Worldcon Comments
Aug. 30th, 2006 09:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
major_clangerWorldcon was fun: a good venue that managed to be expansive without being too large to get around, a good set of guests and events and a wide range of parties. I went along very much with the view, after Interaction and Concussion, of just enjoying myself, and I think I can safely say I succeeded.
Other attendees (especially![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pnh have commented on some aspects that didn't go so well. Some of these, like Harlan Ellison's disgraceful behaviour at the Hugo Awards, were really not within the organisers' control. Others were areas where lessons could be learned, although I didn't feel they detracted too much from the success of the event.
The programme was huge; at one point, I noted I had a choice of 27 panels, and that didn't count readings, kaffeeklatches and videos. With all due respect to the programme team - and I know from personal experience what a tough job it is - I did feel that some panel topics were a bit forced or not quite up to an hour's discussion. More commonly though, potentially good panels were often let down by poor moderation; all too often, I saw runaway moderators forget that they weren't asked onto the panel to give a monologue on their pet hobby-horse. More than once, moderators seemed to have very different ideas from other panel members as to what the panel was meant to be about, or at least what approach it was going to take to the topic. (In particular,bugshaw was on an item that she and the other panellists took to be light-hearted, but the moderator seemed to think should be far more serious.)
The real problem I had though was nothing to do with the programme or its participants. I'm sorry to say that LACon IV featured some of the worst audience manners I've ever seen at a convention. One item I sat in - and this was an invited talk, not a panel - was marred by four loud mobile phone calls, a not-particularly whispered conversation between two audience members, and someone who felt it appropriate to make loud interjections and comments from the floor every couple of minutes. And that was just the worst example, rather than an isolated incident. I'm not quite sure what the cure is, other than hulking great programme gophers with cattle-prods, but I hope we find one soon.
Other attendees (especially
pnh have commented on some aspects that didn't go so well. Some of these, like Harlan Ellison's disgraceful behaviour at the Hugo Awards, were really not within the organisers' control. Others were areas where lessons could be learned, although I didn't feel they detracted too much from the success of the event.The programme was huge; at one point, I noted I had a choice of 27 panels, and that didn't count readings, kaffeeklatches and videos. With all due respect to the programme team - and I know from personal experience what a tough job it is - I did feel that some panel topics were a bit forced or not quite up to an hour's discussion. More commonly though, potentially good panels were often let down by poor moderation; all too often, I saw runaway moderators forget that they weren't asked onto the panel to give a monologue on their pet hobby-horse. More than once, moderators seemed to have very different ideas from other panel members as to what the panel was meant to be about, or at least what approach it was going to take to the topic. (In particular,
bugshaw was on an item that she and the other panellists took to be light-hearted, but the moderator seemed to think should be far more serious.)The real problem I had though was nothing to do with the programme or its participants. I'm sorry to say that LACon IV featured some of the worst audience manners I've ever seen at a convention. One item I sat in - and this was an invited talk, not a panel - was marred by four loud mobile phone calls, a not-particularly whispered conversation between two audience members, and someone who felt it appropriate to make loud interjections and comments from the floor every couple of minutes. And that was just the worst example, rather than an isolated incident. I'm not quite sure what the cure is, other than hulking great programme gophers with cattle-prods, but I hope we find one soon.
