I was going to stay out of this discussion, but now i find that i cannot.
Many people in response to this thread have made sweeping comments about "this is the future of Capricon" or "this is the way they do things now" etc.
Each year, in an attempt to keep things fresh, a new Chair is selected by the Phandemonium board of directors from a group of proposals presented at Windy. The theory is, that by selecting the chairs with the most exciting ideas, that the con will continue to evolve, and not meet the fate of other midwest cons who get criticized for stagnating, or who lose membership because of internal ruptures.
Deb Kosiba is the chair for 25. Deb has successfully chaired capricon in the past, and come up with some really great and fun ideas to make the con more than just a handful of panels and a consuite. Is Deb perfect? no. Will she (or her concom) make some choices that a few people will regard as "bad" choices? Sure. What Chair hasn't?
Next year this time, you'll likely all be trashing ME, since I'll be the Chair for 26. Let me tell you in advance that I'll accept any suggestions for improvement, and any advice people care to offer, but i'll be making some decisions that i KNOW will piss off some folks, but i ALSO know will make others happy. Like Deb, I'll be attempting to provide the best con experience possible, and i'll be trying to add new members to the convention. Like Deb, any decision that i or my concom make will be intended to improve the Capricon experience for all the attendees, and failing that, at least the majority.
But my decisions will in some cases be different from Deb's. Not necessarily better, (hopefully not worse!) Just Different. So to be clear, Deb's decisions are not the future and ongoing policy of Capricon, just as Dave McCarty's weren't before her, and Cary and Marnie before his, and so on... Each chair tries new stuff. The future chairs evaluate the effect of those changes, and adjust accordingly. No single Chair sets "permanent policy" for the con - only the Board does that, and they do not directly manage the event year-to-year. So. I'm sorry if folks are unhappy with past decisions, but please don't remain ignorant of the fact that Cap is an evolving, growing entity, and through that ignorance deprive yourself (and others) of what is likely to be a new and exciting con, year after year.
Now,another thought for all of you "elders" and all of you "boycotters" and "non-attendees". EVERYONE who has tried their hand at conrunning has pissed people off. The "elders" may not have felt the impact as highly, because today it only takes 2-3 pissed off folks who are well-connected on the internet to generate a huge negative buzz. It only takes minutes. Back when cap first started, if you pissed someone off, you might not hear about it UNTIL THE CON.
These days, the gripe sessions on Sunday are sparsely attended, because anyone with a negative comment has already published it to the GT list/LJ/messageboard/other mailing list/all of their Outlook contacts, etc.
But of all the negative comments I've seen regarding a decision that (right, wrong or otherwise) really only affects a few people, not a SINGLE ONE has suggested a positive remedy for the situation.
Furthermore, none of the complaining parties have offerred to help the convention effort with advice, volunteer time, or the benefit of knowledge that they seem to expect every fan to somehow assimilate in their first year of conrunning through some mystical unexplained process. Cripes. If you're no longer interested in helping or running it or sharing your valuable knowledge, then don't expect the new kids to know everything you know. The only reason i have clue one about "who is Greg Ketter" is because of his business connection to Alice, who i only really got to know at any depth at all after 15 years in fandom, and we lived in the same damn city.
Sorry about the long rant - this has been building up a while.
Just a perspective i'd like to add....
Many people in response to this thread have made sweeping comments about "this is the future of Capricon" or "this is the way they do things now" etc.
Each year, in an attempt to keep things fresh, a new Chair is selected by the Phandemonium board of directors from a group of proposals presented at Windy. The theory is, that by selecting the chairs with the most exciting ideas, that the con will continue to evolve, and not meet the fate of other midwest cons who get criticized for stagnating, or who lose membership because of internal ruptures.
Deb Kosiba is the chair for 25. Deb has successfully chaired capricon in the past, and come up with some really great and fun ideas to make the con more than just a handful of panels and a consuite. Is Deb perfect? no. Will she (or her concom) make some choices that a few people will regard as "bad" choices? Sure. What Chair hasn't?
Next year this time, you'll likely all be trashing ME, since I'll be the Chair for 26. Let me tell you in advance that I'll accept any suggestions for improvement, and any advice people care to offer, but i'll be making some decisions that i KNOW will piss off some folks, but i ALSO know will make others happy. Like Deb, I'll be attempting to provide the best con experience possible, and i'll be trying to add new members to the convention. Like Deb, any decision that i or my concom make will be intended to improve the Capricon experience for all the attendees, and failing that, at least the majority.
But my decisions will in some cases be different from Deb's. Not necessarily better, (hopefully not worse!) Just Different. So to be clear, Deb's decisions are not the future and ongoing policy of Capricon, just as Dave McCarty's weren't before her, and Cary and Marnie before his, and so on... Each chair tries new stuff. The future chairs evaluate the effect of those changes, and adjust accordingly. No single Chair sets "permanent policy" for the con - only the Board does that, and they do not directly manage the event year-to-year. So. I'm sorry if folks are unhappy with past decisions, but please don't remain ignorant of the fact that Cap is an evolving, growing entity, and through that ignorance deprive yourself (and others) of what is likely to be a new and exciting con, year after year.
Now,another thought for all of you "elders" and all of you "boycotters" and "non-attendees". EVERYONE who has tried their hand at conrunning has pissed people off. The "elders" may not have felt the impact as highly, because today it only takes 2-3 pissed off folks who are well-connected on the internet to generate a huge negative buzz. It only takes minutes. Back when cap first started, if you pissed someone off, you might not hear about it UNTIL THE CON.
These days, the gripe sessions on Sunday are sparsely attended, because anyone with a negative comment has already published it to the GT list/LJ/messageboard/other mailing list/all of their Outlook contacts, etc.
But of all the negative comments I've seen regarding a decision that (right, wrong or otherwise) really only affects a few people, not a SINGLE ONE has suggested a positive remedy for the situation.
Furthermore, none of the complaining parties have offerred to help the convention effort with advice, volunteer time, or the benefit of knowledge that they seem to expect every fan to somehow assimilate in their first year of conrunning through some mystical unexplained process. Cripes. If you're no longer interested in helping or running it or sharing your valuable knowledge, then don't expect the new kids to know everything you know. The only reason i have clue one about "who is Greg Ketter" is because of his business connection to Alice, who i only really got to know at any depth at all after 15 years in fandom, and we lived in the same damn city.
Sorry about the long rant - this has been building up a while.
Peace,
Greg "Guido" Williams