Breakdown of DashCon's Responses
This will cover their reply on Tumblr [1] and their website [2]. Let's start with what was posted on Tumblr. (Note: Anything stated by DashCon is in blue.)
Q:Why did you say you were partnered with Random Acts, when it was obvious that you weren’t? And why is it still on your blog as of this post?
A: We did intend to implement fundraising for Random Acts, but we hadn’t gotten the donation receptacles placed prior to things going pear shaped on Friday evening. In light of those events, we felt it was questionable whether they would even want us to continue with our original plan and, thus, we didn’t. I’ve since spoken to our Random Acts contact, and it seems we made the right decision. I’ve made an attempt to remove all Random Acts references from our blog. If you could point out what I missed, I’d like to remove that as well.[1]
that does not explain why they claimed to be "partnered" with Random Acts. "Fundraising" is not the same as "partnering".DashCon claimed in June:
DashCon is happy to announce we’ve partnered with Random Acts... [2]
Random Acts, however, stated:
We did not have any formal partnership in place with DashCon. One of DashCon’s administrators completed a Volunteer Fundraiser form and was approved to run a fundraiser benefiting Random Acts at DashCon. [...] As of now, we do not know if funds were collected prior to that time. Subsequent emails to the individual asking that both the misleading language be removed and that we be given an accounting of any funds collected with a date when they will be transferred have gone unanswered. [3]
This differs from a partnership in that we do not offer any support to the program and the Fundraiser accepts all responsibility in maintaining the integrity of the event. [4]
Moving on to the committee head who wrote a series of I-know-the-real-story posts:
Q: Why are you letting a former admin and volunteer badmouth WTNV and spread lies about one of the other guests? Don’t use the excuse that they’re not a staff member. They were a former admin, helped out at the convention, and ran several panels. The comments are only serving to make DashCon look even worse.
A:I have very little control over what others say and do. She was going off of the information that we knew and had made available when the convention ended. Since the press release, she has since rescinded her statements.[1]
The person in question made one short statement then acted as if nothing malicious had been said. As far as I know there was no disciplinary action.
Q: I don’t think giving a refund calls your rules and policies into question. You know what does? Changing them halfway through the convention so you don’t have to refund anyone’s money.
A: Acting in opposition to one of our rules, as I’ve been told, does actually call all of our rules into question. The fact that someone changed rule 21 during the event has no bearing on the fact that rule 25 states: “The Schedule is subject to change at any time, even during the convention.” Everyone who bought a badge agreed to these rules, including the fact that the schedule could indeed change at any time. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened. That’s all there is to it. Additional questions about this policy would have to be addressed to our legal counsel, as this stance was formed around his expertise in the matter.[1]
Considering the questions regarding the enforceability of EULAs and ToS, I have my doubts about how well "reserves the right to change these rules at any time" without offering a refund would hold up in court, but I'm not a lawyer. Still, this is a crappy thing to do, considering con-goers paid "$10 for the Live Reading, and $15 for the Live Reading and the Q and A" for reserved seating on top of the $20 to $40 daily passes or $65 weekend pass. Furthermore, in the Q&A it was reported that DashCon:
The admins fully intend to refund both the 17k donations, starting with the largest donations and working down and the reserved Night Vale seating (about $15 per person), it has not been stated where the refund money will come from, other than the unused funds for Night Vale and the implication that they are currently holding funds intended for the hotel that were unavailable Friday night [5]
Already they've gone back on their word. Claims for refunded donations, meanwhile, must be made within TWO DAYS of the official post. i.e. "If you donated cash and would like it returned, please also let us know by 11:59pm EST on Saturday, July 19, 2014." That's not much time.
What about the hotel problems and the claims the Renaissance were demanding meanies who hated the attendees?
it was suggested that the Renaissance Schaumburg had denigrated our attendees, saying that they didn’t like the ‘type of clientele’ our event brought in. That has since been proven 100% untrue. When two of the Con Heads were told by the third that such a thing had been said or otherwise insinuated, it wasn’t wholly unbelievable-as it’s happened to so many other events in the past-and, in our state of panic, we believed what we were told, therein passing it along to our attendees. DashCon’s sincerest apologies go out to everyone who was hurt by this statement... [2]
As a reminder, this was the official plea for help on DashCon's Tumblr.
The upper management of the hotel is threatening to shut down dashcon, unless we give them $17,000 by 10 p.m. Central Time tonight. Please go to DashCon.org and click the Donate button and give her anything you can. Unless we get this by tonight everything is cancelled. We suspect it’s due to the fact that upper management doesn’t like the people at the con. [1](cached)
Panic, tears and hysteria followed in the ballroom:
...there is just utter fucking hysteria and panic going on. [...] The initial reports that came out of the mass hysteria rumor mill was that the hotel was demanding 17k as additional insurance money in the event that the con-goers caused damage to the hotel. This was perceived as insulting by the con-goers [...] People were under the impression that they would be kicked out of their rooms, and there was quite a bit of crying and calling parents to be picked up. [...] and the mob psychology in this room was running really fucking strong.[6]
~~~~~~~~~~
they have been told they will be kicked out of the con and their rooms if we do not raise this money, emotions got high. There were people crying. I saw a girl outside SOBBING and I had to stop and make sure she was okay.[7]
Thus convention management -- a cosplayer and Animation student, a Hospitality Management major, and self published writer with "practical business experience" and "a solid base of event planning" who has "proven herself to be organized, effective, professional, and punctual" heard a rumor and ran with it to the attendees. Methinks someone took creative liberties with their experience and qualifications.
Regarding NightVale, DashCon stated on June 30 that Night Vale agreed to accept payment "upon arrival at the event". On Friday July 11th, however:
After the Meet & Greet, I [Megan Eli] sat down with all three of them to discuss how the Live Reading would go the next day. Prior to sitting down with them, I placed a call to Roxanne Schwieterman, who was in possession of their aforementioned check. She was unavailable to answer at the time, and we waited for her to return my call while speaking about the next day’s event. After a brief-maybe ten minutes-discussion, she had yet to return my call. When I offered to call her again or try to track her down, they casually offered pick up the check the following day. [2]
Note that already DashCon was technically in violation of their agreement. By Friday night, Cranor was informed of the hotel problems, and he replied at 9:57pm, right around the time con-goers were being assembled in the ballroom -- expressing his concerns and requesting their money before their panel. Too busy asking for donations to "save the con", Megan Eli didn't see it until the next morning.
To the best of our knowledge, this email was only seen by one member of DashCon’s staff, who replied to it at 9:17am CST on Saturday, July 12, 2014. Mr. Cranor’s email, as well as our response, wasn’t found by Cain Hopkins and myself until late into the evening on July 15, 2014. We’ve since identified the staff member who sent the reply and taken measures to remove them from the company. We at DashCon consider this response abrupt, just shy of rude, and completely unprofessional. Those of us who remain with DashCon pride ourselves on keeping communication, regardless of the recipient, as professional as possible.[...] And, for the record, none of the funds offered to Mr. Cranor were taken upon his departure.[2]
Jeffery Cranor replied right away, and there was a lot of talking apparently. Keep in mind this is a good two hours before their noon panel. How truthful is their explanation, I wonder. Previously, Megan stated "Roxanne Schwieterman, [...] was in possession of their aforementioned check". In the YouTube video Roxanne mentioned they'd have to run to the bank, so there was a bank open. If there was a check, that implies the account had sufficient funds -- unless they were counting on Night Vale not cashing it right away -- and they could dash to the bank, get a cashier's check and be back by noon. And let me stress again that Night Vale did not violate their agreement as they were promised a check upon arrival. I don't know if the form of payment was ever mentioned before or in their contract, but the only thing the emails show is they stipulated payment come in the form of cash or a cashier check which is guaranteed not to bounce.
That account is full of half-truthes and leaves a lot of things they did out, but on the plus side they publicized private emails without asking us. ~ Joseph Fink [8] (original source)
Megan Eli herself, in fact, was responsible for spreading false information.
Among the last panels today was 'A Fond Farwell,' an opportunity to basically have a Q&A with the Dashcon Admins. [...] Because WTNV could not receive the funds in their manner of choice, they ended the relationship. They did take about half of what the total amount owed to them was to help cover accommodations (flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc). Now, this is all just from what Meg (one of the admins) stated on the panel.[9]
Reviewing the video Roxanne never really lays any blame on the convention.
what happened today was just a fluke, and basically, what happened was, they wanted everything up front which.. and they didn't want to wait until after their panel -- they had to go run to a bank -- and they refused to wait until after their panel to let us give them the rest.[10]
The overall problem I have with the apology / explanation is it reminds me of what some call the politician's apology. I normally dislike picking on grammar, but in this case I think it's justified. Review the post taking note of the use of passive voice -- "We are deeply sorry. Mistakes were made. Action will be taken." The only time the writer, Megan, takes any personal responsibility is when it has a positive spin. When an email was missed, it was someone else's fault for not informing her rather than her fault for not checking up on an important guest. It was an admin's fault for not calling back but not Megan's when she couldn't make a call because of "phone reception was shoddy all weekend long". When minors were allowed to head or co-head committees, it wasn't Megan's fault because "Committees were already in place when I arrived [...] and I was still willing to try and clean it up." The people who were "responsible for allowing minors into positions of power" were dismissed, but for some reason many of them remained in those positions despite her working "triple time". Ultimately, she's the owner, the eldest, and supposedly the most experienced in whatever she thinks qualified her. She appears to be the first to take credit for the good things, but the last to take responsibility for the bad, and that doesn't sit right with me.
@Gingerhazing
good on dashcon for releasing that statement and clearing the names of the guests they badmouthed - 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
- but everything seems to come down to "that wasn't US, that was another staffer and I never saw that until later" and like 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
that's IT, that's the issue. You have some kind of hydra monster running a convention and none of the heads are talking to each other??? 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
if there are emails that are getting officially answered that the people in charge don't even know EXIST, THAT IS THE PROBLEM. 10:59 AM - 17 Jul 2014
As for the vendors, she addressed none of their problems in the statement.
Q:Why did you say you were partnered with Random Acts, when it was obvious that you weren’t? And why is it still on your blog as of this post?
A: We did intend to implement fundraising for Random Acts, but we hadn’t gotten the donation receptacles placed prior to things going pear shaped on Friday evening. In light of those events, we felt it was questionable whether they would even want us to continue with our original plan and, thus, we didn’t. I’ve since spoken to our Random Acts contact, and it seems we made the right decision. I’ve made an attempt to remove all Random Acts references from our blog. If you could point out what I missed, I’d like to remove that as well.[1]
that does not explain why they claimed to be "partnered" with Random Acts. "Fundraising" is not the same as "partnering".DashCon claimed in June:
DashCon is happy to announce we’ve partnered with Random Acts... [2]
Random Acts, however, stated:
We did not have any formal partnership in place with DashCon. One of DashCon’s administrators completed a Volunteer Fundraiser form and was approved to run a fundraiser benefiting Random Acts at DashCon. [...] As of now, we do not know if funds were collected prior to that time. Subsequent emails to the individual asking that both the misleading language be removed and that we be given an accounting of any funds collected with a date when they will be transferred have gone unanswered. [3]
This differs from a partnership in that we do not offer any support to the program and the Fundraiser accepts all responsibility in maintaining the integrity of the event. [4]
Moving on to the committee head who wrote a series of I-know-the-real-story posts:
Q: Why are you letting a former admin and volunteer badmouth WTNV and spread lies about one of the other guests? Don’t use the excuse that they’re not a staff member. They were a former admin, helped out at the convention, and ran several panels. The comments are only serving to make DashCon look even worse.
A:I have very little control over what others say and do. She was going off of the information that we knew and had made available when the convention ended. Since the press release, she has since rescinded her statements.[1]
The person in question made one short statement then acted as if nothing malicious had been said. As far as I know there was no disciplinary action.
Q: I don’t think giving a refund calls your rules and policies into question. You know what does? Changing them halfway through the convention so you don’t have to refund anyone’s money.
A: Acting in opposition to one of our rules, as I’ve been told, does actually call all of our rules into question. The fact that someone changed rule 21 during the event has no bearing on the fact that rule 25 states: “The Schedule is subject to change at any time, even during the convention.” Everyone who bought a badge agreed to these rules, including the fact that the schedule could indeed change at any time. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened. That’s all there is to it. Additional questions about this policy would have to be addressed to our legal counsel, as this stance was formed around his expertise in the matter.[1]
Considering the questions regarding the enforceability of EULAs and ToS, I have my doubts about how well "reserves the right to change these rules at any time" without offering a refund would hold up in court, but I'm not a lawyer. Still, this is a crappy thing to do, considering con-goers paid "$10 for the Live Reading, and $15 for the Live Reading and the Q and A" for reserved seating on top of the $20 to $40 daily passes or $65 weekend pass. Furthermore, in the Q&A it was reported that DashCon:
The admins fully intend to refund both the 17k donations, starting with the largest donations and working down and the reserved Night Vale seating (about $15 per person), it has not been stated where the refund money will come from, other than the unused funds for Night Vale and the implication that they are currently holding funds intended for the hotel that were unavailable Friday night [5]
Already they've gone back on their word. Claims for refunded donations, meanwhile, must be made within TWO DAYS of the official post. i.e. "If you donated cash and would like it returned, please also let us know by 11:59pm EST on Saturday, July 19, 2014." That's not much time.
What about the hotel problems and the claims the Renaissance were demanding meanies who hated the attendees?
it was suggested that the Renaissance Schaumburg had denigrated our attendees, saying that they didn’t like the ‘type of clientele’ our event brought in. That has since been proven 100% untrue. When two of the Con Heads were told by the third that such a thing had been said or otherwise insinuated, it wasn’t wholly unbelievable-as it’s happened to so many other events in the past-and, in our state of panic, we believed what we were told, therein passing it along to our attendees. DashCon’s sincerest apologies go out to everyone who was hurt by this statement... [2]
As a reminder, this was the official plea for help on DashCon's Tumblr.
The upper management of the hotel is threatening to shut down dashcon, unless we give them $17,000 by 10 p.m. Central Time tonight. Please go to DashCon.org and click the Donate button and give her anything you can. Unless we get this by tonight everything is cancelled. We suspect it’s due to the fact that upper management doesn’t like the people at the con. [1](cached)
Panic, tears and hysteria followed in the ballroom:
...there is just utter fucking hysteria and panic going on. [...] The initial reports that came out of the mass hysteria rumor mill was that the hotel was demanding 17k as additional insurance money in the event that the con-goers caused damage to the hotel. This was perceived as insulting by the con-goers [...] People were under the impression that they would be kicked out of their rooms, and there was quite a bit of crying and calling parents to be picked up. [...] and the mob psychology in this room was running really fucking strong.[6]
~~~~~~~~~~
they have been told they will be kicked out of the con and their rooms if we do not raise this money, emotions got high. There were people crying. I saw a girl outside SOBBING and I had to stop and make sure she was okay.[7]
Thus convention management -- a cosplayer and Animation student, a Hospitality Management major, and self published writer with "practical business experience" and "a solid base of event planning" who has "proven herself to be organized, effective, professional, and punctual" heard a rumor and ran with it to the attendees. Methinks someone took creative liberties with their experience and qualifications.
Regarding NightVale, DashCon stated on June 30 that Night Vale agreed to accept payment "upon arrival at the event". On Friday July 11th, however:
After the Meet & Greet, I [Megan Eli] sat down with all three of them to discuss how the Live Reading would go the next day. Prior to sitting down with them, I placed a call to Roxanne Schwieterman, who was in possession of their aforementioned check. She was unavailable to answer at the time, and we waited for her to return my call while speaking about the next day’s event. After a brief-maybe ten minutes-discussion, she had yet to return my call. When I offered to call her again or try to track her down, they casually offered pick up the check the following day. [2]
Note that already DashCon was technically in violation of their agreement. By Friday night, Cranor was informed of the hotel problems, and he replied at 9:57pm, right around the time con-goers were being assembled in the ballroom -- expressing his concerns and requesting their money before their panel. Too busy asking for donations to "save the con", Megan Eli didn't see it until the next morning.
To the best of our knowledge, this email was only seen by one member of DashCon’s staff, who replied to it at 9:17am CST on Saturday, July 12, 2014. Mr. Cranor’s email, as well as our response, wasn’t found by Cain Hopkins and myself until late into the evening on July 15, 2014. We’ve since identified the staff member who sent the reply and taken measures to remove them from the company. We at DashCon consider this response abrupt, just shy of rude, and completely unprofessional. Those of us who remain with DashCon pride ourselves on keeping communication, regardless of the recipient, as professional as possible.[...] And, for the record, none of the funds offered to Mr. Cranor were taken upon his departure.[2]
Jeffery Cranor replied right away, and there was a lot of talking apparently. Keep in mind this is a good two hours before their noon panel. How truthful is their explanation, I wonder. Previously, Megan stated "Roxanne Schwieterman, [...] was in possession of their aforementioned check". In the YouTube video Roxanne mentioned they'd have to run to the bank, so there was a bank open. If there was a check, that implies the account had sufficient funds -- unless they were counting on Night Vale not cashing it right away -- and they could dash to the bank, get a cashier's check and be back by noon. And let me stress again that Night Vale did not violate their agreement as they were promised a check upon arrival. I don't know if the form of payment was ever mentioned before or in their contract, but the only thing the emails show is they stipulated payment come in the form of cash or a cashier check which is guaranteed not to bounce.
That account is full of half-truthes and leaves a lot of things they did out, but on the plus side they publicized private emails without asking us. ~ Joseph Fink [8] (original source)
Megan Eli herself, in fact, was responsible for spreading false information.
Among the last panels today was 'A Fond Farwell,' an opportunity to basically have a Q&A with the Dashcon Admins. [...] Because WTNV could not receive the funds in their manner of choice, they ended the relationship. They did take about half of what the total amount owed to them was to help cover accommodations (flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, etc). Now, this is all just from what Meg (one of the admins) stated on the panel.[9]
Reviewing the video Roxanne never really lays any blame on the convention.
what happened today was just a fluke, and basically, what happened was, they wanted everything up front which.. and they didn't want to wait until after their panel -- they had to go run to a bank -- and they refused to wait until after their panel to let us give them the rest.[10]
The overall problem I have with the apology / explanation is it reminds me of what some call the politician's apology. I normally dislike picking on grammar, but in this case I think it's justified. Review the post taking note of the use of passive voice -- "We are deeply sorry. Mistakes were made. Action will be taken." The only time the writer, Megan, takes any personal responsibility is when it has a positive spin. When an email was missed, it was someone else's fault for not informing her rather than her fault for not checking up on an important guest. It was an admin's fault for not calling back but not Megan's when she couldn't make a call because of "phone reception was shoddy all weekend long". When minors were allowed to head or co-head committees, it wasn't Megan's fault because "Committees were already in place when I arrived [...] and I was still willing to try and clean it up." The people who were "responsible for allowing minors into positions of power" were dismissed, but for some reason many of them remained in those positions despite her working "triple time". Ultimately, she's the owner, the eldest, and supposedly the most experienced in whatever she thinks qualified her. She appears to be the first to take credit for the good things, but the last to take responsibility for the bad, and that doesn't sit right with me.
@Gingerhazing
good on dashcon for releasing that statement and clearing the names of the guests they badmouthed - 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
- but everything seems to come down to "that wasn't US, that was another staffer and I never saw that until later" and like 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
that's IT, that's the issue. You have some kind of hydra monster running a convention and none of the heads are talking to each other??? 10:58 AM - 17 Jul 2014
@Gingerhazing
if there are emails that are getting officially answered that the people in charge don't even know EXIST, THAT IS THE PROBLEM. 10:59 AM - 17 Jul 2014
As for the vendors, she addressed none of their problems in the statement.