Well, I'm glad we didn't have too drive far to it.
I've rarely seen a con run so unprofessionally. I know, most cons -- other than biggies like DragonCon and GenCon -- are amateur affairs, but 'professional' doesn't just mean 'for profit' -- it also refers to attitude and ability. Let's see:
No program descriptions, anywhere. So no one had any idea what a panel was about or who was on it.
Most panels consisted of one speaker who didn't know why they were there or what they were doing.
Most panels has next-to-no attendance, possibly exacerbated by the lack of descriptions.
Actually, when there's only one presenter, it isn't a panel, it's a lecture, so that's the term I will use from here on.
There was some good stuff -- the "Geek's Guide To Girls" lecture was well attended, mostly by people who really needed the advice. Ben Bova's lecture on space tourism was also interesting, since he had obviously prepared for it and knew what he was talking about. The lecture on Firefly was good, because we got to hear some media dirt I didn't know already about just how amazingly badly Fox screwed up the program. And Tom Smith's concert was excellent, with a lot of his newer stuff and his general engage-the-audience performance style. (And some outtakes from the Rocky Horror Muppet Show)
Open Filk? Nonexistent, as far as I can tell. For some reason, they decided to throw a "Everybody Get Drunk!" (There was no other theme or context to it that I could see) party Friday night, which distracted a lot of the musical types. Then, they decided the con was big enough to have a 'jam session' as well as a filking room, so guess where all the musicians went next? Saturday, we didn't even bother trying. I've never seen a filk track done so poorly.
The dealer's room was surprisingly good -- but I was forced to limit myself to a 20 dollar budget, due to GenCon. Even so, one place had a dollar sale on RPGs and man, did I score! Several games I'd never heard of, old Traveller supplements, Godsend Agenda, and so on, all for a buck each. I also found Ars Magica Second Edition, which has on the back a quote from a review I wrote of the First Edition, long and long ago...
It's local and cheap, so I might go back next year, but I'll need some assurance it will be handled better. Too few guests, poor organization, underattended panels. The game room was full, so maybe the con is mutating to a gamer convention; if so, the ConCom ought to adjust things accordingly, not (as I heard some people doing) whine about "all those gamers running around". When the game room is well attended and the "panel" discussions are not, that should tell you something.
Comments (5)
Following Max's comment, the two major guests canceling (I understand that the artist also canceled appearances at other upcoming events as well) were well beyond the con's control. So, programming enjoyment, whether there's one panel leader or a quorum, is what you make of it. Either sit there and say nothing, or interact and improve the experience. I've been to very few panels (major guests aside) where the interaction didn't come from both sides of the table.
Also, there was not a single "con sponsored" everyone get drunk party. There were multiple room parties hosted by the guests themselves. If you take half a second to think about it, since no alcohol is served in the con suite, that the convention does not provide alcohol to any guests for liability purposes. The attendance of the parties over programming or other events is purely at the discretion of those folks throwing the parties and those who choose to attend them.
ConGlom dedicates far more space to other events than gaming, and the game room is much thinner than in years past, also as a result of the parties. Folks don't stay for late games, and they're much later to arrive the following day. Everything has it's place, so don't knock the gamers (take this from someone who only played a couple of board games over the weekend and attended many other events and functions at the con).
SMOFs or Gamers... who's to say there aren't Gamer Smofs and Smof Gamers? All things in moderation, right? Well, if folks don't come because of the gamers or because of the parties, then they are part of the problem for being closed minded. Those who only come for the parties... they're part of the problem too. But those who blame the con for the choices made by it's attendees are the most to blame, as they're the ones who pan the con when they don't know all the facts and cause others to dismiss consideration of giving the event a shot.