arisia | Arisia needs an attitude adjustment.

Arisia needs an attitude adjustment.

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.

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Speaking of filk, was there a filk guest?

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

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.

That's what I thought.

I understood that some fo the folks in charge did not want a filk guest as such.

(I know I was not happy with last year's).

I had suggested someone -- as I am sure other people did -- but the good nedws is that the person I suggested will be the Boskone filk guest.

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.

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.

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.

I believe I know who that is and I am crying that I can't make Boskone this year. *SIGH*

It's Seanan.

;)

It's gonna soooooo rock.

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).

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!

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.

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.

I was a participant an a well-received "fannish lifestyle" panel on raising our children in fandom.

That was on my initial "ooh, I could be on that!" list, but that list was 23 panels long... *laugh*

And yeah, your point's worthy of note. My "fannish lifestyle" panel was on blogging, which is totally valid as a genre panel, seeing as many of our favorite genre writers have blogs nowadays. (That wasn't specifically what my blogging panel is about, but that's an idea for next year - Scalzi's blog helped him sell his first novel, for example.)

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.

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.

Yeah the elevator business started to get sort or ridiculous. Yes- there is a weight limit, but also the elevators are "smart" in the sense they have alarms in them when the weight limit is exceeded. It's a weight limit, not a number of people limit. I found a bunch of times people didn't want to back into the back of the elevator at all—maybe because they were afraid of standing near the glass windows. That said, the fact of the matter is that is where the elevator opened up and had the majority of space. Often I found no one was even standing in that huge space and telling me there was no room for my small figure in there.
You get a lot of people telling you what to do to the degree of micro-management and it simply takes a lot of the fun away and sort of ruins the moment.

When we first got there I brought a friend who hasn't gone to Arisia before and he said to me: "Wow this is a fact con booklet!"
Someone at the desk near us snapped, "Well. It's a four day con." His tone insinuated a silent "idiot" at the end of that remark. We just ignored it, but the sense of power/entitlement that sometimes you find at cons did seem more pronounced this year.

Not to say I didn't have fun when I did!
However, I do know that some of the people in my group were considering not going next year because of it.

I also want to touch on the fact that I am more than open-minded about the alternate lifestyles you find at cons, I even enjoy going to panels about it and learning about things etc. But I feel like while it is something that shouldn't be IGNORED, this is a science fiction/fantasy convention. I found a lack of panels I had much interest in going to considering there's only so much I want to hear about alternate lifestyles, not because I don't respect them, but because it's not something I am relating to and since I came there for a different reason. :)

End the end- yes I agree a back to basic's theme is a great idea!
Also- while the panel participants are there to guide the conversation - I feel as though there are some panelists who have lost the sense that they are there to engage the audience and let them participate in the discussion as well. It's not exactly an overwhelming issue I found, but rather something that maybe people ought to be reminded of. We're all here to have fun! :P
Speaking of an awesome panel - the Mad Scientist Laugh contest was my favorite panel this year. The panelists had a perfect lead and charisma while engaging the audience to really participate and crack jokes and have fun. No one even had an itch of taking a small amount of power and abusing it.

hahahh yes - I love LJ but even I thought there was sort of a ridiculous amount of panels based on it :P

It begs the question: what are people a fan of?

It used to be that Arisia was for fans of The Genres, of art, literature, gaming, et cetera... Now it seems that the focus is on being a fan of being a fan! Fandom has turned it eye on itself, and it likes what it sees.

It's self-congratulatory and narcissistic, and has definitely made Arisia lackluster for the past few years.

It used to be that Arisia was for fans of The Genres, of art, literature, gaming, et cetera... Now it seems that the focus is on being a fan of being a fan! Fandom has turned it eye on itself, and it likes what it sees.

It's self-congratulatory and narcissistic, and has definitely made Arisia lackluster for the past few years.

This is it exactly! well said.

And this is an excellent fannish lifestyles panel to keep.

Mostly I'm referring to the panels on poly relations and kink. I am not saying there is no place for them, there is certainly interest in them, but I can't see having them at the expense of other panels that are more specific to the sf/f genre. Arisia only has so many hours and so much space, that space should be more evenly divided amongst the other aspects of sf/f, filk, gaming, costuming, art, literature etc. (yes, there were plenty of literature panels, but you understand where I'm coming from.)

I agree.

I did have an extremely (kids related) stressed out time last year when I got very angry with someone that I perceived was holding the number of people in the elevator for the benefit of his friends. When I found out half-way down that he was doing it as an Arisia staffer, I apologized and told him what I had thought was going on. He was very nice and forgave me. There really are many kind people on Arisia staff, but there are some serious jerks too.

Now I'll have to ask you to forgive me for not pointing out who I was while we were doing origami together. :)

Party-hopping and socializing...phht. So not me! I was with the kids for 98% of the Con.

You said that so perfectly!
I am really sad seeing this happen. I feel like there is a real disrespect to art at cons recently. The fact the art show is tossed up on the 16th floor is proof enough...

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.

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Arisia needs an attitude adjustment.

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

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

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

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