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And there goes about 5-10 years of built-up credibility from what had previously been considered one of the best-run big cons (no five-hour waits to get in like AX, no desperate save-us-from-bankruptcy charity drives like Otakon).

Unbelievably bad move, just two weeks after publicly vowing the policy wouldn’t change.

Yikes, leaving it up to the people. No way. I would have at least kept the mask mandate. State I'm in has numbers going up all over the place. People just need to be smarter.

Last edited by Greed1914 on Mon May 16, 2022 2:36 pm; edited 2 times in total

Not requiring any of those things would have already been pretty questionable considering it's scenario for spread. Con crud was already a thing beforehand, so not requiring even minimal precautions is a bad idea. Plus, infections and hospitalizations are trending back upwards, which doesn't seem like much coincidence with the "do whatever" policy most places have now.

But the big one is announcing this the week of the convention. That tweet and response shows that at least some of their attendees were deciding to go based on what the convention did, and now they went back on what they said when it is too late and those people will either have to go despite the now substantially increased risk, or have to lose what they've already spent for registration, lodging, and travel expenses.

I also feel kind of bad for the guests that are having to require precautions on their own. The convention doing it like this could be a reason for guests not to return since the staff now put them in the awkward position of having to make their own rules.

Ugh, why??

I live and work in Chicago, and I would still recommend wearing a mask - especially since weather here is FINALLY getting warmer and more people are out and about.

I am wondering about the through process for them to reverse their initial COVID requirement, 'cause this does not look good for them.

Greed1914 wrote:

I also feel kind of bad for the guests that are having to require precautions on their own. The convention doing it like this could be a reason for guests not to return since the staff now put them in the awkward position of having to make their own rules.

This is one that I feel deep in my soul. Booking VAs these days includes making sure that you get someone who is in line with the policies taht you're going to be enforcing as some won't go to maskless events and some refuse to go to masked events. By doing this, the con put the guests in a terrible spot of either having to compromise on their health decisions, or be 'the bad guy' who's still enforcing rules that the con itself isn't any longer.
Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised if this announcement came with the notice that someone wouldn't actually be attending.

Would bet anything this was forced by the con center. Sympathies to ACen staff caught in an utterly impossible situation.

blooperboy wrote:

Greed1914 wrote:

I also feel kind of bad for the guests that are having to require precautions on their own. The convention doing it like this could be a reason for guests not to return since the staff now put them in the awkward position of having to make their own rules.

This is one that I feel deep in my soul. Booking VAs these days includes making sure that you get someone who is in line with the policies taht you're going to be enforcing as some won't go to maskless events and some refuse to go to masked events. By doing this, the con put the guests in a terrible spot of either having to compromise on their health decisions, or be 'the bad guy' who's still enforcing rules that the con itself isn't any longer.
Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised if this announcement came with the notice that someone wouldn't actually be attending.

For real. I read Erica's tweet, and it sure sounds like the guests didn't know ahead of time. Much like the attendees, it's too late for the guests to do much other than this. A lot of VAs rely on conventions as a source of income, and it's not like they can book another appearance now.

Regardless of what they say about following guidance, this was handled poorly. There is nothing wrong with going beyond the guidance, and if they didn't want to do it going forward, save it for 2023 when people would at least have a heads up of more than a few days.

Wear a mask, don't wear a mask.. you do you! Covid is obviously not going away, and with that life goes on. The convention is not telling you to NOT wear a mask, and according to the article it even states they strongly encourage it.

I don't feel sorry for the guests as this is how they get paid, they are free to ask for masks at signings (I don't see a problem with that).

invalidname wrote:

And there goes about 5-10 years of built-up credibility from what had previously been considered one of the best-run big cons (no five-hour waits to get in like AX, no desperate save-us-from-bankruptcy charity drives like Otakon).

Unbelievably bad move, just two weeks after publicly vowing the policy wouldn’t change.

OK, in light of the con saying on their Discord that they were forced to do this by the convention center, I’m going to offer the most charitable explanation I can think of. It may not be true, but it’s only fair to consider the possibilities.

Assuming ACen itself wants to maintain its vaccine and mask policy — after all, they have gone to the expense and hassle of verifying vaccination status of everyone who wanted to do badge mailing — and that it’s the convention center itself doing this, how is the convention center in a position to do so? How can they tell a con what its attendee policies are going to be, right?

Well, it’s not just con attendees. It’s also the staff who are part of of the convention. You know these guys. Like when you come over the bridge from the parking deck, there’s the guy in a blue jacket half asleep on a stool at the doors to the second floor panel rooms, checking badges. Yeah, him. So what if he doesn’t want to be vaccinated or wear a mask? Who’s going to tell him he has to? Once it’s not under a legal mandate, maybe nobody.

The event staff work for the convention center, and in big cities like Chicago the con is legally obligated to use their services. And if the employees are unionized, it’s possible the labor contract with the DESCC gives them the clout they need to make a no-mask / no-vaccine decision stick (Chicago is awfully union-friendly, after all).

This doesn’t explain why the con couldn’t just enforce the rule for attendees only, while shrugging off facilities staff not under their control. I’m not saying any of it is true; I’m just trying to make the most charitable case I can to ACen under the circumstances, given that my gut reaction is “y’all screwed up really bad.”

Greed1914 wrote:

I also feel kind of bad for the guests that are having to require precautions on their own. The convention doing it like this could be a reason for guests not to return since the staff now put them in the awkward position of having to make their own rules.

Agreed. It could have been as easy as saying, "To protect our guests, all guest events will still require masks."

While I agree that this isn't a good look for the 'con, I (as someone who will be attending all three days) am actually happy that the decision came down this way, and I would bet that a LOT of attendees are going to be happy about it, too.

I fully acknowledge that big 'cons like these have always been prime spreaders of all kinds of germs; I've been aware of "con crud" for decades, and have extensive personal experience with it. Despite that, I also find wearing the masks all day to be really odious. I'm not going to be one of those people who bucks a mandate or causes a fuss over it, but I am also unlikely to wear one unless it is a hard mandate.

Still, if someone requests it specifically for their meet, I'll respect their request, so I guess I'll be carrying one around.

(And on a side note, this is in line with other major upcoming 'cons. The Origins gaming convention in mid-June has also gone this route, and I would be surprised if summer's biggest - Gen Con - doesn't eventually announce the same.)

I’ve been wondering about the masking issue going forward now that it has practically become a personal choice.
Last summer I went to Animanga and even though they had said Masks were gonna be required, they weren’t enforcing them. Then in September I went to Sacanime and they were very heavily enforcing the mask.
Anime Expo has on their website that they’ll be requiring masks, but I wonder how it’ll be enforced?

Regardless of whose fault it is, the timing for this really sucks. Only a few days before the con happens? I assume that means it's too late for people to get refunds or pull out without there being financial loss. Just a really dodgy decision to make so close to the event date...

That does not seem wise.

I have a thread on Twitter that talks a bit more about the current state and CDC guidelines and how those apply to the venue here: https://twitter.com/ANN_Lynzee/status/1526320553891573762

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