A science fiction convention exists for no other purpose than to facilitate the group appreciation of science fiction, and if it does not market itself in a fashion to attract all readers of science fiction, it is not doing its job and is wasting everyone's time.
Well, turns out I was right that this was really where we were likely to disagree :->
I think a science fiction convention exists so that a community of people who like science fiction in all its forms can get together in a common place for the weekend. I think that the *community* aspect is important. I welcome and encourage new people to join the community, but I also think that they should realize that in attending a convention, that's what they're doing, at least for a weekend.
The for-profit convention model where people buy tickets to be the audience and listen to the people on the program to me is not the same thing as a fannish convention, at which everyone can potentially be in the audience or up on a panel.
I definitely think that we should keep the inside jokes and cliquiness at conventions to a minimum and I usually strive when I'm on a panel to make sure that the terms we use are clear to the audience. But at the same time, I don't want to see us jettison the things that make us fans and not just readers or viewers of science fiction. A fannish convention is more than just an academic appreciation of science fiction, and not all readers of science fiction are going to be happy at one.
I think the more that we indicate exactly what our conventions are like, the happier people will be at them. And if there's a term or concept that we know puzzles or alienates people, I guess I'd tend more to trying to clarify or explain it than hide it.
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Date: 2008-03-27 09:40 am (UTC)Well, turns out I was right that this was really where we were likely to disagree :->
I think a science fiction convention exists so that a community of people who like science fiction in all its forms can get together in a common place for the weekend. I think that the *community* aspect is important. I welcome and encourage new people to join the community, but I also think that they should realize that in attending a convention, that's what they're doing, at least for a weekend.
The for-profit convention model where people buy tickets to be the audience and listen to the people on the program to me is not the same thing as a fannish convention, at which everyone can potentially be in the audience or up on a panel.
I definitely think that we should keep the inside jokes and cliquiness at conventions to a minimum and I usually strive when I'm on a panel to make sure that the terms we use are clear to the audience. But at the same time, I don't want to see us jettison the things that make us fans and not just readers or viewers of science fiction. A fannish convention is more than just an academic appreciation of science fiction, and not all readers of science fiction are going to be happy at one.
I think the more that we indicate exactly what our conventions are like, the happier people will be at them. And if there's a term or concept that we know puzzles or alienates people, I guess I'd tend more to trying to clarify or explain it than hide it.