NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27

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Internet Message Format | 1992-11-17 | 14.5 KB

Xref: sparky soc.singles:31011 alt.fandom.cons:373 rec.arts.sf.fandom:1184 Newsgroups: soc.singles,alt.fandom.cons,rec.arts.sf.fandom Path: sparky!uunet!charon.amdahl.com!pacbell.com!sgiblab!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!aahz From: aahz@netcom.com (Mean Green Dancing Machine) Subject: Re: >Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 Message-ID: <1992Nov17.193828.26197@netcom.com> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.fandom Organization: Don't blame me, I voted for Bill 'n' Opus References: <BxuAFG.5Lu@plato.ds.boeing.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 19:38:28 GMT Lines: 339 {Note the Followup line} A number of people have recently asked me to explain my .sig, so here's the original post that started the whole thing (original posting date August 1991): ----------------------- cut here ------------------------------- {Yes, I know that I cross-posted this to four newsgroups. Notice that the Follow-up line is set to alt.fandom.cons. Please respect this.} Well, the last Timecon is over; as usual, it was a disaster as a convention. The concom can't be accused of doing much *wrong*, exactly, but it was certainly one of the most boring sets of panels I've ever seen. However, there were major problems with the hotel. Understand this, first of all: the Red Lion Inn next to San Jose Airport has been far better than average as a venue for SF conventions. The staff has been around a long time, and they're used to us; the facilities are a bit spread out for my taste but otherwise excellent; parking is easy; generally, just a pleasant place to be. The background for what follows was this year's Baycon. I personally did not see any of this, nor hear about it until I went to Timecon; nevertheless, this is what I was told (my best compilation from several sources [this is not a complete list]): {Late update [8/6/91]: *None* of my friends appear to have seen or heard anything about item 1 before Timecon} 1) There were three incidents of couples literally fucking in the halls. This means fornication in public, not just a bit of making out. 2) There was a beer keg party, explicitly against hotel rules, which got rather out of hand. (It's a lot easier to forgive a violation of rules if it doesn't harm anyone) 3) Someone was wearing a shirt (shorts?) that said "Fuck you" in large letters; this would not have been a problem had the con completely taken over the hotel, but it hadn't. 4) The CEO of "a large company" was staying there; his sensibilities offended, he left early and wrote a strong letter of complaint (I haven't seen it, but no doubt someone who has can describe what it said). The result of this was that the following rules were published in public places, and handed out to many of the people who stayed in rooms there (this is an exact copy, including typos): ####### Red Lion Hotel San Jose 2050 Gateway Place, San Jose, California 95110 (408) 453-4000 Additional con rules that go into effect starting July 24, 1991 for the Time-Con Convention: 1. All room parties are to be ended and vacated by all non- registered guest by 2:00AM. Violation of this rule will be subject to automatic eviction from guest room and the remaining guest in the room will be escorted off property for the rest of the convention. 2. On the first complaint of a party room, the room will be evicted and all the occupants will be escorted off property. 3. At anytime that any guest rooms (Other than suites) have more than four occupants, the room will be evicted to prevent fire and safety violations. Maximum occupancy in a guest room is four. 4. After 2AM, any room found having more occupants in the room than it is actually registered to have will be forced to pay for the additional guest or be evicted from the hotel. 5. Any persons found sleeping anywhere in the hotel other then a guest room will be escorted off preperty and not be allowed back for the rest of the Con. 6. No physical contact other then holding hands, a quick hug or kiss will be tolerated. Any further actions will result in the subjects being asked to leave the property for the remaining time of the Con. 7. All non registered guest in the hotel will be asked to leave the property between the hours of 2AM-5AM. 8. A full dress code will go into effect requiring shoes and shirts in all public areas except the pool. All violators will be escorted off property for the remaining time of the con. Costumes will be permitted. 9. No pranfanity gestures will be allowed on any part of the clothing. Violators will be escorted off property for the remainder of the Con. 10. There is to be absolutely nothing sold out of any guest room. Violators will escorted off property for the remainder of the Con. {page break} 11. The pool, jacuzzi and weight room are for registered hotel guest only. Violators found using our guest facilities will be escorted off property for the rest of the Con. 12. No beer kegs or home stereo systems will be allowed in any guest rooms. This is to assure that a party will not take place in the room that might disturb other guest. 13. Objects thrown from balconies: Intentionally dropping, throwing or projecting objects from room balconies is automatic room eviction and escort off-property with No Refund. 14. Safety violations: Jumping or hopping from room balconies or any other serious safety violation will result in removal from hotel property and possible room eviction with NO REFUND. 15. Alcohol: Any minors consuming alcohol will be escorted off- property. If minors are observed consuming alcohol in the guest rooms, the guest will be evicted from the room and escorted off- property with NO REFUND. 16. Vandalism: Any guest who vandalizes the hotel property or other guest property will be held responsible for the damages. Outside police may be involved depending on the severity of damages. In all circumstance, the violator will be escorted off property. I have read the above San Jose Red Lion In House Rules that will go into effect on July 25, 1991. I hereby agree to all the above rules and realize that I or members of the convention may be evicted from the hotel and escorted off property for the remaining time of the Con if they violate any of the above rules. {blank space deleted} Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ____________ ####### As you can see, the majority of these rules fall under the simple category of "safe and sane common sense". However, items 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 could be construed in ways that limit "normal" con activity. Moreover, the tone of the letter is rather offensive and insulting, made worse by the numerous syntactical and semantic errors in it. When I saw this, my initial reaction, based primarily on rule 6, was that it had to be a joke. However, it *was* on Red Lion letterhead, and I decided that it had to be checked out. I went to see the General Manager, who told me (in no particular order): A) that the hotel had indeed posted the previous letter. B) the background I mentioned at the beginning of this post. C) that he had been on vacation until just before Timecon, and had simply passed it on when it appeared in the huge pile on his desk. D) that the Red Lion Inn had had a continuous relationship with SF conventions during his five years as manager that he was proud of. E) that he was sorry that this whole situation was handled so poorly (he apologized profusely), and that there was going to be a letter in the afternoon update. F) that he had had to evict already two rooms containing minors for consuming alcohol and drugs, jumping across balconies. I suggested that, in addition, he also post the apology in various public places. This suggestion was not acted upon, but here is the letter that appeared in Timecon Update 4 (Saturday evening, approximately 8 hours after my conversation, *long* after complaints started registering): ####### Received from Red Lion Executive Offices Dear Timecon Fans, During the past two days I have had an opportunity to visit with several of you who have taken exception to the welcome letter and convention policy that was presented at check-in. Many of you have been insulted and confused by this and questioned Red Lions welcome. On behalf of our entire team, please accept our apology for this misinterpretation. It was our intent to simply focus on the safety and comfort of all of our guests including Timecon. Unfortunately, over the years a select few individuals have conducted themselves in a fashion that has not been endorsed by the Con attendees, other hotel quests, and of course, the hotel. We have had the plesure to host a number of Cons in the past and are proud of the relationship we have maintained with the attendees and the committee members. It is our goal to continue this relationship in the future and provide all of you with a excellent experience and stay. Please accept my best wishes for a great Con and do not hesitate to contact myself, Chris Ferrante, or our night manager Fred Trejo if we can be of assistance. Sincerely, Norval Nelson ####### By the time this came out, though, the damage had been done. Rule 6, in particular, was a prime target. This Timecon was one of the most physically affectionate cons I've ever been to. <grin> Many people wore buttons that said "SIX OFFENDER", I wore a pair that said "I BREAK RULE 6" and "PROMISCUOUS HUGGER", and one person wore one that said "666 -- Menage a trois". I heard that the posted rules were supposedly the standard house rules. I find this difficult to believe, except in a very general sense; no one can afford to look as silly as this letter made them look. I'll just say that I personally believe that it was "just" a fuck-up in internal communication that caused this to be posted. I don't think the person who actually wrote this was a long-term employee of Red Lion San Jose -- no one who knew anything about cons could have written that. There was some additional additional anonymous commentary circulated through the con. This one is the "third page" of the rules: ####### (Additional rules) 17. All pool animals must be leashed/muzzled or in carriers. 18. No throwing sex objects off balcony. 19. No obscene behavior with inflatable animals. 20. No levitation. 21. No more than 6 astral bodies in any room (except main lobby). 22. No new clothes allowed. All clothes must be _worn._ If shirt & shoes are thoroughly worn, pants are optional. 23. Any clothing (excluding optional pants) caught making pranfane gestures will be removed from its wearer and evicted. (Anyone able to define "pranfane" gets a cigar.) 24. Physical contact of any duration between humans and extraterrestrials is (of course) permitted, providing all parties are above the age of consent and are not in direct violation of the Prime Directive. 25. On second complaint regarding parties, perpetrators will be thrown to the Red Lions. (Assuming parties were able to continue party elsewhere after their room was evicted.) 26. Anyone attempting to sell the beds, television, or other furnishings from the guest rooms will be keelhauled. (Unless a suitable profit was made and funds shared with appropriate authorities!) 27. Jumping or hopping _onto_ balconies from lower levels is strictly prohibited without jumping or hopping license. (Jumping or hopping to conclusions is, of course, permitted.) 28. If outside police are needed to assist with (indoor) vandalism, our resident vandals will be sent to remedial vandalism classes at Hun & Visigoth Voc Ed Center. 29. Any persons whose minds are wandering in galaxies far, far away (except while sleeping in guest rooms) will have their fantasies rudely shattered by the Fannish Inquisition. 30. Didn't expect the Fannish Inquisition, did you?? ####### And this is another sheet (handwritten): ####### Time Con '91' We interrupt this convention with a special bulletin. Timecon is now under marshall law. All constitutional rights have been suspended. _Stay_in_your_room_. Do not attempt to contact loved ones, insurance agents or attournies. _SHUT_UP_!! Do not attempt to think or depression may occur _STAY_IN_YOUR_ROOMS_! Curfew is in effect at 2:00 AM sharp! Anyone caught outside of their subdivision sector after curfew _WILL_ _BE_SHOT_! _DO_NOT_PANIC_! _REMAIN_CALM_! Your security guard will be by to collect urine samples in the morning. Anyone caught interfering with the collection of urine samples _WILL_BE_SHOT_! _STAY_IN_YOUR_ _ROOMS_! _REMAIN_CALM_! The number one enemies of puritanism are questions. Red Lion Inn security is more important than individual will. All video broadcasts will proceed as planned. No more than four people may gather together for conversation or otherwise without special permission from Red Lion Inn security. Follow only the rules prescribed by security personnell or Flare. _SHUT_UP_! _BE_HAPPY_! Obey all orders without question. The comfort you've demanded is now mandatory. Be happy, at last everything is done for you. ####### Looking back, I see a couple of important points: 1) The concom for any particular con needs to find out (and possibly negotiate) the hotel rules and communicate them to the attendees. We fen need to expend some effort at self-policing -- don't just let Flare handle things. 2) If you see something you don't like, react to it, but don't *over*react. Most of the people at Timecon made a point of overtly breaking as many of the rules as they could, while still staying within the boundaries of good taste and common sense. For those of you who attended Timecon and still feel somewhat outraged, I suggest you write a letter to the Red Lion management, and send a copy to Conventions of Time (whatever their address is). I've deliberately avoided turning this into an emotional report, restricting myself mostly to the facts. I think it's more important to look to the future, and see what can be done to prevent similar incidents from occurring. -- --- Aahz (the *other* Dan Bernstein) @netcom.com Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only specification is that it should run noiselessly.