Rose Fox ponders "What Conventions Are and Aren't" at the Genreville blog at Publishers Weekly.
She considers both Readercon and conrunning in general, and provides an actual item to discuss -- the volunteer convention business model -- which provides a useful change from the slanging matches occurring else-net.
begin quote Conventions are not communities in the traditional sense of the word. They are not townships. The conchair is not the mayor; the head of safety or security is not the chief of police; the concom and the board are not tribunals or juries. The organizing bodies are not directly or representationally elected and are almost never demographically representative of the convention-attending population. I think that treating conventions as in some way parallel to real-world communities governed by law is a really bad idea, especially when we get into these crime-and-punishment discussions. Conventions are not in the business of dispensing justice. They aren’t designed for it or equipped for it, and no one–especially not anyone involved in running a convention–should behave as though they are, even for a moment.
What conventions are designed for and equipped for is helping people to have fun. That’s the business model! And I think that is what conventions should stay focused on when someone pops up and starts making their spaces less fun for their customers. quote ends
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-09-14 12:44 am (UTC)She considers both Readercon and conrunning in general, and provides an actual item to discuss -- the volunteer convention business model -- which provides a useful change from the slanging matches occurring else-net.