Today, in bad decisions by other conventions

[soc_puppet]

The week before their convention, massive anime con Anime Central announced that they're lifting their masking restrictions. They still strongly encouraged masking, but it was no longer mandatory. Oh, and they're not offering ticket refunds, and it's probably also too late to get refunds on most hotels and travel plans.

They've since walked the decision back somewhat, so masks are required again—but only in select areas, like panel rooms. The hallways, lobbies, and restrooms are fair game for rat-lickers. Because immuno-compromised people and anyone who lives with them have suddenly developed the ability to teleport between panel rooms and also no longer need to pee. /sarcasm

I just.

Flames. Flames, on the sides of my face.

Edit: Holy shit, this Twitter thread. Dumpster fire indeed. If someone was actually trying to kill a con, this would be a good way to go about it.

Comments

[mistressofmuses]

Flames on the sides of my face indeed.

UGH. That's so frustrating.

I was SO EXCITED to start getting back to doing things, and then just about every club, venue, etc. here lifted their masking requirements entirely. So... still trapped not doing anything at all.

I would be utterly PISSED if an event I'd been intending to attend - where masking vs. not masking would have been part of what determined my decision to go - changed their policy with no notice.

[soc_puppet]

It's mind-boggling that a convention of that size would make such a decision less than a week before the con.

On the plus side, AnimeIowa and WisCon both are keeping their restrictions (and I will fight tooth and nail if I get even a whiff that AI might be thinking of changing), so if you felt like visiting the Midwest at all...

[mistressofmuses]

That kind of decision seems just... astoundingly awful. I can't imagine the thought behind that. (Lack thereof, I guess.)

I am very glad that those restrictions are staying in place. If I do head out toward the midwest, I'd keep it in mind, haha.

[gwydion]

This sort of thing makes me furious.

[soc_puppet]

Right? And that Twitter thread is a helluva thing to read right before bedtime...

Now I need to find a palate cleanser so I'm not up half the night stewing in righteous fury.

[mommy]

What gets me is that they changed their masking policy so late that anyone who would want to go to a maskless convention can't get a ticket. This reads as entirely lose/lose for the con even before you get into the issue of nonrefundable tickets and reservations. Who thought this timing was a good idea?

[soc_puppet]

Are they not allowing at-con ticket purchases? Because that would blow my boss's theory (that someone involved wanted to maximize profit by keeping all the non-refundable ticket sales from people who would only attend a masked convention, while adding any ticket sales from people who would only attend a masks-optional con).

[mommy]

I don't know if they are. I just figure that most people who this would appeal to can't get time off/buy plane tickets/get hotel reservations on this short of a notice, which means that they probably won't be buying many tickets. There are probably some who live nearby, but would they be enough to offset everything else?

[soc_puppet]

An excellent point. There almost certainly aren't enough people in driving distance who would only go if masks were optional to set off the number of people who will be at least attempting to have the bank undo the ticket charges.