Adina Adler <adina at panix.com> writes: > Stacy wrote: > > > >In a message dated 7/22/2002 11:34:27 AM Mountain Daylight Time, mneme at io.com > >writes: > > > >> Do people who never go to conventions really think this is what they > >> are like? > > > >I've been to enough of them in the past that my opinion is based on my > >experience. I've been to big ones (StarCon in Denver - when Patrick Stewart > >made his last appearance) and to smaller ones (small gaming convention in > >Wisconsin) and they were all the same, whether they were big or little. Lots > >of people milling about aimlessly, crowding each other, etc. There are lots of different kinds of conventions. I don't like big crowds, either. > You might want to try one of the smaller, more literary conventions, > like Wiscon, or Potlatch, or Readercon. (Note: I'm on the committee > that runs Readercon, so I'm biased.) Maybe Minicon, though I don't > know how big it is these days. I've been to several conventions where > Steve has given readings, and he's always delightful. I understand at one point it was a lot bigger, but Minicon, when I went a few years ago, seemed pretty cozy to me. Of course, in large part this was due to having a friendly roommate (hi David!), who was one of a number of people I recognized online from RASFW and RASFF. I *did* stupidly shy away from saying hi to some people and totally avoided some events that, in retrospect, I should have at least sampled. But at least I finally did make it to one of the music-making sessions, where Steve was one of many talented, entertaining musicians. (It is true that if you're sensitive to smoke, you might want to listen from the hallway instead of in the room itself.) - tky