A "no hall costume" policy could encourage better guests every year. A low Klingon Quotient would make many important people very happy.
The Fan Guest of Honour at CV22 made it very clear that people who show up to science fiction conventions in costume were trivial to the process, and rather undesirable. The convention is like a big circus tent, he said, and people who wear costumes are only the popcorn machine. No one comes to see the popcorn machine, and it really wouldn't be missed if it was gone. The real show is the centre ring, which contains the author guests. When the press comes to document the event and they only see Spock ears and lightsabers, it makes the whole event look foolish and dissuades some authors from attending.
This point was also made by Robert J Sawyer in a interview with Scifidimensions in 2000.
"As much as I love going to science fiction conventions, but I always question the clarity of thought of those who put on the Mr. Spock ears, or the Stormtrooper costume, because [...] the local news [...] will always find the one clown with a lobster on his forehead pretending to be a Klingon, and plaster him on page one of the entertainment section. [...] what the public gets crammed into their face is some arrested, overweight adolescent who's putting on a Halloween costume, and it's nowhere near October 31st."
There are additional benefits to preventing costumed folk from attending. Since most Star Wars fans don't read "real" science fiction, or read anything else notable for that matter, banning them from bringing their white armour and Jedi bathrobes could keep these "fringe fans" away. Wouldn't these arrested and overweight adolescents be happier at home anyway? Although it would mean no women in skimpy Slave Leia costumes to ogle, so clearly some exceptions would have to be made.
Also consider, no costumes means no furries. The Calgary Fur community consists of well over a hundred writers, artists and fans, but a small percentage of these have those costumes. Some see this kink-garb as wearable textile arts, comparable to sculpture or jewelry, but we really know what these people are up to, don't we? Should this be acceptable behaviour at Con-version?
It should also be noted that most of the getups seen today are only recreations of "media" costumes and props. Back in the day costumers would build imaginative and futuristic creations to amaze and entertain. Then came the onslaught of pseudo-science fiction television shows and wiz-bang Hollywood blockbusters, which are not only devoid of any social commentary or literary merit, but also serve as the petri dish which spawns the fungus on fandom that media costuming has become.
How do costumes relate to the Hotel? Remember that hotels are run by mundanes. When they see a mass of costumed folk they get worried. They realize that they are getting a group of people that rather sleep in the video room, or the lobby bathroom then pay for a room. They assume that large amount of outside food and drink will be brought into their convention space in violation of the catering agreements made with the con-com. They worry that the consuite will be so loud that they will have to comp the adjacent rooms. Let us set the hotel straight by saying that none of this would ever happen at Con-version, and we are willing to remove a visible minority to prove it.
So until Con-version lives up to its literary roots and does the right thing, we will have to live with this minority fandom subculture. Next time you see someone dressed up in some a "media" inspired outfit, it is fair to assume that this person likely has some form of learning or reading difficulty, so deal with them accordingly. It is also widely known that since they come from the passive "viewer" culture of film and television, they haven't contributed one ounce of work toward putting the convention together, so keep this in mind when deciding on programing content and guest selection.
Yours in Fandom
DrHaggis
