![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Readercon isn't one of my regular conventions, but it's local-ish, and it always had a good reputation for being well-run and interesting, etc. They also had a "safe space" policy of zero tolerance for bad behavior, including sexual harassment.
This year, they failed in a rather major way, backtracking on their stated policy and changing "banned forever" to "banned for two years" because when he said he was sorry - not to his victim, but to the convention Board, when he was questioned after the fact.
The community has not been shy in making their opinions known: http://readercon.livejournal.com/21805.html
I said what I needed to say in the comments there, but I will add this, here. Readercon's board has stated, publicly, that their written and posted policies are not to be trusted, that they will change the rules on the fly, and predators are given more consideration than their victims (and potential victims). That makes Readercon not a safe space, but a danger zone.
I regret the fallout on behalf of those who've put their time and effort into making Readercon an enjoyable convention, and didn't deserve to be treated this way by the Board, but I see no reason to go somewhere my safety is considered less important than coddling a known offender.
UPDATE: The Readercon convention committee is reportedly voting on overturning the Board's decision. Many of them were Not Happy. So there's that, at least. We'll see if anything changes.
This year, they failed in a rather major way, backtracking on their stated policy and changing "banned forever" to "banned for two years" because when he said he was sorry - not to his victim, but to the convention Board, when he was questioned after the fact.
The community has not been shy in making their opinions known: http://readercon.livejournal.com/21805.html
I said what I needed to say in the comments there, but I will add this, here. Readercon's board has stated, publicly, that their written and posted policies are not to be trusted, that they will change the rules on the fly, and predators are given more consideration than their victims (and potential victims). That makes Readercon not a safe space, but a danger zone.
I regret the fallout on behalf of those who've put their time and effort into making Readercon an enjoyable convention, and didn't deserve to be treated this way by the Board, but I see no reason to go somewhere my safety is considered less important than coddling a known offender.
UPDATE: The Readercon convention committee is reportedly voting on overturning the Board's decision. Many of them were Not Happy. So there's that, at least. We'll see if anything changes.
