Conventional Wisdom Geek Fallacies

Or the supposed unwritten rules of fandom

I belong to a couple of groups online that are about fannish conventions. Some are from the attendees POV and some are from the talents and agents POV and others are from the showrunners POV.

I have been all of these at some point or another in my life.

There are the basics of be polite and courteous to your fellow attendees which I am all for. We are there to enjoy what we love with our fellow fans.

I like convention which feel like families. You make friends that you see once or twice a year at these events. But I have seen those conventions crumble when they become so insular that it is not inviting to those who have not attended that convention for twenty years. New blood is necessary to keep the conventions going. Not only for attendees but for people running the show and the volunteers. Bring people in to help and give them a chance to show what they bring to the table.

There is an unwritten rule that is slowly being removed in the face of me too. Fandom prides itself for being inclusive. They don’t want to be those popular kids that excluded people. The issue is some people’s behavior is very problematic. I knew there were certain people to avoid when I went to conventions. They had a reputation and we knew that it was not good. In being inclusive, certain individuals were given a free pass for bad behavior. It had to be something really egregious to get them kicked out of the convention and then it might be only that convention. So we protected our own against those few that were dangerous.

The excuse of “well they have always been like that. Just avoid them.” Is slowly vanishing too. Bad behavior is bad behavior and letting people get away with it because they have always get away with it never sat well with me. Putting the onus on the other attendees to avoid the individual limits their ability to fully enjoy the convention.

Cosplay is not consent is a newer rule at conventions. It is a good one too. I can remember being asked to be a handler for a friend in costume. Part of my job was to keep the person feeling safe and keep creepers away. There was one guy who was a photographer or claimed to be a photographer who would set up shoots with young women and make them very uncomfortable while he photographed them. For a while he was taking photos for a convention but he did get shown the door after the 20th complaint of him being handsy with the costumers. He would say he was adjusting the costume for the right look and would cop a feel along the way. I put myself between him and my friend by adjusting the costume the way he wanted without him touching my friend. The shoot was short because of that, I think.

More and more conventions are telling attendees what can and cannot be discussed or done with talent. I have a couple of friends who are MCs and hosts for Q & A with the talent. Right from the get go they give the audience a set of rules to follow and what is expected when you ask a question. They step in if the question is on the forbidden list of topics. They also play the bad guy when someone wants to give their life story before asking their question. This allows more people to ask their questions and get their moment with the talent without having to pay for an autograph or a photo.

People are paying money to come to these conventions. Not only for the entrance fee but all the other expenses that occur during that time. They should expect to be comfortable in the environment. Things are better but there is a way to go.

I am grateful for convention committees that get it.