toomanycars
Bad Wolf Sector
Posts: 36
Rank: Endorsed Member
Member ID: DR #0019
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Post by toomanycars on Dec 6, 2016 4:44:11 GMT
This is the official discussion thread for Alex Bagosy's run for Commander (chief officer) of Bad Wolf sector in the 2016-2017 Order of Gallifrey run-off elections.
Because Alex is the only candidate running for this position, we have merged the usual question thread (for all candidates in a particular office) with Alex's dedicated answer thread so you have a one-stop shop for all things related to the Bad Wolf Commander position.
This thread is being created December 6th for the Dec 6-10 discussion period.
We will have a 5 day voting period December 11th to 15th.
Thank you all for participating!
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Post by BadWolfGirl on Dec 8, 2016 19:53:34 GMT
A couple questions:
1. With respect to area conventions - there are many many more of them in SoCal than there used to be.
a. Are there any conventions we haven't had an official Order presence at that you think we ought to?
b. What would you like to see us do "more of" within local conventions? More fan tables? More panels? Please describe your thoughts.
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Post by The Valeyard on Dec 9, 2016 7:12:41 GMT
Thank you for your questions, Jennifer.
a. Where would I like to see a presence?
Anywhere we can get one, really, so long as the event is friendly to fans. I certainly wouldn't object to seeing more Whovian events, in general. There seems to be a feeling in Southern California that there is room for only one event, and I don't necessarily agree with this view, though I admit I am still educating myself on the topic...
b. There are a few things to consider here.
First, I do believe Fan Tables are vital to our visibility and for getting our name out. If nothing else,it has generally been the case that fan tables at one event will often generate fan tables at another, and so on. This not only increases our ability to help the causes we care about but also makes it possible to show a stronger, organized, Whovian presence at major fan events, which I feel is rather important. There has been some criticism in the past that we do "too much recruiting." The problem is that we really have no choice... We show up, and tell people about our message, and they generally want to join, or at least check us out.
In the past, this has caused us some problems. The first is that we haven't had much discipline over what's said or done at the table. While I have no desire to tell people how to think, speak, or behave, we should have a basic set of guidelines. "If you are working a table for us, we expect this of you.." a certain level of professionalism. In the interest of complete honesty, I've walked in on two separate instances of gossip... only two in the last three years, mind you, though I'm aware of others, and to say it makes me furious is an understatement.
The Second problem is that we still don't have a proper means of showing membership (no ID cards, which I've been asking for for a long time.) This means that we will -occasionally- (and yes, sadly, it's happened) see an individual claim to represent the order and make some rather absurd claims about our standards. "We are an elite group", we "only permit screen accurate costumes", that kind of thing. It's disheartening. I have some theories about why it's happened in the past, but the bottom line is that we need to make sure we are a visible, active part of the community. The Order wasn't founded to be just a Social Club. It needs to be far more, and that means straightening up our standards, both in terms of defining what makes a costume or prop, and ensuring that people get the -right- message. (Which is why I've pushed Inclusiveness and the Big Book of Dreams so much!)
What I would like to see beyond those fan tables or a mere presence is paneling. We do it well. We have a number of interesting people and a number of interesting topics that they can educate others about. And most importantly, we do it at a very low ego level. "We're here to help," "this is what our research tells us about this costume/prop," "here's a handy guide to shopping for X," etc. That goes very well. People love us for it, and I think we should do more of it. What I would like to see, however, is more communication with the local leadership. Oftentimes we'll find out, say, four months after an event, that we got an invitation to do panels or set up a table, only to find out that nobody gave the proper contact information, or somebody treated it as a personal invitation for him/her/them, etc.
Anyway, that's my thought. Let's put on a good table - with things of substance to show and to share - and let's work on getting ourselves involved in more paneling. More important in regards to that second point, let's get more of our members involved in that paneling. One possibility might be to start focusing on specific themes. "This summer, we're talking villains, we'll be pushing that aspect," or "this summer, we're all about the TARDIS." We need to do more than say, "We're bringing the Peanuts Tardis, and that should be enough." The Peanuts Tardis was funded by the group, built by the group, but it doesn't have to entirely define our experience and our presentation, if that makes any sense to you?
It would be nice, very nice, to get to work on another booth showpiece, for that matter. I have a few thoughts on it.
On that note, I have also strongly supported the idea of costume college type events. These often involve classes on sewing, period attire, painting, prop building, etc... and I think it's something we could do. But we've got to move beyond the "we're just sitting at a table" approach and do something more activist:)
Hope this helps give you an inkling of the way I'm thinking these days.
-Alex
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toomanycars
Bad Wolf Sector
Posts: 36
Rank: Endorsed Member
Member ID: DR #0019
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Post by toomanycars on Dec 11, 2016 14:42:06 GMT
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