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Jesus TLDR...

Anyways, my two cents from what I read at the beginning, and having been a local furry admin who got a major movie theater chain to allow us to suit inside their theater for zootopia as well as a number of other pr event moves...

1) If you have a damaged or hurt reputation, 18+ content is no where near on the table. Sorry folks, thats how it is. Think of it like trying to convince someone to change their mind. Anyone whos taken a speech class knows you dont change their mind from a no to yes; you go no to maybe to yes. If you dont have the player base and data base and basically the reputation and THOUSANDS of attendees that can statistically reflect that while you have 1 18+ panel that its one of 100 panels statistically speaking to the fact that humans are sexual..., you will have a VERY hard time holding an 18+ panel and NOT having it taken the wrong way. Baby steps. Its not off the table forever, but dont go in guns blazing expecting people to accept the giant stuffed animals in even a harness. Take it slow. (That and the majority of parents who let their young adults 15-17 attend cons will go with and scout out cons. They see an adult section and theres a damaged reputation, they'll likely yank their kids from the con, and those kids, are part of the player base we need to show its not just about 18+ content)

2) Conventions are NOT for letting loose. BARS are for letting loose, better yet HOUSE PARTIES are for letting loose. Conventions are traditionally meant for a meeting of the minds to have intermediate level experienced hobbyist (or scientists) learn and mingle and talk/discuss with expert level. Have we changed what cons are? Yes. Is it for the better? Look at RF and the number of broken relations the cons have with hotels and tell me. Room parties (that are outrageous and disruptive which are a large portion of those we know about because they get caught) are young self centered adults who could care less about their impact on their own home and community. Do I enjoy getting drunk? occasionally. Do I yell at the top of my head and jump on beds and become so intoxicated I cant stand and fall over and break things? no. I know my limits and I respect not breaking my own home (aka the hotel our fandoms use to host conventions and thus the relations with the local community at large). My experience with the fandom is that 70-80% of the fandom are young adults ages 18-28 who are still in the self-centered portion of their life. They dont think of the consequences and the far reaches they will have, nor do they care. At one point a local fur roommate had parties every weekend with many people over even on "work nights" where other roommates had to wake at 4am the next morning despite being told this was not acceptable multiple times. And when they were told they were done and had to move they proceeded to say they didnt know why and just tell them next time it happened. Instead of self policing, they wanted to let loose and not worry despite the fact it jeopardized their housing situation both directly with rulebreaking and indirectly by jeopardizing the jobs of the housemates. Is there a time and place for partying? Yes sir there is. Is it at a con? Maybe if the con is held someplace where crazy partying wont hurt anyone else, like camping, or burning man, or other places.

Storytime: At one point I had a fur at a meet with underage children say they wanted to go get a beer. I let them know alcohol and drunkeness was not permitted at the event, however i could not stop them and as long as they were reasonable (like a beer) and not drunk then there wouldnt be anything stopping them... they proceeded to come back so drunk they couldnt stand up straight and this was infront of two 12 year olds and their parents.

I cant speak for the other media and monetary issues as I am not a staff person for the con and ultimately wouldnt know the real truth behind the matter.

But what I guess Im trying to say in short is the large majority of the fandom is not hr/pr friendly and it takes A LOT for admins and logistical people to get these events going and solid. Due to the fact that our nature is dicey with the public AT BEST, having 18+ content and loud room parties at a first con given the location and history, is a really REALLY hard thing to justify given the amount of things they have to lose; and i dont doubt it will change over time, but its either have the pg con OR dont have a con at all. I give props for the con and staff. I gave up on the local group when one admin decided to go off the deep end and start changing the 18+ content rules without consulting any other admins (he had a history of causing issues in the past too) and I have a very good career that I can lose if any questionable things happened to minors and Im associated. I love the fandom, the art, the creativity and fun; despite the furs would sooner see the fandom burn for their own 12 seconds of fame.

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