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

[GbaGuy]

I was at the con yesterday; it was pretty cool. My first time at a convention for a tv show. Some people can be rather wierd (to put it politely), some large woman behind me kept whistling and "Ooooh yeah!!" at Tony while he was holding some ~10yo.. Both Tony and Teryl were a blast to listen to. I also got mugged.. er.. I bought a coffee mug, now I'm gonna have to start drinking coffee (should I be glad I didn't buy a shot glass?).

[Skydiver]

one more thing, for the most part, the folks that are working the con are just volunteers or low paid grunts. They're not the folks with the money that are making the rules....those guys usually are the ones schmoozing with the actors or are safely in thier offices somewhere so that they DON'T have to deal with the rabble = ie con attendees

If the line to the photos is too long, it's probably not the volunteer's fault. If a rule sucks, they probably didn't make it.
If a person is pushed to the front of the queue because s/he is 'special', they probably didn't make that determination...the suits did.

I guess the point of my rant is, there is something called Con Time. Things happen when they happen, which is not necessarily when they're scheduled. Be patient and please don't take it out on the poor schmoes who are standing outside the door. Nine times out of Ten, they're just worker bees and don't have the abilty to make decisions or declarations. Theyu're just there to do a job

And from the point of view of a person who's volunteered at a few cons...People who get in my face do not engender feelings in me to try to assist them.

[Matt G]

FHB's post nicely describes one of the cardinal rules of con etiquette:

Treat the actors with the same courtesy you would extend to every stranger you meet!

Because no matter how familiar the actors seem to you, no matter how often they've been in your living room via the TV screen - you don't know them at all and they certainly don't know you. You are strangers!

Thing is though, they are one heck of a lot easier to chat to than most strangers. OK, so I wouldn't do anything moronic and would never consider any of the actors 'mates' but it can be very easy to grab a few mins with them if you don't give off nutjob vibes...you just have to not take anything for granted.

[TechnoWraith]

Wow. Great info.

My head's spinning because of all the Do and Dont's.

Vancouver 2006 will be my first ever Con of any sort, so it's a good thing I found this thread now!

[babaganoosh]

I was a con with Dirk Benedict and I was witin about 8 feet of him and I started quoting the A-Team by saying "Face, we need to take a flight so we need to tackle BA and knock him out!"

He sorta backed away slowly.

[BackStageJim]

1 Go to have a good time.
2 Go to enjoy the actors talk about their work (maybe life) in and outside of work.
3 Go to enjoy other people of a like mind. It is 3-4 days of multi track action no matter who is organizing the convention.
4 Did I say Go to have a good time? Take breaks when you need it. Too much of any con and you burn out. Search out #3 and you will find others needing a break. While not advocating Caffeine/Smoking … they do offer some stress reduction to those who imbibe.
5 Don’t hate the front of the queue etiquette at some shows ... for those who honestly need it. It could be you, as I have pointed out to a few people grousing at me, the grunt.
6 Children should be respectful, in everyway possible. They are after all, a refection of you. Using the child as a shell, only makes you look like a stage parent.
7 Complain when it is warranted. Perhaps complain is too strong a word to some, or, perhaps not strong enough. But do inform the organizers when you having a problem so they know and can correct it there. Don’t post three weeks later when you’re really mad about missing that autograph session. Many organizers provide a method of getting missed opportunities correct quickly at the convention.
8 Did I say have a good time?

[Feli]

Wholeheartedly agree with #1, and 8!!!

Also with #7: contrary to public opinion con organizers do NOT know what's going on at any given time in any place of the convention! If there is something wrong then let them know - politely! Don't come whining and crying weeks after the fact!

[Skydiver]

Wholeheartedly agree with #1, and 8!!!

Also with #7: contrary to public opinion con organizers do NOT know what's going on at any given time in any place of the convention! If there is something wrong then let them know - politely! Don't come whining and crying weeks after the fact!

yep. they can't fix it if they don't know it's broke.

Also, cons are notorious for long days and short nights and, usually, by sunday folks are getting tired and cranky. From the POV of someone who got screamed at more than once, bear this in mind when something happens.

At the end of the day, it's a con, not brain surgery. No one dies - usually

Keep it in perspective.

A con is to be fun, not a contest. There's no first prize for whomever collects the most autos or snaps pics of the most actors.

[Army-Wife]

one more thing, for the most part, the folks that are working the con are just volunteers or low paid grunts. They're not the folks with the money that are making the rules....
If the line to the photos is too long, it's probably not the volunteer's fault. If a rule sucks, they probably didn't make it.
If a person is pushed to the front of the queue because s/he is 'special', they probably didn't make that determination...the suits did.

I guess the point of my rant is, there is something called Con Time. Things happen when they happen, which is not necessarily when they're scheduled. Be patient and please don't take it out on the poor schmoes who are standing outside the door. Nine times out of Ten, they're just worker bees and don't have the abilty to make decisions or declarations. Theyu're just there to do a job

I wanted to respond to this as I am just getting over the Chicago Con which was my first SG1 con and I have to say that the volunteers who worked this con were absolutely great! You could tell that some of them were falling asleep on their feet but they were still extremely nice to deal with and were smiling. I was very impressed. When I was in line to get autographs, photos, etc., I always made sure to say hi to the volunteer also and ask how their day was. They provided much needed assistance and information as well as suggestions and amusing stories.

I thanked as many of them as I could but if I missed any and they come to this board, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who helped make the con so enjoyable for everyone else.

[Feli]

At the end of the day, it's a con, not brain surgery. No one dies - usually

*grumbles*

Tell that to my body, it's currently trying to break the record for the longest suffering from a case of con crud! While I still have ways to go to reach Mumsey's 3 months from last year, I've already started the second round of antibiotics...

[BackStageJim]

[QUOTE=Army-Wife]I wanted to respond to this as I am just getting over the Chicago Con which was my first SG1 con and I have to say that the volunteers who worked this con were absolutely great! QUOTE]

<blushing ... yawning at asame time>

Happy to hear your first virgin con was fun. I hope we can see you again. And since Chicago is part of 2006 tour (along with NYC,Burbank and Vancouver) I know you'll be there.

And the SG-Command.com group of customed volunteers deserve a big hand for being there to help with set-up and break down, along with their duties during the weekend. As they say, an Army matches on its feet, cons really run by the efforts of volunteers. I know I thank them each time, some get goody bags who have saved my bacon during the con.

[GateAngel]

[QUOTE=Jillybiehn]It's come to the attention of many Forum dwellers that this particular thread might be a good idea. I apologize if there's already a similar thread, but with searches disabled trying to find one was a nightmare!

Anyway, as many of us plan on attending conventions in the near future, and many of us are old pros at it, and many more may have questions, here we go!

A link, first off, dug up by dear Seshat:

AerynScully's Dos & Dont's

QUOTE]

Ok I read the list. While there are few good points made IMHO the majority of it is nothing more than a pretentious load of sour-grapes disguised as 'helpful hints'.

My advice would be to ask any convention organizer whose convention you are going to attend what their do's and don't' list is. Or make note of things you read about in convention reports that come from the actors themselves about what makes them uncomfortable.

[GateGipsy]

Sour grapes? Pretentious? Wow that's uncanny, you've got me exactly. It's like you're in my mind

However, you do raise a good point in that this thread perhaps should be about what people should expect at a con, and how not to make a faux pa, rather than Our Pet Peeves about Cons.

Consider it taken on board like so much of your good advice.

[Skydiver]

things you shoudl expect at a con

crowds

people from different countries and thus, some will not speak your language. also, because they're from different countries their clothing/hygiene/eating
habits will be different from yours

a chance to see the actors. Notice, i didn't say meet because a lot of con goers may not meet the actors. If it's in the actor's contract s/he may be doing photos/autos...or they may simply be on stage speaking.

a chance to have your photo taken with an actor or to get his/her auto.

When you do this, it would be good to remember that you are one of a crowd. your photo is one of several hundred s/he might be taking that day and everyone behind you wants their photo too. Same with the autograph. Being mindful of others and not 'hogging' the actor is a good thing

you may wish to give the actor a gift or token, but two things...first of all you wont' be the only one, they will have to lug all that stuff home and also, due to security concerns, your gift may either be refused at the organizer level or you may have to give it to someone else who screens it before the actor gets it.

Con Time is a reality and a schedule is often nothing more than a guideline.

go prepared to have fun. keep things in perspective and remember to treat others like you would want to be treated. And you will also have to have a healthy dose of tolerance for those others who don't think the rules apply to them, that they're special and 'better' than you....cause there are some in every crowd.

[GateAngel]

"Sour grapes? Pretentious? Wow that's uncanny, you've got me exactly. It's like you're in my mind

However, you do raise a good point in that this thread perhaps should be about what people should expect at a con, and how not to make a faux pa, rather than Our Pet Peeves about Cons. Consider it taken on board like so much of your good advice."

I was commenting on the list that was linked to in the very first post. I thought this was a topic to discuss that list and give thoughts and opinons on it. I am sorry you took my response to that so personally. I was not aware that I could not have an opinion on something or information linked to from another site, especially when there appeared as if there was a topic set up to specificly discuss that information and give honest views and thoughts about it. I was not aware that the invitation to discuss this convention do/don't list did not include voicing a negative reaction to it.

I was not commenting about anything anyone said in the thread about conventions or their personal experiences or peeves or suggestions. My coments were not a personal remark about the person who posted the link either.

I was only commenting on the do's and don'ts list itself which a link to was posted here and along with an invitation to discuss it (no actual content of that list was posted directly to this forum in the post I was responding to). If you are one of the contributors to that list, then maybe you could identify yourself as such so I can better understand why you took my comments so personally.

Regarding that list:
Pardon me if I think it is pretentious for someone to assume to speak for the actors in regards to what they will or will not be offended by in regards to a fan's mode of dress, self expression or questions asked. Unless the list makers can show me a direct communication from the actors to them about which of these things they do or do not take offense to, then the list makers projecting these things onto the actors and 'speaking for them' is not only arrogent, but extremely unfair to the actor and the other fans.

Pardon me if I see the potential for an awkward or hurtful situation to be created for the actors and any fan who feels they have personally offended that actor based on the pretentious do's and don'ts set down in it. The actors themselves are perfectly capable for setting down rules and guidelines for interaction with them at conventions. They have convention reps and minders to assist them in dealing with any situation that comes up that might be inappropriate for them. They have the right to decide for themselves what is ok to ask them or how they want to react to how a fan is dressed or a gift is given. Unless otherwise specified, fans should not be making these decisions for them or for other fans.

Projecting personal dislikes of convention behavior onto the actors is not helpful IMHO.

That is what I found pretentious and to be sourgrapes in the list that was linked to from another site. My comments were about that list, not about anything anyone said in this thread about conventions or experiences with them.