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Zac Barclay begins his wrap up on the Atlanta Dragon*Con ‘09 experience by providing a “How To” for prospective future attendees.  Go!  It’s Cool!

After having a day to reflect on my Atlanta Dragon*Con ’09 experience, I am able to look back with a new appreciation for convention life, convention people, and hell, convention fun.  Because let’s face it, I haven’t had this much god damn fun in years.  And when I say “fun”, I mean it in the strictest, most accurate use of the word.  I’m a fat kid, and I FORGOT to eat on several occasions.  I.  Forgot.  To.  Eat.  If that doesn’t say it all, I don’t know what does. 

But, as a person who was brand spanking new to conventions, I had a special appreciation for feeling like the new kid at a school.  And not just a regular school, but a school full of aliens and half naked chicks all posing for pictures, and all getting along marvelously as I stared on in confusion.  Keeping this in mind, I’ve devised a list of some of the things that, as a new kid, a person should and should not do at Dragon*Con.  Hopefully it clears up some issues…

1) What are you?  Do not walk up to a person who has obviously put hours of time and possibly thousands of dollars into their costume and greet them with the line, “And who are you supposed to be?”  It’s rude, and it makes you look ignorant to the culture.  Who wants to not fit in?  I mean…really.

2) Mandelorians – There are enough of them.  Pick a different costume.  (This also goes for Storm Troopers, because no matter how cool your costume, the 501st will be there, and they are cooler than you.)  The only addendum to this is if you are Steam Punking the costume. 

3) Steam Punks are fracking cool.  Don’t let anyone tell you ANY differently.  The amount of detail and man hours that go into a good Steam Punk concept probably rivals the amount of time put into the development of cold fusion.

4) If you write who you are on your costume/shirt, it’s not a good costume.

5) Leering is different than appreciating.  You WILL see lots of scantily clad women.  These women WILL want their pictures taken.  These women WILL pose in provocative stances.  These women DO NOT want to be groped, slobbered over, or be the focus of suggestive verbal statements…unless they initiate the colorful conversation.  As an addendum to this, ask permission.  Don’t just do the fly by picture snap.  Calmly walk up to any person and costume and say something NORMAL, like, “Could I get a picture?”  Or, “Do you mind if I…”  Don’t be a weirdo.  Just because folks are running around in their underwear, or dressed as super heroes, doesn’t mean they don’t want to be treated like they are normal folks.  And if you ask, I can guarantee you, they will say yes.

…To be continued in Part II of my Dragon*Con ’09 wrap up.       

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