My name is John McLaughlin, and I, along with Randall Cooper, are the co-founders of BayCon.

This is being crossposted to my personal LJ as well as to here.

Before I learned how to use Livejournal, I asked my wife Brin to do some legwork for me, and it's caused a great deal of misunderstanding. I'm here to set things straight once and for all. The response she gave was the result of years of frustration on MY part. If you have a problem with what was posted, stop speculating about HER, and take it up with ME.

I shouldn't have to state the obvious, but I'm well aware of BayCon's annual dates and that I'm on the Friends of BayCon list. However, whenever I throw a party, I send out invites in plenty of time, and in some cases, I'll make followup phone calls. What I do NOT do is make an announcement about the party and then expect people to ferret out the rest of the info and show up if they think they're welcome. That's not how a party is thrown. In other words, it's the responsibility of the people THROWING the party to approach the people who are invited -- NOT the other way around. As I recall from my own convention work experience, brickbats go hand in hand with kudos, and anyone volunteering to work a con should expect to receive BOTH. But for what it's worth, I don't have a problem with Sabre at all.

As for the other issues -- I no longer attend BayCon for three main reasons:

1. There is ongoing subspace chatter that continues to downplay / denegrate my contributions. One of these erroneous statements (which can be seen here at http://foundertruth.diaryland.com/images/fiction.jpg ) even made it into print this year. I have had 'moles' on staff since I left, and they've ratted out the naysayers year after year. In my opinion, it's time for any mistakes that are being made after twenty-five years to be the fault of the people who make them, NOT the fault of long-gone staff.

2. I've been treated rudely by the registration staff more times than I care to recount. Gee, maybe it's because they've heard unkind things about me from somewhere!

3. When I'm on site at a BayCon, I'm given no peace. People find me and get in my face and tell me how terrible things are nowadays, and that they wish I were still in charge. They've pounded on my hotel room door at all hours, plopped down beside me in the Quiet Bar, and climbed through the greenery at the Coffee Garden and dived into the booth I'm in -- ALL without asking. All I hear are complaints, and frankly, that's not my idea of a good time. I got tired of it.

I've also been accused of going against one of my own 'prime directives' that was in place while I was on staff at BayCon; namely mentioning 'dirty laundry' in public. Well, I'm not on staff anymore, and I have the right to say whatever I feel like saying, as long as it's accurate.

One thing that's accurate is this: BayCon has now had twenty-five chances to fix this problem or that. Simple solutions exist in various fannish newsgroups, and in convention bibles across the land. Why isn't BayCon running smoothly after all these years?

I also have concerns about the Friends of BayCon list. When Randall Cooper and I created the FoBL, it only had one requirement. We did it so staff people who had given a year of their lives to an event they weren't going to be able to see, could enjoy ATTENDING future BayCons for free. Either EVERY former BayCon staffer should get a freebie when they want one, or NOBODY should. If the con can't afford full memberships anymore, then at least give anybody who can show their name on a staff list (from any given year) a single-day membership.

As things stand, I don't feel like being a party to the current set of hoops that need to be jumped through to achieve placement on this list -- because it's nothing like what we originally did, and in my opinion, there was no reason for it to have been changed in the first place.

Finally, as Randall Cooper has already mentioned, he and I have put together a website that contains the history of how BayCon was founded.

If you're interested, that website can be found here: http://foundertruth.diaryland.com

Please feel free to leave feedback over there, or at my personal blog here on LJ.

Thanks for your time

-- John.

OK, Angie, I specifically set up an account at LJ just so I can respond to you, and hopefully put an end to the back-and-forth. I feel I owe you a response, not because I need to justify myself to anyone else currently involved with BayCon, but because in '86 you took one for the con, and volunteered to take the high road when Cyndi June and Sue Potter put me, as Chairman, you, as a member of the ConCom just trying to do their job, and the the con itself, in a tight spot. I will never forget the sacrifice you made. Again, thank you.

My comments regarding the invitation to the FOB party weren't motivated out of a desire to be snotty, but out of just one too many years of being frustrated with the way BayCon has treated me. As a rule, over the past decade or so, on the rare occasions when BayCon *has* asked for my involvement, it has *always* been at the last minute. I'm not going to lay this one on Sabre's doorstep, OK? But think about it: after 25 years, shouldn't these simple sorts of things be a slam-dunk for BayCon to accomplish? I think they should; but please, disagree if you feel otherwise.

So, how has BayCon treated me that gives me cause to be frustrated? Well, when I attended a BayCon, the staff usually treated me with no small amount of rudeness. Why these strangers were rude to me is a mystery. I can only assume, based on human nature, that they believe I don't *deserve* to be treated with courtesy. Perhaps it's because some people involved with BayCon have, over the years, been bad-mouthing me. I've been advised by acquaintences of mine that have continued to work on BayCon that this is, in fact, the case. And no, I'm not going to blow their cover. Neither am I going to retaliate against those who engage in the high Fannish art of gossip and behind-the-back character assassination. Hey, it comes with the territory. You Do Something in Fandom and *someone* is going to dislike you for it.

Additionally, there's another thing that happens every time I come to a BayCon: people who don't like the way the con's being run, through some mystical, magical process, manage to track me down, corner me, and start complaining unceasingly. My dinner has been interrupted at the Coffee Garden a number of times by people who spot me and literally leap through those big potted plants instead of entering the restaurant area by the normal walkway. Even though I tell them that if they have complaints or suggestions, to take them to that year's Chairman, and/or to Michael Siladi, because those are the people who can do something about the perceived problem -- it still keeps happening to me. For some strange twisted reason, these people must think I *like* hearing about BayCon's failures. I *don't!* I'd really like to hear nothing but *nice* things about the con.  So, are you surprised that I'm not really enthusiastic about going to BayCon these days, considering what I have to put up with? I mean, the point of going to a con is to have a good time, not get dumped on. So if BayCon and I are no longer a proper fit, fine. I'll stay away if I'm not wanted; which is pretty much exactly what I have done for most of the past 20 years. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade.

Now, as to your allegation that I've discussed BayCon dirty laundry in public, my response is that simply was not the case. I griped about a failure of the BayCon machinery that, considering my experience in con-fandom, I believe I had every right to vocalize. Do you feel that someone who's been asked to participate in a con program who notices a problem *doesn't* have the right to comment on that problem in a public forum? Look, I've been a guest, GOH, program participant, etc for a number of other cons besides BayCon, and even the newer ones solved those "last minute mailing" problems by the second or third con. C'mon, 25 years, Angie! Twenty-five years! A quarter century of opportunities to get it right. Don't you think that you, and the other BayCon ConCom alumni deserve better?

Look. I have thrown a lot of parties. Great big ones. Parties that in fact led to the development of BayCon. Whenever I threw a party, I sent out mailed invitations at least a full month ahead of time. This was something I did, even for the 'expected' seasonal parties, and even though everybody had heard about it by other means anyway. I didn't invent this tradition or this time frame; it's standard operational procedure when anybody throws a party.  What is *not* correct is to throw a party and expect the desired attendees to come and ferret out the information. In other words, it's the responsibility of the people *throwing* the party to approach the people who are invited -- NOT the other way around.

I didn't gossip about anyone; didn't "tell tales out of school," as it were. If you want to be disappointed with anyone, be disappointed with the first person on the BayCon ConCom to "break ranks" and bad-mouth someone behind their back at a committee meeting. It was over 20 years ago; I was the one who was lied about; and the person who did the lying was ratted out by two of his closest friends: Kaylynn Reeb and Dave Clark. The two of them came to me independent of each other, they were so upset about it, and they both said I should confront the guilty party at the next committee meeting and clear the air. I did; the person apologized and said they would not do it again; then went right out and did it again; and continue to do so right up until today. Need I say more about this?

I have put up with over 20 years of these sorts of slights, but I haven't gone out and engaged in returning the favor, regardless of how I feel. I believe there's really no point in trashing someone unnecessarily. Offering a public *opinion* when they make a big mistake, maybe. Perhaps even probably.

Y'know, there just seems to be this tendency for fans to trash other fans. No one is a saint, or immune to human nature; including yourself, Angie. Rather than contact Brin directly and ask her about the original posting that ruffled your feathers ("Hey, what was that all about? Looks like you're upset with BayCon for some reason! It came off kinda snooty. What's going on?"), you immediately engaged in third party online analysis, trashing her *without the benefit of all the facts*. It's not like either Brin or I are hard to get a hold of: my email address is pretty public; Brin's online everywhere. And I'm not saying that I've never been guilty of opening *my* mouth without having all the facts at my disposal first. I'm as prone to human nature as the next fan. I just try not to make a habit of doing it in print, in a public forum.

So, if my comments about the FOB gathering offended you, I apologize. It was not my intent to hurt anyone's feelings. Was I disappointed in the way BayCon handled the matter? Yes. Did I feel we all deserved better? Yes again. It was *just* my *opinion*, not the law from on high.

Just one more thing about the Friends Of BayCon. Randy and my original concept was to offer *anyone* who'd worked a whole year on a BayCon a permanent freebie membership as a thank-you to people who had given up an entire year of their lives to a convention they would not even be able to enjoy, because they were too busy working. For the record, I don't think it's right the way it's been politicized so that certain people are excluded because some folks on the Artistic Solutions BOD do not like them. Either EVERY former BayCon staffer should get a free membership whenever they decide to come to a BayCon, or NO ONE should. If the con can't afford a couple-hundred full memberships, then give the ol' timers a one-day. It's not like *all* the former BayCon staffers for the past 25 years are going to show up and break the bank.

And think, for instance, if instead, for BayCon 2007, as many of the old gang as possible had been tracked down much earlier on, and specifically invited to attend a "share your memories" gathering as *part* of the Meet The Guests Reception. Think of how much wonderful con experience and great BayCon history could have been *shared* with *everyone* attending this year's con! *That* is a piece of programming I could *really* get behind. Wouldn't that have been a better way to celebrate 25 years of BayCons?

Look, I'm not trying to convert you to my way of thinking, Angie. I'm just trying to explain how I feel, and *why*. I'm sure we can continue to agree to disagree about lots of things related to BayCon; but let's *do* agree to continue to share our joy in the good things that have come out of our involvement with BayCon. Okay?


-- John