My Convention Harassment Policy Co-Sign Thread

Posted on July 3, 2013    Posted by      1,161 Comments

I’ve been asked if I would add a thread for writers/editors/artists/fans/human beings to co-sign my recently-announced convention harassment policy. Well, sure. Here it is. If you’re a writer/editor/artist/fan/human being who wants to adopt my convention harassment policy for your own, put a comment in the thread here. Just a simple “co-sign” will suffice, if that’s all you want to say.

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1161 Comments on “My Convention Harassment Policy Co-Sign Thread”

  1. Note: This comment thread is for co-signs only. Please don’t comment otherwise here. If you want to comment otherwise, please use this thread. I’ll be stripping out any extraneous comments.

  5. Vigourously co-signed (you should see me vigourously signing something, it’s a fun process, with minimal blood and slight risk of injury to onlookers).

  6. I, Drew Nicholson, co-sign this policy and will seek to enforce it, well, everywhere.

  9. I, Dave Hogg, co-sign this policy and further pledge to work to get sufficient policies adopted by any conventions that I can influence.

  32. It’s time for us, the people who create and inhabit other worlds, to treat the people who share this one a hell of a lot better.

  53. Co-sign. As a fan who stopped attending cons mainly due to creepy treatment, I would love for my daughters to have a better experience.

  59. Cosigned. (If you cosign on an Advanced Reading Copy of one of Scalzi’s books, is that an ARC-cosign?)

  64. Agreed! This ought to apply not just to fandom Cons, but conferences in general (said as female engineering faculty who thinks that, frankly, some engineering technical conferences could step up and make a statement by having a policy. Sure, in these cases harassment may be rare, but it’s not unknown).

  69. Cosigned! I’ve been lucky at conventions to never be the target of the sort of disturbing harassment some women have but I’ve had to deal with my share of creepy behavior. I need to know the convention has my back if someone ever crosses the line.

  73. I will never be invited to present at a convention, but a con that doesn’t think harassment is worth addressing is one that won’t get my registration money. Signed gladly.

  76. I am proud to sign my name and support this. All fans deserve cons that are safe spaces and we owe it to each other to ensure harassment and assault are treated seriously. There is no pride in being part of a community that supports sexism, victim blaming, and other blatant abuses of privilege and power.

  84. Cosigned. As a convention organizer and frequent higher-up in security departments, I will work to make all the conventions I participate in implement the conditions of this policy.

  87. I write under the names “Sarah Ellis” (erotica) and “Ellid” (blogging). Co-signed for both.

  88. Co-signed. I don’t go to conventions, but I read a lot of SF and I’d like to see things get better for everyone who does!

  99. Co-Signed. As a Multi Convention ConCom Member I also pledge to aid my conventions with the writing of said Harassment Policy(s) and the promotion of them for all Con Attendees. @Cylithria

  104. Co-signed, with the caveat that it’s a harassment and not just sexual harassment policy which I’d like the con to have. A lot of people in SFF tend to talk as if sexual harassment is the only problem, but people of color don’t like being harassed because they’re brown, either. Body-shaming for whatever reason doesn’t belong at cons. Etc.

    I did actually ask this of the Continuum folks before I attended, and I think they have an awesome policy.

  112. Co to the signed. Because I really do want to start going back to conventions to, you know, GO to them, and not as unpaid bodyguard for other people.

  123. adjacent/hypoteneused. With hope that others will follow John’s sensible and decent example.

  129. Count me in! I have friends on the con-running side of fandom who have worked long and hard to make sure that their cons are as safe as they possibly can be. I think they need our support.

  134. I think your policy is a humane, sensible step to take to hold conventions accountable. Signed.

  135. Hey, *I’m* a human being! I’ll co-sign this, happily. I mean, I’ve never been a participant at a con (and I’ve certainly never been a GoH), but I am a member of the community, and I want other members of the community to be safe and comfortable within it.

  151. Co-signed as a human being, a con attendee, a concom volunteer, and as a member of a committee that just presented a recommended anti-harassment policy to our con’s executive team for approval and inclusion in our next con’s material.

  159. (e^x – e^-x) / 2

    (hyperbolic cosine, inspired by Xopher.)

    Co-signed. Custom blend bullet-proof purple ink with fountain pen.

  164. It’s been decades since I’ve been at a con, but it’s not impossible that I may attend again someday. Therefore:

    Co-signed.

  165. Subterranean Press will not bring in any guests to, or officially participate in, any convention that does not have an adequate policy in place.

    In other words, very much co-signed.

    Bill Schafer
    Subterranean Press

  166. With thanks to Dave Hogg for the wording, and with the addition of NK Jemisin’s caveat: I, Kirsten M. Berry, co-sign this policy and further pledge to work to get sufficient harassment policies adopted by any conventions that I can influence.

  168. Co-signed. No con shall get my money as an attendee nor my sweat as a volunteer unless they have such a policy.

  169. The only ‘con’ I’m involved in is our gaming group’s annual Labor Day marathon, but /co-signed anyway.

  176. Abso-fraggin’-lutely (as attendee and occasional volunteer.) As someone quoted on another thread: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.”

  177. Co-signed. (I’m also a member of the committee Michael Hanscom mentioned.)

  189. Co-signed.

    I haven’t decided if I want to go to any conventions, but if I do, thanks for the idea to check for this stuff. Something else for folks to consider. If you’re keen to attend a convention that doesn’t have a harassment policy in place, and it’s getting close to the convention date (meaning give them enough time to formulate and announce it), you can take to the interwebs and announce how you really wish that con would establish one so you could go.

    Sorry if this is repeating anyone from the previous thread, which I haven’t had the opportunity to read through yet.

  195. Co-signed especially for my kids who will attend their first convention soon hopefully.

  196. Co-signed with pride, as the father of a teen who has already attended about 80 conventions and will attend another this weekend!

  217. I don’t know if I will ever get to a con again, but co-signed anyway. Everyone should be safe at a con!

  220. Co-signed, as one-time Con attendee as participant in the past, and hopeful future attendee as writer/guest.

  228. Well, dang, I actually don’t really expect to ever go to another convention; I’m so much happier not going. But if I did, I’d co-sign. Aside from matters of principle and all that, I suspect there is an overlap between the people I find it exhausting to be around and the people that other people find it hazardous to be around. (Actually I’m quite sure of that, now that I think about it).

  261. Co-signed for the cons I go to, and the cons I volunteer for -which already have policies, but are working to make them better/ more visible.

  272. Co-signed. And I will second Dave Hogg’s remarks and add that I will work to my utmost to get this policy in place at all cons I help organize (Penguicon) or attend.

    – John D. Bell

  274. Vigorously cosigned, with pep, vim and verve. Also, some zing, zip and ginger.

    (For you unix geeks, I didn’t actually cosign with vim, because there’s this little typey box thing to do that, and I didn’t want to write a tool just to post this comment from vim. But, you know. Everything else gets done in vim.)

  276. Co-signed, with the caveat that I’d already agreed to be a Guest of Honor at a small local convention whose harassment policy I cannot find online. I don’t feel that I can back out at this late date, but I will do what I can to convince them to make and post such a policy.

  281. Co-signed, with the clear understanding that N. K. Jemisin’s caveat (“a harassment and not just sexual harassment policy”) should by nature be implicit, but ideally still be explicit, in any worthwhile policy.

  282. Never been to a convention, but I definitely cosign for the benefit of others.

  285. Co-sign. Thank you, as someone who is at many librarian and archivist conventions, I plan to do what I can to adopt this policy for those conventions as well.

  298. co-signed. good on you for this. (now get back to writing more books, please :) )

  301. Co-sign. There is literally no reason *not* to have a clear and comprehensive anti-harrassment policy in place. It’s a matter of safety and ensuring th predators don’t feel they have carte blanche to be predators in a given space.

  305. Vigorously, enthusiastically co-signed. Just as a fan and occasional attendee now. But once I’m published and in SFWA, I pledge to use whatever meager power that gives me to support this policy EVERYWHERE.

  308. Co-Signed – and emailed LonCon3 to encourage next year’s WolrdCon, which I might actually manage to attend, to make a statement about harassment.

  313. Co-signed on my way to CONvergence, which has such a policy. Connie says, “Don’t be a creeper.”

  324. Co-signed as a female, UKian/British, human, non-attendee of cons who is unlikely to ever be a con guest. (I am having difficulty getting the “Post” button to do anything with my comment.)

  347. OK, I got a weird WordPress avatar instead of my name — Co-signed!

    Dave Creek

  348. Co-signed as a business owner who presently refuses to vend at or go to cons due to harassment (primarily around disability & accessibility issues) in the past.

  357. I support your Convention Harassment Policy and hereby co-sign it.

  367. Vigorously Co-Signed. NZ fandom needs to pay attention to this, since it supports movements that’ve been undertaken over the last few years. However, these initiatives don’t have universal support, and whether they apply will depend on who chairs cons in future, so this is a great way of getting attention.

  370. Co-signed. I’m not very likely to be invited to be a GoH, although it would be a delightful surprise, but I also am going to be asking about harassment policies before I volunteer to work on any cons, or buy a membership.

  375. Co-signed.
    At some point I hope to be a famous enough writer to be invited somewhere, but even if it never happens, this is right. Also, my 13 year old daughter may start attending cons next year and I want her to feel safe.

  415. Co-signed as a past and possible future presenter at cons and as a fan.

  422. Co-signed. I can’t understand why anyone *wouldn’t* want a policy like this in place.

  425. Co-signed. Might be this could save me some money, but I’d rather it didn’t.

  431. I’m not a speaker/organizer, but an attendee who appreciates your concern for all con participants. Co-sign

  446. I, Colonel Potter, co-sign this harassment policy, and will court-martial any violators thereof to the extent of my power.

  452. Co-signed, and I will work to ensure this is adopted at the conventions I staff.

  455. Co-signed. It’s about time this policy (including Nora’s addendum) was a prerequisite for all conventions.

  457. (Redacted because htom beat me to it much better than I did it)
    I Co-Sign.
    Signed
    Illegible scrawl.
    –
    (I saw how my signature from when when I was eighteen to about ten YAG changed:
    It stayed the same shape but had fewer and fewer letters in it, and now might contain an ‘S.’).

  465. Well done. Good idea, and you have my pleased approval. Not that you’d care all that much about a plebe such as me. Ah well.
    Co-sign

  489. Co-signed. Hopefully this encourages conventions to put their harassment policies in user-friendly locations on their websites, rather than buried somewhere at the back of a .pdf or folded into the bottom of a drop-down menu.

  495. Co-signed, and I invite any convention organizers who would like to know more about designing and implementing convention safety and anti-harassment policies to email me at rose@readercon.org.

  524. co-signed. I will note that I am a solid middle class CIS white male with a reasonable disposable income. Cons et al would do well to realize that people like me care deeply about this issue even though we’re very very very rarely subject to anything that could be construed as harassment.

  531. I’m a human being and fan who has never attended a convention and may never attend one. However, I have plenty of friends, associates and others with whom I interact who do attend them—writers, editors, artists, fans, organizers and ordinary human beings. I strongly support policies designed not only to discourage harassment at cons, but to establish clear and well-publicized procedures for reporting any instances of harassment which may occur, along with equally clear and effective procedures for acting on reports received.

    Co-signed.

  534. Yes, of course, co-signed and I plan to press organizes of the smaller cons I attend to sign on also.

  541. Co-signed. I’d love to see if this community of co-signers (and the community of non-creeps at large) could compile a list of conventions that have good policies and actually enforce them.

  560. Co-signing for sure. All against harassment and I’m not gonna support a convention that’s not going to set up guidelines for anti-harassment.

  562. the pedant in me would like to point out that nothing in the original pledge is specific to sexual harassment, so that’s not an amendment, really. But worth underlining

  569. OctopodiCon began with a public harassment policy on our website and printed in our Student Handbook. We have a CLEET certified Safety Officer, and are dedicated to making OctopodiCon a family friendly time.

  593. Co-signed. I was groped by a pro writer at my first con and offered drugs in exchange for sex at my third. But I stuck around and am glad to see my adopted family taking these steps toward a safe and happy con for everyone.

  594. This tactic worked well when John and I were guests of honor at Capclave last year, and I am glad to see it generalized. Co-signed.

  624. I, as a congoer/nerd/geek/Gorramn Decent Human Being, do hereby co-sign, advocate, and plan to adhere to this policy hereforward.

  628. Co-signed. I’ve never attended a con before (despite wanting to) not only because it’s pricey and hard to schedule around, but also because I’ve been wary of going alone as a woman. I shouldn’t feel like I need to dress up in a gender-obscuring costume in order to go to a con without being harassed.

  650. Co-signed. I’ve already agreed to appear at a convention in October which doesn’t have a harassment policy on their web site, but I just now contacted them with links to your post recommending they fix that oversight.

    Here’s hoping this stance does some real good. Thanks, John!

  658. I haven’t been invited as a guest to any cons – yet – but until then, I enthusiastically co-sign this initiative simply as a fan, attendee, and human being.

  675. Cosigned, as a convention runner. I will enforce the harassment policy of any convention I work and implement one where none exists.

    -Lea Rush
    OSFCI Board Member
    Orycon 35 Chair

  676. I am glad to support this and I happily co-sign this petition. I have a mother, a sister, nieces, and many other female friends and I hate the thought of them being harassed. Hopefully, this effort on your part will help to stop harassment.

  707. Co-signed, underwritten and fully supported. And I’m just a guy who reads a lot and goes to conventions and ren faires and such.

  710. Co-signed, as a science fiction scholar, the role of women is of keen interest. As a cosplayer, the ability to freely attend, move, and speak at cons shouldn’t be doubted or challenged based on gender or sex. And sadly it is.

  711. Co-signed, with the additional note that I support the “Paul Carr” rule, which states I will not take part in any convention panel that is not at least 50% female in composition.

  724. Co-signed. Harassment of horrible nature has been going for far too long! Thank you so unbelievably much for beginning this John Scalzi! May the world take notice and follow. :D

  725. Co-signed as a fan. Considering emailing any of my favorite authors/artists not already co-signed to let them know that as a fan and customer I expect them to adopt a similar policy in order to keep my patronage.

  726. Co-signed as a fan of the genres even though I’ve never been to a con and quite possibly never will, I stand by these measures. Great job John!

  744. “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.”
    – Margaret Mead –

    I’m in. Happily.

  757. Co-signed as someone who has attended cons for over 30 years, and as a mother of a son who now attends cons on his own(who is an awesome writer, who some day maybe invited as a guest to one).

  765. Co-signed, I just hope that when (not if) we see cases of anti-harassment policies not being enforced you’ll come down with the heat of a thousand suns upon them, as you said in the other thread.

  775. Absolutely co-signed, as a fan and occasional con volunteer. Also co-signing N.K. Jemison’s excellent addendum.

  779. Co-sign, with N. K. Jemisin’s amendment, & thanks to Scalzi & others helping change the world one starfish at a time

  790. Absolutely delighted to co-sign this: for me, for my daughter who is working in the business as well. And, for what it’s worth, as publisher of Mercury Retrograde Press. Let us all go forth and be human to one another!

  797. Not that anyone’s going to ask me, but sign me up! I will also work to ensure that conferences we put on will have clear anti-harassment policies.

  801. This might complicate my promotional efforts, but it’s the right thing to do. Cosigned.

  806. Co-signed, sealed and delivered like a stake through the heart of misogynists.

  835. Co-signed. I attend a smattering of sci-fi, fantasy, comic, and anime cons in my region, and I won’t be going to any without a harassment policy.

  850. Co-signed.

    I’ve been lucky to attend conventions where the staff consider themselves fellow fans, and thus have been quick to act on things like this. But not everyone does. From this rather impressively long list, let’s hope the word gets out to a lot of con committees: a safe convention is a well-attended convention, and that includes supporting a clear anti-harassment policy.

  851. Co-signed.

    In the hopes that my 17-yo daughter, who understands that cosplay does not equal consent, will find support at any and every convention she attends.

  856. Co-signed. Because no one should have to put up with harrassment, anywhere, ever.

  858. I’m in, co-signed, etc. The last convention I went to had a policy. There is a media con my daughter wants to try next year and I can’t find a policy for them, so that’s a potential problem. But if a con can have a props and weapons policy, it can certainly have a harassment policy.

  863. Co-signed! I’m in food writing/media, and while most conferences I attend are dominated by women, everyone deserves a safe environment. Period.