How do you guys feel about Cons?

[sleepingzombieXD]

Now I like conventions in their fun and outoing ways, but I dont feel that I really belong in all the madness. Some peeps there seems to be on far too many medications or have a very vague sense of social interaction. For one, I got nearly strangled by a woman who then procedeed to reach up around my neck and snap of my headphones. Whereby she apologised profusebly , for breaking my headphones. It was her idea of a joke. Apperantly she meant no harm.

I trust this is not a common uccurrence?

The point is that, While conventions are fun I dont really feel I am Harcore-"Nerdish" enough to belong to the groups these things cater to. While I have a healthy interest in Japanise culture (manga, anime, the works) I also have other fields. (Martial arts, animal handling, hiking etc).

I just wanted to chime in and see if there is any more who have the same feelings. Perhaps there are is a simple solution: perhaps there are some better cons out there or Ive just gotten a bad taste in my mouth from that "ocurrence" i mentioned.

In shortt:
Mention good Conventions please.

[Metcarfre]

PAX was pretty fun. I could think of worse ways to spend a weekend. But to a certain extent I agree; I'm not so hardcore-nerdish that I feel totally at home there, either. But PAX is so big you can spend your whole time on stuff you like and ignore the rest.

Edit; and of course I love Seattle and it was on the way back from vacation in Oregon, so it's not as though I spent lots of money just to get there.

[Lord Hosk]

A lot of smaller 'local' conventions are full of people like that. A section of my friends are all at 'cons' minimally every other month it has gotten to the point where they organize "conversation" a con to relax and just sit around and chat with your con friends, and "CampCon" where they go camping. The same 150 people attend each one with a cast of 100-200 more who are pooled from a supporting cast of 500.

Several of these people are very strange and dont understand social norms because the only time they interact with people is in chat rooms, on forums and at cons. I tried going to a couple of them and even though im a big goober I felt really weirded out.

[Jillers]

I will always say that PAX (at least PAX East, the only one I can get to right now) is very good. I've never had a problem there with any of the attendees.

NYCC on the other hand is pretty badly planned and organized and the people are fucking idiots that don't know how to walk.

...I boil this down to cosplaying. Cosplayers cause so much foot traffic that it puts me in a foul mood and makes me more annoyed that I usually would be.

I'll also add that Pax has had the benefit of LRRites being there, and being able to hang with LRR, and the forum people, is certainly a bonus.

[Dibria]

When it comes to conventions and fitting in there are a few things I find help a lot:

Go with friends, that's not to say if you go alone you can't have a good time but it's easier to 'fit it' if at the end of the day you've got a friendly face or two to talk to as well as all the new people you've met.

Pick the right panels, if you have no interest in cosplay or vocalic, don't go to those panels, conversely if you think they may be interesting but have no experience with them go in and sit at the back, no one frowns at you for leaving at a convention, if the doors are at the front and you feel awkward leaving bring a DS or something, you won't be the only one.

Talk to people who've been before, many conventions have recurring panels and events, for example I went to Ayacon over summer, I would never have gone to the Hentai panel but found out from recurring con goers that the panel was very much a comedy event rather than porn. Turned out to be hilarious - have you ever tried playing 'what happens next' to hentai? It is disturbing and funny, and often involves transformations, disturbing secretions and ocean life.

Apply Wheaton's law wherever possible, it's impossible to avoid people who are going to be a dick, this is not a convention thing this is a gathering of any appreciable number of people thing, just accept it and move around it. Ok so it sucks listening to the 50th person to sing 'Still Alive' on the Kareoke but don't be the guy shouting 'Boo'.

Possibly most important is to just throw yourself in, if you go in thinking you won't fit in or that your not a big enough nerd you will see the people around you in that light. It's very easy to laugh at the guy in the 'Madoka Magica' t shirt and forget that yours says 'Make it so.'


I personally have found that the 'weirdos' are actually pretty uncommon, they're bound to be a few but c'est la vie.

[Fenrir]

The London MCM Expo can be fun but on the flip side it also gets a crazy large turn out and thus can be a little too crowded at times. Still a fairly good convention though regardless.

As Dibria said - going with friends really does make a difference in these situations. If only to give you some familiar faces to hang with and such. I've also found that trying to leave a day either side of the con helps too. It gives you a chance to settle in the day before and you're then also not left having to rush off once the con finishes.

One thing that can help, though obviously it isn't required and is also not everyone's cup of tea, is to cosplay. Even if you only do it just the once - it can help you to fit in.

I think the most important thing is to remember you're around like minded people. As Dibria said, just throw yourself into it, go with the flow and see where it takes you.

[Graham]

In general, I'm pretty pro con.


Especially if they offer to fly us there!
This is infrequent

[Fenrir]

In general, I'm pretty pro con.


Especially if they offer to fly us there!
This is infrequent

Tangently....

The way my mind took that first line made me facepalm XD But also, it's a shame you guys aren't invited to more cons. Especially out here in the UK. >.> <.< >.>

[Dibria]

Unless their tickets were paid for I doubt they could come even if invited, a ticket from Canada to the UK is hellishly expensive, still would love to see the LRR crew at UK cons, I certainly can't afford to fly to Canada/the States to see them at one of the Cons they do over there.

[Drinnik]

I like the con I go to (Dragonmeet), except it stinks. I was speaking to the woman in the local comic shop today and we both agreed that in general, geeks stink.

[sdhonda]

I don't really like them.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I definitely enjoy conventions, and I wouldn't even mind cosplaying at one or two if given the opportunity, but my main vote against attending one is I will almost inevitably spend way beyond my means...

[goat]

In general, I'm pretty pro con.


Especially if they offer to fly us there!
This is infrequent

Anybody?

[Lord Hosk]

In general, I'm pretty pro con.


Especially if they offer to fly us there!
This is infrequent

You could always pull a wheaton. For penguicon he agreed to show up, and failed to do so so frequently they now have a cardboard wesley crusher at the sign in booth to greet people and explain why will wont be there.

[Aeralis]

PAX is really the only large convention I've been to, and I love it! I've been meaning to go to ComicCon for a while now, but haven't had the chance.

I don't do so well with the large crowds, but there's just so much fun stuff to see and awesome panels to attend. Actually, one of my favorite things to do at PAX is wait in line! Your neighbors are always friendly and will often offer to play a game with you.

[Tim]

"I'm Pretty Pro Con" is the name of my Blues Brothers cover band.

[Matt]

"I'm Pretty Pro Con" is the name of my Blues Brothers cover band.

WELL. PLAYED.

-m

[Lord Hosk]

Am I the only one who wants to see a pro con pro con list?

[Duckay]

I've only ever had experience with one Con (Sydney Supanova), but I really had a blast there. I mean, there were some moments which were a little weird, but mostly the worst experiences I had were of the form "man there's so many people up in my space" and not rudeness or inappropriate behaviour so much.

[plummeting_sloth]

Am I the only one who wants to see a pro con pro con list?

Pro's for being a professional convict
Guaranteed job security

Con's for being a professional convict
In jail pretty much all the time

[JayBlanc]

In general, I'm pretty pro con.


Especially if they offer to fly us there!
This is infrequent

Tangently....

The way my mind took that first line made me facepalm XD But also, it's a shame you guys aren't invited to more cons. Especially out here in the UK. >.> <.< >.>

We could always pester AyaCon to get some of the runners over here as guests... To prevent Matt Mercer's creeping domination of the con...

[LogicSword]

I've only been to one Con a couple of years ago (London MCM Expo) and loved it. I went with two friends and so we mostly just geeked out together.

The only weird bit was when I was sitting down and this girl cosplaying some person from Naruto came and stood over me telling me that my blood smelled nice and she wanted to drink it.

[Sieg Reyu]

If you are anywhere remotely close to western Kentucky, OMGcon in Paducah KY is a FANTASTIC one to go to. MOre to follow when I'm not tired.

[Digital Dolphin]

I've helped run conventions since 2008, and have owned my own convention since 2011... so I'm in favor of conventions

Honestly, I think conventions are great. They changed my life in a huge way when I first starting attending them regularly in 2004. I stopped being a recluse and slowly became a lot more comfortable being in new situations with people I don't know, and now most people would define me as "social" even. (or extremely social, and not knowing when to shut up).

Conventions teach you to take yourself less seriously, and to relax be more comfortable being silly. A lot of people discover their creative sides because of attending conventions and becoming inspired.

As for me, conventions helped me pull my life together, and hopefully will lead to an awesome career, where I can to spend my life finding ways to make people smile.

In conclusion, conventions are awesome. Attend one!

edit:
OP wants people to mention good conventions... but that is incredibly relative to one's interests and general location. For myself, I enjoy:

Gaming - PAX Prime (Seattle, Washington)
Gaming - GottaCon (Victoria, BC)
Anime - Anime Evolution (Vancouver, BC) - Currently not running
Costume / Alt. Fashion - Cos & Effect (Vancouver, BC)
Sci-Fi - VCON (Vancouver, BC)

Fan Expo is coming to Vancouver in April 2012, so I'll be attending that most likely as well, but I haven't ever attended a Fan Expo, so I can't claim it is one I'd recommend yet

[JackSlack]

I'll admit, I'm with those who just don't feel that comfortable in cons. I've encountered too much of the worst of geek culture at them, and to be fair, some of the absolute best. It just seems to all get amplified. You find the guys with no social skills as all, the chipped glasses and the clearly hasn't washed in days (yes, that is one genuine individual) and on the other hand you get to have lunch with the guy who created one of the most enduring Australian indie humor comics in history. Y'know, ups and downs. But overall, it just kind of flusters me.