Irrelevance to the new fen

[dalekboy]

This post is taken from a bunch of replies on a friend's journal, that it was decided we should stop hijacking and move the discussion somewhere else.

The problem is that a lot of fans want to get along, and many longer term fans don't like change, so the old fans don't change and the new fans try to fit in. The newer folks aren't encouraged to exptress their ideas, and fans have always been good at shouting down those they see as wrong.

I tend to think that when one is well-known and respected in the scene, they have a responsibilty to the newer folks to keep an open mind and to give them the chance to express themselves.

For instance, I have the newer people in Melbourne saying they don't see the point of having fan guests. I disagree with their opinion, but respect and understand that if they feel that way, then many more new folks will as well. So I either need to justify why we do it well enough that they can see my point-of-view, or rethink having fan guests in order to be relevant to the newer folks.

Though that said, I think the fan guest issue is a tiny one compared to how magnificently irrelevant our style of cons currently are to the new crop of fans.

New fans aren't coming to cons. They see them as over-priced, they don't see that they will get any value for money, and when they do come along, they have a hard time making friends because they're shy and because many of us are shy, we're more comfy talking to people we already know.

And then they hear us slagging off 'mundanes' and similarly showing fandom's intolerance for those not like themselves. So to new folks we come across as more exclusive than inclusive.

So discuss... and especially if you're one of the newer fans, please, please, please speak up and tell us what you'd like to see at cons, and what you think needs to be changed.

Comments

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Obviously I'm not one of the new fans :-> However, one thing I've seen done at some regional and local conventions is a welcome/mixer event on the first night of the con that forces attendees to interact with people they don't know, either by grouping everyone with the same last digit of their membership number or by matching some other indicator (random colored dots given out at registration, for example) and having them do something silly or perform some short team task together. If it sounds sufficiently interesting/fun, people will attend, especially if nothing is programmed against it and the guests participate. Then you automatically know more people for the rest of the weekend.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Ice breakers!

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

I remember Continuum doing a drinkies event that was great as a first time attendee to the eastern states con scene.

Everyone stood around having a drink and chatting.

Brilliant icebreaker.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Gives people something to do with their hands and gaze. Where would we all be without glasses, ice and straws to play with?

[davidcook.livejournal.com]

The last couple of Redemption cons, and this year's Eastercon, did something like this at the end of the opening ceremony - everyone got a piece of paper with 20 attributes, and the goal was to find different people to match each of the attributes (e.g. "someone from overseas", "someone at their first convention", "someone who can juggle"). This works pretty well to get people mixing and mingling.

[callistra.livejournal.com]

I have stolen your idea and added it to another post for next year's Swancon.
Thanks for the suggestion!