*Groan* Sorry I'm so late to the party. As one of the instigators of ConFurence, I'll try to respond to all the "fun" here as best I can...
Mark (Sy Sable) and I stepped down from being in charge of ConFurence after 11 years because we were exhausted -- physically and financially. That is the ONLY reason we did so. We handed the reins over to Darrel Exline, who was one of the most enthusiastic members of our staff. Unfortunately for everyone involved, just as we did that switch-over, other furry-themed cons started popping up in other locations around the country and around the world. When ConFurence was no longer "the only game in town", people naturally started going to their local cons instead of making a long trek to ConFurence, so of course our attendance began to taper off. It didn't help that Darrel had got himself roped into a hotel contract that wound up costing way, way more than he thought it would -- a common mistake made by MANY folk running fannish conventions of all sorts when hotels fill their heads with visions of sugar-plums. Either way, Darrel ran ConFurence for four years until HIS finances were exhausted. Then he ended it. Again, that is the ONLY reason it went away. Immediately after ConFurence, CaliFur started up because a group of young fans wanted there to be a continuation of furry fandom cons in SoCal. And there has been. Since 1989 there has not been a single year without a furry fandom convention in Southern California.
No one on the staff of ConFurence or CaliFur was ever a "member" of Burned Furs. Darrel subscribed to some publications by self-declared Burned Furs because he found some of their ideas interesting. Whatever. I never found them to be more than a bunch of grouchy, self-important homophobes.
"... trying to change some of the more controversial programming." Such as...?
Fred: BS. We never "refused" to incorporate. It is simply a long, LONG process to do so, and as all of us involved had full-time jobs, it became very difficult to find the time and resources to do so properly. So we pitch-hit as best as private individuals could do while learning on the fly. CaliFur has been trying for more than FIVE YEARS to become a full non-profit... and we are STILL going back and forth with the state about the requirements. They do not make it easy. You were not at the ConFurence staff meetings. I was. Please do not blather about things you do not know.
Looking back with the creaky bones of age (and probably with the cranky attitude too) I will admit that I'm proud of having been involved with ConFurence. It was a start-up, and it had its problems. But I am proud of the ball that it got rolling.
*Groan* Sorry I'm so late to the party. As one of the instigators of ConFurence, I'll try to respond to all the "fun" here as best I can...
Mark (Sy Sable) and I stepped down from being in charge of ConFurence after 11 years because we were exhausted -- physically and financially. That is the ONLY reason we did so. We handed the reins over to Darrel Exline, who was one of the most enthusiastic members of our staff. Unfortunately for everyone involved, just as we did that switch-over, other furry-themed cons started popping up in other locations around the country and around the world. When ConFurence was no longer "the only game in town", people naturally started going to their local cons instead of making a long trek to ConFurence, so of course our attendance began to taper off. It didn't help that Darrel had got himself roped into a hotel contract that wound up costing way, way more than he thought it would -- a common mistake made by MANY folk running fannish conventions of all sorts when hotels fill their heads with visions of sugar-plums. Either way, Darrel ran ConFurence for four years until HIS finances were exhausted. Then he ended it. Again, that is the ONLY reason it went away. Immediately after ConFurence, CaliFur started up because a group of young fans wanted there to be a continuation of furry fandom cons in SoCal. And there has been. Since 1989 there has not been a single year without a furry fandom convention in Southern California.
No one on the staff of ConFurence or CaliFur was ever a "member" of Burned Furs. Darrel subscribed to some publications by self-declared Burned Furs because he found some of their ideas interesting. Whatever. I never found them to be more than a bunch of grouchy, self-important homophobes.
"... trying to change some of the more controversial programming." Such as...?
Fred: BS. We never "refused" to incorporate. It is simply a long, LONG process to do so, and as all of us involved had full-time jobs, it became very difficult to find the time and resources to do so properly. So we pitch-hit as best as private individuals could do while learning on the fly. CaliFur has been trying for more than FIVE YEARS to become a full non-profit... and we are STILL going back and forth with the state about the requirements. They do not make it easy. You were not at the ConFurence staff meetings. I was. Please do not blather about things you do not know.
Looking back with the creaky bones of age (and probably with the cranky attitude too) I will admit that I'm proud of having been involved with ConFurence. It was a start-up, and it had its problems. But I am proud of the ball that it got rolling.