WordCon and Nine Worlds
Such interesting things you find on tumblr:
--> The Tale of Two Cons - WordCon and Nine Worlds: How the growing generation gap is changing the face of fandom
“Worldcon is like a family reunion,” said longtime convention-goer and fanzine writer Curt Phillips, at a panel about the 72-year history of the World Science Fiction Convention.
After a few days at Worldcon, I could only agree. It was indeed like being at a family reunion, in that it felt like you were spending your time with elderly relatives. You might want to talk to them and listen to their stories, but you’ll have to tolerate some offensive and outdated opinions along the way.
The program organizers were obviously aware of the issues presented by Worldcon’s aging population. However, during discussions about how to attract a new generation the convention, I’d hear people talking about how the Internet is isolating and incomprehensible-or how it lacked the personal touch of fanzine mailing lists.
... While the convention organizers went out of their way to invite a diverse range of panelists this year, many of the Worldcon old-timers did not seem comfortable with this development. In most of the panels I attended, the generation divide in the audience was palpable. Younger fans would regularly cringe as Worldcon veterans stood up to make some kind of mildly offensive or irrelevant comment - or to steamroll young female panelists when they tried to talk.
... One audience member asked what had happened to slash fanfic. Why didn’t he see it in fanzines any more? What made it die out? Apparently he was unaware of the vast quantity of slashfic being posted online, including in older fandoms like Star Trek, which long ago made the jump from print to Internet.
--> The Tale of Two Cons - WordCon and Nine Worlds: How the growing generation gap is changing the face of fandom
“Worldcon is like a family reunion,” said longtime convention-goer and fanzine writer Curt Phillips, at a panel about the 72-year history of the World Science Fiction Convention.
After a few days at Worldcon, I could only agree. It was indeed like being at a family reunion, in that it felt like you were spending your time with elderly relatives. You might want to talk to them and listen to their stories, but you’ll have to tolerate some offensive and outdated opinions along the way.
The program organizers were obviously aware of the issues presented by Worldcon’s aging population. However, during discussions about how to attract a new generation the convention, I’d hear people talking about how the Internet is isolating and incomprehensible-or how it lacked the personal touch of fanzine mailing lists.
... While the convention organizers went out of their way to invite a diverse range of panelists this year, many of the Worldcon old-timers did not seem comfortable with this development. In most of the panels I attended, the generation divide in the audience was palpable. Younger fans would regularly cringe as Worldcon veterans stood up to make some kind of mildly offensive or irrelevant comment - or to steamroll young female panelists when they tried to talk.
... One audience member asked what had happened to slash fanfic. Why didn’t he see it in fanzines any more? What made it die out? Apparently he was unaware of the vast quantity of slashfic being posted online, including in older fandoms like Star Trek, which long ago made the jump from print to Internet.