My Worldcon Conundrum

[akirlu]

So, back about last October or so, Christian McGuire (L.A.con IV's titular chair -- Craig Miller appears to be the man who actually makes things happen) sent me an e-mail in which he, among other things, asked me if I would be interested in being head of the fanzine lounge. I said I very well might be, depending on the answers to a bunch of questions I had, which I sent back to him. While I waited for a reply, I sent off a few queries to the lights of fanzine fandom assembled, trying to get a gauge of what people's priorities were in the features of a good fanzine lounge. I got some interesting answers, and continued to wait for a reply from Christian. And wait. And wait. After a couple of months had gone by, I sent another message, asking when I was likely to get a response to my questions. When I got no response to *that* I started sending pings to Christian via various lists and other people trying to get some sort of idea of what was up.

Finally, I got an e-mail back from Christian. In which he claimed that when he had previously asked me if I would be interested he wasn't really asking me to be head, he was just, you know, asking if I was interested, out of oh, I dunno, idle curiosity or something. Oh, and in the interim Milt Stevens had volunteered to do the job so LAcon was probably going with him -- Christian couldn't really say, since he had to meet with his advising committee before making a decision.

Now, I have a pretty good guess as to what really happened there. One of the questions I had asked was how Christian envisioned handling my reporting relationship with edgreen86, since I recognized that it was more than possible that such a relationship could be fraught. And Christian, bless his chicken-heart, decided to ignore the question and hope it would go away. The thing that makes me crazy about this is that I *gave* Christian an out. I said outright that my interest in the position depended on his answers to my questions, of which there were lots, and many of them would have been show stoppers if I didn't like the answer. He could have given answers I didn't like on any of them. Most directly, he could have just fessed up to what we both know --that he doesn't have the managerial skills to cope with interpersonal conflicts among his reports and wouldn't begin to know where to get them -- and I would have said, "Well, thanks but no thanks then," and that would have been the end of it. Instead he decided to pretend that asking someone if they're interested in a job isn't tantamount to offering it, which is not merely dishonest and cowardly, it's just offensively stupid.

So there's strike one.

And then there's Milt. Now, Milt is a nice enough guy. And he has at least nominal connections to fanzine fandom, if in the fairly insular, LASFS-centric way that is typical of LASFen. But I've never seen him run a green room, or a consuite, or a fan lounge. Hell, I've never known him to throw parties or help out when SCIFI is throwing parties. I am not aware of him having any track record with hospitality functions whatsoever. Not that lack of experience can't be overcome, but Milt is also not a young guy. And. And the first contact I've seen him make to the fanzine community is just this week. In the e-mail, among other things, Milt says he's going to "try selling some fanzines". This makes it sound like having fanzines available for sale in the fanzine lounge is some sort of startling innovation that is being tested for the first time. As if Geri Sullivan didn't, among other things, sell fanzines in the very same fanzine lounge location at the last LAcon. As if Milt had no awareness whatsoever of how even fanzine lounges in his own home area have worked in the past. So, no track record with hospitality, and no clue about even recent LA fanzine lounges. Did I mention yet that a well-run fanzine lounge tends to be crucial to my enjoyment of a Worldcon?

So there's strike two.

On the other hand, there are a number of people whom I don't see often enough who will be in LA and also at the Worldcon, to one degree or another. And I'm probably getting about due to visit old friends and old haunts --get some fried chicken and greens at Johnny Reb's and collect some shells at the Huntington Dog Beach --though August is not a month I would pick to visit Greater LA if given the choice. So I dunno. My current inclination is to wait and see what else gels, and how. It's not unimaginable that there will be a third and final strike. On the other hand, a couple different possibilities for hitching a ride down the coast , and I do like the idea of a road trip down and back, especially if Highway 1 south of Carmel is on the agenda. Whatever happens, if I do go down, I'm most likely to go down and hang out in the bar some rather than support LA with the purchase of a membership. If they wanted my support, they could act like it.

Comments

S.O.P.

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Go with a local when possible.
But it was handled poorly
They should never have asked you.
And that was a pretty spineless out.

Re: S.O.P.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

It's good to have a local contact on the committee for each function, but it needn't be the head. Geri Sullivan wasn't local to LA when she ran the fan lounge for LAcon III. Neither was the head of the consuite local to LA. That worked less well, but mostly due to not having a representative on th ground, plus biting off more than he could chew, which would have been true wherever he was based. With the fan lounge, I think it's most important that the person be plugged into fanzine fandom and have basic competency at handling hospitality (or have a second who is and does).

It's absolutely true that if Christian wasn't prepared to address my working relationship with Ed Green, he should never have asked me in the first place. (But again that would have been just as true if I were still local to LA.)

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, as your attorney, my advice is to shrug off the fannish political BS and go have an individualistic good time at the con with your friends. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to fly or rent a car and drive. I also haven't arranged a room. I suppose I should make some decisions one of these days!

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

What fringefaan said.

I invited Milt to attend Corflu in SF and he declined because of its being controlled by the insidious group mind. You know, that one. I was rather surprised to find out that I was a pawn of the group mind. I guess it's better that I know. Besides, one on of the great things about fandom is the opportunity to learn about things you never imagined before. Anyway, I have nothing against Milt. I'm sure he will try to do a good job on the fanzine lounge, and he might even succeed. If he's smart, he will get advice from hazelchaz.

Basically, LA Con IV has not done anything that I really like or that makes me feel excited about going. That having been said, they have put a huge amount of imagination and effort into the con, and I'm expecting to have a good time and see a lot of my friends there.

[cluefairy-j.livejournal.com]

Ulrika,

Don't go to Worldcon (or at least just arrange for time with folks during the con but not at con functions). Just come down and we can go out and hang out and see each other and laugh and cry and have fun and hug and everything!!!

We have decided that we are only going Friday and Saturday. We have two rooms with the family and they are only for Fri/Sat night. We're going to Dland on sunday.

I get to go pet the penguins at Sea World on Thursday. Otherwise, I'm totally available Saturday to Wednesday before the WCon. And it would be cool to see you. Come to the LA area for me. I am all that matters, anyway.

Forget about Christian and Milt (god, how old is he now anyway?). They don't deserve you.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, indeed, you are all that matters. I don't know how I could have forgotten. Silly me. Well, we'll have to see how the travel options pull together. Some of that stuff is out of my hands anyway.

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

If you feel strongly about making the fanzine lounge a success, you could offer to help Milt. That may even be the best of both worlds -- you could run the lounge but not have to deal with the committee folks.

Or you could just ignore the whole business.

Or something in between.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

If you feel strongly about making the fanzine lounge a success, you could offer to help Milt.

I worked for Program Ops during Nolacon II. My experience suggests that a strong desire for success is not sufficient to fix some things, especially when certain processes are well and truly out of my hands and accellerating downhill. These days, I will break my heart rarely for a convention, and then, only for people who make it worth my time.

[spacecrab.livejournal.com]

Milt Stevens ran the fanlounge at the 2002 Westercon. I don't think it would be difficult to find witnesses willing attest to its satisfactory qualities.

(It is true that this version was "fanlounge classic" ala Alan Rosenthal and Janice Murray at Orycon -- four wall fanzine surround and not so much food catering. I'm sure you could be of some help on that angle.)

[(Anonymous)]

I was at Conagerie, actually. I could have sworn it was Marty Cantor who was in charge of that fanzine lounge, but alas, the remnant of the webpage is not forthcoming. Well, whatever, I wasn't whelmed at the time. But I have it On Good Authority that Milt was in charge of the 2001 NASFiC fanzine lounge, so I'm wrong about the lack of experience. Milt has experience with running the single most useless fan lounge I personally have been party to. Which is something. I guess.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

It can't be worse than the fanzine lounge at Boston, can it? I mean, there wasn't much there beyond a meeting point and some sofas. People made a few things happen, there were some decorations, but it was mostly just...visible.

I hope you'll come to the convention. Because I'm selfish like that.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Well, aren't you sweet? But I think I'm going to have to fight at least a few more rounds with the thorny octopus whose horns I'm riding here, me and my Waring blender of metaphorical mixmastery. On some level I still believe that ghosting a con is welshing on a social contract. On the other hand, at this point, I'm sufficiently irritated that I don't want to support LAcon IV with my money. The, or at least an, ethical response is to simply not go. Or I could be self-indulgent and just throw the ethical wankery to the winds. Then again, I'm not sure if I've fully explored the range and potential of dithering. And so it goes. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Let me echo what others have said: Just go and have fun, and don't worry about the politics of the situation. I've known Milt (or known of Milt) since the 70s when he was running for TAFF (or DUFF or something) in his "Anti-Fan" persona. I don't go to West Coast conventions (unless they give me a budget for Opening Ceremonies, as did LACon III) so have no experience/opinion about his fanzine-room/party qualifications.

Frankly, the fact that they asked you (for certain definitions of "ask") is a sign that they're thinking in the right direction.