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PAX PAX PAX 2014
I am pretty darn excited about PAX 2014 this year. I won’t be working for a games company, which is odd. But, I will still be there working! And when I say working, I mean working for my own community efforts. I’ll be mostly found up in the Diversity Lounge on the 6th floor, hosting a table for my Meetup.com group, Inclusive Geekery. If you’re looking for Backup Ribbons from the Backup Ribbon Project, I will have them at the table and also be carrying them around!
I’m so very excited to have some great volunteers working with me at the table, so I can run off do do panels and game demos. Want to find me if I am not at our table? The Diversity Lounge has 2 tables set up for schedule meetups, game demos, roundtables, and whatnot. I’ll pretty much live in the Lounge for the weekend, and here are my panels (outside the lounge) and my actual lounge activities:
Friday:
- My panel, Building Inclusive Communities in Analog Gaming. 11:30am-12:30pm Hedgehog Theatre (Grand Hyatt 1st floor). YES IT WILL BE STREAMED! WHOOIEEEE!
- Diversity Lounge (Meetup) Queer Meetup: 2pm-3pm
- Diversity Lounge (Meetup) Bisexual Women’s Meetup: 4pm-5pm
Saturday:
- Filling in on the panel, How to Love and Hate Tabletop Games. 11:30am-12:30pm Sandworm Theatre (Sheraton 2nd floor). I do not know if it is streamed.
- Diversity Lounge (Meetup) – Gay Game Industry Professionals meetup 12pm – 2pm, although it overlaps a little bith with the panel.
- Diversity Lounge (Game Demo) – Green Ronin’s Dragon Age RPG 2-hour demo 2pm-4pm. I’ll have pre-generated characters, dice, and such for you!
- Diversity Lounge (Roundtable) – Roundtable discussion about creating inclusive game/geek spaces IRL 5pm-6pm
Sunday:
- Diversity Lounge (Game Demo) – Marrying Mr. Darcy! I’ll be teaching the game from 10am-12:00pm.
- Diversity Lounge (Meetup) – The Pink Party Prime pre-party meetup! 5pm-6pm!
Monday:
- Diversity Lounge (Game Demo) – Green Ronin’s Dragon Age RPG 2-hour demo 2pm-4pm. I’ll have pre-generated characters, dice, and such for you!
Of course, I’ll be supporting lots of local inclusive groups who will drop flyers off and such. Plus, I’ll definitely be bringing information about OrcaCon 2016! Please drop by and say hello!
Steamcon Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct
This Code of Conduct is to provide guidance to all Steamcon V convention members. It is to help ensure that the behavior of one individual does not adversely disturb the rest of the members. It applies to all pre-con, at con, and post-con activities that are related to Steamcon V. All members are encouraged to read this Code and ask questions of anything that they do not understand.
Steamcon V is prepared to deal with any violations of the code as legally, rapidly, and efficiently as possible. We hope that all members will help to make Steamcon V an enjoyable experience for all, by respecting the rights of all attendees while in attendance.
Steamcon V reserves the right to revoke membership and eject any individual at any time from Steamcon V. No refunds will be provided.
Failure to adhere to the code of conduct may result in:
- Mediation by the Con Chair and Convention Operations talking to all parties involved in an incident
- Verbal warnings
- Turning the individual in to hotel/convention center staff/security
- Revocation of membership and ejection from Steamcon V
- Contacting local law enforcement
BADGES: Steamcon V is a membership event and membership badges must be worn at all time by all members and staff. A badge is only valid for the individual to whom it was issued. Badges may not be shared. Steamcon V requires that all individuals age 3 and over have membership badges for the convention, and that they be clearly visible when at Steamcon V.
PERSONAL INTERACTION: We ask that you respect others so that everyone is comfortable and feels safe while attending Steamcon V.
- Harassment of others will not be tolerated and is a violation of the code of conduct.
- If someone asks you to leave them alone or tells you no, you walk away, and you do not approach them again. There is no reason for you to have any further interaction with them.
- Discrimination of any sort is not tolerated and is a violation of the code of conduct.
- Discrimination is not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical/mental disability.
- If you feel that you have been harassed or discriminated against:
- Tell the individual that their behavior is inappropriate. Sometimes this is sufficient.
- If you do not feel comfortable talking with the individuals involved, or if talking to them once does not work, please immediately report the situation to any Steamcon V committee or staff member. If possible provide a badge name or name and a physical description of the person or persons involved. The committee or staff member will notify Convention Operations and/or the Con Chair.
- PLEASE: Keep in mind that unless an incident is reported, nothing can be done.
PUBLIC PARTIES: Specific party rules will be published separately and provided to all party hosts.
Only certain convention hotel rooms are available for parties and all parties must be coordinated with Steamcon V.
No one under 21 will be served alcohol. Hosts are required to card anyone who wishes to drink at their event. Attempting to drink while under 21 or knowingly serving alcohol to someone under 21 is a violation of the code of conduct, and could subject you to removal from Steamcon V.
HOTEL INTERACTIONS: We ask that you follow any and all rules set by the convention hotels.
The person whose name the room is rented is solely responsible for the conduct of all individuals in the room and the condition of the room. Excessive trash, any act of vandalism, deliberate or excessive damage to hotel room and its contents, or any negative interference with hotel staff that may present a hazard to said hotel staff will result in the hotel taking control of the situation.
Individuals, regardless of whose name the room is rented in, will be billed for said damages by the hotel. In addition, individuals may be evicted from the hotel and/or the convention and may also face criminal charges.
SMOKING: The City of Bellevue does not allow smoking in any public buildings, including hotels, restaurants, or the convention center.
PETS: Only service animals are allowed in hotel and convention function spaces.
WEAPONS:
- Steamcon V recognizes that weapons and weapon replicas are an integral part of the Steampunk look and aesthetic, and as such will be present at the convention. However, any weapon that is sufficiently realistic may cause issue with local law enforcement and Steamcon V reserves the right to request that you leave such a weapon in your room or off premises regardless of any permit for such weapon.
- All laws of the City of Bellevue, King County, and the state of Washington regarding weapons are in force while on convention property, and any violation of such is also a violation of the code of conduct resulting in immediate expulsion from the convention.
- Any weapon (actual, realistic or toy) that is brandished about or utilized in a threating or harmful manner is a violation of the code of conduct.
- The discharge of any projectile weapon outside of an approved demonstration or convention event is a violation of the code of conduct.
PRIVACY, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND ELECTRONIC RECORDING:
Steamcon V members should be aware that photographs, video and audio recordings occur during the convention, and that their likenesses may appear in these recordings. Attendees and members agree to assign without compensation the use of their likenesses for the use of promotion material.
Steamcon V welcomes members of the press to all events. All journalists, media photographers and any other members of the press are required to display an official Steamcon V Press Badge or be accompanied by a Steamcon V staff member at all times.
Members should be polite and ask before taking photographs or recordings of members and attendees whenever possible. Photography and audio/video recordings for personal archival use is generally acceptable, unless an individual makes it clear that they do not wish to be photographed or recorded, in which case it becomes expressly forbidden.
The usage of photographic or recording devices is prohibited in certain area of the convention including the Film Room, Art Show, and Art Auction. Where allowed, please take photographs before or after a program event to avoid distracting panelists and audience members to the maximum extent possible.
The offering for sale of any merchandise may only occur in designated areas with the permission of Steamcon V.
Steamcon V reserves the right to amend the code of conduct at any time without prior or posted notice and reserves the sole right of interpretation. The rules stated above are not all inclusive and involve worst-case scenarios.
Any action or behavior that is illegal, unsafe, or causes significant interference with convention operations, excessive discomfort to members, or adversely affects Steamcon V’s relationship with its guests, the venue, or the public is strictly forbidden.
G is for Geeky Attire – #AtoZChallenge
I’ve always dressed a little different from other folks. Half is that I have no sense of fashion and the other is that I really like to wear things which make me happy. I’ve only been half aware that I might be dressing oddly, and have continued to simply ZOMG SHINY through my wardrobe through the years. My family has always kinda followed their own weird piper, so to speak.
I’ve had freaky hair, freaky clothes and have never been embarrassed or felt odd about it.
I word the oddest things and was happy with it. Very happy. Most of the time, I had my picture taken in my oddest clothes. And I have the happiest smile.
I never quite wore appropriate clothing for my activities. Seriously. Just doing my own thing.
I had been attending renfaires since 1982, but didn’t dress up until the late 90s. My attire was pretty crappy at first, but after hanging out on Usenet (Yah, I’m old), I kinda hit my niche with hot pink attire. And eventually added neon green, as more people started getting wacky in their renfaire get ups. I’m the furthest you can be from being girly; the hot pink thing was a huge inside joke. My mom thought it was humorous; I think she was happy just to see color in my wardrobe after the YEARS of nothing but black clothing.
I had a bit of a change happen to my wardrobe, once online shopping hit. I was happily buying from ThinkGeek shortly after I moved out to Virginia in 1999. Since they were local to VA, I was familiar with them as I worked with Fraize at Dell and had met Regan through renfaire. My shopping really kicked in somewhere in 2003. Tshirts & toys for myself. Tshirts for friends & boyfriends. I still do so. Hah! I have a couple of photos up there on the ThinkGeek site, but I always forget to send them in. I still owe them the lightsaber chopsticks picture, where I use them for hairsticks.
Fast Forward. So, I had joined a social network site which has some blogging in it. I found that when I used the blog, I met more people. I met a TON of great people in Seattle from the site; some who are close friends today and even attended my wedding! I’m used to people slagging on me for being weird, fat, having a big bumpy Italian nose and whatnot. But a gal named “Computer Barbie” posted the following:
I know a group of women who commiserate for hours that men will not commit, but they will not spend 13 minutes putting on make up. They wear nerd clothes too. One of them wears a boys student coat, androgenous moccasins, androgenous pants. She looks like she has long grey side burns. She pushes her hair behind her ears. 1 lock falls in front of each ear. That is the only part that is grey. Another wears Circus Socks [multicolored socks]. These women are Fashion Casualties. These women are middle aged but successful. These women claim to have boyfriends. JMO
As someone who LOVES awesome socks, I was kinda butthurt in a humorous way. So I blogged about it. Turns out a bunch of other women, from their 20s – 50s (and younger/older) also love their nerd clothes, their stripey socks. So a silly sock club was born. Many of us started buying MORE socks, because we wanted to day, You know, we dress for OURSELVES, not for you. Just because you think we’re too old to dress for happiness, doesn’t mean it is wrong.”. We all started posting pictures of our socks as we bought them, and the term “Sock Prawn” was born. You know. Wait. This is the internet. I don’t have to tell you.
I discovered Sock Dreams and Sock It To Me Socks, both in Portland, Oregon. I started shopping from SITMS because Holly, proprietor of Monster Art & Clothing sold her socks.
We started having Stripey Sock Meetups. We bought each other socks. Friends & family started buying us socks; it became the thing to do.
Not all socks we love are stripey. They can have all kinds of textures and patterns.
We love our socks. We love our geekiness of all kinds. Not everyone who’s a sock person is a gamer. Not every sock person is into fandom. However, we are all pretty geeky about a good many things. We’re made up of food geeks, history geeks, tech geeks, gamer geeks, glitter geeks, renfaire geeks, music geeks. No matter what your geeky stripes (hah!), when you run into a sock geek, you have an instant bond; something to talk about and share.
I LOVE MY SOCKS! GO OUT AND LOVE YOUR SOCKS, TOO!
E is for Events – #AtoZChallenge
I’m cheating again, so I can get caught up with the Blogging A-to-Z Challenge. I wrote this when I was in Austin, back in 2011. The dates/places have changed up, but I’m still hosting these kinds of meetups. And I face the same challenges regarding inclusiveness in gaming/game events. I will miss my Board Game/Beer Geeks Meetup here in the San Diego area once I’m back in Seattle next month.
I already know I failed my mission just a bit in regards to my recent claim. I promised to write a blog post each day of the week for Speak Out With Your Geek Out, but I failed. But I swear, I have a great reason! Why? I was hosting the Girl Geeks Of Austin Monday Board Games & Brews event! Each Monday night, we have a group of women who drop by the Black Star Co-Op. So, it’s actually combining numerous geek things. Board games, craft beer and sustainable/local foods. And it is a co-op! One of my birthday prezzies to myself will be to buy a membership there. Such fantastic people.
I’ve posted before about why I started the game night. I’m all about supporting ALL people playing games; I believe everyone can find the right games and great people to play with. The difficult part – If you don’t already play games with people, how do you meet people for games? How do you find games? Board games can get pretty expensive; it is hard to justify buying a game if you don’t know anyone who plays them.
I’m an organizer geek; a nexxus. I LOVE bringing people together to do amazing things. I love meeting new people when I host an event and watching people discovering new people. It cheers me to see people make friends, share their info and talk about planning exciting games, dinners or whatever with each other. I like turning people on to new games and new beers. I like to encourage women & girls to play games.
Back to my Board Game & Brews night. Many of the women who come to the game night have never played board games. Or they’ve done family games like Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble. There is nothing wrong with these games; for many people it is the first taste of gaming & socialization. Yes, even with family!
But many want more. They’re interested in games they see around. They want to not be talked down to or ignored in a game store. They want to do something creative and they want to socialize with other like-minded geeky people. No matter your geeky bent, while you’re doing a geeky activity, you get to learn more about people. You get to meet others who grok (look it up) you.
I’m not great at teaching people to play games. I yawn when reading rules. I am best learning as I play, so I usually stick to pretty easy to explain games that I’ve played a lot. Or some casual card games. Fluxx, Poo, Apples to Apples & Guillotine and many others are easy to teach and easy to learn. Then there are some dice games like Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice and some board games like Tsuro and Dixit.
How do you get started with your own group? Meetup.com is fantastic to start in finding a group. Volunteer to host a meetup. Most meetup group owners are DELIGHTED to find more people to host events. I know I am; I can’t do everything and be everyone. As example, we have people who do fiber arts and I do not. So I encourage our fiber arts geeks to host their own meetup event on our same group page.
- Pick a place you want to host an event. A shop, a pub, coffee shop. Get to know the people working there so they know to expect you.
- Choose how often and what day you want to do your event. It doesn’t have to be weekly like mine.
- Get yourself into Social Media so you can advertise your event. Good thing about Meetup.com? You can do so much in it.
- Show up. Even if no one does, show up. When I first started doing the Monday Steampunk Meetups at the Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle, I was there at a small reserved table every week. Eventually, one or two would show. And as the word got out, more people showed. I kept up with advertising it on the local steampunk mailing list. Having our small group talk to others at the other local events & conventions, brought more people out. After a few months, there was anywhere from 10-20 people ever Monday. Stick to it and it will succeed.
- Greet everyone. No matter what else is going on, remember you are doing this for a reason. Make sure everyone is welcome. When you have regular people, you can dub others to be greeters. No one should ever feel unwanted for a social geek event.
- Have fun. If you’re not, no one else will. You may try and try again, but eventually you’ll get the hang out of it. Sure, epople will “Why don’t we meet on X side of town?” “Why can’t we ever do Y together?”. I always say, “GREAT IDEA! You can put something together and I’ll promote it. Unfortunately, I can’t take on another event, but I want to help you succeed.”. AND MEAN IT.
Hello, I’m Donna and I’m a Geeky Organizer.