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10 years after...
12 years ago
General
So with Anthrocon coming up next week, I decided to share some thoughts I have on it. Of course I am very excited to go again, I can't wait to see you guys, take lots of pictures, hang out, and generally enjoy myself for the one vacation I generally take in any given year.
For reference, the first Anthrocon I attended was 2005 in Philly. I've attended every year since. It's been a huge part of my furry life, both as generally the only time I get to interact with other furs offline, and through my photography, the single biggest part of my online presence here on FA.
So what I'm about to say, I don't say lightly. I plan on attending Anthrocon 2014 barring any catastrophic life circumstances. That'll give me a nice round 10 years in a row. After that, I don't know if I want to continue attending. I wish I could say for certain that I would want to continue attending, especially since I just acquired a vehicle, and therefore am no longer dependent upon others to give me a ride to the con. AC is pretty close to me, about a 4 hour drive, which isn't bad at all. I always have a lot of fun, it's just an all-round good con for me.
But there is a big issue that seems to get bigger every year, ironically. Every year I find that more and more people I know won't be attending, and each year I think to myself that it's no big deal and and all. I've said it before and it bears repeating; I don't know that many people to begin with. So when another two or so in each passing year say, "Decided not to attend Anthrocon anymore", that's a fairly big deal to me.
To be fair, some say it out of some sort of problem that cropped up in the year that prevents them from going once, but they'll go again. But there are plenty who declare outright that they have no more interest in attending. And they share the same reason. A few years ago Kage made a joke on the AC forums, saying "Nobody attends Anthrocon anymore, there's too many people there". And that little comment is becoming all too real. This year marks the fewest people attending that I personally know, despite meeting new people there each year.
I can definitely understand their issue with it. I have the same problem. So many people there, that each person has their "to-do" list and "have to meet this person" list, and they end up dividing their time up so badly that you may end up seeing a person for only an hour for the entire weekend, if at all. I have a slightly more extreme version of that problem. Last year, I made time for a bunch of people whom did not care enough to put forth the same effort to see me. One person in particular, someone whom I had waited eight months to finally see, had only five minutes to see me. And that was just a lucky shot because I ran into them when they got off on the wrong floor and I just happened to be there. I had five minutes to chat with them before they had to run off to a prior commitment, and then I never saw them again.
Most of the people I know don't live in the same time zone as me. To suddenly have them in the same building as me for approximately 90 hours over the course of the weekend and never see them? That's just insane.
After the con, I hear similar stories from everyone. "Oh, sorry, not enough time in a day", "Every time you called I was about to head to an event", "...was at dinner", "...already ate", "...spending some quality time with my boy/girlfriend", or some variation thereof. I might be inclined that I'm just the most popular ditch target at the con if these same people weren't complaining about the same problem, and also clamoring for me to visit them when the con's over. Problem is, hey, my vacation time is over and I have to get back to work. I made time to see you, it was called Anthrocon.
So with the number of people I know at the con whittling down each year, means that I get less and less face time with anybody I know. Which means I have less and less incentive to go. Taking photos is fun and all, but I want more out of my con experience than chasing down 300 different fursuiters just so I can have the luxury of doing photo work when I get back home. It's a vacation, I want to hang out with people and have fun too. And anymore, that isn't what's happening.
Every time I bring this up in conversation with people, I hear the same "go to a smaller con!". And each year I get a little closer to going for it. Because if I start to attend a smaller con, it's entirely likely that I won't have enough money left over in my budget for Anthrocon.
That becomes a whole new can of worms because my fursuit is not pack-friendly. I really don't have the resources or the desire to ship it by air if I take a plane to another con. Flying is hazardous and stressful enough without having to worry if the TSA is going to rip apart my suit and somehow legally avoid having to pay for the damages. So if I settle on a con I fly to, I won't be fursuiting anymore. Mailing it is an option yes, but seems rather expensive and I don't know how well that'll turn out. If I have to consider that option in the future, I'll consider it and cross that bridge when I get to it.
If I try to find another con I can drive to, that might leave me with Furfright, which is twice as far as AC from me, making it a bigger hassle to get to, but I can still drive it. I don't know of any other cons that would be within driving range of me.
In general, I'd be looking for a con that's small enough to avoid my main problem, while large enough to justify the expense and hassle of taking time off of work and attending. That doesn't really leave a lot of cons within such a "goldilocks" zone.
Then there's the wild card. To explain...there's a certain someone with whom I have an unusual relationship. I am not making any premature plans or anything, but suffice to say I am happy with the relationship and I'm open to seeing if it'll go further. By the time 2015 rolls around, it's possible said person and myself may be in a stage of the relationship where they would want me to come and live with them. We're not at that point now, don't get me wrong, but so far as things have gone so far, I would definitely be receptive to the idea of packing up my life and moving in with them if that's where it goes. That said, if they attend AC after that point, of course I will as well. Or if they attend other cons instead, I'll stand by their side wherever they go.
Just wanted to get that off my chest :3
For reference, the first Anthrocon I attended was 2005 in Philly. I've attended every year since. It's been a huge part of my furry life, both as generally the only time I get to interact with other furs offline, and through my photography, the single biggest part of my online presence here on FA.
So what I'm about to say, I don't say lightly. I plan on attending Anthrocon 2014 barring any catastrophic life circumstances. That'll give me a nice round 10 years in a row. After that, I don't know if I want to continue attending. I wish I could say for certain that I would want to continue attending, especially since I just acquired a vehicle, and therefore am no longer dependent upon others to give me a ride to the con. AC is pretty close to me, about a 4 hour drive, which isn't bad at all. I always have a lot of fun, it's just an all-round good con for me.
But there is a big issue that seems to get bigger every year, ironically. Every year I find that more and more people I know won't be attending, and each year I think to myself that it's no big deal and and all. I've said it before and it bears repeating; I don't know that many people to begin with. So when another two or so in each passing year say, "Decided not to attend Anthrocon anymore", that's a fairly big deal to me.
To be fair, some say it out of some sort of problem that cropped up in the year that prevents them from going once, but they'll go again. But there are plenty who declare outright that they have no more interest in attending. And they share the same reason. A few years ago Kage made a joke on the AC forums, saying "Nobody attends Anthrocon anymore, there's too many people there". And that little comment is becoming all too real. This year marks the fewest people attending that I personally know, despite meeting new people there each year.
I can definitely understand their issue with it. I have the same problem. So many people there, that each person has their "to-do" list and "have to meet this person" list, and they end up dividing their time up so badly that you may end up seeing a person for only an hour for the entire weekend, if at all. I have a slightly more extreme version of that problem. Last year, I made time for a bunch of people whom did not care enough to put forth the same effort to see me. One person in particular, someone whom I had waited eight months to finally see, had only five minutes to see me. And that was just a lucky shot because I ran into them when they got off on the wrong floor and I just happened to be there. I had five minutes to chat with them before they had to run off to a prior commitment, and then I never saw them again.
Most of the people I know don't live in the same time zone as me. To suddenly have them in the same building as me for approximately 90 hours over the course of the weekend and never see them? That's just insane.
After the con, I hear similar stories from everyone. "Oh, sorry, not enough time in a day", "Every time you called I was about to head to an event", "...was at dinner", "...already ate", "...spending some quality time with my boy/girlfriend", or some variation thereof. I might be inclined that I'm just the most popular ditch target at the con if these same people weren't complaining about the same problem, and also clamoring for me to visit them when the con's over. Problem is, hey, my vacation time is over and I have to get back to work. I made time to see you, it was called Anthrocon.
So with the number of people I know at the con whittling down each year, means that I get less and less face time with anybody I know. Which means I have less and less incentive to go. Taking photos is fun and all, but I want more out of my con experience than chasing down 300 different fursuiters just so I can have the luxury of doing photo work when I get back home. It's a vacation, I want to hang out with people and have fun too. And anymore, that isn't what's happening.
Every time I bring this up in conversation with people, I hear the same "go to a smaller con!". And each year I get a little closer to going for it. Because if I start to attend a smaller con, it's entirely likely that I won't have enough money left over in my budget for Anthrocon.
That becomes a whole new can of worms because my fursuit is not pack-friendly. I really don't have the resources or the desire to ship it by air if I take a plane to another con. Flying is hazardous and stressful enough without having to worry if the TSA is going to rip apart my suit and somehow legally avoid having to pay for the damages. So if I settle on a con I fly to, I won't be fursuiting anymore. Mailing it is an option yes, but seems rather expensive and I don't know how well that'll turn out. If I have to consider that option in the future, I'll consider it and cross that bridge when I get to it.
If I try to find another con I can drive to, that might leave me with Furfright, which is twice as far as AC from me, making it a bigger hassle to get to, but I can still drive it. I don't know of any other cons that would be within driving range of me.
In general, I'd be looking for a con that's small enough to avoid my main problem, while large enough to justify the expense and hassle of taking time off of work and attending. That doesn't really leave a lot of cons within such a "goldilocks" zone.
Then there's the wild card. To explain...there's a certain someone with whom I have an unusual relationship. I am not making any premature plans or anything, but suffice to say I am happy with the relationship and I'm open to seeing if it'll go further. By the time 2015 rolls around, it's possible said person and myself may be in a stage of the relationship where they would want me to come and live with them. We're not at that point now, don't get me wrong, but so far as things have gone so far, I would definitely be receptive to the idea of packing up my life and moving in with them if that's where it goes. That said, if they attend AC after that point, of course I will as well. Or if they attend other cons instead, I'll stand by their side wherever they go.
Just wanted to get that off my chest :3
From my own experience, I have several stages in progress as an attendee:
As new attendee: Everything is new, people who you only get to talk or see on the internet show up in real life, everyone is slightly shy but open up enough to socialize making friends, making all the efforts to attend every single panel and take pictures of all the fursuits. You'd rather have no sleep in three days than have to miss anyone or anything.
after 2 or 3 cons: starts seeing some folks at con on a regular base, making good friends with them and still attend panels and events, panels are still fun, hanging out with a slightly larger crowd from time to time but sticking around with people you starting to know better most of the time.
after 5 cons: you get to know even more people because they are friends of your friends, and find some of them to your interest so you starting to find what they like to do and try to keep up with their activities, panels are maybe maybe not, you start to figure out what your "routines" are at cons, start to miss seeing people.
after several years: have less or no interest in panels even if they are really awesome lectures, you know too many people and you know how sometimes things gets awkward that this person doesn't like that person sort of drama, you hang with whomever enjoys your company. What? what happens here at cons? oh I don't know, I am here to see friends, no time for con but maybe I will do the parade and go to dance at nights.....some people don't remember you if you don't get to meet them every year.
AC was really awesome when I first attended starting at 07, lately I find conflicts especially the one thing you mentioned people don't have time for each others. As awkward as it is, lots people still go because not a lot of people could afford the money or time to visit others on one on one base, it's the best and worst at the same time. Going to a con helps you see a lot of people on a giving time and space, that I believe even beats having a huge family reunion. You can't control others if they come or not but at least you get to see a lot of friends even for a short amount of time, but hey seeing someone is better than not seeing someone right?
Some people successfully jump out of the loop, give up chances to see most of the people or make new friends, use that time and money to visit. If everyone does it then eventually no one will attend cons anymore, I would assume at some point in life we all going to make decision to party with the rest of the world, or spend time with people that make you feel more special.
I hope what I say here doesn't upset you too much if any :( I am impressed you been attending AC this long and still seeing old friends while making new ones (lots people burnt out and only want to see people they already know), I value time from every person I get to see and try reconnect a little bit, the rest....well, try to make the best of it whether you are just by yourself, or with many others :)
Now, AC has over 4500 attendees. The fandom is several times larger than it was when it left Philly. There are several hundred suiters, dozens of fursuit makers, and it seems like now new furs feel like a fursuit is a prerequisite. Fewer people seem to make their own anymore, and with the larger amount of furs, there is an increase in the number of posers/wannabes and people with poor social/character creation skills.
I remember back when I first started going, I made friends and stuck with them, I had a lot of fun. Though the more AC developed, the bigger it got. When I went in 2010, I sat out the fursuit parade and barely recognized 30% of the suits. I had a harder time finding people because AC is so spread out. I know that going became less fun, because it was just harder to meet up with people. Eventually I just decided to skip a year because I'd gotten tired of it. Then in subsequent years we just didn't go. Nowadays, so few people I know go, and I don't like having to hunt folks down. I want people to want to spend time with me.
Kofu isn't wrong, I used to go to panels, dances, the masquerade.... Over time, I stopped going to panels, and dances were just old hat. The masquerade... I used to love to do acts and set up photo shoots. The more I did it, the fewer friends were doing it with me. The last act I did I realized no one else was there backstage to hang with me that I knew. That and the fact that they stopped making hard copy dvds of most shows at the cons, that made it no longer worth it since I didn't enjoy it.
Also, on a purely personal note, I don't really care much for some of the staffers at AC. Their actions just don't jive with my philosphies.
I love MFF, I love FC, I enjoy TFF..... AC... It's sort of become the default level in Second Life. Everyone goes because it's expected, you pick a generic avatar, and add items to your inventory. I used to feel AC was the place to be. I think 2008 was the last time I felt that way.