SMOF News, volume 1, issue 40
A catch-22 in code of conduct enforcement, and news in brief.
The Conduct Catch-22
Balticon 56, held this past weekend in Baltimore, Maryland, received one or more complaints about comments made by author Stephanie Burke on a panel there and at past Balticons. Burke was removed from subsequent panels while Balticon investigated the allegations.
This being the age of social media where nothing happens quietly, Burke posted a letter of complaint about the removal, and it promptly blew up. Her introduction says:
Home from Balticon and I will never return. I was accused of some nasty things, treated like a criminal, judged without proof save for hearsay, and stripped of my remaining panels. My only recourse is to make a complaint. My reputation which took close to 20 years to build is now destroyed. I am devastated. This is my complaint. I am angry and I am hurt and I am at a loss because all of the networking I have done here is dead. The publishers I wanted to talk to probably are hearing the lies
In fact, Burke’s post seems to be the only reason the incident has become widely known. Balticon has yet to make an official statement, although its chair made a personal statement to File 770 apologizing for the manner of Burke’s removal:
The plan was to quietly ask her to step down from her panels for the weekend while we had a chance to investigate. However, an overzealous volunteer decided to remove her from an ongoing panel in a way that caused her embarrassment. This is inexcusable and we deeply apologize.
Burke’s post, though, says she was removed between panels.
This is the latest incident illustrating a catch-22 that conventions currently find themselves in with code of conduct violations by prominent members of the community. Allow someone to keep participating while complaints about them are being investigated, and if the complaints are determined to be valid, then the convention will catch hell about having allowed a known bad person to continue representing the con. Remove someone, and if the complaints are not substantiated, the convention will catch hell about having punished a person who committed no actual offense. Balticon’s policy, and those of many other conventions, are making the bet that the former is worse than the latter.
In Brief
WisCon 46 (May 2023, Madison, Wisconsin, USA) has announced its guests of honor are Martha Wells and Rivers Solomon.
Balticon 57 (May 26-29, 2023, Baltimore, Maryland, USA) has announced its guests of honor are Jane Yolen (author), Ariel Burgess (artist), Brad Lee Howard (music), and Bryan “Bellz” Jordan (fan).
Event Calendar
Weekend of June 3-5
ConCarolinas 2021, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Oz-Stravaganza 2022 (Wizard of Oz), Chittenango, New York, USA
Biggest Little Fur Con 2022 (anthropomorphic), Reno, Nevada, USA
DieCon 20-22 (gaming), Collinsville, Illinois, USA
UK Games Expo (gaming), Birmingham, UK
Y-Con 2022 (gaming), Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
North Texas RPG Con (vintage tabletop RPGs), Irving, Texas, USA
A-Kon 31 (anime), Irving, Texas, USA
Black Hills Con (anime), Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
KimoKawaii (anime), Conroe, Texas, USA
DoKomi (anime), Düsseldorf, Germany
Anime Riverside 2022, Riverside, California, USA
ExpOtaku Torremolinos 2022 (anime), Torremolinos, Spain
FedCon (media), Bonn, Germany
Awesome Con (media), Washington, DC, USA
3 Rivers Comicon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
ColossalCon 2021 (media), Sandusky, Ohio, USA
Alabama Comic Con / KimestuCon 2022, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Whinny City Pony Con 2022: Super Hero Showdown: The Return! (My Little Pony), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Weekend of June 10-12
Robert E. Howard Days, Cross Plains, Texas, USA
44th Superman Celebration, Metropolis, Illinois, USA
NEWh3re (music), online
Heroes, Villains, and Blerds (art), Winter Park, Florida, USA
StratosFur (anthropomorphic), Houston, Texas, USA
Origins Game Fair 2022, Columbus, Ohio, USA
NordConline (gaming), online
Bayou Wars 2022 (miniatures gaming), D’Iberville, Mississippi, USA
AnimeCon 2022, Rijswijk, Netherlands
Anime Blues Con, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Space Coast Comic Con, Viera, Florida, USA
Anime Town: Utah, Farmington, Utah, USA
Anime Marathon, Königslutter am Elm, Germany
Anime Lubbock, Lubbock, Texas, USA
Oz Comic-Con: Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
North Country Comic Con, Watertown, New York, USA
SWFL SpaceCon (media), Fort Meyers, Florida, USA
Weekend of June 17-19
LibertyCon 34, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
YetiCon, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Pyrkon, Poznań, Poland
4th Street Fantasy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
CastleCon 11 (anthropomorphic), Horb, Germany
Arcon 38: Multivertshuset (gaming), Oslo, Norway
Q-Con Lite (gaming), Belfast, UK
Congress of Gamers Summer Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA
South Texas Gamers Expo (video games), McAllen, Texas, USA
Wie.MAI.KAI (anime), Flörsheim am Main, Germany
YUMiCON (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Anime Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Cosplacon 2022 (anime), Jefferson City, Missouri, USA
Desucon 2022 (anime), Lahti, Finland
Fan Expo Dallas (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
Sci-Fi Valley Con (media), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
Austria Comic Con, Linz, Austria
Smallville Comic Con, Smallville, Kansas, USA
CanterCon (My Little Pony), Tempe, Arizona, USA
Weekend of June 24-26
SoonerCon 30, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
PortConMaine, Portland, Maine, USA
Cosplay America, Cary, North Carolina, USA
RAGECON 7 (gaming), Sparks, Nevada, USA
Magic City Con (gaming), Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Neo Anime Oasis:01, Boise, Idaho, USA
ExpOtaku Zaragoza (anime), Zaragoza, Spain
SunnyCon Anime Expo, St. James Park, UK
Anime Festival Wichita, Wichita, Kansas, USA
Kyokai Con (anime), Harlingen, Texas, USA
OMG!con 2022 (anime), Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Anime Festival Orlando 2022, Orlando, Florida, USA
JAFAX 2022: Let the Games Begin (anime), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Heroes Convention (comics), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Forest City Comicon, London, Ontario, Canada
Sci-Fi on the Rock (media), St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Mississippi Comic Convention, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Comic Con Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
Rail City Fan Fest (media), Saint Albans, Vermont, USA
TrekFest 37 (Star Trek), Riverside, Iowa, USA
My Little Pony Fair, Tampa, Florida, USA
LeakyCon (Harry Potter), Orlando, Florida, USA
Mid-week event: SFRA 2022: Futures From the Margins (symposium), Oslo, Norway
Weekend of July 1-3
Westercon 74, Tonopah, Nevada, USA
InConJunction 41: The Next Chapter, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
XXXIV Semana Negra, Gijón, Spain
Festival Fantazie, Chotěboř, Czech Republic
BayCon 2022, San Mateo, California, USA
Anthrocon 2022: Aesop's Fables (anthropomorphic), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Paris est Ludique 2022 (gaming), Paris, France
Gem State Gaming Convention, Boise, Idaho, USA
Anime Midwest, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
BA-CON (anime), Alvin, Texas, USA
Anime Expo 2022, Los Angeles, California, USA
AnimeSHOW 2022, Bratislava, Slovakia
Fan Expo Denver (media), Denver, Colorado, USA
Eternal Con (media), Hampstead, New York, USA
Lewisburg Comic-Con, Lewisburg, Ohio, USA
Coda
Horses answer your work e-mails (Visit Iceland) (hat tip: Money Stuff)
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