That is indeed unknown, as I said. How much divergence from the norm would upset enough of them? Nobody knows unless they test the waters. Even then, I'm sure it's not an absolute. The attitudes of the long-term US fan base are going to be made up of many judgments concerning different aspects of the con.
smofbabe claims that "voters and attendees have a right to expect that you pay some attention to worldcon tradition" and yet leaps to the fanciful and disingenuous conclusion that I'm paranoid to think that those exact attitudes don't influence the con committees, but I'm sure you won't fall for that.
I'll certainly admit that I can see why that fear is there, as a worldcon is a big, expensive undertaking. Let's face it: it's the easy choice to keep the US fans happy. Nobody wants theirs shot down, or even to receive less help from the experts, so they will tend to err on the side of caution.
It will be interesting to see what happens if the NZ bid becomes reality. Many of us are going to attend a worldcon in our own country no matter what, so A4 being timed to attract US fans makes some sense for pure numbers, even if it was detrimental to the experience. However, NZ is close enough be on the radar for many Aussie fans, but far enough and expensive enough not to be an automatic entry in the diary. If the choice is to pick winter for the Americans or to pick a pleasant time of year that everyone will enjoy, I wonder which way they will go?
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Date: 2010-09-12 11:21 am (UTC)I'll certainly admit that I can see why that fear is there, as a worldcon is a big, expensive undertaking. Let's face it: it's the easy choice to keep the US fans happy. Nobody wants theirs shot down, or even to receive less help from the experts, so they will tend to err on the side of caution.
It will be interesting to see what happens if the NZ bid becomes reality. Many of us are going to attend a worldcon in our own country no matter what, so A4 being timed to attract US fans makes some sense for pure numbers, even if it was detrimental to the experience. However, NZ is close enough be on the radar for many Aussie fans, but far enough and expensive enough not to be an automatic entry in the diary. If the choice is to pick winter for the Americans or to pick a pleasant time of year that everyone will enjoy, I wonder which way they will go?