Messages

16

Off The Grid / Re: Other online forums to visit

« on: May 14, 2018, 07:41:34 PM »

Oh,guys, can you recommend some proven forum, or other source of information, media, etc., on hard sci-fi - I mean, actually scientifically accurate fiction - so theory-based, but a little out of the line??

much thanks if there is a person who can say sth about a place like that

http://sffchronicles.com covers scifi across the board. =)

17

Getting Around Vancouver & Beyond / Re: Britannia Mine Museum - Discount for Gategoers

« on: October 05, 2017, 01:04:26 PM »

I can't believe you forgot to mention that it was used in, at least, one episode of MacGyver. *smh*   =)

18

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: September 26, 2017, 01:48:33 PM »

I've returned from my business trip. I'm ready for banquet ticket sales and learning the date of the film location tour(Richard mentioned it could possibly moved to Thursday Sept 13, 2018)

Neither of these have been announced yet. It'll go up somewhere very visible when it happens.

19

Our Guest List / Re: Guest Chat

« on: September 24, 2017, 07:20:07 PM »

I'm hoping for Tom McBeath and Carmen Argenziano.

Both lovely gentlemen. =)

20

Our Guest List / Re: Guest Chat

« on: September 13, 2017, 02:23:44 AM »

Just think yourself lucky I never got to do my 24 convention idea - running a con for 24 hours straight 😣

The following takes place between 3am and 4am.....

don't we do that already anyway? when the heck do you sleep?

21

Our Guest List / Re: Guest Chat

« on: September 12, 2017, 01:36:32 PM »

Yup I thought we'd try something different this time - more guests than attendees, with the attendees sitting behind tables and the guests line up to sign things.
Actually..... 😜

What a Concept!  I'm game.  Just as long as I don't have to do any panels.

You haven't heard? The guests are gonna sit in the audience and ask YOU questions! =)

22

Our Guest List / Re: Guest Chat

« on: September 07, 2017, 02:29:06 PM »

Okay, don't get your panties in a bunch...

This right here is not an appropriate response in a conversation. It's considered a personal attack and can get you banned. This is just an FYI.


And since it appears that you're only here to run your personal convention agenda, I'll invite you to create your own convention to show us how you would do it better.

23

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: September 05, 2017, 01:27:48 PM »

Would love to be able to go to this, would having. The regular tickets which are 199$ limit your chance at autographs and seeing the actor/actresses? Or would it just be seating and entry being a longer wait? Sorry never been to a convention before. Thanks for any help!

While your panel seat will be nearer to the back of the auditorium, you'll be able to see and hear the guests on stage.

For autographs - only the Platinum tier has the super-special extra 15-ish minutes into the room, after that it's all aboard! The autograph room is usually a little hectic, but moves pretty quickly, since the guests are spread out around the room. So if the line is long for the guest you want, hop over to a different one to snag their autograph first, then check the line for the first guest. Or, wait in the line for the first one - the lines usually move pretty quickly since Gatecon typically limits folks to 2 items per trip through the line. (this keeps folks from hogging the guest with 15 items at a time.)

Outside of that, some of the guests just wander around the hotel as they please and, if they're not motoring somewhere (like an audition or the restroom), they're usually happy to stop and chat for minute. (If you think they're on a mission somewhere, just let 'em roll by and maybe catch 'em on the way back or a little later.)

While Gatecon tries to get everyone through the photo sessions, it isn't always feasible, so Copper tickets *may* not get in. (Don't fret too much over this, since the team is still working out all of the photo session logistics and things are always changing.)

Feel free to ask any other questions you have! =)

24

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: August 28, 2017, 07:13:08 PM »

How is payment by PayPal set up? If I understand their fees page correctly, whether or not we pay a fee depends on whether we are just "sending money" or if we are "buying something".

For PayPal - when you purchase the ticket, there should be an explanation of any fees involved. The fees are usually very small - only a small percentage of the total cost/price you're paying.

25

Suggestions / Re: Take over Chicago

« on: August 28, 2017, 01:42:57 PM »

We've considered Florida and Vegas in the past too but the restrictions were what put us off. Plus with Vancouver being the original home of Gatecon - but you never know, stranger things have happened.

Like us staging 12 events instead of just the one we were meant to do 17 years ago 😀

Did y'all REALLY think it would just be the one event? =)

26

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: August 16, 2017, 06:51:20 PM »

If I pay with paypal, will paypal will convert the money into US?

Paypal typically handles the conversions. You may still end up with a 'foreign trx fee' from your bank.

27

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: August 11, 2017, 10:57:52 PM »

Hey Richard,
As there are different ticket tiers, i think this needs to be a liile clearer for lining up at a guest table for autographs. Is there queing per tier or not? I would think not, but not all would. I know Platinum have the 15min advantage, but not all will do that especially if they think they can queue jump any time from table to table.

I'm pretty sure once the 15-min private section is up, everyone stands in line first come, first served.

(From a volunteer perspective, trying to figure out multiple lines or line-hopping once everyone can line-up is a logistical nightmare.)

28

The Invasion 2018 / Re: Gatecon Ticket Types & Prices 2018

« on: August 11, 2017, 10:49:01 PM »

Are ticket prices with taxes?
Thanks.

There's no tax on the ticket prices.

29

Our Guest List / Re: Guest Chat

« on: July 21, 2017, 01:50:51 PM »

Putting on my fan hat for a moment here...

What are you talking about? (your post is v long and reads like an agenda.)

Gatecon 2008 was essentially RDA's first foray back into conventions since the 80's. This is not a 'small' deal. He was also at the 2016 Gatecon - is he not 'big name' enough for you? Was Gatecon supposed to get Kurt Russell and James Spader? (If so, there wouldn't have been any other guests b/c those two would've taken all of the money.)

RDA isn't 'throwing' the party. Gatecon is run by fans. If RDA is asked and he accepts, then he'll attend, but there isn't a guarantee on any of the guests until the convention actually begins and they show up.

The reason Gatecon tends to attract the 'same old guests' over and over is because those folks live in Vancouver. They're already in town, so it's much easier for them to swing by the convention, even if they can't commit to the full weekend. Alex Zahara has done this - he was working one year, but he stopped by anyway just to say 'hi'.  A lot of the 'regular' guests love coming to Gatecon to talk with fans they've seen before and meet new ones. Sure, these five or six guests have been every year, but not every fan can attend every year, so there are always new fans in attendance who haven't seen/met/gotten a photo with certain guests who would like to. If Gatecon doesn't invite those guests, those fans might not get that opportunity.

You don't speak for all fans. Whether or not you liked SGU or the tie-in novels, there are fans who did. Skipping those guests is doing a disservice to the people who worked on those properties, and also to the fans who did enjoy them who may want to meet some of these folks. There's no reason to skip them, since many of them did other things that people might have also enjoyed.

Bottom line - Gatecon isn't Creation. Creation paid for the 'official' Stargate convention lic (and it ain't cheap), so Creation gets 'first dibs' on pretty much everything. This is also why Gatecon didn't have some of the principal actors - Tapping, Shanks, etc - during some years, b/c they *couldn't*. Creation has rules about when those lic'd under a property can attend conventions that aren't Creation events, which makes it difficult for other cons, especially smaller, fan-run ones, to invite those guests. Creation Entertainment is a business. Running conventions and other events is the ONLY thing they do. Gatecon is a business, but it's a side-gig for the folks who put it together. It's not their only job, so it's smaller.

With that said: Is there a limit to the number of guests? Technically 'no', aside from how much money is available. However, also, technically 'yes', because Gatecon had 52 guests last year and it was too many. It was great, but it was also a burden. Trying to coordinate that many high-profile people at the same time is a logistical pain in the mikta. (Full disclosure, I'm also a Gatecon volunteer and worked the 2016 con.) While it's awesome to have a huge line-up of guests, it also makes the convention more difficult to coordinate and run, which means far more things have to overlap and the volunteer need starts to multiply. So, a smaller guest list is actually better for the convention overall.

To your suggestion about running multiple panels at the same time: No. As a fan, at Gatecon, I wouldn't want that. I like that the panels are one-at-a-time. I also like it better when panels don't overlap other things like photograph or autograph sessions. Single panels means that, as a fan, you don't have to decide which panel you have to skip when two of your faves are up at the same time on different panels. That's a horrible decision to have to make and I'm glad Gatecon doesn't make the fans do that.

TL;DR: Gatecon is a smaller, fan-run convention that has no intention of matching 'the big guys' and the fans of the con itself like it that way. New guests are always welcome and encouraged, but the Gatecon family also likes to see old friends as well. XD

30

Off The Grid / Re: The Off-Topic section

« on: July 02, 2017, 01:32:04 AM »

Seems to be the way they are all headed, and a reasonable fee is acceptable for the service. PB have gone way overboard in their charges though. Time to kick the Bucket.

I have webspace if you wanna host stuff there. (Though, yes, I used pb for hosting some stuff b/c the uploading was easier... but, I have webspace.)