wait, WHAT?!

[oloriel]

Oh Gods, the only guests confirmed for Ring*Con this year are Twilight people (except for one lovely Newzealandish lady, who has, however, been to the Con three or four times before).

*sighs* Well, I suppose this is the year where I have to do what I told the people who didn't like Pirates of the Caribbean two years ago, or Harry Potter last year

Comments

[oloriel]

Go ahead!That is just fine, and I'm sure there are others like you. But there are also people who never got "out of" LotR and thus would like to see at least one or two LotR faces - faces that haven't been to Con five times in a row and don't have anything to tell anymore, even though they may do fantastic comedy shows. And since this is Ring*Con, the uniting element for most people who've gone there so far is, well, the Tolkien fandom, even though most are generally open to other fandoms

[oloriel]

What, it was the information about the kerfluffle? I'd have thought the 90€ for some actors from a movie you only found mildly entertaining would be the off-putting part. ;)

See, the thing is that without the obsessed fans, Ring*Con would be just the kind of convention you see in Galaxy Quest: Lots of merchandise and a few stars who come on stage for a moment, sign autographs, and have their pictures taken.
Thanks to the obsessed fans, there are also workshops, lectures, plays and projects. Ring*Con's got a special atmosphere, and because it is so special and word got around, people have been visiting from all over the world, although they could have seen the same guests (or bigger names) at other events closer to home.

Of course, that means that the obsessed fans put a lot of thought and effort into the whole thing, and that also means that they are opinionated. They are not going to put a lot of thought, money and effort into an event that keeps telling them they don't actually matter one bit.

The discussion is not, in fact

[yoodi]

Actually, aragorna asked me if we should got to that pirates thing. She has an awesome costume for which she needs an occasion to show it off. (Agh! Grammar!) And she needs my help to put it on. *MUHA*

I looked at the site and I don't really understand how the Con² (fan convention plus LARP con) would work, unless you really want to take part in just one side. And for just one side and it being a JuHe, I think it's simply too expensive. Particularly because there'd be another 100€ on top for travelling expenses for me.

So,..... naaaah....

[oloriel]

It might not work in a small LARP setting like at the Rohan LARP, but with something like the Drachenfest it would work very easily. Nobody is playing all the time and people keep disappearing for hours to sit in a tavern, meet friends or shower. Last time the golden Avatar - a major character in the Drachenfest mythology - had to go missing for one and a half days because he was best man at somebody's wedding, and that was solved by some magic and an in-character explanation for his absence. So if there are enough people, some people going off to attend a lecture for a while, or to have a good look at the market, and later returning would be no problem. If everybody wants to attend the same lecture, well, the game is paused, everybody goes OOC, listens to the lecture, and then returns IC

[yoodi]

As for the money, I see your point now. Hmmm....

[ladyelleth]

I admit it - I facepalmed at the Twilight guests, but I facepalmed more at the discussion in the forum (without even looking). We've talked about it enough that you know my stance and I don't have to elaborate, and yes, I would be disappointed if nobody but Lori showed up, but there's always the Tolkien Society panels, art contest, (maybe even choir), etc. and time to meet people. Hell, in 2007 we did spend more time there than in the great hall, no? But yes - 90€ (+travel) just for meeting people are a problem. -_-

[oloriel]

The discussion was actually pretty harmless bordering on the constructive until one or two saviours of the forum jumped in to say "Nooo, not again, will you stop whining".

And - yes. Last year I'd decided not to go to Con next year, because I only went because of the Choir, and although it was nice, it was no longer worth so much money. Then I won the ticket, so, yeah...
But at any rate I can meet people at various other events. If the Con is no longer what I go there for... well. Time for change.
Right now I'm fairly disillusioned.

[arwensommer]

I think that maybe the organisers are a little frustrated about doing this job for the howmany-th time in a row now? And while it's no excuse, it would also explain the crabbing and bitching. I'm not into Ring*Con (somehow it never worked, timing or money wise), I'm -not- a Twilight Fan, but I can see your point that Option 3 is the best. I think that by now the people attending Ring*Con are probably the die-hard fans... and exactly the ones you'd lose if you stepped away from Tolkien :) Don't know if the "latest fad" (or whatever you want to call it) would bring in enough visitors from around the world (!!) to make up the difference. I don't think I'd spend $1,000 to go to a Con where I could see an actor from this year's hit movie, that I could see for $200 somewhere closer ;) (Then again... I can't imagine spending $200 to see ANY actor... *G*)