26. What's the difference between a "membership" and a "ticket"? (sf conventions)
Description
This article is from the Science Fiction Fandom FAQ, by Vicki Rosenzweig vr@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.
26. What's the difference between a "membership" and a "ticket"? (sf conventions)
Attitude, either that of the buyer or of the organizers. If the
convention says it's selling tickets, it's almost certainly a
commercial venture, whose main goal is to make a profit for the
organizers. This isn't necessarily a sin, but it does mean that
you're likely to find little conversation or sense of community,
and a major distinction between the stars and the people who buy
tickets.
If a convention is selling memberships, the expectation is that,
to some extent, the members will make their own fun and help make
the convention happen. Those people wearing ribbons that say "staff"
or even "committee" will be volunteers, and even the people who are
on programming won't be paid for their time and effort. (A few guests
of honor will have their expenses paid; some other participants may
get their memberships free but will pay for their own transport,
hotel rooms, and meals.)
Back to the party analogy: your $30 or $45 isn't buying you a
weekend's entertainment. It's paying for the rental of the hall,
and for some snacks. You can go to the panels that interest you--and
contribute if you're so inclined, and if the moderator has time to
take audience comments. Or you can sit in the bar or (if it's a North
American convention) the con suite and just chat. If things are going
really well, you can spend an hour in the bar with someone you just
met, discussing the last panel or the guest of honor's speech. You
can also spend the weekend in the video room, or go home every
evening after the formal events are over--nobody will stop you, but
you'll miss a lot of the fun.
From another angle, if you've bought a ticket to a show and there's
a long line to get in at the door, you'll kvetch. If you've bought
a membership in a convention and registration is going slowly, you
might say "Hi, can I help here?" and spend an hour working at the
registration table. Put in enough hours and you might get a free
t-shirt, but that isn't why most of us do it. We do it because we want
the con to happen, and because there's pleasure in a job well done.
Continue to:
My Books
