Anthrocon 2006 was possibly the least enjoyable vacation I've ever had. In addition to severe problems with the staff and security, it was literally impossible to get a hold of anyone to arrange anything. I did bump into one or two people by chance but I ended up being unable to even find folks to go out to get a bite to eat with most of the time, let alone actually spend some time hanging out. One of the only fond memories I had there was spending an hour or so chatting with Kharnak and some of the social stuff that happened after the con was over in the public spaces of the hotel.
Furry Weekend Atlanta 2009 was problematic because the con was growing faster than the staff could keep up with. I could tell they were trying - I certainly give them the benefit of the doubt on that - but attempting to be social once again proved all but impossible. Nobody would answer messages I sent asking if people wanted to get food or hang out; I can only recall one meal during that entire four-day weekend where I got to sit down and actually talk with other people. I placed third at the poker tournament and won a free attending membership to 2010 which I ended up not using.
Further Confusion 2010 was the last huge con I attended. The staff was extremely friendly, I'll give them that, but they also seemed rather inept; even basic questions about events were hard to find answers to. I went as and regretted being a supersponsor; the special meal was a joke and the other perks were basically nonexistent. Every panel I wanted to attend ended up not running at all or was full beyond capacity and I was not allowed into the room. Several people I wanted to see once again made themselves impossible to get hold of, despite the fact I now was actively keeping up with Twitter and attempting to contact anyone I could. One group of "friends" even flat out told me that yes, they were all hanging out together and no, I was not welcome to join them. A room party I arranged resulted in a lot awkwardness after I was kinda pushed off to the side early on and one of those aforementioned "friends" became the center of attention; I also had a bit of explaining to do to hotel staff about the mess that people left behind.
In the case of all the above conventions, of the people who said they wanted to do things during the weekend - such as getting dinner, playing a game, hanging out in a room, etc. - I'd say at least 90% of them made it impossible to even get hold of them to try arrange something or told me flat-out that I was not welcome to join them after all. One of those people apologized; the rest I've simply not spoken to since.
There's one exception, of course, as is the case with mots ru, it's the reason I don't know if I want to go to next weekend's con or not.
Midwest Furfest 2008 is the only larger con I actually don't have overwhelmingly negative memories of. I had a roommate that actually took me out to dinner with them. I was able to find things to do most of the time. There were certainly moments of extreme frustration, though, such as the fact everyone I knew there was already "busy" at a room party by about 9 PM every night during the con, which left me nothing to do and nobody to do it with. I ended up just going to bed early and, in turn, was one of the first people up each morning; on the upside, I at least found people to enjoy breakfast with each day. I actually got recognized by some people that I was genuinely shocked to be recognized by. If nothing else, it didn't leave me with such an overwhelmingly negative opinion that I never want to go back, which is a lot more than I can say about AC, FWA, or FC.
So now here I am, trying to figure out if I want to go or not. I'd previously written off any chance of attending due to work, but through a bizarre coincidence I actually have Friday through Sunday off and fiscal prudence has ensured I've enough cash on hand that I could go if I really wanted to. But do I want to? Several people on Twitter have said they'd like to hang out, to get food, and so on if I attend... but I've heard all those promises before from a lot of people that ended up not following through. I have a much larger pool of people to try get hold of this time, thanks largely to Twitter (how the fuck am I up to 400 followers?), and the fact I've successfully organized some small furmeets here is encouraging. At the same time, I still have that fear that most people, given the choice between hanging out with me and hanging out with almost any other random furry, will go with that someone else instead. And yes, I am aware that it ends up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy if I don't at least put forth the effort to try, but at the same time I've tried before with extremely limited success.
A few upsides to MFF, if I did go: I haven't heard through the grapevine that any of the people I'd basically have to avoid are going, so it's somewhat less likely I'll end up in awkward situations brought on by past drama. It's within driving distance (four hours doesn't bother me) so I'd have my car available if I feel the need to leave earlier or just get away from the con for a little while. If things go well, they certainly have a chance to go very, very well.
The biggest problems? Getting over the social anxieties I've elaborated above and the logistical issues of actually finding a decent room on less than a week's notice.
So what now? I post this and see if anyone actually reads and comments upon this massive wall of text.
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