i protest

[davemerrill]

The Torontoist has a great essay about the protests here: http://torontoist.com/2010/06/g20_dispatches_everyone_loses.php

Sunday, police were much more aggressive and detained hundreds of people for hours in the pouring rain at Queen & Spadina. At one point there were three separate demos going on, one at King & Bay, one at the TCMN center in Parkdale (that's us!) and the hundreds of people detained at Queen & Spadina. Actually there was a moving bicycle demo too. The Torontoist is correct in calling for an independent investigation into the behavior of the ISU and the Toronto police during the G20 - including what's turning out to be appalling conditions and abuse at "Torontonimo Bay", the detainee facilty in the former film studio on Eastern. Right now there's a protest taking place in front of Police HQ on College Street. Wonder if they'll finally get to use that sound cannon...

MEANWHILE, I have a new Zero Fighter page up. It's even clumsier looking now than it looked last night, but hey, I'll, uh, re-do it for the book. Yeah, that's my plan. No, honestly, that is my plan.

Now for the REALLY IMPORTANT stuff. A month after I emailed them, I was informed that at Con Bravo this weekend in Oakville I'll be doing a Classic Anime panel at 4pm on Saturday and Old School Classroom at 5pm on Sunday. So far my query emails about whether or not I'm going to get passes for myself and Shain have not been answered. The policy as set forth on their panelist submission page states that panellists have to purchase badges, and if panellists do 4 or more panels they will be reimbursed. MY policy, on the other hand, is that if I am providing programming at a convention, I get a free pass for myself and my wife. End of story. I am not gonna waste anybody's valuable time getting forms signed, jumping through hoops, swearing affadavits, or whatever other nonsensical red tape hurdle they might come up with. I am also not going to shell out $25 for the privilege of entertaining and/or educating an audience. That dog don't hunt.


This whole do-your-panel-and-you-might-get-reimbursed policy is apparently the Way Things Are Done up here. Polaris (formerly Toronto Trek) asked me to do panels, but they have the reimbursement policy in full effect, so I cheerfully took a big old pass. Anime North has the same policy for their panels, but the events directors at Anime North are smart enough to realize that someone such as myself with decades of experience in the field of showing stupid cartoons to crowds is a known quantity and can be trusted to deliver an entertaining experience. And thusly I entertain thousands of people in prime time slots in the biggest hall they can get, and nobody bugs me about getting my proper forms signed so they know I'm actually doing what I'm supposed to do.

In contrast, back in the day when I was running anime conventions, how you do it is this: you dream up a panel and get people to be on it and throw them a badge. If people come up with their own panel and it's deemed worthy of the convention's time, you put them on the list for a free pass. People who volunteer their time and talent to make the convention fun and interesting deserve a free badge. WORST CASE SCENARIO - they fail to deliver? They go on the shitlist and they never get a free badge ever again. In the meantime, they came to your show, they told all their friends about this convention they were going to, they spent money in the dealers room, they got a hotel room, the con is out the thirty cents it cost to print the badge. OH NOES.

Sure, this method lacks an entire level of bureaucracy and red tape, and we don't have staffers stamping the backs of badges, checking records, signing forms, and valuable time is not spent taking money from one person, putting it into a box, taking it out of the box, and giving it back to the person. If you're a fan of bureaucracy and red tape, this is a nightmare proposition. If, however, you'd rather spend time doing things involving Japanese cartoons, it works out pretty well.

It's now been a couple of days since I emailed the panels director and the volunteer director about whether I'm going to get badges, and have not heard a thing. Seeing as how they waited until a week before the show to actually inform me that I'd be doing panels, I am not expecting a speedy reply. I really don't want to spend two or three days putting together a Old School Classroom presentation that I might not use, and that might be shown to an empty room at 5pm on a Sunday (???). Which in and of itself is an interesting bit of scheduling, but hey, who knows?

And sure, it's their con and they can maintain whatever policies they care to maintain concerning the distribution of badges and reimbursements for panellists. I'm fully aware that I am asking for consideration above and beyond their typical panelist submission. But, and this is the key part: I ain't a typical panelist.

EDITED TO ADD: Two passes will be set aside for myself and Shaindle Minuk who is MAI WAIFU. Con Bravo, I salute you!

Comments

[efathefinger.livejournal.com]

I know the reason for the policy. When most cons started up, the con pass was cheap, cause we were at a crappy hotel, and the venue didn't cost much either, since you had like one panel room.

Now, couple of years later, you've had to change hotels 3 times, they see you as a big business, your guest list no longer features Steve Bennett, costs have gone up all over the place. So a pass is like $50 for the weekend.

Most kids will balk at that number. So, hey, if I do one panel, I can get in free! At that point, paying $50 for a somebody to do an unknown one hour panel is not a choice most will make. And don't bet on them paying to sleep at the hotel, thats what video rooms are for!

As they say, the rules were meant to be broken, even my most conservative convention chair friend uses the "would they buy a ticket anyway" rule when it applies.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but (a) the convention I'm talking about here with the reimbursement policy is a first year show at a Holiday Inn, and (b) AWA still has a liberal comp pass policy, and it's still paying dividends (still has a liberal shit list policy, too).

I can see where a big show gets swamped with panel requests and is forced to cull the herd of applications with a reimbursement policy. But panelists who have demonstrated their ability to get the job done in a dependable fashion should not be subjected to those hassles.

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

Why do you need a badge anyway? I show up do my panels and go home. There's nothing I wanna see that requires a badge.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

It was tempting to do that, but I don't wanna disrespect these guys on their first show. Anyway, I do want to see the rest of the convention, see how it goes.

I gotta ask, if you want no part of the convention, why are you there doing panels?

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

Now why would you think that I want no part of the convention?

I mean, other then the fact that they treat me like shit?

There are parts of the conventions I do like, and lucky for me they don't require me to have a badge. I enjoy the Artist Alleys. It's always fun to walk the AAs and stop and talk to the regulars and see the new artists and see what they are trying to do. And, well, to just talk with them. And usually while I'm strolling through the AA I run into people I haven't seen since the last convention and stop and have a few laughs. Which is also why I always stop at the hotel bar, to see who's there and stop and enjoy the company.

I've pretty much stopped going to dealer's rooms because it had become every dealer has the same stuff for the same price and stopped selling anything for shows that appealed to me. Plus I can buy this stuff cheaper online. So, it's pointless.

Sure, it's nice to stop in to a panel or an event, but if they're badging it I don't need to see it.

I've always assumed you'd never had this problem. I figured you were always comped.

What do you need to see at a con that requires a badge? The cosplay contest?

[dwinghy.livejournal.com]

Why do you do panels at cons that treat you like shit?

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

Because I love doing the shows.

[dwinghy.livejournal.com]

It doesn't sound like it!

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

You're confusing the Con with the Shows.

I have a blast with the shows. We get the crowd singing along and dancing and throwing candy and winning prizes and laughing at the dumb clips. I usually lose my voice from laughing so hard at the comments coming from the peanut gallery. It's like a party, we all have fun.

And we have a great time in spite of the con.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

Well, you run a popular event; you're part of the convention by default, I think. I know I've said this before, but I think if you cultivated relationships with the events staff and the technical staff - either get on staff yourself, or at least keep in touch with them throughout the year to make sure everybody's on the same page - you'd have a better experience at the show.

I NEVER assume I'm going to be comped. I never assume the room is going to have what I need, I never assume I can show up thirty minutes before showtime and have everything good to go. Even with shows I'm not staffing, I stay in touch with my contacts at regular intervals, when I arrive at the show I pop into the venue and see what's there and what isn't even if Hell isn't for another day. I check in with the directors and find out what's happening, make sure they know I'm there and available if necessary.

At Anime North you would need a badge to get into the AA since it's in the convention center along with the dealers room. Personally I hit the dealers room a few times - I usually find something to spend a little money on - and at AN I go to the Nominoichi which gets a little more money. I hit the staff lounge for eats and drinks. Having the staff badge gets me into pretty much everything, which is nice. Then again I don't abuse the privilege the way I used to.

If what I'm taking from this is correct - if you're showing up at Project A-Kon to do an event and you aren't wearing a con badge of any kind - it's no wonder you're getting static from the convention staff. You should definitely find out what the system is and work within it; just showing up and asking "Where's my room?" is only going to make the staff respond with "Who are you and what do you want?" If you want the con to respect you, you have to extend it the same courtesy.

Maybe it looks like I "always get what I ask for", but that's from a distance. There's always advance work that needs to be done. "train hard, fight easy."

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

"If what I'm taking from this is correct - if you're showing up at Project A-Kon to do an event and you aren't wearing a con badge of any kind - it's no wonder you're getting static from the convention staff. You should definitely find out what the system is and work within it; just showing up and asking "Where's my room?" is only going to make the staff respond with "Who are you and what do you want?" If you want the con to respect you, you have to extend it the same courtesy."

It's more like this. I go to con. I check the posted schedule to see if there's been any last minute changes. I find out where the room is and how it's set up. I talk to the AV staff in the room if possible. Tell them who I am and what I'm doing. Usually the AV guy in the room isn't the AV guy who'll be helping me. Then I go to OPs and ask if they have a badge for me. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

What I'm trying to tell you is that I work with the con staff as best that I can. I try to spend as much time doing prep for the show that I've got everything locked down. I'm not walking in demanding cake. This is why I'm saying I don't care if I get a badge. If it's that much trouble to get me a badge I would rather they don't bother. The badge isn't important. It's getting the folks who are waiting in line for the show into the room and getting the show started that's important. Not me. Not the badge.

And you have completely forgot about all the e-mails and other attempts to contact the Events Directer in the weeks before the con. E-mails that did not get answered. Not so much as a peep. The communication breakdown happened on the con's end, not mine.

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

Also, this part:

"If you want the con to respect you, you have to extend it the same courtesy."

I always give the con staff respect. They aren't the problem. They are nice folks, they know what they're doing. I have no complaints about any of them. They're always doing the best they can with what they've got to work with. It's not the staffer's fault they get thinned out and loaded down with twice the work they can deal with.

So, who is this, "con," that I'm not extending my respect to?

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

It's hard for me to "forget" about emails you send, since I can't forget things I don't know about to begin with.

Okay, fine, you're bending over backwards and doing everything you could reasonably be expected to do to make your A-Kon thing happen, and A-Kon keeps shitting on you. You have two choices: quit doing Otaku Hell at A-Kon, or keep doing Otaku Hell at A-Kon and accept that there are always going to be really annoying problems that A-Kon will do nothing to solve.

If I was you I would quit doing Otaku Hell at A-Kon. That's more or less exactly what I did with Dragoncon; walked away and I have never regretted it.

Seriously, your pre-convention emails don't get answered? That's SOMEBODY on A-Kon staff whom you DEFINITELY have a complaint about.

I mean, come on, you do A-Kon every year, and every year it's they screwed me with this and they screwed me with that. They took away my room, they bumped my schedule, they threw us out of the convention center. It's obvious A-Kon does not care about your event. What more do you need, a restraining order? This is con abuse. We need to call Dr. Phil.

To be serious; you can't leave the situation the way it is. Either work to make things better, or shitcan the whole thing.

[lolotehe]

I've got to go with Dave on this. Letting someone abuse you, over and over again, gives them no reason to stop. Just pack up and say, "A-Kon, I loves you, but you done treat me wrong." Maybe A-kon will get some counselling. A-kon can change, baby!

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

I guess you're right. Time to move on.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I think what you oughtta do is write out a list of

(a) the problems you've had with doing the show at A-Kon, and

(b) exactly what you need to run the show, and

put it all in a really friendly, matter-of-factual email that you send to the Events Director and to Meri, sometime in October or November. Hey, I've been doing this, I always seem to have issues with this and that, it's bad for my blood pressure, what can we do about it.

That way at least you can say you made a good faith effort. Then when there's no reply you can make the hand-dusting-off motion and say, "well, I tried" and concentrate on the shows that actually welcome you.

[childings.livejournal.com]

Thanks for adding me! I don't know if you remember him, but Antony Hernandez/"Wessoman" is my husband. He used to be pretty active in anime fandom in the early 90s, he did stuff for Psychommu Gaijin, ran video rooms at A-Kon (3?) etc.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

Yup, I do remember Antony. Been a long time!

[childings.livejournal.com]

He seemed to think you were currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, too :/

[tohoscope.livejournal.com]

How is Antony? I miss his wisecracking terribly.

[hidoshi.livejournal.com]

Hey Dave,

With regards to panels, I suppose that's our inexperience showing. I've never seen a show where panelists simply got onboard for free. I do apologise for the red tape and all that; we're in a position where we simply want to run a good show and use what knowledge we have. That said, I'm very open to the idea of doing it the other way; it's just that I'd never considered it.

I do apologise also for how panels has gone this year. A lot of personal issues cropped up for the person in charge and we've been struggling to balance out those items with the professional side of things. That said, I hope we can make the show an enjoyable one for you. :)

Regards,
Mark P. Tjan
Con Chair

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

Mark, I'm sorry for being a goof and a big pain in the ass, it's your first year and you have the moon and the stars all falling on your head, and the last thing you need is some wise ass mouthing off (like me). I'm looking forward to the show (today!) and I hope everybody comes out and has a good time!!

-Dave