Convention Etiquette: Discussion and Advice on Do's and Don'ts

[Chelle DB]

Banning cell phones outright is the wrong solution. This is just a convention -- not a school setting where it would interfere with learning and teaching or a courtroom in which it would interefere with the administration of justice.
Disallowing them would certainly hinder serious emergencies. What if family members need to reach relatives immediately?
It is the main responsibility of the organizers to maintain reasonable watchfulness assisted by the responsibility of fellow fans to report violators. Or better yet, it doesn't take much to just nudge your neighbor before an organizer catches them and kindly remind them that recording of any kind is prohibited.

Hate to disagree with you...but what would the relatives have done 20 years ago when mobile/cell phones weren't so prevalent??? You just tell your family where you will be and how they can contact you in case of an emergency...it's really rather simple.
As someone who has no desire to use my mobile phone in a convention, I have no problems with leaving it outside...I think the problem nowadays isn't just mobile phones though...most digital cameras also make videos...so how do you prevent that from happening? I guess the thing is you can't...all you can do is blacklist the perpetrator and hope that the majority of the con goers do the right thing...unfortunately it's the one in 20 or so that make it harder for everyone when they flaunt the rules and do what pleases them rather than thinking about what's good for all.
I think that mobile phones should definitely be banned from the cons...but more so because of the interference and because not everyone turns the damn things off even after they have been asked.
I hate it when I go to a con and someones phone rings in the middle of the Q&A...as do most of the con guests...and I hate it when I'm at my daughters dance concert and someones phone is searching for a signal and it interferes with the speakers and what not...I think we've become too dependent on our mobile phones when we can't even walk into an event without turning them off for the duration of said event.

[Skydiver]

you don't ban them entirely. what you say is 'when you're in the auditorium, turn it off, no exceptions'

silent and vibrate don't work because the signals still come and go, it has to be off.

once you're out of the auditorium part, then it's usually not an issue

[BlueJello]

Hate to disagree with you...but what would the relatives have done 20 years ago when mobile/cell phones weren't so prevalent??? You just tell your family where you will be and how they can contact you in case of an emergency...it's really rather simple.

Just because cell phones were not so prevalent 20 years ago, does not mean we have to live as though it was still the case now. I personally do not think it is just that "simple" to find someone in an emergency. Possible scenario: Looking for person. Call hotel. Lines are busy. Call back. Put on hold. Finally get live person. Please find this person. Put on hold. Disconnected because put on hold too long. Call back hotel. Lines are busy again. Put on hold. Who did you want to find? Explain again. Can't find the original hotel staffer who went looking. Oh, they're in the auditiorium. Stop q&a. Announcement: looking for so and so -- please go to the front desk to answer your phone call.

My main point really was that there are real life threatening emergencies and not just trying to find someone. Because we are fortunate to have cell phones these days, we can reach emergency services much quicker. For example, stroke victims have a much better chance for survial and recovery if given proper medical treatment as soon as possible. Their chances of sustaining neurological complications decreases greatly if paramedics can be called instantly. I personally do not want to have to find someone with a cell phone to call for a paramedic.

As someone who has no desire to use my mobile phone in a convention, I have no problems with leaving it outside...I think the problem nowadays isn't just mobile phones though...most digital cameras also make videos...so how do you prevent that from happening? I guess the thing is you can't...all you can do is blacklist the perpetrator and hope that the majority of the con goers do the right thing...unfortunately it's the one in 20 or so that make it harder for everyone when they flaunt the rules and do what pleases them rather than thinking about what's good for all.

If you can't prevent it, then why ban these devices at the risk of safety and health?

I think that mobile phones should definitely be banned from the cons...but more so because of the interference and because not everyone turns the damn things off even after they have been asked.
I hate it when I go to a con and someones phone rings in the middle of the Q&A...as do most of the con guests...and I hate it when I'm at my daughters dance concert and someones phone is searching for a signal and it interferes with the speakers and what not...I think we've become too dependent on our mobile phones when we can't even walk into an event without turning them off for the duration of said event.

I agree that it is an annoyance when people do not turn off their phones during events. It really does ruin the moment. But I would not ban the phones from any of these events either. People should be reminded to turn their phones to vibrate at the beginning of any show. I was at a con last year and a phone rang behind me. You would think the person felt bad but she actually answered it and continued to talk. Sometimes, hopefully, the stares of others would shame them into hanging up.

[Skydiver]

it's not just an annoyance. cell phones frak up audio systems. ESPECIALLY black berries. the continual 'bleep' as the phones check for messages/calls/gps (and the phones do this all the time when they're on) can and will mess things up. I've heard blackberries mess up video conference calls and sound systems.

the 'no phone' rule isn't just to mess with people, it's to insure the integrity of the experience for all. And, by and large, the rule is 'turn it off when you're in a panel', not all the time, just when you're in that auditorium.

[Chelle DB]

Just because cell phones were not so prevalent 20 years ago, does not mean we have to live as though it was still the case now. I personally do not think it is just that "simple" to find someone in an emergency. Possible scenario: Looking for person. Call hotel. Lines are busy. Call back. Put on hold. Finally get live person. Please find this person. Put on hold. Disconnected because put on hold too long. Call back hotel. Lines are busy again. Put on hold. Who did you want to find? Explain again. Can't find the original hotel staffer who went looking. Oh, they're in the auditiorium. Stop q&a. Announcement: looking for so and so -- please go to the front desk to answer your phone call.
My main point really was that there are real life threatening emergencies and not just trying to find someone. Because we are fortunate to have cell phones these days, we can reach emergency services much quicker. For example, stroke victims have a much better chance for survial and recovery if given proper medical treatment as soon as possible. Their chances of sustaining neurological complications decreases greatly if paramedics can be called instantly. I personally do not want to have to find someone with a cell phone to call for a paramedic.
If you can't prevent it, then why ban these devices at the risk of safety and health?
I agree that it is an annoyance when people do not turn off their phones during events. It really does ruin the moment. But I would not ban the phones from any of these events either. People should be reminded to turn their phones to vibrate at the beginning of any show. I was at a con last year and a phone rang behind me. You would think the person felt bad but she actually answered it and continued to talk. Sometimes, hopefully, the stares of others would shame them into hanging up.

I hope you don't take offense to my comments...I'm not disputing that mobile phones are wonderful and handy and what not...but I think we're really kinda talking about convention etiquette and I guess in a very real sense...mobile phone etiquette...I think it would have to be pretty freaky for you to call a hotel in an emergency situation to have all those things happen to you...not that I'm saying that it could never happen but I'm just saying that in normal everyday circumstances, when one goes to a convention, one should be able to turn ones phone off for the duration of the session.
I'm not saying we should ban phones and risk anyones health and safety....do you seriously believe that if an emergency during the actual event that there would be no means of getting help quickly and efficiently???
The fact is that mobile phones can be very disruptive in a Q&A session and not everyone likes to abide by the rules and switch their phone off...so what???...we all have to suffer for the ignorance of one person who has decided that their phone calls are more important??? Why should I pay a lot of hard earned money to hear someones phone go off during a question time??? It's not fair to those of us who do the right thing...I think there are rules for everyone so that it makes it fair to everyone...and if the rules are..."turn off all mobile phones"...then so be it...I don't know what the issue is???
Again, I would like to reiterate...I think mobile phones are great...but there is a time and place for them...my hubby could do with some lessons in mobile phone etiquette too!!...trust me...he's one tuff nut to crack!!

[Gate Geek]

Wow, banning cell phones at cons? Um...some of need our phones for our jobs, even if we are not at work...."On call" sort of things? While I use mine for that very rarely, it does happen and I do need to have it with me for that sort of thing. And if it vibrates, I quickly leave the auditorium and take the call outside so as to not cause a distraction.

[Skydiver]

folk, again, it's not banning them TOTALLY at cons, it's enforcing a rule to turn them off during the Q&A's

love them or not, need them or not, they DO frak up audio equipment. I've seen it happen. I've heard it happen. we've had to tell our execs that they need to turn off their blackberries during meetings because the machines are interfering with the equipment and the people on the other end dont' appreciate hearing endless clicks, rattles and squeals as the blackberries go through thier download cycle.

Most Q&A's last for a couple of hours at the most. You can't turn the phone off for that long????? How do you manage on a flight when you HAVE to turn them off?

Seriously, people aren't saying ban them totally, just turn the bloody things off in the auditorium while you (and hundreds of others) are trying to listen to the actor you've paid to see

[Madeleine]

I think the best way to deal with this is to have a policy that cell phones remain in the hotel rooms. If a fan is caught using it, they would be escorted out of the auditorium.

I'm not sure I could enjoy being at a con where I wasn't treated as the sort of grown-up who could be trusted with a mobile phone.

Bear in mind that not everyone has a fancy mobile with a camera; some of us use them as communication devices and I doubt that it'd be a fun job for the stewards to inspect people's handbags and pockets for mobiles, nor to argue about whether they have cameras or not.

Besides, the videotaping isn't likely to be coming from mobiles, but from proper cameras, which unlike weedy little mobiles have a sufficient battery to tape at length.

Hate to disagree with you...but what would the relatives have done 20 years ago when mobile/cell phones weren't so prevalent???

Twenty years ago, those of us with small children would have missed the con rather than leave the sproggies with their doting aunties. It isn't twenty years ago though, it's today, and because I know that I can be contacted instantly I can go to cons. What people did in the dim and distant past is not terribly relevant; the clock moves forwards

[BruTak]

Ok, here's a suggestion - speaking from a purely hypothetical viewpoint of course...

Supposing there is a blanket ban on mobile devices? Be they cellphones, PDAs, Blackberries, whatever.

Further supposing that a con attendee (who's day job is a telecoms engineer) is needed urgently by his boss?

Would it not be possible for the con to have a central contact number and/or e-mail address allowing people to get in touch with their loved ones/employees in case of an emergency?

The last couple of major cons I've been to, the tech guys had messages scrolling along the bottom of the video screens - info such as updated times for guest signings etc.

[Madeleine]

You may have been to better-run cons than I have

I've been to some where you can ask any question of any steward, and get a clear and accurate answer... and others where you could have asked the con organiser himself if he could tell you the location of his own elbow, and he'd say that it was around here somewhere maybe and had I tried the registration desk?

I wouldn't rely on a con messaging system to actually get a message to someone

But seriously, why ban mobiles in the con? When cameras are the problem, and are not necessary (in that not much can go wrong / get worse for lack of a camera) why ban mobiles which are pretty useful things?

[Skydiver]

and i've been at cons where members of the hotel staff come in and hand the reg desk messages for an attendee, and the con staff then pass that message on

as to why 'ban' phones....like i've said 15 times and people keep ignoring, a suggestion to ban them being on in the auditorium, while you're at the q&a, then then it's business as usual the rest of the time.

it's not a recording issue, it's the fact that phones seriously frak up audio systems. they cause interferance, and are a general pain.

AT3 had a 'turn your mobiles off in the auditorium' rule and it was far from a hardship. So you were out of contact for a coupel of hours, no big deal.

seriously, in my personal opinion, if you can't handle your phone being turned off for a couple of hours when you're sitting in an auditorium listening to someone you paid hundreds of dollars to go and see, why are you even coming???? If you're that much in need somewhere else, i'd stay somewhere else.

And if it's a case of 'my sister is in labor' or 'my mom is getting a heart transplant and i may need to leave on a moments notice'...dude, make arrangements with the hotel, tell them your situation and arrange for them to pass on messages. they do it all the time.

tell the hotel your situation, tell the reg desk your situation and they can pass on any messages to you that happen to come in in that couple of hours while you're in the auditorium

[BruTak]

Slightly off topic here, but hey...

Just before Christmas, I was heading up to Glasgow to go to my sci-fi group when I dropped my phone in the street - a kind passerby found it, called my home number and gave it to my mum, but that's another story...

Anyway, I found being sans phone and out of contact all day to be - oddly liberating...

[Skydiver]

i ran around england for 10 days without my phone and was fine

the only time i had any anxiety was the possibility that i wasn't going to make my chicago to heathrow flight so woud have to fly separately from sue, and the prospect of trying to find her in the chaos that is heathrow.

but we had other ways to communicate if we had to. she coudl have left a message with the United personnel that knew i was late, or we had a number of a mutual friend that could have passed on info.

there were ways, you just need to be more creative without a cell

[BruTak]

there were ways, you just need to be more creative without a cell

Very true. If the guys and me are stewarding/first aid cover at a con, we generally use our walkie talkies.

Although Nick (our boss-fella) usually gives the con organisers his mobile number in case there's any urgent medical emergency.

Such as Wolf Events SG-6 con when Wolf's supremo Bryan Cooney kicked a chair in frustation at things not running to shedule, but forgot he wasn't wearing shoes.
Which in turn led to Colin Cunningham exclaiming (when he saw Nick and Kitty patching up Bryan) "Holy crap! You guys really are medics!"

[Madeleine]

like i've said 15 times and people keep ignoring, a suggestion to ban them being on in the auditorium, while you're at the q&a, then then it's business as usual the rest of the time.

Okay, not ignoring you this time; but last time there was someone else's post for me to respond to

it's not a recording issue, it's the fact that phones seriously frak up audio systems. they cause interferance, and are a general pain.

I've never seen them cause interference. If they do, if the audio equipment is dodgy, then I'm sure that a polite request form the organiser or stewards would be followed, but the last con I went to just asked for ringers to be turned off, and they were, no big deal. We still got audio from the guests.

seriously, in my personal opinion, if you can't handle your phone being turned off for a couple of hours when you're sitting in an auditorium listening to someone you paid hundreds of dollars to go and see, why are you even coming???? If you're that much in need somewhere else, i'd stay somewhere else.

Maybe so (although I wouldn't go to a con that costs hundreds of dollars!) but there are people here who seem to be advocating the banning of phones beyond hotel rooms. Draconian much?

Bear in mind that 'the hotel room' to which the confining of mobiles has been suggested may well be another hotel entirely; and what's to be done for the people who travel in each day by train, bike or bus? I think banning phones anywhere in the con is not a very practical idea.

And if it's a case of 'my sister is in labor' or 'my mom is getting a heart transplant and i may need to leave on a moments notice'...dude, make arrangements with the hotel, tell them your situation and arrange for them to pass on messages. they do it all the time.

tell the hotel your situation, tell the reg desk your situation and they can pass on any messages to you that happen to come in in that couple of hours while you're in the auditorium

Or... keep your mobile with you, and save all those other people the effort of running around after you