Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 13:30:20 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Why event attendance is down these days [was: Re: [WSFA] Re: Move along, move along.  Was: Worldcon & Capclave]
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

At 12:07 PM 3/21/05 -0500, chuckdivine wrote:

>Attendance at all sorts of
>things seems off.    Is it the economy?  Boredom with the events?  Aging
>of fan base?  Something else?

I suspect there are a lot of factors, same as most other things.  For me,
and not limiting things just to cons (where being married to a non-fan was
a major factor during the 90's), some of the factors include (in no
particular order):

o work hours - lots of people are working more hours than in the past.  I
didn't make it to last Friday's meeting because I was working until about
4am (I started at 9am...it was a really long day...).

o restrictions - lots of events, to avoid lawsuits and associated insurance
hikes or government interference or to comply with venue restrictions that
are based on those are implementing lots of restrictions on dress,
behavior, alcohol, food, or other aspects of attendance that together tend
to reduce the fun factor.  The "atmosphere" is not what it once was.  Very
few people enjoy being told "DON'T", even if they weren't planning to in
the first place.

o cost - hotels, parking, gas, restaurants, and events themselves have all
increased substantially, particularly in big cities.  Hotels will often
negotiate a substantial break on room rate (compare con rates to "regular"
rates sometime for the room you are in.  Well over $100/night difference
isn't uncommon at all) but that doesn't always happen to the same extent,
and when it does it's often based on charging the event if enough
room-nights aren't achieved, and that gets passed on in higher event charges.

o Event charges - As was noted recently, Disclaves of the 70-s and early
80-s were in the $3-$8 range for the whole con.  Now it's not at all
unusual for that to be $45-$60...a much faster increase than for other
things we pay for, such as food, utilities or cars (which have only tripled
or quadrupled since that time).  Only medical costs may have risen more
rapidly.  Some of the prices I've heard quoted for major concert tickets
are scary too...luckily I don't go to concerts.

o Fear - Some may be worried about terrorist attacks, some about violent
crime of a more limited but also more personal scope or just about
vandalism and theft.  National crime rates are actually down over what they
were 15 years ago (down to 1973 levels according to recent reports), but
they are also still mostly confined to big cities (we are about as peaceful
a country as England if you don't count big city crime rates).  Many events
are held in big cities.

o Too many choices - there are a lot of potential activities to fill your
limited free time with these days, and with the internet it's easier to
hear about them.  I belong to several groups other than WSFA, for example,
and all of them have events to attend...and I don't attend lots of them for
various reasons.  Some are more seasonal, like the Montgomery County HOG
(Harley Owner's Group) which has a lot more rides in the summer than
winter, and some aren't, but all take available free time, which is limited.

o Other responsibilities - kids, pets, parents, businesses, etc. all take
time and may be difficult to arrange to leave long enough to attend a
weekend long event out of town.  When the bulk of fandom was teens and
20-somethings that wasn't a big issue, but now that most fans seem to be in
their 40s and older, it is more likely.  Even if kids are welcome at an
event, the "hassle-factor" and increased expense of traveling with them may
be prohibitive given what kids cost to raise these days.

o Being social isn't what it once was - since the 70s it's become much more
acceptable to be pushy about your personal likes and dislikes and insist
that others conform to your desires...particularly if you are a "recognized
minority".  PC language is a major player in this, but it shows up in lots
of places, not just what you call the person running the event.  For
instance, it's now ok to tell a person that their humor isn't funny or
appreciated if you don't like it, or to insist on special accommodations
for your needs no matter what the cost or how limited the size of the group
benefiting and to get very offended if there's even hesitation about it,
let alone resistance.  This anti-social behavior tends to destroy the
cohesion of any group as people start limiting their behavior to avoid
giving offense in a world without any standards of conduct (i.e. "accepted
manners") and what was once fun starts to resemble dangerous work.  Easier
to just hang around at home with your close friends, or go play on the
internet, than put up with that sort of thing.

There are probably other factors that go into events being less well
attended these days, but those are what comes to mind at the moment.

>> There were rumors that Philcon will be moving back to November.  Would
that make people more likely to attend?
>
>It would be better for me.  December is filled with all kinds of social
>events already.   Taking a whole weekend for a convention runs into all
>sorts of conflicts.

That's a biggie, but the weather is more likely to be problematic in
December too.  I've known some people who won't plan a long drive then due
to fears of being trapped by snow.  They are a minority, but every little
bit hurts...

I'm with MJW about the downtown thing though.  I've been to Philcon at the
Adam's Mark (wasn't that just torn down?) and liked it.  I wouldn't
consider driving into downtown Philadelphia for much of anything, and
certainly not a con.  Heck, it's been hard to force myself to do it for
Balticon (which I didn't attend last year due to conflicting events,
including my dad being in town).  I was really happy to hear that it was
moving back out to Hunt Valley.  I've been to other cons/events at the HVI,
as well as other hotels in the area (Darkover for instance), and it's much
preferable to downtown.  Free parking isn't the only factor either.  (yes,
I'm aware that for others downtown is preferable...doesn't change my
preferences though).

-- Mike B.

--
Forewarned is half an octopus.