Swancon 2012 - Doomcon

[samvara]

No doom present, did get treated like a sort of superior mobile climbing gym by young people but this is welcome and desired.

My panel was Safe Spaces with the lovely callistra. We basically covered what we think of as a Safe Space (a space in which one is safe enough to bring stuff up when it becomes problematic, and safe enough to engage if one is called on one's behaviour); the con anti-harassment policy since they are great to have but need to 'live' so to speak; various definitions and mechanisms of 'Concern Trolling' and ways to engage / respond; and whether it's OK to hit on a lone woman in an elevator at 4am (balancing concern for self, concern for others and social norms).

Thank you again to everyone who participated.

I also caught up with a bunch of people I like, met some new ones and attended some panels including

• My Little Ponies (sweet sparkly crack)
• Apocalyptically Bad Science (very popular and very funny)
• Gender Norms in Fictions (in which chaosmanor courageously spoke for 'other' and Brand Sanderson impressed me with his openness)
• Trailer Park which showcased some great stuff to look forward to

For historical note, it took me 13 hours last year to time out on personal contact, I didn't time out this year.

Comments

[sara]

whether it's OK to hit on a lone woman in an elevator at 4am (balancing concern for self, concern for others and social norms).

As with many other human endeavors, it depends on how you do it.

[samvara]

*grins*

It was a very interesting discussion!

[ariaflame]

In the referenced case (I'm assuming Elevatorgate) it was after the woman had spent some time talking about how this sort of thing was inappropriate during the daily sessions, stated her intention to go up to sleep, and the guy responsible for the hitting on had been around during those statements.

If you want to read more about Elevatorgate set aside several days as the threads on some sites got really really long.

Of course it wasn't the actual hitting on that caused the furor, but the howls of privilege from some males when the woman brought the incident up as an example of what not to do if they want any actual success at forming a relationship with a woman.

[sara]

Eyah, that would be a way not to do it.