The internet usually gets me interested in things. Star Trek and Star Wars excluded, this is true for all internationally successful sci-fi I like. Babylon 5 was the first TV series in that line I clearly remember to have known only because of the internet. And when the show ran in its dubbed version over here, our fido and usenet groups were full of exactly the kind of fandom snark we all are so familiar with.
And rightly so, I may add.
I understand that part…
…but in my comment I just tried to flesh out why I wonder what else they like about it, because it has so few other things to offer. And some downsides. (Like costing shitloads of money, first and foremost.) What triggered me was the language of this wiki thing. Quite typical, I thought, and started wondering.
Nice. The city never sleeps stuff?
I wonder if I would feel differently about this con thing if locations over here would have been different. But I didn’t even like living in Berlin in the noughties, so maybe it should have been NY or SF/SD for me.
I tried to remember a formative experience for me and my friends which would fall in a similar category, and I found memories of a Metallica concert we went to back in our school days. Crazy expensive, people dress up, meet and share an experience (i.e., waiting in queues… and a great light show), get some autographs and merchandise, drive hours to get there and back and are happy as a warthog afterwards - yip, maybe now I understand cons a little better. ,, same-same, but different.
Yeah the local KC Planet Comic Con started pretty small in a modest convention center, and now its at the largest convention center over 3 days.
There is a newer competitor who is actually both pretty large in size and scope, but it doesn’t have nearly the turn out. I feel it’s days are numbered, but until then, hey, 2 cons!
I feel the need here to represent old-style SF fans. We go to conventions that are not about celebrity. In fact, they are mostly about books and art (with some nods to film and comics and gaming). They are non-profits that have NO paid staff, and are completely volunteer-run.
These are the kind of con where you might meet Cory Doctorow. Or John Scalzi. You might even meet them in the bar or at a party, rather than standing in a queue for a semi-robotic autograph.
And please, do not do volunteer labor for a for-profit convention. Check out who benefits before you give away your valuable time.
The city never sleeps stuff?
,
, same-same, but different.