fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2566 ]

[ SECRET POST #2566 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2566 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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For me, it's not that I want to go but I'm too shy to do it. It's that the idea of going to a con to do such things as line up for book signings and cosplay and just mill around meeting people and looking at merchandise with a bunch of random people gives me some of the strongest second-hand embarrassment I've ever felt. I literally have not the faintest desire to do any of it.

I don't get any second hand embarrassment, but I'm just not interested in fighting crowds and standing around and meeting famous people.

You know I can't even explain why I like to go to cons. I don't care about meeting famous people, I generally can't afford nor really want merch, and I don't cosplay but for some reason being at cons makes me so fucking happy. I love just being in that atmosphere and taking it in. And it is the best for people watching.

But I totally get the second hand embarrassment thing. I would expect myself to feel the same way but for some reason cons are this magical exception for me.

For me, when I went to cons, it was about spending the weekend with my sister and doing fun things. We really loved watching the masquerade together and while waiting for it to start, we'd play our DS games with random strangers in pictochat (pretty much the only time we ever used pictochat).

We also liked going to certain panels and getting to see some new anime, we really enjoyed watching Disgaea the one year and we always had fun going out to eat at the local restaurants and just bonding together. Also the concerts were usually fun.

But yeah, second hand embarrassment. We went to the one restaurant and we looked the part and an older couple asked us to explain what was going on. We could understand why they had no idea and politely explained the con, but yeah sometimes it's a bit much.

I love cons for the social interaction with other fans above all else. Online fandom seems to be moving away from the kind of social experience I used to love it for.

I went to one. It was expensive to get in and a bit odd. There weren't many interesting things to buy, although I do regret buying the one movie prop (1/50 scale trex skull). All the merchandise for the one thing I do collect were pirated copies sold for original prices. People kept coming up to my buddies for photos so I would certainly not cosplay.

I guess it works as a social platform for those selling and those wanting to socialise, but I didn't fit in it.

But going to that one was enough to decide it doesn't really interest me. I felt a bit let down by that.

Eh, I'm pretty split on cons. I like the merchandise part, people are pretty friendly, and it's been fun when I've gone with a group, but I'm not really interested in much of the other activities and I've found the behavior of some fans to give me second-hand embarrassment like no other.

They're a goldmine if you want ever want streetpasses, though.

Edited 2014-01-11 22:40 (UTC)

I worked at one for over a decade before quitting.

I have seen all it can offer and I do not care.

WHICH CON anon wants deets

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

forgottenjester - 2014-01-11 23:04 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 23:07 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

forgottenjester - 2014-01-11 23:30 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 23:31 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

forgottenjester - 2014-01-11 23:42 (UTC) - Expand

ahahahaha

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 23:48 (UTC) - Expand

Re: ahahahaha

forgottenjester - 2014-01-12 00:06 (UTC) - Expand

I only go to one convention every year, Youmacon in Detroit. I do it because I love cosplaying and also love looking at other cosplayers and I like getting to watch AMVs on a big screen and it's fun to wander around the dealer's room and artist's alley and just people-watch. I enjoy the general atmosphere of Youmacon, it's kind of cheery and carefree and cozy to be around all these other fans even if I don't know them. The cosplay is pretty much the biggest factor, though.

It's a certain type of experience that a lot of people probably would not enjoy as much as I do, though. I also know that not all cons are the same---I went to Comic Con this past year and that wasn't nearly as much fun; partly this was because Youmacon is like 1/2 hour away from me whereas I had to take an overnight bus to Comic Con, so it was more stressful and inconvenient, but mostly it was because the atmosphere wasn't the same at all. It wasn't nearly as cozy or cheery, and the ratio of men to women was WAY more skewed than Youmacon, not to mention that there were way less young people there than at Youma. It just felt more...idk, serious, and more like Reddit than (the good parts of) Tumblr, I guess?

Depends on the con. Huge massive PR cattle calls like ComiCon, Dragon*Con, Creation "events" yeah those don't interest me at all.

WorldCon, now that's something you go to ONCE in your life (when it's in your area) just to say you've been, I think. IDK. For me, it was an experience, but definitely not one I would repeat yearly. I..sort of...enjoyed(?) it? I mean, just to say I've done it, you know, attended this near-legendary historical event that has been occurring for the entire lifetime of fandom. But, eh. It really was like any other con (only on a bigger scale) and kind of all went by in a blur.

There was a literary con I attended for many years, but I knew people who attended as guests, so I ended up more going around with them (and raiding the used bookstore's tables in the dealer's room), so it was definitely a different experience than wandering around at WorldCon, figuring out where to start first, or standing in lineups for hours at one of the big cattle calls.

Wait, people only go to WorldCon once?? I know my experience is very atypical (daughter of a prominent SF writer), but I've been to more than 15 of them. And aside from the authors/artists/dealers, there are tons of people who are just fans who travel to attend them regularly if not annually. They're the people I grew up around, the ones who can't believe I'm a college grad and not a rugrat.

I'm quite curious as to which WorldCon you went to, I was probably there unless it was out of the US (only non-US WorldCon's I've done were Winnipeg '94 and Glasgow '05).

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

ketita - 2014-01-12 00:34 (UTC) - Expand

Going to cons just makes me feel lonely.

I mean, I also dislike the crowds etc, but that's really my fundamental issue, if I'm honest.

I'm afraid it would be the same for me.

Definitely a different experience if you go by yourself, versus going with friends or meeting up with friends.

I've flown to another country for a con (Discworld con in Birmingham), and I had the time of my life. I usually go to the conventions in my home city every year, and while I still have fun at those, they're getting a bit boring. But still, many of my fondest memories and past friends are from those cons. But they're definitely not for all.

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

badass_tiger - 2014-01-12 00:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

caeliluminar - 2014-01-12 01:00 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is anyone else totally not interested by the idea of cons at all?

badass_tiger - 2014-01-12 01:18 (UTC) - Expand

I used to love going to cons for the longest time, and then they just got kind of boring to me. I think also some of the second hand embarrassment has gotten to me as well. People at cons sometimes just don't know how to act. So, I haven't been to a con for at least a few years. Plus they're not that cheap unless you're going to one in your town. Travel, hotel rooms, food and other expenses really add up.

Hmm actually that sums up my feelings. After the first one, I never got excited anymore since it was just a day of walking around and I actually thought it meant I didn't like anime anymore or something...

I went to one and it was... Meh. Except for the "guys kept hitting on my then gf in front of me" bit. That just sucked. (For the record, they were asking her out, do it's not a case of "they were being friendly and I was jealous".)

I used to be pretty big on the local cons - I found them super exciting, and then for about 5 years I was a content provider (produced fan musicals). Thing is, my group broke up and we no longer have time for musicals, so last year I gave a talk. I just realized that without something "official" to do at a con I just find myself kind of bored... especially since many of my IRL 'fandom frieds' don't seem to prioritize friendship with me much, so hanging around waiting for someone to have time isn't really my thing. I guess I've gotten tired of the drama.

I think aside from the embarrassment, I'd just get bored really fast. That's always been my major issue with cons, I have a short attention span and there would have to be a lot of stuff I was interested in happening all the time, or else I'd probably just find a quiet corner and read or something

I've been to cons before. Didn't enjoy them.

I'm just not into anime and manga anymore. Not a hardcore gamer.
I would never, ever, ever cosplay because I'm way too shy.

Basically I spent the entire con wandering around aimlessly. The merchandise & food were ridiculously overpriced. 90% of the panels didn't interest me, and the ones that did weren't very good.

I'm not really interested in meeting "famous" people - IDK, I've never really understood the phenomenon of celebrity worship, they just seem like normal people to me. Cool people, but people all the same.

And I cringe so hard when I see the behavior of some fans. The creepy ones who surround their idols, and ask them personal questions & try to show them their awful fanart or smutfic. The old men in fursuits. The people who run up and "glomp" cosplayers and take photos without asking. The awful neckbeards who follow people around the con even when it's abundantly clear they aren't interested. The elitist fans who look down on newbies or casual fans for not being walking encyclopedias of trivia.

Man, I really hate fandom sometimes!

They don't give me any second-hand embarrassment, but cons are for me similar to big reunions: they can be pretty boring without someone to share them (plus book signings don't interest me at all, it's possible to look/buy merchandise without going and I prefer doing cosplay for fun and not for the attention of many people I don't know).

And if that's the case? It's better for me to just spend time with someone (or several people) I get along to, no need to pay and go to something I won't enjoy per se.

I don't care about meeting celebs or whoever counts as 'famous' at the few cons I've gone to, but to meet fans like me. I've only been to small cons, so anyone 'famous' is kinda more easily accessible anyway. At one I got to meet several BioWare people, which was awesome.

I haven't gone to a big con though. I'd like to, but the crowds will be worse and any interesting panels have a hell of a wait compared to what I'm used to. If I go with a group of friends, all the better.

Heh, about a year ago I was starting to think maybe I'd outgrown them... I haven't been following pretty much any anime since 2004 except Tiger & Bunny, don't have an interest in anything that had been coming out, mostly play retro games rather than whatever's the new hot thing, so there was never any merch for anything I gave a crap about. And the friends I used to go with were broke a lot, so I didn't get to hang out with them. Cosplay was the only reason I kept going, and that in itself didn't really seem like enough.

Long story short, I have somehow been fortunate enough to network with some seriously awesome people with similar interests, so as long as I go to specific cons, I'm pretty much assured of having a bunch of friends show up to have fun with. Of course, our idea of fun is to dress up as video game characters and be ridiculous and not give a crap what anyone thinks of us. So I sort of understand the secondhand embarrassment, except that I should be one of those experiencing the embarrassment firsthand, and I just don't take myself seriously enough to do so. Cosplay and cons are not SRS BSNS. It's like Halloween at a karaoke bar with friends - just lasts three days and the costumes are better. I don't even go to panels or viewings anymore, since cons have gotten bigger and more crowded, and seldom visit the dealer's rooms, and there have been like exactly three times in the last ten years of congoing where there was actually a guest I was interested in. Just a chance to hang out with long-distance friends and talk about geeky things and pose for people who want to take pics (and have a vacation in a nice hotel, some of which have hot tubs. With waterfalls and palm trees. Seriously). And if you're not into that, then I can see why you wouldn't want to go to a con.

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