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

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

Dear Gods Above where do I start?

Firstly, yes yes YES! I agree with what you are saying.

I think the real wakeup call was when Waicon broke the thousand member barrier in, what, 2 years?
I heard the number 1700 from one of the committee at Swancon. That's a whole lotta bods!

One thing I have to ask is, is it because we are clinging to things with rapidly declining numbers?

We tend to pooh pooh fat fantasy, yet it outsells everything else we appreciate.

We tend to emphasize Hard SF over anything else, yet it has a small, shrinking, greying readership overall.

And don't get me started on the "Capital W" writers, who seem to have an inferiority complex and look down on anyone who isn't putting out a book this year. (Thankfully they are in a small minority, but they are out there)

Now there are BROAD generalizations, and I may be wrong in some of my points but yeah, we need to start working on bringing new blood.

Some things completely off the top of my head:
More stuff about video games.
Playoffs on something like Guitar hero.
Try and find some filking less than 10 years old. (this could work, for instance)
Karaoke for nerds instead of filking maybe?
Maybe we need to contact the uni clubs again and find out what is relevant.
Maybe organize some stuff in some of the virtual worlds, such as WoW.

This is all stream of conscious, so I reserve the right to edit for sanity and decency ;-)

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

*coughcough* from the person who has run karaoke at swancon for the past 3 years.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

OMG, really? How did I miss that? No, I mean really. I thought I'd read the whole program. *sad*

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

It wasn't in the official program. By the time I was aware that submissions were being taken for panels, I missed the boat.

It *was* the committee-sponsored room party for Friday night however, after the auction. It was white-board advertised.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Ah, that explains it. I didn't read the whiteboard until Sunday.