wait, why do you need their blessing for the Evecon weekend?

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To be polite. I don't want people to think I am trying to usurp Evecon, because con politics are such poopy, and I try and think ahead of the game.

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(not trying to be rude, just trying to understand) So..there is no Evecon anymore, but you want their blessing on holding a relaxacon on the weekend that was traditionally Evecon's, so no one thinks you are trying to do them one better or something like that?

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Don't do it.

Seriously.

Don't.

You don't need that kind of stress. And even if it IS a relaxacon, the people running it almost always go through stress.

Please, don't. Advise? Sure. A little help? Why not? But don't run one.

You deserve to 'retire' for a while, at least. ^_^

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If you build it, they will glomp you...

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I think running a 300-person con with friends and a staff of 13 is vastly different than a 5000+ attendee con with guests and a staff just slightly smaller than the US Treasury Department.

But your opinion matters. Trust me.

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"Ideas and stuff 'I have always wanted to see at a con' within reason"

Hrm - a lot of the things that immediately sprang to mind were things I *did* see back at the Fantek cons. Like a very inclusive, laid back masquerade where everyone got some sort of prize and felt good about their participation. And Lite Brite and Legos in con suite. ::happy smile::

One addition of a selfish nature... lunch offerings for the dealer's room. Like having a deal on sandwiches or cooridinated take out that the dealer's can opt in to.

"I really hate it when a relaxacon does..."

Can't necessarily answer this as I have never been to a relaxicon !

"Sean and I are thinking about inviting Al Gore as a guest under the title 'Voice actor of Futurama and sketch actor as seen on Saturday Night Live,' and nothing else. How does that make you feel?"

That would be pretty awesome, if he'd show up. But I never put too much stock in famous guests anywho.

"Share with me one of the WORST security moments you ever had at a con"

Imaginecon, dude, the whole thing. You were there, you know.

"Share with me the FUNNIEST thing you have ever seen at a con"

A friend flogging a guy dressed like Jesus on Easter weekend. Whilst he hollared, "Oh My Dad !" Wait... did you want PG-13 funny ?

"Talk me out of this"

Hrm. No. I'm still offering to come as a vendor.

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Punkie -

We've already told you you're nuts. However, IF you do decide to do this, MSD will support you in your insanity.

But you really need to sit down with Bruce & Cheryl & Christine & an accountant & a medical doctor and have a good long look at your credit rating and your physical health. ESPECIALLY with a child heading towards college.

You also probably ought to attend a Balticon meeting. However, I suspect attending a Katsucon meeting would do just as well.

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Running a con is something that should only be done by trained masochists.

But it might just be worth it if you manage to pull off the Al Gore thing.

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What is with the greyed-out counter in the lower left?

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fnord

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Ideas and stuff "I have always wanted to see at a con" within reason

Everything that was at the Fantek Cons... A program that includes everyone... You know enough people that could run a pannel of just about anything you can think of...

"I really hate it when a relaxacon does..." absolutely nothing. Having a con where you just go an hang out sounds neat, but is really boring.

Sean and I are thinking about inviting Al Gore as a guest under the title "Voice actor of Futurama and sketch actor as seen on Saturday Night Live," and nothing else. How does that make you feel?

I like it! :)

Share with me one of the WORST security moments you ever had at a con

At Disclave when one of the security volunteers told me he was going to rape me.

Share with me the FUNNIEST thing you have ever seen at a con

Bruce walking around with tennis rackets on his feet...

Talk me out of this

Nope. I think you would do a good job. :)

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I would be very happy to offer some dance classes on English Country Dancing, 15th century Italian Dancing, and/or other ren/medieval dancing.

I would love to see Al Gore!!

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on the nature of panels: I have become heartily sick to death of any panel that involves multiple people sitting around talking about what they think their favorite X is, or really, most panels altogether. The ones that I still like, that I will still go to, are ones that are how-tos on doing things ("How to color black and while illustrations in Photoshop" or "How to make your own hard-case stormtrooper armor" or "The Basics of Spinning as a Whirling Dervish") or about a particular facet of fandom that the speaker has researched (e.g., "The history of Luke Cage and Marvel's long-time inability to give black superheros backgrounds that don't involve overcoming drug use or crime" or "Female flying aces and their representation in comics between 1935 and 1975").

Other people's mileage undoubtedly varies, but I personally find life too short to sit through one more panel about vague things like "what makes for a good horror story" or "women superheroes we like", even with knowledgeable panelists, because I inevitably leave having gained nothing and lost an hour. These conversations are great -- as conversations, someplace like a lounge or a bar -- but I prefer panels to have substance if they're going to be there at all.

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I'm amused you're coming up 100% crazy. Not surprised, mind you, because anybody who volunteers to work on a con (myself included) is completely bonkers by default.

-- Ideas and stuff: I always have wanted to run a filk relaxcon--very light programming, mostly workshops & theme circles, maybe a featured concert or two as a draw, but no true GOHs. (We're talking even more scaled-down than GAFilk here...) In fact I toyed once or twice with the idea of proposing a con-within-a-con for EveCon/CastleCon but never quite got off my butt.

-- The only thing I can think of that I really hate is a con suite that doesn't serve any food. Mind you, I'm not expecting a con suite to feed me a meal. I'm perfectly happy to go to a restaurant or fast food joint for an actual meal. But I've see "con suites" that didn't even have chips or other cheap munchies and on one occasion barely had drinks. Umm...why bother *having* a con suite?

-- Can't really say I've personally witnessed a security debacle.

-- The funniest moment I ever witnessed was Jordin Kare premiering his "Heart of the Apple Lisa" parody of Fred Small's "Heart of the Appaloosa". When he hit the first chorus, the room exploded in gales of laughter. People literally falling out of their chairs. The laughter was so loud that folks were running down the hall into the main concert room to see what was going on.

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