Harassment at Conventions – ConComs Need to Work to Stop It

Wow, fandom has had a quite a bit to talk about recently.  Between the harassment situation at ReaderCon and some key members of ConCarolinas dropping off of the ConCom suddenly, it hasn’t exactly been a quiet summer.

I’m going to cover the issue of ConCom dynamics in a later post, but I want to cover the harassment thing in this post. 

Let me start by saying that I don’t know anyone involved in the situation at ReaderCon, so I’m not going to speak too much on what happened there, specifically.  I do want to discuss harassment in general though, as it needs to be addressed at more conventions.

No person, male, female or otherwise (it’s a big universe, anything is possible) should ever be made to feel uncomfortable by their fellow convention attendees.  I would encourage all conventions to adopt an anti-harassment policy.  The most important reason is that it’s the right thing to do.  And, if that’s not a good enough reason for you, consider that it’s also good PR.  With what happened at ReaderCon still fresh in people minds (it was all over the internet), cons really need to step up their awareness and concentrate on the prevention and education of this topic.

Where to start?  Well, there’s Nerdiquette 101 (check out the FB page).  Nerdiquette 101 provides a handout you can either print or place in your con’s program book.  They also conduct panel discussions on dealing with harassment.  And yes, I have been a participant on more than one panel, so if this sounds like an advertisement, it kind of is, but not really.  Honestly, I didn’t come up this idea.  It is the brain child of Laura Haywood-Cory, Allegra Torres, and Cheralyn Lambeth.  They deserve the majority of the credit for this project.   If you are really not  sure where to start, I would suggest inviting members of that group to speak on the topic at your next con.

As for an anti-harassment policy, I’ve recently had discussions with some business savvy individuals who recommend that you avoid getting too specific with the policy.  One of the things that I took away from all of the discussions on the ReaderCon situation was their zero tolerance, “you are banned for life if you break this rule,” policy was broken.  I agree that cons need to be decisive and firm on their anti-harassment policy, but they also have to allow for the fact that some folks are just too socially clueless for words.  Those folks need to be pulled aside, educated and warned not to do it again.  If they repeat their behavior, well, okay, ban them.  At the same time, some occurrences are simply unforgivable, and those folks deserve to get bounced from the con without a warning.  I guess my point is that each case is somewhat different, and your policy should allow you to treat each case differently.  Just be sure that you treat similar cases equally.  Nobody should get a pass just because they are a guest or because of their status in fandom.   Be fair, but firm.

For more information on harassment at cons, just do a quick Google search.  There are blogs and articles all over the place that can you can pull information from, I assure you.  This is a hot topic right now.

Okay, that’s it for this post.  Take care of each other, and have a great next con!

ConTemporal

Laura Haywood-Cory has posted a review of ConTemporal.  Since I was only there for about 6 hours, I'll point you to her review for an inside look this first year con.

http://laurahcory1.livejournal.com/85509.html

Post Con

You’ve just spent a whole year putting together a convention.  You’re tired, relieved, and ready for a break.  That’s just about when folks start telling you everything that was great about your convention, and… what needs more work.

Let’s face it.  One of the hardest things in the world for convention organizers to hear is criticism about their con.  There seems to be an almost universal reaction to hearing your con isn’t perfect.  Specifically, we con runners immediately jump to the defense of our event.  Our initial reaction is to explain why things were the way they were.  We want folks to understand that we really did think it through ahead of time.  The fact is however, the person asking you to fix something doesn’t really care why it’s broken.  They want you to take what they say and try to find a way to make it work better.  It’s not that they hated the convention (okay, well, it’s possible they did), it’s just that they didn’t like that one little aspect of it.  Keep in mind, that person cared enough about your event to offer a suggestion. 

As you are probably already aware, a lot of your attendees will want a say in the next convention.  It’s probably best if you go ahead and ask for their input online and/or at a “Con in Review” panel during the convention.  By providing a venue for them to give their views, you can get a lot of those concerns dealt with early, instead of having to deal with fielding comments for several months after the con.

Now that you have been a dutiful con organizer, you will need to address all of the feedback you have received.   What’s my recommendation for how best to handle critiques?  That’s easy.  Write them down, make a note of any recommendations you receive, and let everyone know you will address their concerns with the committee. 

Then I want to you to promptly set it aside for at least a week.

The one week portion of this process is important, because that’s about the minimum amount of time that the entire ConCom should get away from each other.  After a week or so, reconvene the committee and hold a “post mortem,” so that the staff can review the convention.  This is best done using classic brainstorming methods.

If you are not familiar with how brainstorming works, here’s the one I like to use:

[You will need paper and pens (try to make these identical) and some way to display the suggestions where everyone can read them -- chalkboard, dry-erase board, flip chart, LCD projector… something.]

·         Begin by stressing to everyone that there are no right and no wrong suggestions; and that all issues submitted are to be considered as areas that need attention, even if the majority of committee doesn’t believe there is a problem.

·         Ask everyone to submit the problems that they saw in writing, and add in the ones you have collected from any outside comments.  

·         Randomly pick an issue to be read aloud, and then ask folks to write down a suggestion for alleviating the problem.

·         The solutions are collected and written up on the board (or whatever you are using) so everyone can see them.

·         A vote is taken and the top 2-3 suggestions are left on the board (erase the rest) and then, and only then, are they discussed. At this point, it’s best to remind everyone of the ground rules (there are no bad ideas).

·        Once everyone is finished discussing the solutions, a final vote is taken.  Write down the solution for the next year’s convention, and move one to the next issue.

Using this method helps to take some of the emotion out of dealing with the problem.  It also might allow for some problems to be brought forward where the person might otherwise be too intimidated to bring it up.

The final step in the process is for someone to hit the website, email lists, and various social media sites and let the world know what issues were discussed and what you decided.

Now, take another week off.  Or two.  Or three.

RavenCon 2012

I need to start by apologizing.  I’ve been really lazy motivationally challenged lately when it comes to writing.  Part of the problem has been available time, and part has been that I wasn’t really “in the mood’ to write.

I guess it’s a good thing I don’t write for a living, huh?

Okay, so I promised Mike Pederson I would be placing a review of RavenCon on my blog, so here ‘tis.

RavenCon was held on April 13-15, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Koger Center in Richmond, VA.

The Good

There are always a lot of good things which come out of RavenCon.  The convention is well organized.  They know their limitations and their strengths, and they tend to capitalize on their strengths. 

I’m going to hit on just a few of the positives in this blog:

• Guest scheduling was nicely inventive at this con.  I was initially apprehensive of their idea, but it seemed to have worked well.  Brandon Blackmoor sent out an email approximately one week out from the convention providing me with a link to a Google Spreadsheet.  The panel schedule was listed there, with spaces for up to 6 panelists open under each panel.  The guests were allowed to sign up for the panels they wanted to participate on, and note if they wished to moderate the panel.  This meant that each guest was responsible for allowing time for things like meals and sleep. If he didn’t eat, it was his own fault.
• The program book was well designed and attractive, but I’ve come to expect that from Mike Pederson.  Anything less than great would be a disappointment at this con.
• The dealer room had a nice variety of dealers and was spacious enough to allow for people to get past those who were patronizing the various tables.
• The names badges were large enough to read at a reasonable distance.  If you’ve read my reviews in the past, you know this is a pet peeve of mine.
• They added the schedule to LiveCon, for mobile devices.

Possible Areas of Improvement (The Bad)

For all of the great things about RavenCon, there were just a few areas that could use a little, tiny, bit of work.

• Signing up for panels ahead of time was great, but defaulting to 6 panlists was overkill in at least one of the rooms.  I think I heard other guests comment on that during the con, and have faith that if the room is only about 600 square feet in size, RavenCon will reduce the number of panelist slots next year. 
• The Auction started late and was rushed.  This, I was told, was caused by last minute additions to the costume contest, which happened just prior to the auction.  My rule of thumb on this is to never, ever, allow people to enter the costume contest at the last minute.  I recommend announcing a deadline for folks to enter, and then sticking to it.
• I have now had my first, “will someone please shut that guy up,” experience on a panel.  This isn’t really RavenCon’s fault, however.  It’s the moderator’s fault.  Still, I wanted to mention it.
• Speaking of moderators, the Program Director assigned moderators for the panels where no one had signed up to fill that role.  I was a tad bit surprised to find out I was moderating two panels, since I didn’t volunteer.  Perhaps a better policy would be for the convention to drop a quick email to the guest and ask if they are willing to moderate.  
• LiveCon cons looks really slick on the iPhone, but aweful on Andriod.  The developer needs to get the app updated for Andriod, which is the OS on nearly 50% of the mobile devices.

Overall, RavenCon is one of my favorite cons.  This year, I would have to give them 4.5 out of 5 stars.  There are some areas that need to be improved on, but those do not detract from the overall con experience.  If you’ve never been to RavenCon, give it try.  It’s well worth the trip.

Nerdiquette 101

Laura Haywood-Cory has convinced me to help with her with an education project she has titled Nerdiquette 101.  The concept behind the project is to help some of our fellow con attendees to better understand what is and is not acceptable behavior at conventions (any time really).  It’s truly a disgrace that we have to even contemplate starting a project like this in 2012, but it seems some members of fandom are still lacking in social skills. 

[Note: The project also has an additional side bonus of promoting positive hygiene practices as well.] 

The background for Nerdiquette 101 stems from a series of bad experiences that a number of female SF fans have suffered through over the last several years (and some guys too).  Normally what happens is that some socially inept individual makes a horrible remark, or performs some inexcusable action, which leaves the woman feeling very uncomfortable.   Each of these experiences falls into the “dude, that’s just not acceptable” category, yet, sadly, many of the offenders have no idea that their behavior needs improvement. 


Our goal is as follows:

1. To educate the fans who are lacking in social skills
2. To encourage women to report improper behavior to the con staff or hotel staff
3. To educate the various ConComs that they need to take any reported offense seriously
4. To provide conventions written materials that can be included in program books or on “freebie” tables

We will be hosting our first ever panel for this project at RavenCon this weekend (Friday, 5pm).  Please stop by if you are at the con.

For those of you not going to RavenCon, Laura has recently created a Nerdiquette 101 page on Facebook.  She already has a one page info handout posted there for ConComs who wish to start taking action now.

I will post more on this project as it develops. 

How to Know When It's Time to Quit

Today, guest blogger Tera Fulbright will address getting out of running conventions.  This topic is one that is “near and dear” to my heart.  If you organize conventions, I encourage you to get out of the business before you lose your friends and sanity.

Thanks Tera!

* * *

I recently read a great post by David B Coe on “The Writing life: when do you give up?”   He wrote one of the best answers I have ever read: “No, the time to quit is when you don’t feel anything anymore.”

I think this applies to every activity/commitment/adventure you do in life.  But it is particularly true in conrunning.   According to my resume, I ran or helped run cons from 1996 to 2009.  That’s 13 years.  Thirteen years where I ran cons, ran programming, talked to guests or arranged special events. 

Now, there are people out there that have been running cons 20+, 30+ or more.  But I think that one characteristic that those who still organize conventions share is a passion for the job.

When you run a convention, you live and breathe that con for at least 13-14 months of your life, if not more.  Between the setup, the actual con, and the post-con, you are constantly dealing with several of aspects of the business of the convention.

I made the decision to stop being involved when I no longer cared about the success or failure of the convention.  I didn’t care if the attendees or the guests had fun.  I knew then it was time to get out, so I quit.  Since then, I’ve helped… I’ve answered questions… but I haven’t “run” them.

I think it is important to have a passion for this type of volunteer work.  You have to want it; for most of us, we don’t get paid to run cons.  It is a time commitment we give as volunteers.  And as con organizers, one of things we must be aware of is how much time and energy it takes to run a con.  It can take a lot out of you, particularly if you, which I suspect most of you reading this are, also work a full-time job/have families/etc.  Sometimes, we have to realize that we can’t do it all and give up something.  
Sometimes, that’s con running.  When running cons takes the place of your family, your friends, your job or any other aspect of your life, then it is time to take a close look at why you are doing it.  When you no longer care if the attendee can find the panel room they are looking for, or if the guest has eaten that day;  when you no longer care if the art show artwork gets sent back to the artists or if the dealers had a good weekend, it’s time to stop.

Realizing that you no longer have a passion for something can be a painful experience.   But then, you can do what the rest of us do… offer advice to the new folks who have the passion.  And maybe, just maybe, they can run a little longer than you did.

Please note the switch back and forth between ‘you’ and ‘we’ … once a con runner, always a con runner?

Know Your Guests, and Know Them Well

I decided it was time for a “soapbox” type post, so today’s blog topic will be, “Know Your Guests, and Know Them Well!”  

Okay, stop! I didn’t mean it like that! 

Seriously, though, I keep seeing one problem repeat itself, over and over again.  ConCom members do not appear to be researching their guests.  The only explanation I can attribute to this situation is the growing trend of conventions to invite large quantities of guests.  Frankly, with the size of some the guest lists I’ve seen recently, I suspect that the staff does not have time to properly review each guest’s qualifications.  And it’s not even a matter of whether or not the individual should be a guest in the first place (that’s a different topic), but rather what the guests sometimes get scheduled to do during the convention.

Here’s an example… Not so long ago, a friend of mine who has X professional job, was invited to be a guest at a convention.  When she received her schedule, it showed that she was to sit in on Y panel.  The Y panel topic was something my friend literally knew nothing about.  The only conclusion we could come up with was that the programming director had not done any research into what types of discussions would be best for her.  To make matters worse, the guest, who, as I’ve mentioned, has X professional job (listed plainly in her bio), was not asked to sit on any panels that dealt her job, even though that job was why she was invited to be a guest in the first place.    

The truly bad thing is that this situation isn’t limited to just one of the people I know.  I could easily be referring to either of two different guests at that convention.

So, what can be done to combat this trend?  Let’s start by having the ConCom, all of them, read the guests’ bios.  Frankly, there are a lot of benefits in having the ConCom know exactly who the guests are.  Not only does it show respect for the guests, it allows the staff to speak intelligently about the guests.  If you’re the dealer room coordinator, for example, you just might find a potential dealer asking questions about a specific guest.  Not having to say, “Um, I’m not certain, but you can look up that information our website,” makes it look like the ConCom knows what they’re doing.

The next thing I recommend is limiting the guest list.  If the guest list is too big, you are never going to get anyone to read all of the bios.  Besides that, there are other benefits to limiting the guest list.  I will offer one of my many mistakes as an example of why this is important.  In 2001, I invited over 50 guests to attend StellarCon’s 25th anniversary convention. That turned out to be far, far too many guests for a convention of 600 people.  We had some events where there were 7-8 panelists sitting on the same panel.  Many of the moderators had a hard time controlling the panel with that many guests wanting to contribute.

So I guess the next natural question is, “Where should you cap your guest list?”  Personally, I think no more than 5% of the expected attendance would be a good upper limit.  Keep in mind that by placing a cap on the guest list you are trying to make the guest list manageable.   It will also help you make sure that you have something for all of the guests to do.  No guest wants to be invited to a convention where they only sit on 1-2 panels during the weekend, nor do they like sitting on a panel with only 4 people in the audience because the con had to schedule too many panels in order to accommodate all of the guests.  And trust me on this last part, you really do not want to have to put 8-9 guests on the same panel.

Okay, I think that’s enough of a rant for one blog.  I’m going to put away my soapbox now. 

Feel free to make comments below.