As far as I can tell, WorldCons are always all-inclusive. But it is often the case that there will be several things you want to do at the same time, an embarrassment of riches. For instance, today I was finishing wiring the video for the ballroom, but was able to play hooky for a bit to attend a panel about Kansas City’s favorite son, Robert Heinlein, as well as one on erotica (I’m 90% sure I wouldn’t find the work of most of the panelists particularly erotic.)
The type of con that you are referring to is usually a for-profit con, while Worldcon and most fan-run cons are non-profit cons.
These sounds like Creation Cons of other for profits of their ilk. Nothing wrong with them if you know what you are getting into and can afford them. And some of them are pretty good. Like Dragoncon over Labor Day.
But as Czarcasm points out, Worldcon is non-profit, and there are dozens of other non-profit cons every year, run by fans, just for fun. You can pretty much bet there is at least one con every weekend of the year in North America. And a lot of weekends there are multiple cons running. It can just take a little research to find them.
Some are large, multi-day, cons with thousands of members, like Marcon in Columbus or Balticon in Baltimore. Others are just a day or two, with a few hundred members. But once you’ve paid your membership, your done.
Panels on many subjects yesterday, then finished the night with a few hours of filking over at the Marriott. Today I do a few more panels, spend some time at the dealers room and the art show…then phone home to explain why I spent all my money and have to hitchhike back to Portland. 
As someone working the Dealer’s Room, I say go for it, and good job!
I’ll be on the stage of the Masquerade tonight…
… operating one of the cameras.
Where are you? Albacon in Albany, NY is currently $30 for membership, with hotel $99 a night. We also have Saturday only memberships for $10.
You guys did a damn fine job.
Thanks.
Did anyone see the “State of Short Fiction” panel today? If so, what happened?
No clue, but supposedly there is a recording by Truesdale. At least some GG person kept saying that on the #Worldcon hashtag on Twitter. Apparently his side of it is on Facebook, but I don’t go there.
Went to my first Hugo Awards, and loved it. Pat Cadigan hosted it, the “sad puppies” got their collective asses batted with a rolled up newspaper several times during the ceremony, Andy Weir got a Hugo and a John W. Campbell Award but couldn’t make it…so he sent two different U.S. astronauts to accept the awards on his behalf.
If you want to know a lot more about what went on, go here.
…and we got to see a genuine US astronaut wearing a tiara. With a look on his face that said “You think a real man can’t wear a tiara? Try me, and you’ll get the same thing Buzz dished out!”
I missed the Hugos, but made up for it by sneaking in the Hugo Losers Party that GRRM put on. Incredible theatre location, good for.
Both
Band had some decent jazz, but tried for too much SF related stuff. Although their version of The Time Warp was pretty good.
The food was really good. At least the BBQ and the desserts I had. I don’t know how the alcohol/ice cream dessert tasted.
Count Blucher writes:
> I’ve never been to a 'Con. They are very expensive by me and you not only have to
> know when/where the 'Con is, you’d have to front all of the money almost six months
> in advance just to get inside the door.
> Also, most of the worth-while events are Ala-carte extras, which start to really add up.
> Its like the line waiting to get to the top of the Empire State Building: just $50 more
> and you can jump another 200 feet ahead in line.
> You can do that about 15 times & Still not be on the Observation Deck.
There are two different kinds of cons. The older kinds (and there are still many of the older sort) are relatively cheap. You registration fee pays for everything. They are mostly about books and short stories, rather than mostly about movies, TV shows, and graphic novels. They are run by fans. They tend to be smaller, although there are some larger ones like Worldcon. The people who go to them tend to be older.
The newer sort (on average) are expensive, have fees for each individual event, are more about movies, TV shows, and graphic novels, are run by for-profit companies, are larger, and are attended mostly by younger people.
Do some research before you go to a con to find out which kind of con it is.
Here’s a 1988 essay about cons which is about the older kind of cons:
Apparently Truesdale was supposed to moderate the panel but then opened with a “10 minute monologue on how ‘special snowflakes’ who are easily offended are destroying SF”.
Then he offered plastic “pearl necklaces” for people to clutch, which seems to indicate the hijack was premeditated, and finally got tossed out of Worldcon on his arse.
He’s also posted the entire recording on his website, which hilariously exposes the SJW liars (which is why they’re in damage control mode).
“Damage control”? Uh, sure. Treasdale got kicked out, his recording, from what I understand, shows him being a colossal dick who planned to troll the panel, and nobody’s gonna be talking about this in three days. Barely anyone’s talking about it now.
Ever seen that video of the red-tailed hawk attacking the bald eagle nest? Folks are in damage control like that bald eagle.
But whatever you do, don’t listen to it yourself, the narrative must be maintained.
Now they’re not, since they got BTFO’d by the recording.
“Listen to myself”? I wasn’t there, and I’ve been skipping the weekly Social Justice Warrior meetings lately, so not sure what you think you’re saying here.
The dudes who are all atwitter about social justice warriors don’t have an excellent track record of representing anything honestly. I’m unconvinced Treasdale is representing the contents of that recording honestly. I’m just pleased that an asshole had consequences for acting like an asshole.
If you want to talk about the narrative or whatever, that’s cool, dude.