia's first guest artist and I didn't even go up to the art show. I'd have had to borrow a badge to go in anyway. I didn't buy a membership. I don't want to belong to that con, mostly. I wish they'd stop using the insignia I made for them. Someone did an awful job coloring it anyway.

They make it awful to use an elevator attempting to control it. If they'd just left it alone it would be better.

And it'd be nice if the art show was more accessible. 14th floor? In a hotel with a con? And long waits for elevator access? That is GOOFY. Running up and down stairs messes up my body chemistry insulin-wise. (Diabetes) Really. Sure, who cares if some old coot can't get up and down stairs?

I'll stop now. Although I could go on.

A.C. Farley

[kgola.livejournal.com]

In terms of the elevator problems, we left them alone last year, and to my memory, there were far worse problems then than this year.

and in terms of the art show - the problem is the hotel. there's no where lower that they could do it - short of laying it all out in a much smaller space OR spreading it through hotel rooms... the convention-rooms are muchly lacking in the new hotel.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

What can be done, structurally, to change people's attitudes and how people treat each other?

The way I think about it, people, in as a group, mostly respond to outside stimulus. Landscape archetects, for instance, attempt to design spaces that will encourage specific emotional resonances, and therefore, attitudes.

I don't think you can tell people, "Be Excellent To Each Other", and make it stick. But there MIGHT be some ways to structure the con that would help that happen.

I know that one of the things that we attempt to do, for staff, IS staff den. As you know, and noticed, they are there to try to help the other staff members keep their spirits up, and therefore, hopefully, help others to be nicer. Obviously, if they'd been total jerks to you, you'd have been less inclined to help THEM out.

I work in what has been called "Staff Support", but is normally just called "Massage Den". We're a few massage therapists who are available all weekend to give massages to other staff members. One person jokingly called us the "benevolence restoration room".

One problem, of course, is, I worked out that if we DOUBLED the number of therapists we have, and worked every one of us to twice as hard as is safe for a massage therapist to work, we could MAYBE get massages to half of the staff. I think we do a lot of good to the con, but in terms of absolute positive attitude adjustment, I think both Staff Den and Green Room help a lot more people, a lot more often.

Working for a con is very stressful, and that makes some people snappish and bitchy. And snappishness and bitchiness snowball and get worse and worse.

I think, and hope, that Staff Den and Green Room are mitigators against this, and that we in Massage Den are also mitigators, but is there more that we can be doing? If we need an attitude adjustment, how can we go about making this adjustment, and making it stick?

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Thank you for seeing the point of this post instead of just gravitating to one sentence I made about the dynamic changing.

Yes, the point is, people were being rude, snappish and acting as though they were entitled. The staff den, and the massage den are extras, No other convention that I am aware of (correct me if I am wrong) offer such amenities. But many people view them as if they are entitled to have these things. Sure other cons have a staff den, but you wont see hot meals there, you would be lucky to get a cold cut sandwich and handful of chips, never mind Fajitas or chicken pot pie or lasagna. I know of no other official massage dens at cons. Being rude and obnoxious to the people staffing these areas isn't going to make them want to do it again, no one to staff it and it'll have to go away.

FWIW, I was told I could get a massage if I wanted it, but I didn't because I felt there were others at the con that needed it more and I didn't want to take up one of the valuable time slots. Sometime soon, I'll contact Steve and pay him for one.

[tehuti.livejournal.com]

I have a whole essay/rant about Arisia and it's changing dynamic as of late, How I feel it's strayed from it's original mission to be all inclusive and such, how it's more of a fannish lifestyle and polyamory based con now instead of Science Fiction and Fantasy based as originally intended, and how it really needs to be able to encompass all things equally, but I will likely not subject people to it.

I want to agree and disagree with this. First, the disagreement. Of those forty seven lifestyle panels, a very small number of them were poly related. Most of the panels in the Fannish Lifestyles track were things like the Mad Scientist Laugh, Yoga, Disaster Preparedness and other similar things. The "Fannish Lifestyles" track seems to have been used as a catch-all for a whole bunch of things that didn't fit anywhere else. And I for one enjoy an opportunity to learn something about what other fans find interesting.

That being said, I was disappointed in the lack of variety and number of panels this year as compared to the last two cons I attended. I was a panelist for eight panels, and they were the only ones that I attended. That might be a function of having been a panelist on so many panels, as I was ON nearly all of the ones I would have wanted to attend. However, I do feel that there weren't nearly enough science panels, and the Literature track seemed to be heavily dominated with author readings. For a four day event, the panel program seemed a bit light, so much so that I left the con before noon this morning because the only panel I found marginally interesting was scheduled last, and I didn't feel like wasting four hours doing nothing to get to it.

I remember in years past lamenting that there were two panels scheduled against each other that I wanted to attend. This year, I had a hard time FINDING a panel to attend at all (aside from my own).

[dragonsea]

Thank you for the help you and G gave me w/ mail-in.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the convention as much as I could, despite having a very full Demonstration schedule as well as the Art Show.

I thank all of the hard working staff who put up with way too much but still manage to pull through each year.

I think the idea of the "Elevator Monitors" - the *official* ones with the Staff, mind you, not the self-appointed jerks who apparently were using it for themselves....I thought the idea was a very good one and to me it seemed to work very well this year as opposed to the horror show of last year, although there were still a few jams. It's hard to ask the general public to re-program themselves to *not* instinctively reach for the door, instead the button. It's not a great design/system for an elevator IMHO, but then, the Hyatt was not designed for a convention like Arisia; likewise, I don't see anyone offering to foot the bill for a hotel that can accomodate a convention on the level of Arisia in years past. And honestly, the Park Plaza wasn't all it was cracked up to be, either...So you have to take things as they come and try to managed what you can....Unless you *are* stinking rich, as then I want to talk with you about...things... XD

I have found that there are more Jerks and Pricks among conventioneers in the last few years. A sad trend.

Although the situation in the Staff room was unfortunate, I don't think the snap should have been taken personally. How few hours of sleep had that staffer been getting the nite before? How ragged were they dealing with some of the Premadonnas and self-proclaimed Emperors/esses of the World did they have to deal with every 5 minutes? Some people are really cranky in the morning, I know because I am too cranky in the morning, but, I'm trying to not let that dictate how I treat others.

I hate to have to kick out my Soapbox a little bit here, but, I'm tired of hearing the whining and moaning about the Art Show being on the top floor. Again, this particular Hotel is not the best layout, but, I don't see anyone offering another hotel that is any better. I'm glad they had 'designated express elevator' during the weekend, I think that is smart use of the available facilities.
Where else is it going to be put? I'm just happy there's a space given for the Art show at all!

No matter what hotel Arisia ends up in, *someone* won't like it, and they'll make sure everyone within earshot knows it. That's just a sad sign of modern life. You can't satifsy everyone all of the time, so you have to make do with what's available, and if someone really wants to see something change, they ought to get involved with the process. Some people appear to exist solely to complain about anything and everything, and are so overdemanding they ruin the experience for those of us who are just happy to try and be a part of the gig.

As for the "Alternative Lifestyles" panels that appear to be gaining in popularity, and with my personal opinions about them aside, it's an indication of a new interest. I'm glad that Programming has put several of these panels at a later time to help reduce issues with parents/children, but it also comes down to us conventioneers. I choose not to go to these panels because they just don't interest me. If people feel their favorite subject/genre/whichever is fading, they too need to step up and ask for or organize to have more panels that interest them. It's not Arisia's job to 'protect your kids' or even 'protect' you. I think it is likely these interests and lifestyles, as with anything, come and go, gain and fade, as the years go. If it turns out to "take over" Arisia, then it would be time to consider the formation of a new convention for that specific area of interests. It happened before with the Boskone split (as I understand it ~ but that's before my time and neither here nor there)...

I think the idea of a "back to roots" theme is a good idea and certainly worth a shot.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Excellent comment, and yes! I forgot to also give props to the express elevators! As a mom and a Fast Track panelist, I sometimes really just need to get to the 14th floor. Accommodating young fen like that was a great idea.

[thanos73.livejournal.com]

I have been attending and working the con since 92. I have been a staffer, I have fun departments and divisions, I have been on the corporate board and I have been just an attendee. I have been on the inside and the outside of Arisia. I have heard all the comments for years and years about how Arisia is this or that. I can tell you this, Arisia is what people make of it. Maybe the con is now run by more people who are in the alternative lifestyles, years ago it was run by the more "vinilla" crowd. It will evolve and change, because that is what Arisia does. It does not remain the same over time, it morphs. This year it is the most diverse sci/fi and fantasy con, a couple years ago it was multi-speculative fiction and been more. The "back to roots" idea, it has gone back to its roots and away again and will go back. Why, cause the people who started the con, the people who ran it for years and the people who run it now want it that way.
It changes and if you want to help change it, the you must help run it.

As for staff attitudes, yea people have attitudes, name me a human being who does not. You can either accept it, tell the person to fuck off and die or just tell someone higher in charge. Trust me, cause I speak from experience, we listen to complaints. I have had to take people down who were on power trips and have my own attitude checked. The staff is human, panelists are human and the attendees are human, we all need to respect each other and understand this. I know this is probably the toughest thing to do, especially when you are already angry.

Lastly and most importantly, you only get out what you put in. This comes in every aspect of life. If you do not make the effort to have fun and just expect it to lay down in your lap and wiggle, your gonna have a very empty lap. I could only go for a few short hours due to an injury I had earlier in the week, but I made the most of those few short hours cause I made damn sure I had fun!

[fireheart.livejournal.com]

I do apologize for the lack of art panels. That was certainly a weakness on my part this year. The reason that there were few art panels this year is because art is not my area of expertise and no one came forward to propose art panels. I'm not trying to make excuses. Rather, my point is that if you would like to see more art panels, get on the brainstorm list or join the brainstorm LJ community and suggest some panels. Don't just suggest vague ideas, but actually propose full title and description. That will greatly increase the chance of the panel making it into the mix.

I will be making a few posts in the future to help demystify the panel genesis process so more people can get involved. I encourage you to keep any eye out for them and ask any questions you might have.

*Of the panels offered pre-con, 47 "fannish lifestyle" panels this year and only 12 art, 12 filk, and 8 costume panels is not treating all things equally.

Fannish lifestyle is a broad umbrella track. It's what we put anything that we could not find a better track to put it in into. Of those 47, about 5 had to do with anything relationship based. This means that filk, art, and comics each outnumbered relationship/adult panels.

The important question is, were there times during the con when there were no panels that you wanted to go to? A person can only go to one panel at a time, so if there is one you want to go to, that is good.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

So what is the name of the brainstorming LJ group for next year? I'm not having any luck finding such a thing.

[descendingmuse.livejournal.com]

I would like to read your essay/rant about Arisia and it's changing dynamic as some of the big reasons I didn't go this year was a strong amount of disgruntledness towards the way I felt some individuals acted the last few years with disrespect (on both being rude/mean or overly High horsed about an issue) and the general feel of the con. I sometimes feel that it can't decide on what to focus on. I don't see big changes occuring even though with the size of participants making it a bigger con may be the way to go with more events, hands on learning sessions and more guests (perhaps even a walk of fame to have some guests who would require more money, but could charge for autographs) for a wide array of attendees would be the way to go.

I wish I lived in the Boston area as really do wish to see the Con either get a polishing or a clearer direction based on what many participants wish to see (of course this can only happen if suggestions are made, however often suggestions are made that are not done for various reasons which a polishing of the con may help fix).

[recombatant.livejournal.com]

I'd like for Arisia to DISCONTINUE using any of the art I made. They have been using it at with my blessing up to now. The con isn't what it was when I made that stuff. I don't want to be associated with it any longer. I liked it when it was about art and writing and movies and F/SF and it attracted professionals. It seems like some weird barely recognizable 'thing' to me now it's so way off topic in a lot of ways. And before anyone makes a big deal out of this... you can like it the way it is. I don't have to. God bless you and have fun with it.

A.C. Farley

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I suggest you contact Arisia Corporate regarding this matter.

president@arisia.org

categories (tangent)

[cos]

I know this is a tangent, but I didn't experience staff rudeness nor was I on staff or ever in the staff den, so I have nothing to add to that.

I just want to refer to this footnote: "of the panels offered pre-con, 47 "fannish lifestyle" panels this year and only 12 art, 12 filk, and 8 costume panels is not treating all things equally." I think that's a fallacy - "fannish lifestyle" is a catchall for a very wide variety of things, and there's hardly anyone out there who's interested in all of them. For example, I'm interested in polyamory and livejournal: there were, IIRC, 3 LJ panels, and 3 poly panels. If there were 12 filk panels, that's twice as many as both of those categories combined, so clearly filk was being treated as much more of a core interest of Arisia than either polyamory or livejournal. Which is neither surprising, nor bothersome to me. But it doesn't matter to me, or anyone else, how many other panels there are in the "fannish lifestyle" category - what matters is how many there are in the specific things that interest us, and clearly there are a lot more core SF sort of panels than there are about any other topic. Treating things "equally" would probably move Arisia much further away from those core topics than it is now.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

47 fannish lifestyle panels? I don't think there were even 10 of them (maybe not even a half dozen). So apparently you and I are defining "fanish lifestyle" differently. Out of curiosity, what are you counting as lifestyle panels? Either I missed a huge number of them, or I was not counting most of them as lifestyle.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I counted what was listed under "Fannish Lifestyles" in the ZAmbia database on-line BEFORE the convention. I don't know how many of them actually saw the light of day at con. I haven't even seen a program this year.