[Bashies] The new mailing list.

[lyric apted]

thanks for the thoughtful and clear note - i appreciate your time and trials 
- there is a place in the hereafter for folks who organize these sorts of 
things ;)

-frodo's girl (aka lyric)

>
>Friends,
>
>Arathorn has kindly, at my request, set up this TOR.n-based mailing list to
>facilitate communication amongst those who attended Barliman's Bash 2002,
>and those concerned with 2003.  Unlike the BarliBash@theonering.net list, I
>have adjusted this list to allow any subscriber to post to it - so it's 
>more
>for discussion than for announcement purposes.  The BarliBash list will be
>retained for that use.
>
>Use it well - it saves you the hassle of having to maintain your own
>individual mailing lists, and assures that nobody can accidentally be left
>out of a thread because of a missed address.
>
>What follows is rather lengthy, but I would appreciate it if you would all
>take the time to read it - these things have been on my mind a lot lately,
>and I would like to 'discuss' them with those who have been supportive of
>Barliman's Bash, and have their feedback.
>
>Speaking of threads, I have been following recent discussions with some
>degree of consternation, and even dismay.  I know that I've been rather
>silent lately, but I felt that it would be a good idea to break that 
>silence
>and say a few things.
>
>Firstly, I do not object to open discussion regarding the 2003 event.  
>True,
>I'm concentrating my attention at the moment on the city of Toronto, and
>that city has more-or-less been regarded as "the site" since early June -
>but a compelling enough case could likely sway me, provided that it's
>compelling enough to give me sufficient reason to retract the statements
>I've already made.  As I mentioned to Tookish a while back, I'm reluctant 
>to
>"dash the hopes" of a rather large number of Canadian Ringers in the
>Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal region without having a rather large pile of facts,
>figures, and assorted information on my side to back up the retraction.
>
>Perhaps that sounds inflexible of me - perhaps even inconsiderate - to very
>nearly settle on the location for the 2003 event before the 2002 event had
>taken place, but I had (and have) my reasons for proceeding in such a
>manner.  After the voting in which Seattle was selected (a process that was
>mentioned, several times, on the main page of TheOneRing.net's website 
>early
>in 2002), I received numerous angry emails, accusing me of lying, cheating,
>stacking the vote, and even of arranging the vote in such a way that only
>"insiders" could participate.  In actuality, the posts on the front page
>encouraged any interested party to vote, whether or not they were a
>Barliman's chatter.  I therefore decided that, rather than dealing with
>another attempt at democracy which would be harpooned by many who were 
>upset
>at not getting their own way, I was going to make an executive decision.
>Perhaps I'll wind up being every bit as accused and vilified by some for
>that choice as I was for holding a vote that didn't come out the way 
>various
>folks wanted it to - and if that's the case, so be it.
>
>I'm open, at the least, to discussion on this topic - I can't promise that
>I'll change my mind, as Toronto is looking remarkably viable on all fronts 
>-
>hotels located downtown-proper, for less money than we've paid in the past
>to be in the 'boonies', so that the arts, entertainment, and shopping
>districts are right at the doorstep for those so inclined.  Granted, my
>research is not yet completed, as I still need to obtain formal quotes from
>several hotels before anything is 'set in stone', so to speak.  So, if
>you're inclined to vilify me, at least wait until I've made a *formal*
>decision.  ;-)
>
>As to comments about the 'originators' of the Bash - well, he's writing 
>this
>email.  A friend and I came up with the idea almost exactly two years ago,
>and I was foolish enough to decide to put the idea into action.  I'm very
>well aware that Barliman's Bash has grown and evolved from the simple
>gathering I proposed two years ago - in fact, it's something that I
>expected, and even hoped for.  What caught me by surprise was how quickly 
>it
>did so - I was expecting the first 2-3 years to be relatively casual, 
>before
>the real character of the event began to alter.  Instead, I find that it 
>has
>already begun to do so, in the second year.  This is part of the reason
>that, to some, the event this year seemed so disorganised - it simply 
>hadn't
>been planned to accomodate changes in its character that I wasn't
>anticipating this early on.
>
>As a result, I've shifted my view of the event, and on what has to be done.
>The Bash is no longer able to be a simple social gathering - more
>organisation, more 'activities' (particularly Tolkien-related) are 
>required,
>to accomodate a larger variety of interests, needs, and expectations.  This
>makes a a downtown hotel very nearly a necessity:  there will be people who
>won't be even *remotely* interested in round-table discussions, in Q&A
>sessions, in guest speakers from a university faculty; and basing the event
>in a location that makes it difficult for those people to entertain
>themselves while others are in the midst of Tolkien-scholar activities 
>would
>be manifestly unfair.  Just as not everybody wants to sight-see and do the
>tourist thing, not everybody wants to participate in Tolkien-related
>activities, no matter how strong their love for his works might be.
>
>This is my burden for Bash 2003 - to plan an event that will accomodate a
>greater range of interests and expectations without breaking the bank.
>Meeting space costs money, particularly if food isn't being served - a room
>that will seat 50 people comfortably tends to run in the neighbourhood of
>$400 per day.  I am, however, going to do all that I can, and negotiate the
>best possible deal that I can - which would be my main objection (to bring
>up a point from an earlier email) as regards putting Bash in the same
>time/area as ComicCon:  when there is a large event going on in an area,
>hotels become much less willing to haggle with the smaller folks, and adopt
>a "We'll sell the space, whether you take it or not" philosophy.  Nice, 
>huh?
>
>And, finally, as to comments about the 'originators' being aghast as to the
>presence of non-chatters - hell, no!  The chatroom base was the obvious
>place for me to start, as it's the core of my experience with other Tolkien
>folks - but the Bash is, in my mind, not something for Barliman's chatters.
>Rather, it's something for Tolkienites, whether they're chatters,
>message-boarders or web-surfers.  If there's anything that TheOneRing.net
>has demonstrated, it's that there is a global community of us, and our
>personal preference as to mode of interaction with the other members of the
>community (or even the site we choose to engage in our interactions) should
>not act as a divider.  We're all part of the same community, and all who
>love Tolkien are welcome at Barliman's Bash.  Why have the stagnation of
>associating solely with people you're already familiar with, when you can
>have the pleasure of meeting new people?
>
>Anyway, I hope you've all made it this far - I know it's rather a lot for
>one email, but I feel that it all needed to be said.  Feel free to respond
>to the list (though I'd appreciate personal responses to
>curunir@theonering.net if you feel the need to tear into me for something -
>I'd rather keep divisive comments out of the list mails) with any thoughts
>or concerns you have about this stuff - perhaps I'm doing the bulk of the
>busywork, but without your continued support and interest, I can slave away
>for months, and it won't matter a damn.  I thank you all for that support
>and interest - watching Barliman's Bash grow and mature is a pleasure for
>me, and I hope it will continue to be so for a long time to come.
>
>Yours,
>
>Curunir
>
>_______________________________________________
>Bashies mailing list
>Bashies@theonering.net
>http://www.theonering.net/mailman/listinfo/bashies




----------
One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them


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