Did anyone notice Narrate is good at choosing bad times for people still in school?

[Arwen17]

Phoenix rising was hosted in May right over the top of final exams for me. So there was no way I could go. Terminus is right on top when school starts. What the heck is up with them and picking crazy times?

[drownyour_kiss]

They probably do this so that they don't get to much of a younger crowd, I imagine. They want people out of school, pretty much.

[lupintonks85]

They probably do this so that they don't get to much of a younger crowd, I imagine. They want people out of school, pretty much.

Well not older as in old fogies or anything but I do think they want to avoid having all their con goers being inmature high school kids. Most Colleges ended before Portus started and get back in after Terminus is over. And really, I wouldn't want to go to a con over run by inmature high school kids. I would have to watch what I say and that's no fun. I can take a few high schoolers but I am ever so glad that under 18's must have a parent/adult with them to attend.

[David]

What about the mature high school kids? :) And I would argue that you have to be fairly mature or level to be obsessed with a *book*.

Not that I have a particular problem with it. I'm 21 and this issue hasn't caused me any problems, but I just felt the need to say that.

[lupintonks85]

What about the mature high school kids? :) And I would argue that you have to be fairly mature or level to be obsessed with a *book*.

Not that I have a particular problem with it. I'm 21 and this issue hasn't caused me any problems, but I just felt the need to say that.

I think that is why it good to have the parent/adult with the kids under 18. I am only 22 but still I don't want to have to worry about 14 and 15 year old kids acting crazy. Yes there are mature high school kids but there are more immature the mature and their maturity has nothing to do with if they are obsessed with a book. I know that some of the under 18 at Lumos weren't near as mature as they should have been to be at an conference geared to adult fans of Harry Potter.

[Hedwig]

I think it has more to do with the Organizer's schedule. Also, early August is still prior to the beginning of school for most people. I don't think it has to do with the 'type' of attendee they are looking to attract.

[David]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[kneazlecat54]

Having helped organize events, I would guess that a lot of factors come into play, including the schedules of the organizers, the availability of the desired hotel, perhaps the schedules of people they'd like to have as keynoters...it can get very complex. Just theorizing here-I'm not part of either con's planning group. But one thing is always certain-whatever dates you pick, someone will be disappointed. That's the fun of event planning! :D

Laura

[Hedwig]

Having helped organize events, I would guess that a lot of factors come into play, including the schedules of the organizers, the availability of the desired hotel, perhaps the schedules of people they'd like to have as keynoters...it can get very complex. Just theorizing here-I'm not part of either con's planning group. But one thing is always certain-whatever dates you pick, someone will be disappointed. That's the fun of event planning! :D

Laura

Yeah, and the cost. A hotel might be available one month, but its rates are higher. Or, they're half-booked for the weekend you originally want but don't have enough space left for the size of your group. It's especially difficult if you have your heart set on one specific hotel (or only one in an area has enough space for your event) as that reduces the dates available as well.
Interesting about guest speakers. Hadn't thought of that. Say, for a fan con, where you invite movie actors, you'd have to schedule around their shooting schedule. Might be a factor as well even for college professors and teachers where you don't want to start too early or too late in the summer as they might be in school. Went all through school on the Quarter system and would finish in late June and start in late September. And, kids in elementary school start on August 20th, which is better than in past years where they started the first week of August. Yikes!

[MarlenatheHappyNerd]

I think that is why it good to have the parent/adult with the kids under 18. I am only 22 but still I don't want to have to worry about 14 and 15 year old kids acting crazy. Yes there are mature high school kids but there are more immature the mature and their maturity has nothing to do with if they are obsessed with a book. I know that some of the under 18 at Lumos weren't near as mature as they should have been to be at an conference geared to adult fans of Harry Potter.


I'm 15, but I'm probably more mature than most of the seniors at my high school. I'm not friends with many people from my grade, but I have lots of older friends that I love and have way more fun with. I spend my time reading (not just HP) and with my real friends rather than doing my makeup or partying or whatever. I went to Prophecy, and I had the least fun at the ball because it seemed like such a prom (loved the Wrock shows, though-I do have fun..I'm seeming really boring in this post!)
I completely understand the want for some kind of people *coughcrazyfangirlscough* to be limited, but the age restriction is kind of strict. My parents don't really like Harry Potter, and I may not be able to go because they don't want to spend $200 on something they don't even want! Also, I can't go with any friends because their parents don't want to go.

So I guess what I'm saying is don't lump us all together because, while I do know lots of ridiculous 14 and 15 year olds, I also know some serious ones who want to go to conventions but can't because of the restrictions.


That's my rant for today =]

[Seeringrose]

Going to respond to this as well. I agree with Marlena, for I am also going to be an underager there. Why should age come into choosing what some people might want to attend? I don't know about you, but I didn't see one person who was acting very immature (after the drinks were served, it dosn't count).I knew people who were going to the "fun" programming and were in the older side of the age spectrum, and I went to a few serious lectures. Age resctions based on the idea that everyone a certain age are a bunch of crazy kids, is a horrbile generlization.

I personally bonded with anyone who looked like they were intersting and, I spent over an hour in the craft room with people in thier late 20s. I think it really is how you act there.

I really want to end this on a powerful note, but Marlena's post is unbeatable so...

[Goldenbear]

I agree with both of the above posts...being the mom of very mature kids...however, as a mom, I can also see why the restrictions. The societal "rules" change at 18...and so for the organizers, it is a matter of survival...no of lumping all kids together.

If there is a problem, heaven forbid, without proper adult supervision and parental permissions, it could get very legally sticky.

Just my two cents...since I have met some wonderful under 18 year olds at the past 3 conventions and took my son to his first con when he was 17 and he had a blast.;)

[kneazlecat54]

Seeringrose, I'm a little troubled by your statement that "after the drinks were served, it doesn't count". That's the very problem that the age restriction is supposed to prevent. I don't mean to sound like an old grump, and I should tell you that I attend these cons with my daughter, who was 15 at our first one. I know and have known lots of 15 year olds who are sensible and trustworthy. But...

Maybe one problem at Prophecy was that too many chaperones were nowhere to be found, so actual chaperoning didn't happen very much. (And, of course, the ones whose parents were there were the ones who behaved and probably would have anyhow.) So the kids whose parents won't take them to the con and look after them are the ones who are penalized. But I don't know what to do about that, given that the cons can't compel the parents to stay with the kids. Yeah, I know it's not fair to underage people, but [insert annoying adult cliche about fairness here].

Perhaps the ultimate answer is a con only for people under 18. What do you think, underage people?

[lemondrop]

Kneazlecat is right on the "no chaperones to be found" part. I volunteered in the common room at Prophecy and found a young one there without her badge on. I told her that she needed it to be on her at all times within the conference and she needed to leave, but instead of leaving I got the excuse that if she went to get her badge from her room, her mom wouldn't allow her to come back down and it was her last night. I didn't realize that she was underage at the time because it was a stressful night, but now that I look back on it, she never should have been there.

Quite honestly, if I had kids, I don't think I would allow them to go to one until they were at least 17, anything younger is too immature for something so adult and I think that situation confirmed that.

[Maraluce]

Perhaps the ultimate answer is a con only for people under 18. What do you think, underage people?

It's a good idea in theory, but I know all the younger people (I'm 17) would probably drive me insane and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one.



Anyway, I'll (probably) start with school in September :confused:. Maybe. Hopefully. I want to go to Terminus so bad ><

[Seeringrose]

Forgive me kneazlecat54, I should have clarified.

I was reffering to the adults who acted childish while drunk.

A person who is underage, will spend most of the con trying to act older, as not to be dimissed by the adults as a child. They however obviously, will miss out on several of the activites that are not only geared to the adult audience, but exclusive to.

I would like to note, that badges were being checked on a regular basis. There were formal programing or even informal events, that one could not get into if underage.

The chaperones who were absent from activly chaperoning there underagers, I like to believe thought them mature enough to behave accordingly. There are granted a few of those, who will act like children. And yes they are the ones who can agravate and ruin the adult atmosphere.

[shannon_snapecast]

I can see these age restrictions can be very frustrating for those whose parents would not be inclined to spend their money to take their children to events of this type. However, I wanted to add my voice to those of the previous posters who've brought up the legal ramifications behind allowing those under 18 to attend unsupervised. The organizers of these events, from what I understand, are restricted in what they do by the hotels where they stage these events, and large numbers of underaged and unsupervised attendees represent too much lawsuit potential.

However, there are HP related events that are family and teenager friendly - last year's Englightening in Philadelphia was an example. I also expect that the 2010 Infinitus conference at the Harry Potter Themed Resort at Universal Studios will be a place where many more younger fans will be able to attend.

[kneazlecat54]

Seeringrose, you bring up a point that has been bothering me with the announcement of Snapefest. The age restriction can only be to allow people to drink during the event (which, btw, starts at 9 AM). I'm worried that this will set a very unfortunate tone for the rest of the con. Granted, this will only be 50 people out of many hundreds, but the idea that the event is designed specifically so that people can drink during it is very distasteful to me. HPEF is supposed to focus on education as its mission. Yes, Snapecast may not have the same restriction, but the attendees will all be Portus attendees as well. I would be very sorry indeed to see these cons slide towards a 3 day frat party with some presentations to keep the (c) (3) designation valid. Being around large numbers of drunk people is not a treat for me, especially if I'm paying big bucks and using vacation time to do it.

On another point you raised, I was a securor and I don't recall having to check anyone's badge for age except at the ball. As far as I can recall, everything was open to everyone, but my memory might be wrong.

[bekkio]

Hi all,

The age restriction for HPEF events was put into place simply because the programming central to our symposiums is aimed towards a mature audience. 14-17 year olds are free to attend with a parent, guardian, or a chaperone over the age of 21. There have been many teens attending past HPEF events. For safety's sake we require that a responsible adult be present.

SnapeFest is not organized by the Portus Staff, or by HPEF, but rather by Snapecast, and they are free to make whatever attendance requirements they feel are necessary. You can direct your questions regarding SnapeFest to snapefest@portus2008.org.

Regards,
Bekki

[snapefest]

Seeringrose, you bring up a point that has been bothering me with the announcement of Snapefest. The age restriction can only be to allow people to drink during the event (which, btw, starts at 9 AM). I'm worried that this will set a very unfortunate tone for the rest of the con. Granted, this will only be 50 people out of many hundreds, but the idea that the event is designed specifically so that people can drink during it is very distasteful to me. HPEF is supposed to focus on education as its mission. Yes, Snapecast may not have the same restriction, but the attendees will all be Portus attendees as well. I would be very sorry indeed to see these cons slide towards a 3 day frat party with some presentations to keep the (c) (3) designation valid. Being around large numbers of drunk people is not a treat for me, especially if I'm paying big bucks and using vacation time to do it.

On another point you raised, I was a securor and I don't recall having to check anyone's badge for age except at the ball. As far as I can recall, everything was open to everyone, but my memory might be wrong.

To clarify the reason for the SnapeFest age requirement…

As bekkio stated here (http://www.hpef.net/forums/showpost.php?p=2355&postcount=19), SnapeFest is not organized by the Portus Staff, or by HPEF. SnapeFest is organized by Snapecast LLC with is not a 501 (c) (3) organization. Therefore Snapecast was free to determine our own age policy for SnapeFest.

In doing so, we first looked to Portus' policy (http://hp2008.org/faq.htm#b4) which requires attendees between the ages of 14 and 17 to have a chaperone. Like Portus, the formal programming at SnapeFest is aimed towards an adult audience; therefore we decided that our age policy should be at least as strict as Portus’ policy. We chose to make it even more restrictive (plus 18) because we cannot be responsible for making sure that the 14-17 year olds have a chaperone during formal programming. Allowing chaperones would also make the costs of SnapeFest increase because all participants will receive a free meal paid for by Snapecast LLC. If Snapecast LLC had to pay for the meal of an underage person plus a chaperone, the costs would be too high to justify holding the event. Remember that SnapeFest is limited to only 50 people.

The above reasoning explains why the policy requires attendees to be over 18 . We chose to impose the additional requirement that SnapeFest attendees be over 21 because during informal programming (the dinner after the formal programming) there will likely be drinking. SnapeFest is a small conference and has no sponsors other than Snapecast LLC; therefore it is too much of a legal risk for us to be responsible for making sure that underage people do not consume alcohol during the informal programming. Snapecast LLC is already expending a great deal of money to hold SnapeFest and is not even breaking even in terms of costs. We do not want to risk the additional expense of a costly lawsuit. The easiest way for us to avoid this liability is to make the event 21 plus.

In summary the SnapeFest age requirement is entirely based on legal and cost issues. The SnapeFest formal programming will not involve alcohol at all and we are not anticipating the event to resemble a frat party in any way, shape, or form.

[kneazlecat54]

Snapefest will be a huge hit, I have no doubt. It's very generous of Snapecast to sponsor it. I'm not a big fan of the greasy-haired one, but when you have one for Sirius, let me know. :-)

Bekki, thanks for responding to my post. I think you used exactly the right word: mature. Anyone can be mature or immature at any age. I guess I saw more of the latter kind of behavior at Prophecy than I had seen before at an HP con, but this is a new event and a new location, so I have no doubt that it will be smooth and enjoyable for all.

[rachael_snapecast]

Snapefest will be a huge hit, I have no doubt. It's very generous of Snapecast to sponsor it. I'm not a big fan of the greasy-haired one, but when you have one for Sirius, let me know. :-)

Thanks, Kneazle. Hmmm a Sirius con...since there seems to be such a big rivalry between Snape and Sirius fans (those who like Snape hate Sirius and vice versa) it would be awesome to do a Snape fans vs. Sirius fans trivia competition.