This is Rich, and I thought I should step in and say that it was NOT Vanity Fair that was the final straw. I've been in the fandom for 15 years, and I've put up with the freaks and wierdos and worse in the fandom all that time. Vanity Fair was just another in what WILL be a long string of articles portraying the Fandom as a freak show. I'm kind of used to that. I'm even used to vocal members of the fandom refusing to learn their lessons each time we get burned.
What it was with me was a growing dissatisfaction with my own experience in the fandom, and a feeling that I was being taken for granted. There were also personal aspects of my life that I began to realize were being neglected with all the time and energy and money I was directing into the fandom.
And with regard to the timing. One thing that I considered when I made my decision was that there should be enough time for ConiFur to find a replacement for me with adequate time for him to get ready to do a good job running the show. If I had come to this point say, three months before the Con, I would have stuck it out until the Con was over. I still plan to assist whoever it is in making the transition.
There WAS, in fact, a triggering event, it wasn't Vanity Fair, and it wasn't the threatening e-mails I was getting from Hannah Kincaid either. But what it actually was is something I prefer to keep to myself and a few trusted friends.
I'm an old soldier at this. I've been fighting a long time and the front hasn't moved more than a few feet in a decade. I'm tired. It's time for someone else to take up the banner. I'm retired.
This is Rich, and I thought I should step in and say that it was NOT Vanity Fair that was the final straw. I've been in the fandom for 15 years, and I've put up with the freaks and wierdos and worse in the fandom all that time. Vanity Fair was just another in what WILL be a long string of articles portraying the Fandom as a freak show. I'm kind of used to that. I'm even used to vocal members of the fandom refusing to learn their lessons each time we get burned.
What it was with me was a growing dissatisfaction with my own experience in the fandom, and a feeling that I was being taken for granted. There were also personal aspects of my life that I began to realize were being neglected with all the time and energy and money I was directing into the fandom.
And with regard to the timing. One thing that I considered when I made my decision was that there should be enough time for ConiFur to find a replacement for me with adequate time for him to get ready to do a good job running the show. If I had come to this point say, three months before the Con, I would have stuck it out until the Con was over. I still plan to assist whoever it is in making the transition.
There WAS, in fact, a triggering event, it wasn't Vanity Fair, and it wasn't the threatening e-mails I was getting from Hannah Kincaid either. But what it actually was is something I prefer to keep to myself and a few trusted friends.
I'm an old soldier at this. I've been fighting a long time and the front hasn't moved more than a few feet in a decade. I'm tired. It's time for someone else to take up the banner. I'm retired.