[Penguicon-Concom] Re: [Board] Re: [penguicon-general] Bylaws Committee officially forming.

[penguicon at mac.com]

I agree with Rob's point, which seems to have gotten lost in the flow.

Penguicon needs to decide what it wants to be. Right now, the way it  
is headed, it is becoming a great Linux con with some fun extras  
thrown in. I had thought it was going to be a balance of Linux and  
SciFi/Fantasy with those fun extras. That was how it was pitched,  
that was how it started out.

To get the caliber of SciFi/Fantasy guests needed to balance the con,  
the board has to be willing to commit to that guest 2 and 3 years  
out. That is just the reality of the situation. There are enough  
SciFi Cons to compete with that the kind of guests you want/need get  
booked that far in advance. If you can't get Tamora Pierce until  
Penguicon 6 or 7, then you need to commit to that if you want her at  
all. if you want Laurel K Hamilton, you probably need to book her 3  
to 4 years out now. If you want  Mercedes Lackey, you need a hook and  
time to get the hook in play.  To get the big draw SciFi/Fantasy  
writers for your GoHs you need to be willing to do what it takes to  
get them, and to work a two or three years in advance.

So, it seems to me that the reality of the situation means you have a  
limited number of options to choose from.

You can decide to let the board book the guests you want for the  
years they are available and then whomever is conchair for that year  
will have to accept the guests handed them. (Of course, the  
compromise here would be that the board would only lock in the 2 main  
GoHs - Tech and SciFi/Fantasy, and the conchair would be able to set  
the other 3 or 4 guests, and all the nifties for their year.)

Or, you can choose the conchair 2 or 3 years out (as in already have  
the conchairs for Penguicon 6 and Penguicon 7 lined up) and let them  
work on getting their GoH line up locked in for their year now.

Or, you can avoid making any choice and accept the default of  
Penguicon becoming a great Linux based con with some gaming, comics,  
sword fighting, scifi/fantasy and a dealer's room...  You need to  
decide now which option is the one you can best live with, choose it,  
and stand by that choice.


Kimba