I was there. What's truly scary is that even with the benefit of Monday Morning Quarterbacking I can't see what more they could've done to prevent these problems. Personally I witnessed only one instance of bad behavior, a low-grade incident in which a spoiled-rotten adolescent was running down a hall, then sassed a con officer (who handled things perfectly) when confronted. Rambunctious smart-mouthed teens are something we shall have always with us. And we'll also have other bad actors among us as well-- there are some in every crowd, and again always will be no matter what preventative measures are taken.
So, what to do? Other than employing a few interesting psychological tricks I've seen suggested elsewhere, which I think are well worth trying but whose effects I suspect would be marginal, I have no idea whatsoever.
And that _terrifies_ me. Because if fault could be found with Rain Furrest's arrangements, then all other furcons would have to do in order to avoid the same fate is to avoid making the same mistakes. But if they _didn't_ commit any major errors and rather were merely the victims of bad luck, as I suspect... Then how do we avoid having the same problems at other conventions?
Since I expect that most of the the RF staff will likely read this, please forgive me for adding something more that's a bit off topic. Folks, I _loved_ your con, and as a writer shall remain ever appreciative of your unceasing support of furry literature. As I've said before, I can't see where you ran anything less than a first-class event in _any_ way and it's a terrible shame that this has happened to you. I'll also never cease being grateful to you for naming me Writing Guest of Honor in 2007. It was one of the highlights of my life, something I'll never, _ever_ forget. One last time, Thank You.
In fact, Thank You for many good times and good years. I hope you can come stage a comeback, even if under another name. If you can, and if it's at all possible for me to attend, I'll be there to support you.
I was there. What's truly scary is that even with the benefit of Monday Morning Quarterbacking I can't see what more they could've done to prevent these problems. Personally I witnessed only one instance of bad behavior, a low-grade incident in which a spoiled-rotten adolescent was running down a hall, then sassed a con officer (who handled things perfectly) when confronted. Rambunctious smart-mouthed teens are something we shall have always with us. And we'll also have other bad actors among us as well-- there are some in every crowd, and again always will be no matter what preventative measures are taken.
So, what to do? Other than employing a few interesting psychological tricks I've seen suggested elsewhere, which I think are well worth trying but whose effects I suspect would be marginal, I have no idea whatsoever.
And that _terrifies_ me. Because if fault could be found with Rain Furrest's arrangements, then all other furcons would have to do in order to avoid the same fate is to avoid making the same mistakes. But if they _didn't_ commit any major errors and rather were merely the victims of bad luck, as I suspect... Then how do we avoid having the same problems at other conventions?
Since I expect that most of the the RF staff will likely read this, please forgive me for adding something more that's a bit off topic. Folks, I _loved_ your con, and as a writer shall remain ever appreciative of your unceasing support of furry literature. As I've said before, I can't see where you ran anything less than a first-class event in _any_ way and it's a terrible shame that this has happened to you. I'll also never cease being grateful to you for naming me Writing Guest of Honor in 2007. It was one of the highlights of my life, something I'll never, _ever_ forget. One last time, Thank You.
In fact, Thank You for many good times and good years. I hope you can come stage a comeback, even if under another name. If you can, and if it's at all possible for me to attend, I'll be there to support you.