I'd also point out that Westercon is also a convention held in different
places each year, sometimes in Seattle, or Portland, or Los Angeles, or
Anaheim, or elsewhere.

Had an interesting phone call from a *very* highly regarded SF pro this
evening, prompted by this discussion. I pass along one of the statements the
pro made without comment, because I don't know the area this far behind the
scenes well enough *to* comment...it's this person's experience with decades
in fandom and working as a pro.

What the pro said was basically this: "What they *don't* want anybody to
know is that the WorldCons bring in huge amounts of money...which the con
wastes on mismanagement, poor planning, and endless beer parties for staffers,
buddies, and others. They run it like amateurs and fans, who are so lost in
their politics and insular worldview that they don't run it like the big event
it really is, a *business*...with the result that it's the fan and pro
communities that end up picking up the tab. The SMOFs who run these things
get so bogged down in their politics that they'd rather do things the dumb,
expensive way than the smart way because somebody else wants to do it that
way." (I'm assuming SMOFs means Secret Masters of Fandom, but didn't ask for
clarification.) "A number of us in and out of SFFWA have been fighting this
for over 25 years. But when you say this to them, when you say that the
problem is mismanagement at the top, they *crucify* you. So nothing gets
done."

Once again, I have no way of knowing how valid this opinion might be; so
don't kill the messenger. I pass it on for discussion and reaction.

jms