Is WorldCon Worth It?
Added 2024-04-18 11:02:36 +0000 UTCI don't know, so I thought I'd ask the audience. Like I'm on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or something :D
Comments
Thankfully the Hugos are a small but not insignificant part of Worldcon
Taz
2024-04-25 13:30:53 +0000 UTCAttendance is between 5000 and 10000.
Taz
2024-04-25 13:29:34 +0000 UTCI would strongly recommend based on the content you create. It may not be worth it in the short term but should be in the long term.
Nathan Sterrett
2024-04-22 21:45:24 +0000 UTCI've not been to WorldCon and my idea of "a nice day out" doesn't usually involve being stuffed into a venue with 100k other people, like-minded though they may be. Although I am going to see AC/DC at Wembley in July, which is why I wrote "usually" :D
Dave Sheddi
2024-04-19 20:58:30 +0000 UTCI’m going (whether I go for all or only part depends on other life events), it will be my 5th attending and the 4th I actually remember (I was at the last Glasgow Worldcon but was young enough all I remember are snippets of the crèche) I would say go, there are always interesting people to talk to and the panels tend to cover a wide range of topics It is a big event and it can get crowded but I’ve been told that the London Comicons are busier Others have definitely summed up the most recent Hugo’s drama so I won’t go into it
Mat Streets
2024-04-19 14:32:06 +0000 UTCim in scotland and ive never heard of worldcon
SpicyMcHàggi
2024-04-18 20:20:24 +0000 UTCI might be going, particularly if I can get to the bottom of whether there is an RPG track and whether they need another GM.
Matthew Hambley
2024-04-18 18:59:14 +0000 UTCThe short version of the Hugos drama is: Because the previous event was in China, some folks in charge of the Hugos decided to cosplay as Chinese government censors (like they didn't actually consult the government, just picked stuff they thought might upset people... so I wouldn't actually blame the Chinese government for any of this) and disqualified a bunch of stuff from the Hugos without much explanation. All that was later found out by the public (after the event). Various people were understandably kinda pissed off.
Eva Schiffer
2024-04-18 15:47:56 +0000 UTCShort answer: no. Longer answer: in the beginning there was North American science fiction fandom, which dubbed itself the World Science Fiction Society and started having annual conventions since 1939 (http://www.smofinfo.com/LL/TheLongList.html). Mostly North America, the first London WorldCon was 1957, AussieCon I was 1975, and things bounced merrily around the world (but still 90% by weight North America and Commonwealth countries) until Chengdu (PRC) put in a bid for 2023 backed by a massive number of mysterious postal votes in support from a dark mass of Chinese SF fandom. The bid won in a canter, the usual volunteer governance and process to run a WorldCon happened (albeit overseas fandom had to parachute in people to China to help them figure out how to even WorldCon) and then (not like usual) the governance got eaten alive by the Chinese corporate sponsors, things went bad and wrong in several ways, including permanently tainting the election of winners for the 2023 Hugo Awards and a wave of resignations once enough of the sewage had overflowed the tank (https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/02/15/the-2023-hugo-fraud-and-where-we-go-from-here/) and now there's a mess amongst the WSFS in general. The con itself, when done well, and I have no reason to believe Glasgow aren't trying their guts out to do it well, is full of fun. Not as good as DragonCon or any of the newer bigger more inclusive others, but a weight of tradition and a core of attendees doing a lot of good fannish things, if you're that kind of fan (spoilers: I am not that kind of fan, 99 days out of 100). In your case, though, the climate has shifted over the decades from All Of Fandom Is Welcome Here, to If You Aren't Us We Will Mess You Up Until You Go Away (see https://glasgow2024.org/about/policies/anti-trash-statement/, and a more beautifully ambiguous set of excuses to other and exclude people I have never seen), and that applies to authors as well. If you aren't guest of honour, there is a nonzero chance someone will say Jill! Bearup! and attempt to cancel you. (If they don't notice that you're Jill! Bearup! and just take you at face value as an SF/fantasy-adjacent person of tolerably progressive values attending for the fun, you'll blend right in and enjoy yourself. I'd bet on your odds of success, but I wouldn't bet anything I'd miss.) I have "attend a WorldCon" on my bucket list, but at present that ambition is suspended until an AussieCon not run by watermelons happens. If you do decide to go, good luck. And STAY AWAY FROM THE BUSINESS MEETINGS.
Aguido Horatio Davis
2024-04-18 14:35:35 +0000 UTCFor all the reasons already mentioned above, go and take the family with you. I've volunteered at the San Diego Comic-Con for several years and love it. There are many fandoms and genres that overlap at these things. It's one of those experiences that you won't really now if you're going to enjoy it until you actually go to it.
Donna Flood
2024-04-18 14:29:53 +0000 UTCI plan to be there, and would love to see you there. As others have noted, your review of fights as a method to advance the plot could be part of a panel as an addition to your book.
Clark Wierda
2024-04-18 14:19:36 +0000 UTCI am going and would love to have you autograph your book. So I will say a very self serving please attend.
Taz
2024-04-18 12:53:09 +0000 UTC
