Luke Lightsaber
Captain
At least Sy Fy Portal is getting some news to report.
Star Trek Convention Cancelled DURING Event
- Thread starter Frontier
- Start date
number6
Vice Admiral
No doubt Hinnman has an "exclusive."
No problem - I could tell you had some knowledge of what you were talking about. Just needed to be cleaned up a little.
And congrats!
On this point, which is of course the main issue after all, we agree.
Terminology aside...I think we are both on the same side here - the guy stinks and should not be trusted by his own mother.
I personally am stunned that this lesson was not learned by one and all three years ago. But hopefully this more high-profile piece of tomfoolery will get him drummed out of any sort of association with any business venture related to scifi fandom, and he'll henceforth be forced to make his living by selling fake scifi autographs on eBay, along with the other, lesser-known scam artists and bottom-dwellers.
Surely even the most idealistic, naive, and trusting basement-dwelling fanboy will 'get it' on this round.
number6
Vice Admiral
Really. What's your problem with that? Maybe you need to stop reading between the lines and start reading what people are saying.
I'm not reading between the lines, I'm reading your lines. You say you deplore Trek fandom but you are part of Trek fandom. And you don't donate money to a fan-based, and fan-run, operation just to make a point.
number6
Vice Admiral
I deplore the underbelly of Trek fandom. There is a difference. My reasons for donating money are my own.
lol ... just give it up. There is never any logic to number6's posts. Just grab the handles and hold on for the ride.
number6
Vice Admiral
And that remark was called for because.....
I have experience working with promoters and wanted to show you a view of how things plausibly went down. Obviously taking cheap shots at me because I have a more informed point of view is preferable to actually having a real discussion. I get it.
I am done. I am sure the petty insults will keep coming. It's what some of you do best.
OK, discuss. Yes, you have a point. It could have all gone down according to your possible version. But past events seem to suggest otherwise. Can you agree with that?
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Brazeal has been trying to "spin" that for awhile now.
The Enterprise Project was first, by at least a few months. The Project never merged with Save Enterprise/Trek United. After Enterprise was cancelled, the Project actually existed for about a year afterwards. But like many things in life, when the stated goal was no longer attainable the Project disolved, more by the fact that many members drifted away.
Their was no love for Brazeal by most members of that group, for obvious reasons, and for that reason alone no merger would have ever occured.
number6
Vice Admiral
I don't disagree. I think TB's overinflated sense of self importance certainly brought him to this point, but I don't think the lynchmob mentality is helping matters. Without having all the facts, you guys are making this guy into a monster. I don't think he's a monster, just a misguided opportunist.
If there were more advance ticket sales, this would have ended differently.
I think the price he'll pay will be justified. He fucked up in a big way.
I am not even remotely convinced that all of the "past events" are as nefarious as some claim. I don't think he's as much a con man as someone who wanted to be remembered as someone important and failed...miserably. I think his personal ambition outwieghed his competence as a promoter. That can certainly be seen by the circumstances surrounding the event.
While I will not assume the motives of any man without knowing the facts, I honestly don't believe this guy was out to screw the fans and I in my professional opinion I have not seen evidence of that here.
On a personal note, I am not part of "you guys." As to what happened, it sounds more and more like state and federal authorities will sort out what really happened.
If you ever want a laugh, read Brazeal's self written bio blurb about himself over at "SciFiStudios"
'A Texas native, Tim relocated to Tennessee in the early 90's and is one of the most significant figures in the history of science fiction fandom.'
Hey, speaking of SciFi Studios, have they ever actually produced ANYTHING, outside of producing smaller bank accounts for the people who support it?
'A Texas native, Tim relocated to Tennessee in the early 90's and is one of the most significant figures in the history of science fiction fandom.'
Hey, speaking of SciFi Studios, have they ever actually produced ANYTHING, outside of producing smaller bank accounts for the people who support it?
Luke Lightsaber
Captain
If I want a good laugh I''d check out Sy Fy Portal and their "no news news" site.
Has anyone read his letter on the home page of FedCon USA?
http://www.fedconusa.com/main/
It's rather long so here are some quotes:
"There are a dozen reasons that lead to the downfall of FedConUSA, and truth be told, none of them are pretty. We could have been more organized. We could have communicated better with the public and staff and actors. We could have done more advertising. The economy was already headed to the pits a year ago when we started this thing... In the end, however, it all came down to money."
"When we started off on this endeavor with FedCon Germany at our side, we had the financial backing and experience of one of the best convention organizations on the planet. However, with their understandable withdrawal from FedConUSA, we were left without the inside experience and cash reserves."
"From day one, FedConUSA has been operating in the red, with hopes of recouping our funds and making enough to continue on and make this an ongoing and fantastic convention experience for all of America. Obviously, that just didn't work out. We had expected much more walk-in attendance than we received, and hoped that we would have been able to pull things together enough that the show could go on. As you know, that didn't happen. We are truly sorry to everyone for what has happened and disappointed that we couldn't have put on a better show."
"From the start, we set out to make a convention for you, a convention that catered to the fans. It would have been entirely understandable for you all to be upset and angry when we cancelled the convention right in the middle of the show, but by and large the reaction was not overwhelmingly negative. I know you were all disappointed, and so am I, that things were not able to go on, and all things considered, the convention that we did have was lots of fun. You all took the cancellation in stride, and we all greatly appreciate your understanding."
"On the money front, with the cash that we had on hand we refunded as much of the tickets that we purchased on site as we could. We are working to issue refunds to everybody else, and those who pre-purchased their tickets online or via phone, but it may be a while before we are able to arrange for that. Quite frankly, we weren't anticipating having to issue so many refunds, and were not prepared to even have a system in place to do so, so it may take a while. I ask for your continued patience and understanding while we work to get refunds set up. If it comes down to it, I will go into personal debt in order to get everybody their money back."
Luke Lightsaber
Captain
Creation's been doing that for years!
number6
Vice Admiral
I don't think it will even go that far. There will be laywers first. There are always lawyers first. It will be decided that the promoter will have to refund all the money and make good on whatever contracts were signed. Lawyers will go through and spell out the cancellation clauses in the various contracts and settlements will likely be negotiated without setting foot inside a courtroom. That is, of course, the best case scenario.
I feel worse for the German FedCon people. I have never attended a FedCon, but I have been involved in many events over in Europe. They do big music festivals over there every summer that make Lollapalooza look like a bar band club gig. In Germany, these events are organized with military precision. Every possible contingent is well thought out and I've never been in a situation so tightly organized as in Germany. I am sure the FedCon people are truly horrified that their name was even remotely attached to this. I certainly would be.
Who stages a business venture without planning for refunds or putting even a temp. system in place for doing such. Bad planning ahoy.
And when it became clear you weren't going to come out of the red on advance sells, you either scale down of cancel the con then. You DON'T go ahead and stage it, cross your fingers and toes and hope it all works out in the end.
Uh hello, what statements has he been reading? Calling for the AGO and lawyers to get involved, and class action suits is not "taking it in stride"
It appears that many, many fans are very, very angry. If enough complain to the attorney general a fraud investigation may be launched. That's probably unlikely though (it was just a sci-fi convention after all). There will be lawyers though, I agree. As to Brazeal's real motives and motivation, that will be determined in the court of public opinion, for what it's worth.