xiphias | A generational/cultural difference. Or maybe a trauma reaction.

As many people have noticed, Boskone, as a convention, has a few . . . quirks.

Maybe just a touch of PTSD.

See, the moment which shaped the modern Boston science fiction convention scene was the Boskone From Hell in 1987, in which, for a number of factors which are set out pretty well in this essay/memoir, Things Blew The Fuck Up Bigtime.

Out of the shattered pieces, two new cons coalesced: in many ways,

arisia is the real continuation of Boskone, and in many ways, Boskone is. For those who don't get the references in the name, by the way: "Boskone" is called "Boskone" because it's "Bos-Con." And because it's the bad guy civilization in the E. E. "Doc" Smith Lensmen novels.

"Arisia" is the good guy civilization.

So, the very name "Arisia" means, "Not Boskone." From the moment that Arisia existed, there was a feeling of some hostility between the two cons.

That feeling is basically gone now. I mean, hell, 1987 -- a lot of people who are now helping run cons weren't BORN back then. Me, I was just about to turn thirteen, and wouldn't be even remotely connected to fandom at ALL for at least another four years. A lot of people remember it, of course. Some of my friends were working that con. For at least one, that was his FIRST con.

And a number of people who still take it personally are still important in NESFA.

Boskone does not allow nicknames on badges.

That's not 100%, apparently. I found out that I COULD have had my badge name read, "Ian 'Xiphias' Osmond", although that would have been too long to fit on the badge.

("Wait. So you're saying that I COULD have a badge that said 'Ian Quote Xiphias Unquote Osmond', but not one that said 'Ian Osmond Carriage Return Xiphias'?" To be fair, there is ADDITIONALLY the issue that their badge printing setup won't handle two-line printing, but the impression I got was that, philosophically, that was more or less the case.)

And, of course, Hal Clement's badge said "Hal Clement", not "Harry Stubbs." I suspect that if Sting decided to buy a membership, he'd probably NOT have to have his badge read "Gordon Summner". Come to think of it, I can't remember if Phil Klass's badge says "Phil Klass", his birth name, or "William Tenn", the pen name under which he publishes the VAST majority of his science fiction.

matociquala's badge says "Elizabeth Bear", which I am given to understand is not her birth name, which is apparently unpronounceable in any human tongue, and causes madness among any who hear it.

So, apparently, the "no nickname on your badge" rule is ONLY for people who haven't been published.

Apparently, there is basically one guy, or gal, who is influential in NESFA who has a particular problem with pseudonyms on badges. Folks who were telling us this don't want to mention who it is, which seems entirely fair to me -- it doesn't matter who it is, so why mention it? Twenty years ago, there were people who had fake names on badges, which meant that, when they caused problems, nobody could know who they were.

For me, it's not that big a deal. Yeah, I may personally think of myself as "Xiphias Gladius" inside my own head as much or more than I think of myself as "Ian Osmond", but I use both names, and most people who know me as "Xiphias Gladius" also know me as "Ian Osmond." I didn't have very many cases in which someone saw my name but didn't recognize me until someone nearby mentioned me as "Xiphias." Okay, it DID happen once, but my badge was turned around backwards and she couldn't read it, and she does know me by my real name.

Of course, I only recognized HER when she said she's

cogitationitis.

adrian_turtle got her first name down as "Adrian", but I had no clue what the last name on her badge meant, because it wasn't "Turtle". In all the years I've known her, I've known her as "Adrian Turtle". And

shadesong's badge was 100% useless to one and all, since I'm not certain that even Elayna or

yendi knows her legal name.

What is the point of a name badge?

One point is to be a ticket which states that the person wearing it has a non-transferable license to use the facilities of the convention. And the existence of pseudonymous badges in '87 apparently damaged the ability of the badges to be used for that purpose. When there are sixteen people running around with a badge name of "Gandalf", how do you tell which one was the one who sprayed the fire hose on the fifteenth floor? A badge which requires your legal name -- and, in fact, a name to which you can PROVE you are entitled to use with photo ID -- fulfills this purpose admirably.

Of course, such a badge COULD have a pseudonym in ADDITION to a legal name without diminishing its effectiveness. And that's, I think, where the PTSD comes in. I think that the '87 Boskone, and its aftermath, was so traumatic to the people running it that, now, a full two decades later, some of them STILL can't think of it rationally. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who still have nightmares. Actually, I'd be surprised if there AREN'T.

Because the SECOND purpose of a name badge is to identify the wearer to other people who know the person by reputation, or by text communication. That's always been a vital part of science fiction fandom -- we've always known each other by the stories we write, the APAs we write, the letters to the editor we write. Usenet, and now blogs, are simply an extension of that. We know people by the names they sign to their writings, and then want to put faces to those names -- and to those personalities. After all, we know the people, and associate the people with the name. We just don't know what face and body are attached to the people. And the name badge helps clarify that.

I think that NESFA recognizes that, to a certain extent, which is why published authors get to use the name they primarily publish SF under.

But they don't recognize that the same thing applies to the rest of us who use names not on our birth certificates. Well, NESFA doesn't recognize it, institutionally. Many of the people who make up NESFA are perfectly well aware of that.

There are plenty of simple solutions to this problem -- get little white ribbons we can write our names on. Get buttons made up, like the one Lis asked

chanaleh to make for me (it's ADORABLE -- you guys are both great.) Have one of the badges

ckd has, which says "

ckd" on it, and has his LJ default icon.

But, to me, solving it, while probably the more important question, isn't really the more interesting question -- the interesting question is why does this happen? Why does someone have such a problem with nicknames of non-professionals on badges?

And I really think the answer is PTSD. And I do have a great deal of sympathy for that person. But I also think that he or she deserves to have some sort of therapy for it -- psychiatry is beginning to have some kind of ability to treat it, and I can't imagine that it's a pleasant feeling. Whoever this person is who has the problem with badge names must deeply care about NESFA in general and Boskone in specific, worry excessively about the problems of the '87 Boskone reoccurring, and therefore be unable to think rationally about the actual dangers, and ways to allow pseudonyms without exposing the con to the same risks.

That CAN"T be comfortable for that person.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

gilmoure.livejournal.com

Why does someone have such a problem with nicknames of non-professionals on badges?

And I really think the answer is PTSD.

Either that or the person making the decision is just a controlling ass. Never discount basic human cussedness.

From:

xiphias.livejournal.com

I don't think so. I know a bunch of the NESFAns, and, while I can imagine that some of them are controlling asses, I can't imagine that many of them would allow other controlling asses to set policy for long.

pedagogy and rhetoric a specialty

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