A negative comment about a party at Arisia

[xiphias]

Far as I'm concerned, you can EITHER have an invite-only party OR you can advertise your party.

But it's FUCKING RUDE to advertise your invite-only party.

Don't mind invite-only parties. Don't even mind invite-only parties who, apparently, were going around handing out invites only to women who were dressed slutty. Heck, if someone took that to the extreme, and walked around the con handing out slips of paper which said, "You're sexy. Come to my room at 11 pm," that wouldn't bother me. And if he or she got people to show up, more power to him or her.

DO mind people who do that and also put posters up in the stairwells advertising their party. It's fucking RUDE to do that, then set up a velvet rope outside, and do the "club" thing. Dunno about you, but I go to cons to get away from that kind of dynamic.

Yes, I'm pissed off at not being pretty enough to get into that party.

Comments

[quietann.livejournal.com]

If it's an open party, you can't turn someone away for not meeting the dress code, as far as I can tell. Open means open-to-everyone (with possible exceptions for avoiding massive psychodrama, e.g. if a person who's been stalking one of the party hosts shows up...). Closed means invite-only, no posters, you can serve alcohol if you're carding folks**, and who you let in or do not let in is up to you.

** I have heard varying opinions as to whether all present at the party must be of legal drinking age.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well. . . according to OFFICIAL policy, closed parties can't serve alcohol, either. Now, my training in alcohol law of Massachusetts is entirely server-side, and I'm real fuzzy on venue-side (one of those things I'm intending on taking coursework in the next couple years), so I don't know if that's ONLY a contract issue, or a legal issue.

[cheshyre]

Been doing a little more reading into the liquor laws; don't precisely see any Massachusetts or Boston law that prohibit guests from bringing liquor into their rooms, but are you familiar with corkage?

FWIW, a comment about corkage for Boskone '07

[quietann.livejournal.com]

It's definitely a gray area... to absolutely follow the law 100% all alcohol would have to be supplied by the hotel along with a hotel bartender of course.

I'm 99.99% sure it's a Cambridge / Boston ABCC thing ...

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

I'm 99.99% sure it's a Cambridge / Boston ABCC thing ... An earlier draft of the contract had a full corkage waiver. (For various reasons (Boskone-From-Hell, etc.) Arisia probably would still have had an open / closed party policy). The hotel explained to us why they couldn't sign that and cited the Cambridge liquor licensing policy. Given I've had other hotels cite this in Boston / Cambridge and have had no problems getting full corkage waivers in other towns, I tend to believe them.

(The hotel is licensed a whole to serve alcohol. They are the only people who can serve alcohol by law in the hotel. Kind of like you can't bring booze into a restaurant with a liquor license.)

[nw1.livejournal.com]

Historically Arisia has had no "Official" policies on whether closed parties may or may not serve alcohol. A closed party is by definition invitation only and behind a closed door. Arisia takes no official notice of closed parties, except to be aware of the implications for Convention Security.