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The only face we ever see from Rebecca Watson

So the story goes, the Skepchicks, which have been active in the skeptical track at Dragoncon, were asked to pack up their free table in the fandom area of the convention, which provides free space for different fan groups to provide information and sell group-specific merchandise to the general convention going public. Why, you might ask?  Because they were violating the rules set down by Dragoncon that prohibited free fan group from selling general merchandise that did not bear the logo of the group in question.

Now before I get into the specific excuses and general whining that Rebecca Watson and Amy Roth have tried to spin in order to look better to their fans, let me say that while I am not a regular Dragoncon attendee (it’s on the other side of the country from me and I’m just not that interested), I have not only attended similar conventions for more than 30 years, I have worked at them and run them as well.  I have tons of experience in this area and I come down wholly on the side of Dragoncon in this instance.  Such low or no-cost tables are often provided for the benefit of other fan groups or other conventions as a place to pass out information about their events or clubs, they are not intended to be a money-making operation, but a publicity-generating table which can help those groups gain more attention and sign up new members at a convention where large numbers of potentially interested parties are in attendance.

But that’s not what happened here, no matter what Rebecca Watson said.  She has a complete and total misunderstanding of what these tables are intended for and, honestly, a confused grasp on her own role at the convention.  So let’s take a look at some excerpts from her statement about the affair.  I’m only going to quote select portions of her post, the rest can be read at the above link.

On Saturday, he came around and said he’d had a complaint from someone that we were selling buttons that were against the rules for fan tables. He explained the relevant rule, which on DragonCon’s site reads:

In deference to our dealers and exhibitors, who purchase a table or sponsor the convention, no general merchandise sales are permitted at concourse tables. You can sell logo merchandise from your organization and other items made exclusively for and by your club, band or organization. Dragon*Con does not charge a percentage of these merchandise sales.

And this guy was right, they were openly and blatantly violating the rules that it was their responsibility to know and understand.  She goes on to say:

(We hadn’t read that rule because Skeptrack admin Derek Colunado arranges all the skeptic tables and we have no contact with DragonCon.)

Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.  In fact, it is your personal responsibility to know and follow the rules that the convention sets down regarding the activity you are engaged in.  “I didn’t know” isn’t a valid excuse, but the first guy they talked to was really nice about it, he pointed out some of the things that violated their agreement and after Rebecca and Amy promised to remove any offending merchandise, he left them alone.  He even explained the rule, which is quite clear.  The purpose of the tables is not to make money, it is to promote your group.  I can certainly understand Dragoncon’s position on this, they are selling tables to exhibitors for the purpose of making money.  Why would those exhibitors want to compete with people who are getting in for free? Of course, I’m sure Rebecca and Amy won’t see it that way because they can’t see beyond their own self-centered needs and desires.

We first tried to figure out why the rule changed from “logo merchandise from your organization and other items made exclusively for and by your organization” to “logo merchandise only,” but Cody did not acknowledge that the rule had ever allowed for non-logo merch. Then we wondered how we’d been able to sell everything in the past but not now, but Cody simply insisted we were flouting the rules. When we kept asking questions, he told us, “If you don’t like it, I can call my boss, and believe me, you do not want that to happen.”

While I have no way of knowing, I doubt that Dragoncon has changed their free table rules recently, it’s more likely that Skepchick has been unknowingly violating the rules for years and has just slid under the radar.  Even if they had recently changed their rules, it wouldn’t matter because it was up to Rebecca and Amy (or at the very least, Skeptrack admin Derek) to know what the rules were and to make sure they complied.  Clearly, the rule quoted above only permits for the sale of logo merchandise and items which are intended solely for the membership of the particular group.  Selling general merchandise, which is what most of the material on the table consisted of, is specifically prohibited.  They have nowhere to go in this regard.

I’m an “attending professional” at DragonCon, meaning that I get a free pass to perform on panels but I’m expected to pay for my own airfare and hotel, costs that add up to be nearly $1,000. I expect to take a loss, but selling some Skepchick merchandise at least helps off-set that loss. This year, I have hardly even made a dent in my expenses.

This is where Rebecca proves she has no clue what she’s doing.  Like it or not, going to a convention is not an all-expense-paid vacation.  In this particular case, she is trading her time speaking on a panel for a free membership to the convention.  That’s all.  In the interest of clarity, I get into just about all of these conventions free of charge as a professional.  I can’t remember the last time I paid to get into San Diego Comicon or Wondercon or any other convention, it’s been decades.  They do not cover my hotel space or my travel costs, those are up to me to cover and I don’t pretend that I have a right to violate the convention rules in order to recoup those costs.  Except for those headlining guests, who probably do get all expenses paid, and those celebrities whose expenses are picked up by their employers, pretty much everyone else pays their own way.

I have essentially paid hundreds of dollars to perform for free for a for-profit organization, whose representative berated me.

Welcome to the real world!  They didn’t berate  you because you paid a bunch of money to attend, but because you violated their rules, rules you inherently agreed to follow by accepting the badge.  You got exactly what you deserved because you broke the rules!  Nobody owes you a damn thing.  If you want to make money at the convention, buy a table and sell your wares like every other vendor.  If you don’t want to do that, there is no expectation whatsoever that you will make your money back.  If you can’t afford it, don’t go.

Of course, Rebecca Watson is never one to admit her mistakes, she immediately went to Twitter and whined about how awful it was that anyone held her accountable to the rules, citing abuse and harassment.  Never mind that she was completely in the wrong, never mind that she clearly had an attitude the whole time, she apparently thinks she’s entitled to do as she wishes and fuck the convention.

Hopefully, this will cause them to rethink her “attending professional” status next year and to reject their application for a free fandom table.  They’ve clearly proven, yet again, that these liberal feminist assholes are unable and unwilling to follow the rules and respect the officials at the convention.  They’re giving her a $130 4-day membership for free already, just for spending a couple of hours of her time sitting on her ass, talking to people.  She doesn’t deserve any more and I don’t think she even deserves that.  Hopefully, Dragoncon will realize what a pain in the ass she and her ilk really are.

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