Subject: [WSFA] Re: Why event attendance is down these days [was: Re: [WSFA] Re: Move along, move along.  Was: Worldcon & Capclave]
From: chuckdivine <chuck.divine at att.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:41:05 -0500
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

On Mon, 2005-03-21 at 13:30, Mike B. wrote:
> 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...).

What's really depressing about the rise of workaholism is how
ineffective it is at actually accomplishing tasks.  People in this
country don't pay attention to how much being tired costs us.

I might have a bit more resistance to this trend than most.  I finished
a marathon in 1996.  I'm in the leadership of Metro Washington Mensa.
Yes, I know I have lots of shortcomings.  But, when some abusive bully
tries to force one of these death marches on people, I'm more likely to
say "I can't do that -- damned few people can" and make it stick.  Yes,
there is a down side to that kind of rebellion.  But at least I'm still
healthy and relatively sane.

>
> 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.

I've wondered about this quite a bit.  It used to be common to have
parties at cons where alcohol was freely available.  Now it's not -- at
least on the East Coast.  You still see alcohol served at Mensa
conventions.  And a hash event without beer?  People would be calling
for the men in the white coats so fast it would make your head spin.
That's just one measure.

Are SF fans more prone to this kind of behavior than others?  I won't
pretend that any of my social groups represent the mainstream of
America.

I'll make one very interesting observation.  St. Mark's Episcopal Church
on Capitol Hill recently made Fox News.  Because of some right wing
activity?  Those of you who actually know St. Mark's are probably
laughing uproariously at that.  No -- we made the news because we have
our own brew master.  Yes, that's right, the church makes its own beer.
Good beer, at that.  It's a big draw for young people.

>
> 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.

I haven't noticed the rise in con prices all that much.  Virtually every
con (excepting Disclave) I've ever attended has required me staying in
the hotel for the weekend.  They're also infrequent enough for me so
that cons are not a major expenditure for me.

I can see, though, what an impact those costs would have on some
people.  By discouraging some people, that can make the cons less
attractive to people like me who are less impacted by cost increases.

>
> 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.

Interesting.  Crime and cost prevents me from living in big cities.  But
not visiting them?  The chances of something bad happening -- at least
in the better neighborhoods -- are just too low.

>
> 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.

Tell me about it.  Here are groups with a major claim on my time:

o  Hash House Harriers
o  Metro Washington Mensa
o  American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
o  St. Mark's Episcopal Church
o  Rutgers Club of DC
o  Democratic Party in Maryland

And then there are groups with a minor claim on my time.  WSFA, sadly,
falls into that category.  I really like you people, but there are only
so many hours in a week.

>
> 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.

Definitely the case for lots of us.

>
> 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.

I think these crusaders have managed to really damage society.  It's
interesting to note that the Hash -- with its explicit rejection of PC
by people of all political stripes -- functions really well.  And seems
to be thriving.

>
> 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).

For me as long as the hotel is acceptable (Adam's Mark was) I don't much
care about the location.  Since I'm an artist who always drives to East
Coast cons, though, easy, free parking is really a plus.  I manage to
put more stuff in a car for a convention than some families do.  Carting
art and luggage and camera gear on a plane is a real pain.

Best,

Chuck Divine