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

[Skydiver]

i dunno

it's one thing to be examples of how to act. (although, honestly, there are plenty of fans that THINK they're the epitome of good behavior and they're really barely tolerated by other fans and con organizers)

I think, for the general fan, your responsibility ends with being an example of how to act, not to 'police' a con. leave that to the organizers. If you see/hear someone planning something inappropriate, just tell one of the organizers and let them handle it.

I have bad images of fans putting it upon themselves to be almost a vigilante enforcement team of behavior and ending up getting themselves in more trouble.

[Kett1701]

i dunno
it's one thing to be examples of how to act. (although, honestly, there are plenty of fans that THINK they're the epitome of good behavior and they're really barely tolerated by other fans and con organizers)
I think, for the general fan, your responsibility ends with being an example of how to act, not to 'police' a con. leave that to the organizers. If you see/hear someone planning something inappropriate, just tell one of the organizers and let them handle it.
I have bad images of fans putting it upon themselves to be almost a vigilante enforcement team of behavior and ending up getting themselves in more trouble.

Sky - good point. Yes, please leave it to the con organizers to police the event. If you see something that they don't - please let them know.

As for SGU - I really don't see a huge problem looming. Their audience will skew a little bit older and therefore more mature in their behavior.

Back in the day we had James Marsters as a guest at Shore Leave during the absolute height of his Buffy fame. I often refer to that time as Vampire Mania the Prequel. All of a sudden we had screaming teenage girls (and some women that were old enough to know better) that completely changed the feel of the whole convention. Normally the guests just need an escort or two to help them through the crowds to their table but for Marsters I had to find the five biggest Security guys and surround him for his own safety. It was unbelievable!

Honestly, unless SGU starts to have sexy vampires - I don't see a problem for their actors beyond the normal inapporpriate question at Q&A. My money is on those actors enjoying meeting their fans and the fans enjoying getting to know them as well.

Kett

[EH-T]

Indeed.

When I was at GateCon in '08, it was my first con and I had a lot of troubles getting up the nerve to even meet any of the guests and introduce myself. And as much as I would love to meet a few specific guests (Paul McGillion, Amanda Tapping and Joe Flannigan), I almost feel that for myself it would be better if I didn't, just because I am extremely shy and don't do so well at the whole meeting people thing.

Then again I wouldn't really know how it would turn out till the opportunity arose.

I have not had enough experience with the other actors to know but I will say that AT is fabulous in dealing with nervous fans. She has pretty much seen it all and has a wonderful talent in putting fans at ease. If you are a Sanctuary fan maybe you should try going to the Sanctuary Experience in Vancouver in July and see for yourself. I will be there and would be happy to lend you some support.

i dunno

it's one thing to be examples of how to act. (although, honestly, there are plenty of fans that THINK they're the epitome of good behavior and they're really barely tolerated by other fans and con organizers)

I think, for the general fan, your responsibility ends with being an example of how to act, not to 'police' a con. leave that to the organizers. If you see/hear someone planning something inappropriate, just tell one of the organizers and let them handle it.

I have bad images of fans putting it upon themselves to be almost a vigilante enforcement team of behavior and ending up getting themselves in more trouble.

I think you are right and we need to be careful in "policing" other fans. There was an incident in April where a fan was going to ask AT something we thought was inappropriate. We told him what we thought (in a polite manner) but I spoke to AT's handler about it figuring they were best suited to deal with it.

[Skydiver]

for example, if i'm sitting behind someone that's breaking the 'do not video tape' rule....it's not my place to confront them.

what i could and should do is quietly get up, find a con employee, say 'dude, the guy in seat G6 is video taping' and then go and sit back down.

they think it's an issue, they can come and witness it and handle it.

Fights can begin by one person - who the transgressor will see as someone with no right to question their behavior - trying to correct a stranger that could land both of you in trouble. If someone is going to be bad and act OTT, let them do it with an employee who has the power to get that person escorted out, rather than both of you risking it.

Cause I can guarantee you, he said/she said is more likely to end with both of you being eitehr told to leave or both being pegged as a trouble maker.

as to concerns about the SGU actors...you know by and large, while fans may be brazen and out spoken online, the vast majority behave themselves in person.

What fans need to remember is, these actors are just doing a job and saying lines they're told to say. it's not fair to blame them for something their character does

[Arctic Goddess]

Noted.

However, recall all the controversy that not only ran rampant on gateworld and twitter, but also spilled over onto Joe Mallozzi's blog. There have been people who have caused real trouble as a result of their dislike of SGU. I am merely suggesting that conventions with SGU cast may not be as smooth running as are all the others. It's wise to be proactive rather than reactive.

[discodiva]

I do know that David Blue went down a storm at Chevron 7.3 in Northampton a few weeks ago.....got a good few new converts to SGU and had many people completely fall in love with him...


Am sure that Brian Jacob Smith will get the same treatment in Vancouver (I can't wait to ask him about being lucky enough to land a part and work on "Poirot" over here...).....and he'll have plenty of support from the team at Creation and the "old hands" like Michael, Joe et al to give him advice......plus I think Gary and Adam are now far more aware of the "idiots" around and are definitely being much more firmer with their control at Q&A time!....Chicago was a marked improvement on this year's Vancouver...


Deeds xx

[Malty]

I will be going to my first Stargate Convention in January and this thread as really helped me along to prepare

I have been to other cons before but nothing as big as this, I mean, it is David Hewlett who I adore, it'll take some work to keep my head on.

[Arctic Goddess]

I will be going to my first Stargate Convention in January and this thread as really helped me along to prepare

I have been to other cons before but nothing as big as this, I mean, it is David Hewlett who I adore, it'll take some work to keep my head on.

We'll all help you find your head if it comes off and rolls down an aisle.

[Malty]

We'll all help you find your head if it comes off and rolls down an aisle.

Thank you. I'm sure my head wont be hard to follow

Other then the keeping head on, I just KNOW I'm gonna have a great time, surrounded by people that share a common interest, that's something I've never had in real life before so it's gonna be interesting to say at least

[MylittleEli]

IMHO, kids have no places at many cons and parents should accept and be aware of that fact.
and if you have to bring your kids, the little beggers better behave or you need to take them outside and leave the rest of us in peace

As a mother i kinda agree. I have a great little guy myself but i still wouldn't make him sit through a con. It can have its boring moments for all of us (especially when one questioner gets a little long winded), but imagine for kids who don't understand everything going on.

On another note...... from my experience at last years van con, i would like to mention that questioners should remember that the ppl up on stage are ACTORS, not the actual characters. Asking them questions about why their character did/said/thought something can often be annoying and time wasting because the most common answer is something like "i'm not sure, you'd have to ask the writer". Please remember to make the actor vs character vs writer distinction when picking your question.

[Skydiver]

oh yeah. I've seen some rather embarrassing moments when the actor is asked something only his character would know. One woman once asked MS 'what do those hieroglyphs mean' (the prop goa'uld wall used on stage)

he fumbled a bit and then made up something goofy, but you could tell from the tone of the woman's voice that she was deadly serious in her question. It wasn't a tease or goof, she honestly thought those marks on the walls meant something and that MS would know it....cause he was daniel after all

[BruTak]

oh yeah. I've seen some rather embarrassing moments when the actor is asked something only his character would know. One woman once asked MS 'what do those hieroglyphs mean' (the prop goa'uld wall used on stage)

he fumbled a bit and then made up something goofy, but you could tell from the tone of the woman's voice that she was deadly serious in her question. It wasn't a tease or goof, she honestly thought those marks on the walls meant something and that MS would know it....cause he was daniel after all

Those kind of folks worry me. It's the flakes/nutters/really, really intense ones that enforce the stereotype that the general public have of sci-fi fans.

There is such a thing as taking it too seriously. They need to lighten up, have a few beers and just relax and have a good time.

[EH-T]

Those kind of folks worry me. It's the flakes/nutters/really, really intense ones that enforce the stereotype that the general public have of sci-fi fans.

There is such a thing as taking it too seriously. They need to lighten up, have a few beers and just relax and have a good time.

But not too many beers because that could be a problem too!

[Frostfox]

Those kind of folks worry me. It's the flakes/nutters/really, really intense ones that enforce the stereotype that the general public have of sci-fi fans.

There is such a thing as taking it too seriously. They need to lighten up, have a few beers and just relax and have a good time.

Heh, not a problem at British SF cons, one of the first things we negotiate with the hotel is the real ale bar!
We ran the fan room at the 2005 worldcon in Glasgow, with real ale from the nearest brewery to the SECC, we drank two weeks of production in five days. Not a single drunken rowdy incident at the con. Just a lot of real ale fans and a very happy brewery.

FF

[BruTak]

Heh, not a problem at British SF cons, one of the first things we negotiate with the hotel is the real ale bar!
We ran the fan room at the 2005 worldcon in Glasgow, with real ale from the nearest brewery to the SECC, we drank two weeks of production in five days. Not a single drunken rowdy incident at the con. Just a lot of real ale fans and a very happy brewery.

FF

Us Scots know how to have a good time.