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Is that really a negative? I've read a lot of New Wave where it wasn't.
Hugo Awards controversy
- Thread starter Eyes of Nine
- Start date
Hah, I mean... Bester's Demolished Man gave me the same feels. I guess I don't like that feeling much, at least in my fictionIs that really a negative? I've read a lot of New Wave where it wasn't.
People are confused because I’ve been confusing, numbers unrelated to other in the same post. And was annoyed enough that I really exaggerated one. I’ll try starting with the structure with the numbers in the right place. Please, please remember that I’m speaking only for myself, and that I’ll probably get some things wrong.
There is the World Science Fiction Society, usually abbreviated to WSFS. Anyone who wants to can become a member. WSFS is not set up for that; you join via the seated Worldcon. (This is why it used to be called a “supporting membership” for that convention.) As with all societies there are benefits of being a member.
The Society has an annual convention called, not surprisingly, the World Science Fiction Convention. Often referred to as a Worldcon, sometimes by the name or the location. Worldcons are chosen by a vote of the members of WSFS and everyone who’s a member of WSFS can attend. Each Worldcon sets it’s own attending rates.
In any given year number of members of WSFS runs from 5,000 to 7, 000, perhaps 1,000 of them not attending the convention.
The World Science Fiction Society has a constitution and the only way to change the way WSFS does thing amend, change, the Constitution. This is done at the WSFS Business Meeting, often abbreviated to the BM. Some people have claimed that it’s difficult, confusing, arcane, insular, all sorts of things.
Balderdash. Any attending member of WSFS can be there and everyone is welcome. They’re held three mornings of the Worldcon, generally 10:00 AM to 12:01 PM. The meetings are run under Roberts Rules of Order, there’s a one-page handout that covers pretty much everything you need. If you get stuck sit next to someone and ask. The other handout to pick up is the Order of Business, which sounds fancy. It’s just the proposed amendments and changes with the sponsors explanation of what each is supposed to do.
Someone once mentioned a serpentine vote as an example of how difficult the BM is to understand but it’s just counting off, something 3rd graders do it all the time. The number of people who’ve counted off at past Business Meetings gives me a very rough estimate is that about 150 members of WSFS attend. They don’t do it because they’re control freaks or want to be in charge, or are in charge: someone’s got to do it and they’ve volunteered for the job.
Worldcons themselves are the annual WSFS convention but each one is a separate entity, legally, financially, how they do things, pretty much everything. This is where you find organization: obviously a convention has to be organized if it’s going to happen. Typical is a Chair or Co-Chairs who head up the Committee. That is made up of Divisions such as Member Services, Programming, Exhibits, Logistics, etc. Divisions are then broken into Departments, Tech, the various Program Tracks, some, such as Exhibits, further broken down.
You need people who know what they’re doing at management levels, sometimes they’ll choose advisors as well. Which is why “The same people working all the time!” Volunteering, working, is the only way you’re going to learn this. If you’re an epidemiologist you don’t know the first thing about programming. You don’t learn more about programming unless you do this year after year. People know when to move you up and in which area of Programming depending on your experience. I’ve never particularly thought about how many people are required. But it’s not just all those people, it’s the kid who wandered in, volunteered, and is now watching a door.
However. When I said there were thousands of people who could have stepped in to help Chengdu I wasn’t thinking: a lot of those positions required getting to China in the first place. But there are thousands of people who know how to do things. Denver is an extreme, high-speed example: they didn’t expect to win the Worldcon, the Chair wasn’t even staying, but by 10:00 AM the next day they were selling memberships. Things need to be done, people get them done. That they didn’t in 2023 doesn’t let the Westerners off the hook. But this is one of my communities and I'm a bit bitter about the whole thing.
There is the World Science Fiction Society, usually abbreviated to WSFS. Anyone who wants to can become a member. WSFS is not set up for that; you join via the seated Worldcon. (This is why it used to be called a “supporting membership” for that convention.) As with all societies there are benefits of being a member.
The Society has an annual convention called, not surprisingly, the World Science Fiction Convention. Often referred to as a Worldcon, sometimes by the name or the location. Worldcons are chosen by a vote of the members of WSFS and everyone who’s a member of WSFS can attend. Each Worldcon sets it’s own attending rates.
In any given year number of members of WSFS runs from 5,000 to 7, 000, perhaps 1,000 of them not attending the convention.
The World Science Fiction Society has a constitution and the only way to change the way WSFS does thing amend, change, the Constitution. This is done at the WSFS Business Meeting, often abbreviated to the BM. Some people have claimed that it’s difficult, confusing, arcane, insular, all sorts of things.
Balderdash. Any attending member of WSFS can be there and everyone is welcome. They’re held three mornings of the Worldcon, generally 10:00 AM to 12:01 PM. The meetings are run under Roberts Rules of Order, there’s a one-page handout that covers pretty much everything you need. If you get stuck sit next to someone and ask. The other handout to pick up is the Order of Business, which sounds fancy. It’s just the proposed amendments and changes with the sponsors explanation of what each is supposed to do.
Someone once mentioned a serpentine vote as an example of how difficult the BM is to understand but it’s just counting off, something 3rd graders do it all the time. The number of people who’ve counted off at past Business Meetings gives me a very rough estimate is that about 150 members of WSFS attend. They don’t do it because they’re control freaks or want to be in charge, or are in charge: someone’s got to do it and they’ve volunteered for the job.
Worldcons themselves are the annual WSFS convention but each one is a separate entity, legally, financially, how they do things, pretty much everything. This is where you find organization: obviously a convention has to be organized if it’s going to happen. Typical is a Chair or Co-Chairs who head up the Committee. That is made up of Divisions such as Member Services, Programming, Exhibits, Logistics, etc. Divisions are then broken into Departments, Tech, the various Program Tracks, some, such as Exhibits, further broken down.
You need people who know what they’re doing at management levels, sometimes they’ll choose advisors as well. Which is why “The same people working all the time!” Volunteering, working, is the only way you’re going to learn this. If you’re an epidemiologist you don’t know the first thing about programming. You don’t learn more about programming unless you do this year after year. People know when to move you up and in which area of Programming depending on your experience. I’ve never particularly thought about how many people are required. But it’s not just all those people, it’s the kid who wandered in, volunteered, and is now watching a door.
However. When I said there were thousands of people who could have stepped in to help Chengdu I wasn’t thinking: a lot of those positions required getting to China in the first place. But there are thousands of people who know how to do things. Denver is an extreme, high-speed example: they didn’t expect to win the Worldcon, the Chair wasn’t even staying, but by 10:00 AM the next day they were selling memberships. Things need to be done, people get them done. That they didn’t in 2023 doesn’t let the Westerners off the hook. But this is one of my communities and I'm a bit bitter about the whole thing.
This is me. I like business meetings of associations - that's a specific type of nerdery I've got that a lot of other folks don't
I've never been a member of WSFS, as I've got a bunch of other hobbies I prioritize higher
BUT! If I ever made it to a WC as a member, I'd def attend the BMs
I seem to remember you saying LA wasn't too far from where you live . . .This is me. I like business meetings of associations - that's a specific type of nerdery I've got that a lot of other folks don't
I've never been a member of WSFS, as I've got a bunch of other hobbies I prioritize higher
BUT! If I ever made it to a WC as a member, I'd def attend the BMs
Anaheim Convention center is 2.5 hours away, other parts of LA (LA city is LARGE, LA County is HUGE, LA Metro area that includes western San Bernadino and Riverside Counties, Orange County, and about half of Ventura County is GARGANTUAN.
Suffice it to say some parts of "LA" are 3 hours away, and some are an hour away
But yes, not too far away compared to say... Chengdu. I'm very much considering going
I've gone from being scared to being amused by this. Scared because Worldcons literally saved my life - an abusive marriage and there was only a tiny core of the left. Finally my brother said, "You liked conventions and there's this huge one in Chicago. I've paid for everything and you're going." I wrote that experience up for Glyer, back when File 770 as an actual publication so I won't bother now, (I think it started along the lines of "The Worldcon was like swirling kalidascope full of multicolored stars.") But one of the results was going to SMOFcon, the conrunners convention. I soon heard that what saved my life would be dead in ten years.
That was in 2000. You first heard it in the 70's. The Worldcon has never even noticed.
There was a huge divide, an age gap, between the older crowd of conrunners, extremely starchy, and the younger, excited to play with this. Being in-between I kept telling the older crowd to get over it already. Then someone who'd been working on cons for something like 40 years, "paying it forward", abruptly got the concept of the younger crowd at a SMOFcon. And spent the weekend surrounded by them, passing along what he knew and his email address. By now SMOFcons have more of that crowd than the previous one. I keep telling people here that people learn Worldcons by working on them. and moving up in the ranks: it's happening.
There was a time when fandom was aging, snooty, even that if you hadn't read the cannon (SP?) you weren't a fan. But novelists keep writing anyway and the snooty aren't anymore. It took a while before graphic novels made an impression, now there's a proven Hugo for them, and for best Fancast. The demographics have swung drastically to the opposite of too old, white, hetro patriarchal to fans aggressively making up for it. Programing isn't geared towards younger people, younger people are doing programming. Mainly Worldcons are the same as when SF fans were the weirdos, a place where people aren't particularly weird. I did once run into someone who's interjections, fiercly holding the male heierarchy responsible for everything, got me on the edge of blowing up, held back by it would be a useless shouting match. Gradually calmed down enough to logicaly point out something she'd understand: the code of conduct meant everyone, including her. Which stumped her.
I still smoke so I'm outside and wind up talking with people about all sorts of things, some of us get to be friends because we keep running into each other. There's my bookselling/dealers room crowd. There the people I recognize, even if all I remember is I liked being around them, maybe after a panel? There are excited conversations after a panel. Thing there are more clumps of younger people who do the same thing.
And that's a way Worldcons haven't changed in the least, just hanging out together. I'm terrible with ages and sometimes find out I'm talking with someone in their 70's, sometimes in their 20's.
(Dave Kyle welcomed me to my first Worldcon, I was with him at what turned out to be his last, keeping him company at the post-Hugo party. After regular "Dad, it's time to get to bed" his children gave up for a couple of hours. Somehow he hadn't been to a party in a while, the just hanging out together. At one point I noticed the people he was hanging out with were in their 20's, a quarter of his age, all in deep in conversation.)
SMOFCon 41, Dec 6-8 2024 Seattle
A Gathering of Convention Organizers - Smofcon 41
Membership Attending membership: US$75 Register online on our Membership page. Hotel DoubleTree Seattle Airport Reservation link for Smofcon Room rate: $119 hotel site How Cool Is Seattle? This year’s Smofcon is being held in SeaTac, a suburb of Seattle, WA. SeaTac has grown around the...
smofcon41.org
What’s a Smofcon?
Smofcon is an global gathering of convention organizers in the scienc fiction, fantasy, and related communities (gaming, filking, costuming, horror, etc.) held annually in different cities.
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