SMOF News, volume 4, issue 23

Ohayocon lawsuit over alleged theft, harassment, and more, Substack and US politics, and news in brief.

Ohayocon Sues Former Staff For Alleged Theft, Hacking, Harassment, Defamation

Back in 2023, the venerable anime convention Ohayocon suffered a rift in its leadership which saw multiple high-level volunteers removed, many others quitting, and a fight for control of its digital assets. As of the 2024 convention, COVEN, an informal organization of Ohayocon volunteers, was declaring itself on strike, and the remaining Ohayocon leadership had not recovered control of its Discord server.

Since then, some of the former Ohayocon staff have formed a nonprofit called Sekai Guild, which plans to run Sekaicon in Newark, Ohio, April 11-13.

But now, as Nerd and Tie reports, Ohayocon has filed both a request for an injunction halting Sekaicon, and a lawsuit against Sekai Guild and several of its specific members looking for damages.

Nerd and Tie has copies of both filings linked from that report. The lawsuit begins with a brief history of Ohayocon, and then recounts some of the saga from late 2023, including the fight over Ohayocon’s logo which, in this telling, escalated into what the lawsuit calls an “attempted coup”. At this point, the plaintiffs assert that members of COVEN not only took control of Ohayocon’s electronic systems, they damaged and looted both electronic and physical assets:

59. By the time the Board was able to regain access to its digital assets, it was too late. Because CES refused to give in to COVEN’s demands, it copied, downloaded, and stole all of its digital assets, confidential business information, and trade secrets. What COVEN was unable to steal, it permanently deleted.

60. COVEN also stole or destroyed highly valuable physical assets like hundreds of retro tabletop games, arcade games, video game systems, and video games themselves. Plaintiffs don’t know the location of any of these physical assets or whose hands they are in. Plaintiffs also don’t know what became of the digital assets COVEN stole.

The lawsuit also details the collapse of Ohayocon’s event. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohayocon regularly saw attendance well above 10,000.

67. Because of COVEN’s conduct, (a) the 2024 Convention recorded only 4,000 attendees, resulting in massive economic losses to CES, and Ms. Phelps and Ms. DeJesus personally; (b) CES lost its convention site for the January 2025 Convention; (c) most of the Convention’s vendors canceled their participation; and (d) most of the Convention’s volunteer staff quit.

…

71. Plaintiffs lost approximately $144,000 from the 2024 Convention. Ms. Phelps is personally $10,000 out of pocket from the 2024 Convention.

72. For the Convention to proceed at all in 2025, Ms. DeJesus extended a loan to CES in excess of $90,000 at 13% interest.

…

75. As of the filing of this Verified Complaint, there are only 300 registered attendees for the 2025 Convention. Plaintiffs estimate that fewer than 7,000 attendees will show up.

76. Plaintiffs project that they will lose an additional $133,000 from Ohayocon 2025.

Ohayocon was held this past weekend in its new location of Dayton, Ohio. No attendance numbers have been released.

Substack and US Politics Followup

In last week’s look at US-based social media platforms and the current implied politics of using them, Substack was described as “keeping its head down for now”. But that same day, CEO Chris Best made a post titled “The fight for free speech in 2025 and beyond”, in which he attempts to find some neutral ground:

As a platform, we are committed to supporting the speech rights of creators and their audiences, so we avoid political or business commitments that conflict with this mission. We buy into the old idea that we can strongly disagree with what someone has to say and still defend their right to say it.

Best notes that Elon Musk and Donald Trump have turned out to be more selective about free speech than he had hoped, but keeps the criticism very gentle.

So, readers have understandably asked, with Substack’s history of hosting Nazis and its present stance of pretending it can claim to be apolitical indefinitely, what is SMOF News still doing on this platform?

SMOF News and Substack

I laid out my reasons for remaining on Substack when the Nazi-hosting was the big issue. In short, to justify the amount of work it would take to move SMOF News, I would like to move to a platform that is not merely going to be the next in line to start hosting Nazis. I want to see a real content policy, and some evidence that it will be actively enforced, rather than waiting for people to complain.

There have been two notable developments since that issue was published. One is that Substack did finally decide it could manage to kick the worst of the Nazis out. The other is that Buttondown, touted then and now as the most viable alternative to Substack, has added a rudimentary content policy to its terms of service. It bans impersonation, intellectual property infringement, and material that:

Advocates or promotes violence against an individual or group of people based on membership in a protected class.

“Protected class” is up to the law to define. If you pick a group whose history of being discriminated against is not well understood in the US, or the law changes to make a previously protected class unprotected, violently hating on them will be fine under this policy. (Nonviolent hate speech is apparently fine in any case.)

Buttondown’s content policy is still far from sufficient to justify moving SMOF News there.

In Brief

• The trial of Thomas Dunbar and Andrew Giaume for stealing a pallet of Magic: the Gathering cards from Gen Con in 2023 has been pushed back yet again, with the trial now set for April 9 and the pretrial hearing for March 27.

• WisCONline (online, May 23-26) has named Naomi Kritzer and Andrea Hairston its Guests of Honor.

• The Great Con-Junction (Borehamwood, UK, February 8-9) has added William Todd-Jones, and announced that Michael McCormick will be unable to attend.

• Naka-Kon (Overland Park, Kansas, March 14-16) has added AJ Beckles and Amelie Belcher.

• Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, March 14-16) has added Marta Svetek, Charisma Carpenter, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Wayne Knight.

• Game On Expo (Phoenix, Arizona, April 4-6) has added Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, and Barry Gordon.

• AniMinneapolis (Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 9-11) has added Cole Feuchter, Emily Cramer, and Robert L. Mungle.

• Anime Central (Rosemont, Illinois, May 16-18) has added Max Mittelman and Ricco Fajardo.

• The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 12-13) has added Larry Houston.

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 1-3) has added Lou Diamond Phillips.

• Terrificon (Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-10) has added Hayley Atwell.

Event Calendar

Weekend of February 7-9

• Capricon 45: Let Your Geek Flag Fly!, Chicago, Illinois, USA

• CONpossible: Travel Beyond the Veil (alternate history), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Maddrax-Con (Maddrax book series), Aachen, Germany

• Contabile 35 (music), Norwich, UK

• ScotiaCon: Magical Mayhem (anthropomorphic), Glasgow, UK

• Winter Fantasy 49 (gaming), Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

• Atlanta Game Fest 45, Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA

• Running GAGG XXIX: Where the Wild Squirrels Are (gaming), Geneseo, New York, USA

• Game On! 2025, Bellevue, Washington, USA

• PeliCON 2025 (boardgames), Galveston, Texas, USA

• SCG Con Portland (collectible card games), Portland, Oregon, USA

• Tezal-Con (video games), Montgomery, Alabama, USA

• AmberConNI 2025 (diceless RPGs), Belfast, UK

• AEX 32 (anime), Santiago, Chile

• Kami-Con 16: Carnival (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA

• Anime Focal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

• MAG-C (anime), Erfurt, Germany

• Animangapop Plymouth (anime), Plymouth, UK

• Anime Washington, Puyallup, Washington, USA

• Farpoint 32 (media), Pikesville, Maryland, USA

• Megacon Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Geek Days Rennes (media), Rennes, France

• The Great Con-Junction (The Dark Crystal), Borehamwood, UK

Weekend of February 14-16

• Boskone 62, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• FenCon XX: Spy vs. Spy, Dallas, Texas, USA

• Radcon 9A: Dungeons & RadCon, Pasco, Washington, USA

• Life, the Universe, and Everything #43 (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA

• DunDraCon 48 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA

• Polar Vortex 9 (gaming), Lisle, Illinois, USA

• Con of the North (gaming), Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• Orccon 2025 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA

• Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

• Decepta Con X (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Lost Golaricon 2025 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Anime Impulse, Pomona, California, USA

• Animeverse Fest (anime), Houston, Texas, USA

• J-Popcon (anime), Copenhagen, Denmark

• Katsucon 2025 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA

• Con Nooga: It's Your Con! (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Pensacon (media), Pensacola, Florida, USA

• StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA

• Boston Sci Fi Film Festival 50, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

• Gallifrey One in 35 Millimetre (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA

Weekend of February 21-23

• ConCave XLIV, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA

• Ret-Con 2025, Durham, North Carolina, USA

• FurSquared 2025: The Haunted Masquerade (anthropomorphic), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• NordicFuzzCon 2025: Spirits of the Zen Garden (anthropomorphic), Malmö, Sweden

• Total Confusion 39 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• CalCon (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden

• Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA

• Prolog 2025 (gaming), Trollhättan, Sweden

• Dreamation 2025 (gaming), Morristown, New Jersey, USA

• SoRCon 16 (boardgames), Basildon, UK

• PrezCon Winter Nationals (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

• BavariaCon 6 (RPGs), Munich, Germany

• AthVentureCon (RPGs), Galway, Ireland

• DeDeCo: Beach Party (anime), Dresden, Germany

• Japan Expo Marseille (anime), Marseille, France

• Anime Crossroads 2025, Plainfield, Indiana, USA

• MultiCon (media), Los Angeles, California, USA

• Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA

• Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

• Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Comiccon de Québec, Ville de Québec, Québec, Canada

Weekend of February 28-March 2

• ConVivial, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

• Nerdi Gras 2025, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Cardboard*Con 16 (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Gdakon (anthropomorphic), Gdansk, Poland

• FURCAMP: O legade dos Corsários! (anthropomorphic), Ribeirão Grande, Brazil

• Lone Star Fur Con, Austin, Texas, USA

• Evercon 25 (gaming), Rothschild, Wisconsin, USA

• Itzacon XVIII (gaming), Galway, Ireland

• WreckCon (gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France

• LootFest: To the Moon (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA

• Gamicon Selenium (gaming), Coralville, Iowa, USA

• SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA

• GAD-CON 2025 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA

• CincyCon 2025 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA

• Intercon W: Wanderlust (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

• Cold Barrage 2025 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA

• Cold Wars 2025 (miniatures gaming), Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

• Games With Trains, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• Otaku Link 12 (anime), Malmesbury, UK

• Bomb City Con (media), Amarillo, Texas, USA

• StingrayCon (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• Teckploitation Con (media), Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany

• Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA

Weekend of March 7-9

• CoastCon 47, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

• Cleveland ConCoction 10, Aurora, Ohio, USA

• MarsCon 2025, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Blerdcon Thrilla (Black geekdom), Arlington, Virginia, USA

• RedNerdCon (fan crafts), Völklingen, Germany

• Consonance 2025 (music), Newark, California, USA

• Fur the More: 2025: Beach Vacation! (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA

• VancouFur 2025: Tails of Treasure (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

• Bewhiskered 2025: Prehistoria (anthropomorphic), Durham, North Carolina, USA

• 29. Cave-Con (gaming), Aschaffenburg, Germany

• 15. Bremer Spiele-Tage (gaming), Bremen, Germany

• Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

• Dice Tower West 2025 (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• LARPCon, Kassel, Germany

• PrinceCon 48: Spires (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA

• MinamiCon 30 (anime), Southampton, UK

• Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium

• ACEcon (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA

• Kikori Con (anime), Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

• Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

• Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA

• St. Pete Comic Con, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

• Comic Con Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria

• TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, USA

Coda

• Fire-breathing dragon put on fuel diet (Popular Science, hat tip: File 770)

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