AGENDA FOR WSFS BUSINESS MEETING

Preliminary Business Meeting, Friday, 29th August 2003

 

Chairman: Kevin Standlee Secretary: Pat McMurray
Deputy Chair / P.O.: Donald Eastlake III Timekeeper: Clint Budd

[Secretary: If you’re new to Business Meetings, the last document in the set attached explains WSFS Business Meeting Procedures, and should be the first document you read. Really, we mean it, when we say please ask for any assistance you may need in interpreting the rules or in any other matter.]

1. Committee Reports

Committee reports may include motions. Motions made by committees consisting of more than one person need not be seconded.

1.1. Mark Protection Committee (Including Nominations for MPC)

The Mark Protection Committee met last night. A formal report should be available at the Business Meeting tomorrow.

Nominations for the WSFS Mark Protection Committee are in order at the Preliminary Business Meeting. Nominees must accept nomination and indicate their current residence zone within one hour of the end of the Preliminary Business Meeting.

The members whose terms of office expire at this Worldcon are: Scott Dennis (Central), Donald Eastlake III (Eastern), Ruth Sachter (West). Due to zone residency restrictions, we can elect at most two people from the Western zone, one person from the Central zone, two people from the Eastern zone, and three people from the Rest of the World. Write-in votes are allowed, but write-in candidates must submit their consent to election by the close of balloting.

(See the head table staff for a nomination acceptance form.)

1.2. Nitpicking & Flyspecking Committee

Report is attached. The following resolutions arise from this report.

1.2.1 Short Title: Extended Distribution

1.2.2 Short Title: Moving Works

1.2.3 Short Title: Default Rates

1.2.4 Short Title: Counting Votes (and Breaking Ties)

1.2.5 Short Title: Tied Races

[Secretary: In a vain attempt to save trees I have not reproduced the full texts of the resolutions here – they’re in the report.]

1.3. Worldcon Runners' Guide Editorial Committee

1.4. Hugo Eligibility Rest of the World (HEROW) Committee

We believe an extra year of eligibility for works first published outside North America in English is currently appropriate, but that market changes could render this unnecessary in the future. We recommend an annual one-year extension and continuation of the committee to monitor the situation.

1.4.1 Short Title: This Year's Model

Moved, To extend for one year, based on limited availability, as authorized by section 3.4, the eligibility of all works that:

1: Would otherwise qualify for a "specific work" 2003 Hugo Award (sections 3.3.1 through 3.3.7 inclusive);

2: Did not receive sufficient nominations to appear on the Final Ballot for the 2003 Hugo Awards;

3: Have not been published in the USA as of 31 January 2003; and

4: Have not previously had their eligibility extended by resolution of WSFS.

This motion extends eligibility for the Hugo Award; therefore, it requires a 3/4 vote.

1.4.2 Short Title: Holding on for a HEROW

(To be moved only if This Year's Model is passed.)

Moved, To continue the Hugo Eligibility for the Rest of the World (HEROW) Committee as previously charged, with a new Chair and members appointed by the Chair of the Business Meeting, and with the Chair of the HEROW Committee authorized to add additional members to the committee.

Note that the current Chair of the HEROW Committee will not accept reappointment as Chair of the committee, although he will continue to work with the committee if it is renewed, because he has too many other things that tie up too much time.

1.5. Formalization of Long List Entries (FOLLE) Committee

Report is attached.

1.5.1. Short Title: Extended Folly

Moved, To continue the Formulation of Long List Entries (FOLLE) Committee until Noreascon Four under the same terms as previously constituted;

To direct the Committee to continue perfecting the Long List of Worldcons and NASFiCs; and

To direct the Committee to produce a Long List of Hugo Nominees and Winners.

2. Worldcon Reports

Currency conversion rates as of 15 August 2003

 

CAD

USD

GBP

AUD

EUR

JPY

CAD

0.72

0.45

1.09

0.64

85.95

USD

1.39

0.63

1.52

0.89

119.26

GBP

2.21

1.59

2.42

1.42

190.90

AUD

0.91

0.66

0.41

0.59

78.62

EUR

1.56

1.13

0.71

1.71

134.22

100 JPY

1.16

0.84

0.53

1.27

0.75

The Secretary regrets to report that The Millennium Philcon failed to report to last year’s Business Meeting. They are therefore in breach of Section 2.9.4 of the WSFS Constitution.

In a change to past practice, the Secretary will no longer accept financial reports that are filed after the close of the Business Meeting. In the past this has played a small, but not insignificant part, in delaying the production of the minutes.

2.1 Past Worldcons and NASFiCs

2.1.1. ConAdian (1994)

No report received as of going to press.

2.1.2. L.A.con III (1996)

Report is attached

2.1.3. LoneStarCon 2 (1997)

No report received as of going to press.

2.1.4. BucConeer (1998)

Report is attached.

2.1.5. Aussiecon Three (1999)

No report received as of going to press.

2.1.6. Chicon 2000

No report received as of going to press.

2.1.7. The Millennium Philcon (2001)

No report received as of going to press.

2.1.8. ConJosé (2002)

Report is attached.

2.2. Seated Worldcons

2.2.1. TorCon III (2003)

Report is attached.

2.2.2. Noreascon 4 (2004)

No report received as of going to press.

2.2.3. Interaction (2005)

Report is attached.

3. Business Passed On from ConJosé

The following Constitutional Amendment was approved at ConJosé and passed on to Torcon 3 for ratification. If ratified, it will become part of the Constitution at the conclusion of Torcon 3.

3.1 Short Title: Lesser Minutes

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution at Subsection 3.2.8 by striking and inserting text as follows:

The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits boundary.

Rationale: 20 minutes will never be less than 18 minutes (20% of the 90-minute category boundary), and thus the wording proposed for deletion is mere surplusage and possibly confusing. Removing it will have no substantive effect.

4. New Business

4.1. Resolutions

Items under this heading may be voted upon and final action taken by the Preliminary Business Meeting.

4.2. Standing Rules Amendments

Items under this heading may be voted upon and final action taken by the Preliminary Business Meeting. Standing rules amendments take effect at the conclusion of the 2003 Business Meeting unless given earlier effect by specific provision and a two-thirds vote. In all amendments, new text is shown in underline type and stricken text is shown in strikethru type.

4.3. Constitutional Amendments

Items under this heading have not yet received first passage, and will become part of the constitution only if passed at Torcon 3 and ratified at Noreascon 4. The Preliminary Business Meeting may amend items under this heading, set debate time limits, refer them to committee, and take other action as permitted under the Standing Rules

5. Site Selection Business

Items under this heading will be handled at the Site Selection Business Meeting on Sunday.

5.1. Report of the 2006 Site Selection & Presentation by Winners

5.2. Reports by seated Worldcons

5.2.1. Noreascon 4 (2004)

5.2.2. Interaction (2005)

5.3. Presentation by future Worldcon bids

5.3.1. Presentation by bidders for 2007

5.3.2. Presentation by bidders for years after 2007

6. Adjournment

6.1. Adjournment Sine Die

 

Report of the WSFS Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee

Standing Rule 7.7: Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee. The Business Meeting shall appoint a Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee. The Committee shall:

(1) Maintain the list of Rulings and Resolutions of Continuing Effect

(2) Codify the Customs and Usages of WSFS and of the Business Meeting.

In accordance with object (1), the committee reports below the compilation of items from the 2002 Worldcon, together with the collected items from earlier Worldcons.

The committee has made its full cumulative reports available through the WSFS web pages at http://www.wsfs.org and will continue to do so.

In accordance with object (2), Tim Illingworth & Pat McMurray have completed the OCRing and correcting of the WSFS Business Meeting minutes for 1974, and 1979-1992. 1993-date are available elsewhere (through Saul Jaffe). Minutes for all Business Meetings from 1979 to date are now available to any interested party. The committee would be interested to hear of any minutes for Business Meetings in other years.

These minutes are currently held in Word 6 format, and are available from Tim’s web site (www.smof.demon.co.uk). The 1979 minutes are a report constructed from Ben Yalow's copy of the agenda of the Main Meeting with contemporaneous annotations.

As an extract from these documents, a list has been prepared of all amendments to the WSFS Constitution and Standing Rules proposed since 1979, together with their amendment and disposal. The abbreviation ‘OTC’ has been used to keep the document length within almost reasonable bounds.

An update of the Annotated Standing Rules (originally prepared by the Standing Rules Working Group in 1996) has also been prepared.

An Annotated Constitution has been prepared, and comments are sought for inclusion.

All of these documents are available online at http://www.smof.demon.co.uk/wsfs.htm

In accordance with the Committee’s wider interpretation of "the Customs and Usages of WSFS and of the Business Meeting", Tim Illingworth has retyped George Scithers’ "Con Committee Chairman’s Guide" (the story of Discon, the 1963 Worldcon) and has made it available online at http://www.smof.demon.co.uk/wsfs.htm with George’s permission.

Pursuant to BM-94-1, www.wsfs.org has been updated, and copies of documents have been supplied to Saul Jaffe for the SF-Lovers archive.

Pursuant to BM-2001-1, the committee has reminded Torcon 3 of the requirement for legibility of badges, and hopes that Torcon has noticed.

The committee is willing to serve for another year, adding Pat McMurray as its fourth member.

Don Eastlake

Tim Illingworth

Kevin Standlee

The NP&FSC recommends that the Business Meeting consider the following motions:

1.2.1 Short Title: Extended Distribution

Moved, to amend Section 3.7.2 of the WSFS Constitution to require committees to inform members of eligibility extensions by adding " and any applicable extensions of eligibility under Sections 3.2.3 or 3.4" at the end.

3.7.2: The Committee shall include with each nomination ballot a copy of Article 3 of the WSFS Constitution and any applicable extensions of eligibility under Sections 3.2.3 or 3.4.

Discussion: This would enable voters to determine what’s eligible.

1.2.2 Short Title: Moving Works

Moved, to amend Section 3.8.2 of the WSFS Constitution to restrict the movement of nominees between categories to specific works and to exclude the aggregation of nominations for people by striking out the second occurrence of "nominees" and inserting "works", as shown:

3.8.2: The Worldcon Committee shall determine the eligibility of nominees and assignment to the proper category of nominees works nominated in more than one category.

Discussion: This would restrict the movement of nominees between categories to works (subsections 1-7, 10,11) and exclude aggregation of nominations for people (subsections 8, 9, 12, 13) across categories. This is, we believe, what was intended and what happens now. This would represent no change in powers.

1.2.3 Short Title: Default Rates

Moved, to amend Section 4.2.2 of the WSFS Constitution to make general the default supporting membership rate for all site selection elections conducted under WSFS sanction by amending the first sentence as follows:

4.2.2: The supporting membership rate for WSFS Site Selections shall be set by unanimous agreement of the current Worldcon administering Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline.

Discussion: This would explicitly make the default fee for a NASFiC election the same as the default fee for the Worldcon election held in the same year.

Whilst we could add at the end of Section 4.8.3: "The default supporting membership rate for a NASFiC election shall be the same as that for a Worldcon election held in the same year.", this would be open to the construction that the default NASFiC rate should be the actual rate set for the Worldcon race, not the default rate.

      1. Short Title: Counting Votes (and Breaking Ties)

Moved, To amend various sections of the WSFS Constitution to add explicit tie-breaking procedures to WSFS elections, moving the general counting rules to Article 6 and detailing the specific differences per election type appropriately.

1. Move most of existing Section 3.11.1 to follow existing Section 6.2, change ‘nominee’ to ‘candidate’ throughout, and add a new sentence to it as shown

3.11.1 Section 6.2A: Tallying of Votes. In each category, Votes shall first be tallied by the voter's first choices. If no majority is then obtained, the nominee candidate who places last in the initial tallying shall be eliminated and the ballots listing it as first choice shall be redistributed on the basis of those ballots' second choices. This process shall be repeated until a majority-vote winner is obtained. If two or more candidates are tied for elimination during this process, the candidate that received fewer first-place votes shall be eliminated. If they are still tied, all the tied candidates shall be eliminated together.

2. Move existing Section 3.11.3 to follow proposed Section 6.2A above, change "No Award" to "the run-off candidate" throughout, and insert text in it as shown.

3.11.3 Section 6.2B: Run-off. After a tentative winner is determined, then unless "No Award" the run-off candidate shall be the sole winner, the following additional test shall be made. If the number of ballots preferring "No Award" the run-off candidate to the tentative winner is greater than the number of ballots preferring the tentative winner to "No Award" the run-off candidate, then "No Award" the run-off candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.

3. In Section 3.11.1, substitute new wording for that moved to Section 6.2A.

3.11.1: In each category, tallying shall be as described in Section 6.2A. ‘No Award’ shall be treated as a nominee. If all remaining nominees are tied, no tie-breaking shall be done and the nominees shall be declared joint winners.

4. In Section 3.11.3 substitute new wording for the existing section.

3.11.3: "No Award" shall be the run-off candidate.

5. In Section 4.1.2, strike out "Section 3.11" and insert "Section 6.2A".

4.1.2: Voting shall be by written ballot cast either by mail or at the current Worldcon with tallying as described in Section 3.116.2A.

6. In Section 4.5.3, strike out "the equivalent of ‘No Award’ with respect to Section 3.11." and insert "the run-off candidate."

4.5.3: "None of the Above" shall be treated as a bid for tallying, and shall be the equivalent of "No Award" with respect to Section 3.11 the run-off candidate.

7. In Section 4.5.4, strike out "normal preferential ballot procedures" and insert "Section 6.2A".

4.5.4: All ballots shall be initially tallied by their first preferences, even if cast for a bid that the administering Committee has ruled ineligible. If no eligible bid achieves a majority on the first round of tallying, then on the second round all ballots for ineligible bids shall be redistributed to their first eligible choices, and tallying shall proceed according to normal preferential-ballot procedures Section 6.2A.

8. In Standing Rule 6.2, insert, "as defined in Section 6.2A. There shall be no run-off candidate" after "normal preferential ballot procedures".

9. In Standing Rule 6.2, insert as the penultimate sentence: "In the event of a first-place tie for any seat, the tie shall be broken unless all tied candidates can be elected simultaneously."

Rule 6.2: Elections. Elections to the Mark Protection Committee shall be a special order of business at a designated Main Business Meeting. Voting shall be by written preferential ballot with write-in votes allowed. Votes for write-in candidates who do not submit written consent to nomination and region of residence to the Presiding Officer before the close of balloting shall be ignored. The ballot shall list each nominee's name and region of residence. The first seat filled shall be by normal preferential ballot procedures as defined in Section 6.2A. There shall be no run-off candidate. After a seat is filled, votes for the elected member and for any nominee who is now ineligible due to regional residence restrictions shall be eliminated before conducting the next ballot. This procedure shall continue until all seats are filled. In the event of a first-place tie for any seat, the tie shall be broken unless all tied candidates can be elected simultaneously. Should there be any partial-term vacancies on the committee, the partial-term seat(s) shall be filled after the full-term seats have been filled.

Discussion: This provides explicit tie-breakers for elections, using the method specified in the parliamentary authority. As far as we know, they represent current practice.

There are actually three different tie-breaking rules for the three types of elections WSFS can administer (Hugo Awards, Site Selection and Mark Protection Committee). Hugos permit ties for 1st place, Site Selection does not, and the MPC permits them if there are enough seats left to fill. This moves the general rule into Article 6 from Article 3 and details the differences in each case.

The new sections are taken from the existing Section 3.11, and fresh text is underlined.

 

 

1.2.5 Short Title: Tied Races

Moved, to amend Section 4.5 of the WSFS Constitution to explicitly provide for procedures in case of a tied site selection election, as follows:

1. In Section 4.5.5, insert "or if two or more bids are tied for first place at the end of tallying," after "If 'None of the Above' wins,"

4.5.5: If "None of the Above" wins, or if two or more bids are tied for first place at the end of tallying, the duty of site selection shall devolve on the Business Meeting of the current Worldcon. If the Business Meeting is unable to decide by the end of the Worldcon, the Committee for the following Worldcon shall make the selection without undue delay.

2. In Section 4.5.6, insert "following a win by ‘None of the Above’" after "Worldcon Committee".

4.5.6: Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a win by ‘None of the Above’, they are not restricted by exclusion zone or other qualifications.

3. Insert new section 4.5.7: "Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a tie in tallying, they must select one of the tied bids."

4.5.7: Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a tie in tallying, they must select one of the tied bids.

 

FOLLE Report

The Long List committee is a committee set up by Noreascon 4 to put together a complete, accurate Long List of Worldcons and ancillary data which is free of typos and other trivial mistakes. The WSFS BM at ConJose appointed the N4 Long List committee to also be the official WSFS Formulation of Long List Entries committee. At present, the committee consists of Mark Olson (Chairman), Kevin Standlee, George Flynn, Joe Siclari, Vince Docherty, Rich Lynch and Craig Miller

We intend to produce a Long List of Worldcons, a Long List of Nasfics and a Long List of Hugo Award nominees and winners. We intend to produce each list in two forms: A set of web pages and a set of Microsoft Word documents (the latter to provide a source for use in publications.)

Attached are the Long List of Worldcons, along with notes, and the Long List of NASFiCs, with notes. As you can see, we believe that we have successfully cleaned up the Long List of Worldcons and the Long List of Nasfics. (We propose to work on the Hugos list next year.)

Our philosophy is to create lists which accurately reflect reality without being so detailed that the main information is lost in a forest of subtle detail. To do this we have divided the Long List into two parts: The Long List itself and an extensive set of notes. We anticipate that the Long List will be printed in Worldcon Souvenir Books and the like, while the notes will typically only be referred to on-line. When multiple interpretations of a piece of data (who chaired a convention, what its name was, where it was held, etc.) exist, our policy is to have the Long List include the version which in our judgment best reflects the facts as understood by the people involved, and to document whatever variations or details we have discovered in the notes. We will respect historical judgments as long as they are not clearly in error, and we will attempt to objectively verify any corrections or notes we add.

Here's our work plan which we'll probably follow more-or-less sequentially:

Many thanks to NESFA for providing a web site and to Noreascon 4 for providing an email list for discussions.

There are a few details we have not yet been able to track down (the names of Bucconeer's main hotels (see the notes page for what that means) and the exact dates of a number of 50s Worldcons.) Anyone who can provide that information or who can provide corrections should send them to me at mlo@baskerville.org and I'll forward them to the Long List committee.

 

The Long List of World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons)

 

Number - Year Name 

City

Site

Guest(s)

Chairman

Attend

1 - Nycon I
2-4 July 1939

New York

Caravan Hall

Frank R. Paul

Sam Moskowitz

200

2 - Chicon I
1-2 Sep 1940

Chicago

Hotel Chicagoan

E. E. "Doc" Smith

Mark Reinsberg

128

3 - Denvention I
4-6 Jul 1941

Denver

Shirley-Savoy Hotel

Robert A. Heinlein

Olon F. Wiggins

90

1942-1945

(Worldcon was not held due to World War II)

4 - Pacificon I
30 Aug-1 Sep 1946

Los Angeles

Park View Manor

A. E. Van Vogt
E. Mayne Hull

Walter J. Daugherty

130

5 - Philcon I
30 Aug-1 Sep 1947

Philadelphia

Penn-Sheraton Hotel

John W. Campbell, Jr.
TM: L. Jerome Stanton

Milton Rothman

200

6 - Torcon I
3-5 Jul 1948

Toronto

RAI Purdy Studios

Robert Bloch (pro)
Bob Tucker (fan)

Ned McKeown

200

7 - Cinvention
3-5 Sep 1949

Cincinnati

Hotel Metropole

Lloyd A. Eshbach (pro)
Ted Carnell (fan)

Don Ford

190

8 - 1950
NorWesCon

Portland

Multnomah Hotel

Anthony Boucher
TM: Theodore Sturgeon

Donald B. Day

400

9 - 1951
Nolacon I

New Orleans

St. Charles Hotel

Fritz Leiber

Harry B. Moore

190

10 - 1952
TASFiC

Chicago

Hotel Morrison

Hugo Gernsback

Julian C. May

870

11 - 11th Worldcon
5-7 Sep 1953

Philadelphia

Bellevue-Strafford Hotel

Willy Ley
TM: Isaac Asimov

Milton Rothman

750

12 - 1954
SFCon

San Francisco

Sir Francis Drake Hotel

John W. Campbell, Jr.
TM: Robert Bloch

Lester Cole
Gary Nelson

700

13 - Clevention
2-5 Sep 1955

Cleveland

Manger Hotel

Isaac Asimov (pro)
Sam Moskowitz (mystery GoH)
TM: Anthony Boucher

Nick & Noreen Falasca

380

14 - 1956
(NyCon II)

New York

Biltmore Hotel

Arthur C. Clarke
TM: Robert Bloch

David A. Kyle

850

15 - Loncon I
6-9 Sep 1957

London

King's Court Hotel

John W. Campbell, Jr.

Ted Carnell

268

16 - 1958
Solacon

South Gate, Calif.

Alexandria Hotel

Richard Matheson
TM: Anthony Boucher

Anna S. Moffatt

322

17 - Detention
4-7 Sep 1959

Detroit

Pick-Fort Shelby Hotel

Poul Anderson (pro)
John Berry (fan)
TMs: Isaac Asimov and Robert Bloch

Roger Sims
Fred Prophet

371

18 - Pittcon
3-5 Sept 1960

Pittsburgh

Penn-Sheraton Hotel

James Blish
TM: Isaac Asimov

Dirce Archer

568

19 - 1961
Seacon

Seattle

Hyatt House

Robert A. Heinlein
TM: Harlan Ellison

Wally Weber

300

20 - Chicon III
31 Aug-3 Sep 1962

Chicago

Pick-Congress Hotel

Theodore Sturgeon
TM: Wilson Tucker

Earl Kemp

550

21 - Discon I
31 Aug-2 Sep 1963

Washington, DC

Statler-Hilton Hotel

Murray Leinster
TM: Isaac Asimov

George Scithers

600

22 - Pacificon II
4-7 Sep 1964

Oakland

Hotel Leamington

Leigh Brackett (pro)
Edmond Hamilton (pro)
Forrest J Ackerman (fan)
TM: Anthony Boucher

J. Ben Stark
Al haLevy

523

23 - Loncon II
27-30 Aug 1965

London

Mount Royal Hotel

Brian W. Aldiss
TM: Tom Boardman

Ella Parker

350

24 - Tricon
1-5 Sep 1966

Cleveland

Sheraton-Cleveland

L. Sprague de Camp
TM: Isaac Asimov

Ben Jason, Howard DeVore, and Lou Tabakow

850

25 - Nycon 3
31 Aug-4 Sep 1967

New York

Statler-Hilton Hotel

Lester del Rey (pro)
Bob Tucker (fan)
TM: Harlan Ellison

Ted White
Dave Van Arnam

1,500

26 - Baycon
29 Aug-2 Sep 1968

Oakland

Hotel Claremont

Philip Jose Farmer (pro)
Walter J. Daugherty (fan)
TM: Robert Silverberg

Bill Donaho
Alva Rogers
J. Ben Stark

1,430

27 - St. Louiscon
28 Aug-1 Sep 1969

St. Louis

Chase-Park Plaza

Jack Gaughan (pro)
Eddie Jones (afn)
TM: Harlan Ellison

Ray & Joyce Fisher

1,534

28 - Heicon '70
20-24 Aug 1970

Heidelberg

Heidelberg Stadthalle

E. C. Tubb (UK)
Robert Silverberg (US)
Herbert W. Franke (Germany)
Elliot K. Shorter (fan)
TM: John Brunner

Manfred Kage

620

29 - Noreascon I
2-6 Sep 1971

Boston

Sheraton-Boston Hotel

Clifford D. Simak (pro)
Harry Warner, Jr. (fan)
TM: Robert Silverberg

Tony Lewis

1,600

30 - L.A.Con I
1-4 Sep 1972

Los Angeles

International Hotel

Frederik Pohl (pro)
Buck & Juanita Coulson (fan)
TM: Robert Bloch

Charles Crayne
Bruce Pelz

2,007

31 - Torcon II
31 Aug-3 Sep 1973

Toronto

Royal York Hotel

Robert Bloch (pro)
William Rotsler (fan)
TM: Lester del Rey

John Millard

2,900

32 - Discon II
29 Aug-2 Sep 1974

Washington, DC

Sheraton Park Hotel

Roger Zelazny (pro)
Jay Kay Klein (fan)
TM: Andrew Offutt

Jay Haldeman
Ron Bounds

3,587

33 - Aussiecon One
14-17 Aug 1975

Melbourne

Southern Cross Hotel

Ursula K. Le Guin (pro)
Susan Wood (fan)
Mike Glicksohn (fan)
Donald Tuck (Australian)
TM: John Bangsund

Robin Johnson

606

34 - MidAmeriCon
2-6 Sep 1976

Kansas City, MO

Radisson Muehlebach Hotel
Phillips House

Robert A. Heinlein (pro)
George Barr (fan)
TM: Wilson Tucker

Ken Keller

2,800

35 - SunCon
2-5 Sep 1977

Miami Beach

Hotel Fontainebleau

Jack Williamson (pro)
Robert A. Madle (fan)
TM: Robert Silverberg

Don Lundry

3,240

36 - IguanaCon II
30 Aug-4 Sep 1978

Phoenix

Hyatt Regency
Adams House
Phoenix Convention Center & Symphony Hall

Harlan Ellison (pro)
Bill Bowers (fan)
TM: F. M. Busby

Tim Kyger

4,700

37 - Seacon '79
23-26 Aug 1979

Brighton

Metropole Hotel

Brian Aldiss (UK)
Fritz Leiber (US)
Harry Bell (fan)
TM: Bob Shaw

Peter Weston

3,114

38 - Noreascon Two
29 Aug-1 Sep 1980

Boston

Sheraton-Boston Hotel
Hynes Civic Auditorium

Damon Knight (pro)
Kate Wilhelm (pro)
Bruce Pelz (fan)
TM: Robert Silverberg

Leslie Turek

5,850

39 - Denvention Two
3-7 Sep 1981

Denver

Denver Hilton Hotel
Currigan Convention Center Exhibition Hall and Arena

Clifford D. Simak (pro)
C. L. Moore (pro)
Rusty Hevelin (fan)
TM: Ed Bryant

Suzanne Carnival
Don C. Thompson

3,792

40 - Chicon IV
2-6 Sep 1982

Chicago

Hyatt Regency Chicago

A. Bertram Chandler (pro)
Frank Kelly Freas (pro)
Lee Hoffman (fan)
TM: Marta Randall

Ross Pavlac
Larry Propp

4,275

41 - ConStellation
1-5 Sep 1983

Baltimore

Baltimore Convention Centre

John Brunner (pro)
David A. Kyle (fan)
TM: Jack L. Chalker

Michael Walsh

6,400

42 - L.A.con II
30 Aug-3 Sep 1984

Anaheim

Anaheim Hilton
Anaheim Convention Center

Gordon R. Dickson (pro)
Dick Eney (fan)
TM: Jerry Pournelle
MC: Robert Bloch

Craig Miller
Milt Stevens

8,365

43 - Aussiecon Two
22-26 Aug 1985

Melbourne

Southern Cross, Victoria, and Sheraton Hotels

Gene Wolfe (pro)
Ted White (fan)

David Grigg

1,599

44 - ConFederation
28 Aug-1 Sep 1986

Atlanta

Marriott Marquis
Atlanta Hilton

Ray Bradbury (pro)
Terry Carr (fan)
TM: Bob Shaw

Penny Frierson
Ron Zukowski

5,811

45 - Conspiracy '87
27 Aug-1 Sep 1987

Brighton

Metropole Hotel
Brighton Conference Centre

Doris Lessing (UK)
Alfred Bester (US)
Arkady Strugatsky (USSR)
Boris Strugatsky (USSR)
Jim Burns (artist)
Ray Harryhausen (film)
Joyce & Ken Slater (fan)
David Langford (special fan)
TM: Brian W. Aldiss

Paul Oldroyd

4,071

46 - Nolacon II
1-5 Sep 1988

New Orleans

Marriott, Sheraton, and International Hotels
New Orleans Municipal Auditorium

Donald A. Wollheim (pro)
Roger Sims (fan)
TM: Mike Resnick

John H. Guidry

5,300

47 - Noreascon 3
31 Aug-4 Sep 1989

Boston

Hynes Convention Center
Sheraton-Boston Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Park Plaza Hotel

Andre Norton (pro)
Ian & Betty Ballantine (pro)
The Stranger Club (fan)

Mark L. Olson

6,956

48 - ConFiction
23-27 Aug 1990

The Hague

Netherlands Congress Centre

Harry Harrison (pro)
Wolfgang Jeschke (pro)
Joe Haldeman (pro)
Andrew Porter (fan)
TM: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Kees van Toorn

3,580

49 - Chicon V
29 Aug-2 Sep 1991

Chicago

Hyatt Regency Chicago

Hal Clement (pro)
Martin H. Greenberg (pro)
Richard Powers (pro)
Jon & Joni Stopa (fan)
TM: Marta Randall

Kathleen Meyer

5,661

50 - MagiCon
3-7 Sep 1992

Orlando

Orange County Convention and Civic Center
The Peabody Hotel
The Clarion Hotel

Jack Vance (pro)
Vincent Di Fate (artist)
Walter A. Willis (fan)
TMs: Spider Robinson, Mike Resnick

Joe Siclari

5,452

51 - ConFrancisco
2-6 Sep 1993

San Francisco

Moscone Convention Center
ANA Hotel
Parc Fifty Five
Nikko Hotel

Larry Niven
Alicia Austin
Tom Digby
Jan Howard Finder
Mark Twain (Dead GoH)
TM: Guy Gavriel Kay

David W. Clark

7,120

52 - ConAdian
1-5 Sep 1994

Winnipeg

Winnipeg Convention Centre (need hotels)

Anne McCaffrey (pro)
George Barr (artist)
Robert Runte (fan)
TM: Barry B. Longyear

John Mansfield

3,570

53 - Intersection
24-28 Aug 1995

Glasgow

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
Moat House, Crest, and Central Hotels

Samuel R. Delany (writer)
Gerry Anderson (media)
Les Edwards (artist)
Vincent Clarke (fan)
TMs: Diane Duane and Peter Morwood

Vincent Docherty
Martin Easterbrook

4,264

54 - L.A.con III
29 Aug-2 Sep 1996

Anaheim

Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim Hilton
Anaheim Marriott

James White (writer)
Roger Corman (media)
Elsie Wollheim (special)
Takumi & Sachiko Shibano (fan)
TM: Connie Willis

Mike Glyer

6,703

55 - LoneStarCon 2
28 Aug-1 Sep 1997

San Antonio

Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center
Marriott Rivercenter
Marriott Riverwalk

Algis Budrys (pro)
Michael Moorcock (pro)
Don Maitz (artist)
Roy Tackett (fan)
TM: Neal Barrett, Jr.

Karen Meschke

4,650

56 - BucConeer
5-9 Aug 1998

Baltimore

Baltimore Convention Center

C. J. Cherryh (writer)
Milton A. Rothman (fan)
Stanley Schmidt (editor)
Michael Whelan (artist)
J. Michael Straczynski (special)
TM: Charles Sheffield

Peggy Rae Pavlat

6,572

57 - Aussiecon Three
2-6 Sep 1999

Melbourne

World Congress Center
Centra Hotel

George Turner (pro)
Greg Benford (pro)
Bruce Gillespie (fan)
J. Michael Straczynski (special)

Perry Middlemiss

1,548

58 - Chicon 2000
31 Aug-4 Sep 2000

Chicago

Hyatt Regency Chicago
Fairmont Hotel

Ben Bova (author)
Bob Eggleton (artist)
Jim Baen (editor)
Bob & Anne Passovoy (fan)
TM: Harry Turtledove

Tom Veal

5,829

59 - The Millennium
Philcon
30 Aug-3 Sep 2001

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia Marriott Hotel

Greg Bear (author)
Stephen Youll (artist)
Gardner Dozois (editor)
George Scithers (fan)
TM: Esther Friesner

Todd Dashoff

4,950

60 - ConJosé
29 Aug-2 Sep 2002

San Jose

McEnery Convention Center, San Jose Civic Auditorium,
Fairmont Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Crowne Plaza Hotel

Vernor Vinge (author)
David Cherry (artist)
Bjo & John Trimble (fan)
Ferdinand Feghoot (imaginary)
TM: Tad Williams

Tom Whitmore
Kevin Standlee

5300
(est)

61 - Torcon 3
28 Aug-1 Sep 2003
 

Toronto

Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Royal York Hotel

George R. R. Martin (author)
Frank Kelly Freas (artist)
Mike Glyer (fan)
Robert Bloch (GoHst of Honor)
TM: Spider Robinson

Peter Jarvis

????

62 - Noreascon 4
2-6 Sep 2004

Boston

Hynes Convention Center
Sheraton Boston Hotel
Boston Marriott Copley Place

Terry Pratchett (pro)
William Tenn (pro)
Jack Speer (fan)
Peter Weston (fan)

Deb Geisler

????

63 - Interaction
4-8 Aug 2005

Glasgow

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC)
Moat House, and others

Greg Pickersgill
Christopher Priest
Robert Sheckley
Lars-Olov Strandberg
Jane Yolen

Vincent Docherty

????

Notes on the Long List of Worldcons

General Notes

Number - Year - Name

We have normally listed a convention by the least confusing version of its name. Most of the time this is the name preferred by the convention (variants are noted) but we also follow fannish tradition in retroactively numbering the first Worldcon in a series 1 (or I or One). (I.e., Noreascon 1 was known at the time only as "Noreascon".) All known naming oddities are noted.

Guests

Custom in designating Guests of Honor has varied greatly, with some conventions giving specific titles (Fan, Pro, Australia, US, Artist, etc.) and some simply call them all Guests of Honor. We have used specific labels where they existed. In general we do not note spelling issues like Honor/Honour.

The Toastmaster is not a Guest of Honor, though some conventions gave the Toastmaster equal billing with the Guests. To confuse matters further, in at least one case a Guest was also designated as Toastmaster. In a few instances the Toastmaster was given a title other than "Toastmaster" such as "Master of Ceremonies".

We have tried to note all cases where a guest did not attend.

Site

Under Site we have listed:

Chairman

Who chaired a particular Worldcon is sometimes less clear than one might expect. Our policy in constructing this list is to be as accurate as possible without being misleading. We have attempted to follow the convention's official record (where it exists) supplemented by other contemporary records. In all cases where we are aware of ambiguity, we have included notes. When multiple people with Chairman-like titles exist (including Co-Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Associate Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Deputy Assistant Co-Vice Chairman) we list only the actual top manager at the time of the convention in the main list, and all other people who were in line management positions with titles including the word fragment "chair" in the notes (i.e., all managers with titles matching *[cC]hair*.) When the title is co-Chairman and it appears that both were functional top managers, both are included in the Long List. People in support positions (non-line management positions) with Chair-like titles (e.g., "Chairman's Staff" or "Assistant to the Chairman") are not included. This list does not include bid leadership -- only leadership after the bid was won. Where we found ambiguity, we have documented it.

Additionally, we have attempted to document cases where there was a disconnect between the person holding the title of Chairman and the person(s) who were the actual top manager(s) of the convention.

Attendance

This column records how many paying members actually attended the Worldcon to the extent that that number can be discerned. It includes all paid members including one-days. (One-day members are usually not technically members of the Worldcon, but we do count them for the purpose of computing total attendance.) It excludes freebies (except the Guests, of course), unpaid children, paid attending members who did not attend, and all supporting members. The available data is very incomplete and imprecise and many of these numbers are probably substantially in error. We have noted cases where we know the numbers to be doubtful. About 99% of the numbers ending in 00 are estimates.

Convention Notes

1939 -- Nycon I

The 1939 Worldcon did not have a name, but simply called itself "World Science Fiction Convention". It has subsequently been called "Nycon I" and "The 1939 Worldcon".

The convention was controlled by a so-called 'Ruling Triumvirate' whose other members were William S. Sykora and James V. Taurasi.

1949 -- Cinvention

Don Ford carried out the duties of Chairman, but was officially only Secretary-Treasurer; Charles R. Tanner had the honorary title of Chairman.

Ted Carnell, the Fan Guest of Honor, was also Toastmaster with the title "Entertainment Master of Ceremonies". He was brought to North America by the Big Pond Fund.

1950 -- NorWesCon

Theodore Sturgeon, the Toastmaster, had the title "Entertainment Master of Ceremonies."

1952 -- TASFiC

"TASFiC" stood for "Tenth Anniversary Science Fiction Convention"; it was popularly known as Chicon II, and subsequent Chicons counted it as such.

1953 -- 11th Worldcon

Officially known as "The 11th Worldcon," it was popularly known as Philcon II. Milton A. Rothman replaced James A. Williams as Chairman upon Williams' death. Tom Clareson, PhD was Vice-Chairman.

1954 -- SFCon

Though SFCon and Westercon shared the hotel and con chairs, Westercon was held on Friday, September 3rd, with Jack Williamson as GoH, while Worldcon was held Saturday-Monday September 4-6, with John W. Campbell, Jr., as GoH.

1955 -- Clevention

The identity of the Special Mystery Guest was not revealed (even to the honoree) until the first night of the convention. The Program book noted that "Mr. Boucher [the Toastmaster] will make the presentation of the Achievement Awards and identify the Mystery Guest."

1956 -- NYCon II

Officially known as "NEWYORCON" but -- in the words of a report at the time "The fans wouldn't have it" -- and it has been NYCon II since.

1957 -- Loncon I

Loncon's program book does not use the name "Loncon" but refers to the convention as the "15th World Science Fiction Convention."

1958 -- Solacon

Combined with West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen. Solacon was physically in Los Angeles, but (by mayoral proclamation) technically in South Gate, California, to fulfill their bid slogan of "South Gate in 58".

1959 -- Detention

John Berry, the Fan GoH, was brought to North America by a special fan fund.

Isaac Asimov had been listed as the TM in all promotional material prior to the convention. At the convention that the program book added "...with the assistance of Robert Bloch" who acted as Asimov's foil at the banquet.

1960 -- Pittcon

Ray Smith was Vice Chairman. The Program Book lists a "non-con program" day on Friday, 2 Sept.

1964 -- Pacificon II

Combined with West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen. Pacificon II was held in Oakland, CA, which was not the same city (LA, 1946) where Pacificon I was held.

1966 -- Tricon

Officially jointly hosted by Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati (hence "Tricon"). The question of who chaired the convention is complicated. The Tricon program book lists Cleveland's Ben Jason as Chairman and Detroit's Howard DeVore and Cincinnati's Lou Tabakow as Associate Chairmen, but included all three in the Long List as did Nycon 3 the following year. People involved with the convention confirm that it was run by the three of them working jointly, so they are being treated as co-Chairmen here.

1967 -- NyCon 3

The convention's name was written as "NyCon 3" at the convention, but -- somehow -- subsequently got changed to Nycon III in versions of the Long List, perhaps echoing NYCon II.

1968 -- Baycon

Combined with West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen.

1969 -- St. Louiscon

Eddie Jones, the TAFF (Trans Atlantic Fan Fund) winner, replaced Ted White, who withdrew as Fan Guest to dramatize the TAFF winner.

1970 -- Heicon

Heicon had decided prior to the convention to select the TAFF winner as its Fan Guest. The subsequent winner of the 1970 TAFF election was Elliot Shorter.

Heicon also called itself "Heicon '70 International".

1974 -- Discon II

Jay and Alice Haldeman were co-chairmen until the spring of 1974 when circumstances forced them to move out of Washington. Ron Bounds took over as de facto Chairman until Jay returned for the convention. At the convention, Jay and Ron functioned as co-chairmen. The Discon II program book continued to list Jay and Alice as co-Chairmen, and included a welcome from Jay (co-Chairman) and Ron (vice-Chairman).

1975 -- Aussiecon One

Fan Guest of Honor, Donald Tuck, did not attend the convention. (Fans had to go to his home in Tasmania to meet him.)

1977 -- SunCon

SunCon was bid by "7 in '77", a group of well-known con-runners who promised that if they won they would then select an ideal site. They selected a hotel in Orlando, Florida, which subsequently went bankrupt, upon which SunCon moved to facilities in Miami Beach.

According to Chairman Don Lundry, his wife Grace Lundry functioned as his co-Chairman; however, convention publications listed Don solely.

In 2003 Don Lundry provided a revised attendance figure of 3240, replacing the number of 2500 reported in publications at the time and subsequently in previous versions of this list. It is possible that this is a total membership and not attendance.

1978 -- IguanaCon

This was the first IguanaCon, but was called Iguanacon II because of a previous hoax.

Greg Brown was the initial Chairman but was later replaced by Tim Kyger. After the convention, Gary Farber was recognized as having fulfilled the function of Vice-Chair.

Josef Nesvadba was announced as the European GoH for Iguanacon. He could not get travel papers and did not attend. He was not listed as a guest in PR3. In the program book, he was listed on the main GoH page, but was not listed in Iguancon's own entry in the Long List. Finally, he was not listed in Iguanacon's PR 5, which came out in 1980 and provided a detailed history of what went on, who resigned and who replaced who.

1979 -- Seacon 79

Seacon 79 was held in Brighton, England, which was not the same city (Seattle, 1961) where Seacon I was held.

1984 -- LAcon II

Like South Gate, Anaheim is part of the greater Los Angeles area.

The Toastmaster and MC positions were essentially equivalent, with Bloch officiating at the Hugo Ceremony and Pournelle at the Guest of Honor Speeches & Other Awards Ceremony.

1985 -- Aussiecon II

David Grigg replaced John Foyster, who resigned for family reasons, as Chairman.

1987 -- Conspiracy

Alfred Bester did not attend the convention due to poor health.

Malcolm Edwards was Chairman until about nine months before the convention when he resigned from the committee for personal reasons. To minimize possible bad publicity from this, he agreed to remain as titular Chairman and presided at some at-con ceremonies. Paul Oldroyd took over all of his duties, but under the title of "Coordinator". Both Malcolm and Paul agree that that Paul was the de facto Chairman at the time of the convention.

1989 -- Noreascon 3

The Stranger Club was the first SF club in Boston and sponsor of the pre-War series of Boskones and the club was the Fan Guest of Honor of Noreascon 3. All of its known surviving members were invited to the convention as guests to represent the club and seven were located and attended: Art Widner, Chan Davis, Harry Stubbs (Hal Clement), Louis Russell Chauvenet, Timothy Orrok, and Robert D. Swisher.

The convention's name was officially agnostic: "Noreascon 3", "Noreascon Three" and "Noreascon III" were all declared correct forms of the name.

1992 -- MagiCon

Becky Thomson was Co-Chairman for the first two years after the site was selected, then vice-chairman thereafter and at the convention. Mike Resnick acted as Toastmaster for the Meet-the-Pros party.

1993 -- ConFrancisco

David Clark replaced Terry Biffel as Chairman upon Biffel's death. Besides the Chairman, there were Vice Chairs: Peggy Rae Pavlat and Ruth L. Sachter; and Deputy Vice Chairs: Jeff Canfield and Judy Kindell.

The Guests of Honor were designated as "Honored Guests" and the Toastmaster was called the "Master of Ceremonies". Mark Twain was "channeled" by Jon deCles.

1994 -- ConAdian

Combined with the Canadian National Science Fiction Convention (Canvention). Christine Barnson and Kevin Standlee were Deputy Chairs.

1995 -- Intersection

Intersection was combined with the 1995 Eurocon. When Intersection won, Tim Illingworth and Vincent Docherty were Co-Chairmen. Docherty resigned and moved to Oman and was replaced by Martin Easterbrook. Illingworth subsequently resigned and was replaced by Docherty. Easterbrook and Docherty were co-Chairmen during the last year of planning and at the convention.

1996 -- LACon III

Special Guest Elsie Wollheim died before the convention.

1997 -- LoneStarCon II

a.k.a. "The Second Occasional LoneStarCon Science Fiction Convention & Chili Cook-off"; the first LoneStarCon, held in Austin, was the 1985 NASFiC.

1998 -- Bucconeer

Special Guest J. Michael Straczynski did not attend.

1999 -- Aussiecon Three

GoH George Turner died prior to the convention. Special Guest J. Michael Straczynski attended

2001 -- The Millennium Philcon

Laura Syms and Gary Feldbaum were Co-Vice-Chairmen.

2002 -- ConJose

After the bid won, Tom Whitmore was appointed Chairman with Ruth Sachter as Vice-Chairman. Sachter resigned and subsequently Craige Howlett and Cindy Scott were appointed Co-Vice-Chairmen. Finally, Kevin Standlee was appointed Co-Chairman with Whitmore.

The attendance figure is a preliminary estimate.

2003 -- Torcon 3

Combined with the Canadian National Science Fiction Convention (Canvention)

2005 -- Interaction

The Guests of Honour were listed with no designation as to type. KIM Campbell, Colin Harris and Paul Treadway are Vice-Chairmen. Interaction is also the 2005 Eurocon.

The Long List of NASFiCs

Number - Year
Date
Name

City

Site
(Note)

Guest(s)
(Note)

Chairman
(Note)

Attend.
 
(Note)

1 - NASFiC
Labor Day weekend 1975

Los Angeles,
California

Los Angeles Airport Marriott

Harlan Ellison

Chuck Crayne

1,100

2 - NorthAmericon `79
30 Aug-3 Sep 1979

Louisville,
Kentucky

Galt House Hotel

Frederik Pohl (pro)
George Scithers (fan)
Lester del Rey (toastmaster)

Cliff Amos

2,000

3 - LoneStarCon 1
30 Aug - 2 Sep1985
 

Austin,
Texas

Hyatt Regency Austin
Sheraton Crest
Palmer Auditorium

Jack Vance (writer)
Richard Powers (artist)
Joanne Burger (fan)
Chad Oliver (toastmaster)

Willie Siros

2,800

4 - CactusCon
3-7 Sep 1987
 

Phoenix,
Arizona

Phoenix Hyatt Regency
Adams Hilton
Phoenix Convention Center

Hal Clement (pro)
Marjii Ellers (fan)
Julius Schwartz (toastmaster)

Bruce Farr

3000

5 - ConDiego
Labor Day weekend 1990

San Diego,
California

Omni Hotel
San Diego Convention & Performing Arts Center

Samuel R. Delany (pro)
Ben Yalow (fan)

Albert Lafreniere II

3000

6 - Dragon*Con 1995
13-16 July 1995

Atlanta,
Georgia

Atlanta Hilton & Towers
Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel
Atlanta Civic Center

George Alec Effinger (writer)
Harlan Ellison (writer)
Timothy Zahn (writer)
Michael Whelan (artist)
Bjo Trimble (fan)
MC: Joe Haldeman

Ed Kramer

14,312

7 - Conucopia
26-29 Aug 1999

Anaheim,
California

Anaheim Marriott

Jerry Pournelle (pro)
Ellen Datlow (editor)
Richard Lynch (fan)
Nicki Lynch (fan)

Christian B. McGuire

1,734

Notes on the Long List of NASFiCs

General Notes

Guests

Custom in designating Guests of Honor has varied greatly, with some conventions giving specific titles (Fan, Pro, Australia, US, Artist, etc.) and some simply call them all Guests of Honor. We have used specific labels where they existed. In general we do not note spelling issues like Honor/Honour.

The Toastmaster is not a Guest of Honor, though some conventions gave the Toastmaster equal billing with the Guests. To confuse matters further, in at least one case a Guest was also designated as Toastmaster. In a few instances the Toastmaster was given a title other than "Toastmaster" such as "Master of Ceremonies".

Site

Under Site we have listed:

Chairman

Who chaired a particular NASFiC is sometimes less clear than one might expect. Our policy in constructing this list is to be as accurate as possible without being misleading. We have attempted to follow the convention's official record (where it exists) supplemented by other contemporary records. In all cases where we are aware of ambiguity, we have included notes. When multiple people with Chairman-like titles exist (including Co-Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Associate Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Deputy Assistant Co-Vice Chairman) we list only the top manager at the time of the convention in the main list, and all others in management positions with Chairman-like titles in the notes (i.e., all managers with titles matching *[cC]hair*.) People in support positions with Chair-like titles (e.g., "Chairman's Staff" or "Assistant to the Chairman") are not included. This list makes no attempt to include bid leadership.

Attendance

This column records how many paying members actually attended the NASFiC to the extent that that number can be discerned. It includes all paid members including one-days. It excludes freebies (except the Guests, of course), unpaid children, paid attending members who did not attend, and all supporting members. The available data is very incomplete and imprecise and many of these numbers are probably substantially in error. We have noted cases where we know the numbers to be doubtful. About 99% of the numbers ending in 00 are estimates.

Convention Notes

1975 -- NASFiC

Spelled out, NASFiC was an initialism for North American Science Fiction Convention.

1979 -- NorthAmericon `79

Another source estimates the attendance as 1400.

1985 -- LoneStarCon I

Also known as "The First Occasional Lone Star Science Fiction Convention & Chili Cook-off" and "ChiliCon". Robert Taylor was Vice-Chairman.

1990 -- ConDigeo

The convention's name was occasionally spelled "ConDiego"

1995 -- Dragon*Con

Also known as "NASFiC / Dragon*Con / Atlanta Comics Expo `95". Dragon*Con was a pre-existing annual Atlanta convention, with emphasis on the media aspects of science fiction.

 

LA CON III FINANCIAL REPORT

 

Date

Class

Description

Amount

Total

01/09/1997

OPENING

From LACON

$64,446.00

23/10/1997

PROJECTS

SFOHA SUPPORT:5 YEAR

($100.00)

06/01/1998

PROJECTS

TAFF DONATION - BULMER REPORT

($500.00)

26/01/1998

PROJECTS

S. GOLDBERG MEMORIAL: HAR MUDD COLLEGE

($500.00)

26/01/1998

PROJECTS

1964 LEIBER SPEECH TRANS

($25.00)

26/01/1998

PROJECTS

1964 BAYCON TAPES TRANSFER

($113.00)

17/02/1998

PROJECTS

FAN GALLERY

($452.20)

03/05/1998

PROJECTS

TAFF - TUDOR REPORT

($500.00)

22/06/1998

PROJECTS

DONATION TO ASIMOV LECTURESHIP FUND

($1,000.00)

($3,190.20)

18/10/1998

PROJECTS

ROTSLER AWARD

($300.00)

20/10/1998

EQUIPMENT

RADIOS

($3,327.00)

20/10/1998

PROJECTS

X PRIZE DONATION

($500.00)

18/11/1998

PROJECTS

ROTSLER AWARD

($229.50)

18/11/1998

PROJECTS

ROTSLER AWARD

($49.85)

24/11/1998

PROJECTS

EATON CONFERENCE

($3,000.00)

29/04/1999

PROJECTS

FFANZ REPORT – 2 LOONIES

($500.00)

29/05/1999

PROJECTS

CUFF REPORT - SPENSER

($500.00)

29/05/1999

EQUIPMENT

NEW MC/VISA MACHINE

($1,483.00)

($9,889.35)

18/09/1999

PROJECTS

FAN GALLERY

($298.20)

17/10/1999

PROJECTS

FAN GALLERY

($30.23)

03/12/1999

PROJECTS

TAFF REPORT - ROBERTS

($500.00)

24/12/1999

PROJECTS

GUFF REPORTS:FOYSTER, GUNN,HARVEY, HAUS

($2,000.00)

08/01/2000

PROJECTS

ROTSLER AWARD

($300.00)

08/01/2000

PROJECTS

TAPE TRANSCRIPTION

($25.00)

16/02/2000

PROJECTS

COPY LASFS HISTORY PIX

($64.95)

16/02/2000

PROJECTS

GARY BOOKS TO NESFA

($38.01)

26/04/2000

PROJECTS

GARY BOOKS TO BALTIMORE

($14.41)

26/05/2000

PROJECTS

GARY BOOKS TO NESFA

($210.50)

31/05/2000

PROJECTS

CUFF report

($500.00)

($3,981.30)

23/09/2000

PROJECTS

Gary Books and labels

($130.10)

23/09/2000

PROJECTS

Fan Gallery

($28.10)

12/10/2000

PROJECTS

DUFF - Janice Gelb

($500.00)

16/10/2000

PROJECTS

Fan Gallery

($37.28)

15/11/2000

PROJECTS

Gary Books

($51.45)

15/11/2000

PROJECTS

Rotsler Book

($466.60)

19/01/2001

PROJECTS

CUFF Report

($500.00)

19/02/2001

PROJECTS

Gary Books

($25.28)

11/05/2001

PROJECTS

Nebula Banquet

($115.70)

11/05/2001

PROJECTS

Nebula Banquet

($378.00)

19/06/2001

PROJECTS

Friends of Griffith Park Observatory

($500.00)

($2,732.51)

17/07/2001

PROJECTS

Gary Books

($13.50)

17/07/2001

PROJECTS

Retro Hugo packing

($30.00)

28/09/2001

PROJECTS

Rotsler Award 2000

($300.00)

01/11/2001

PROJECTS

Cases for Fan Gallery

($792.00)

17/12/2001

PROJECTS

Gary Books

($14.43)

17/12/2001

PROJECTS

History Exhibit cases

($652.90)

13/01/2002

PROJECTS

Fan Gallery

($95.67)

18/02/2002

PROJECTS

Rotsler Award 2001

($300.00)

23/03/2002

PROJECTS

GUFF report

($500.00)

27/04/2002

PROJECTS

Fan Gallery, CDs

($618.20)

18/06/2002

PROJECTS

Gary Books shipping

($59.68)

18/06/2002

PROJECTS

Worldcon History shipping

($92.37)

($3,468.75)

19/07/2002

PROJECTS

BEP pix shipping

($76.26)

20/08/2002

PROJECTS

Gary Books shipping

($125.00)

16/09/2002

PROJECTS

Art Show hangings

($2,348.00)

18/11/2002

PROJECTS

SF History

($233.20)

21/11/2002

EQUIPMENT

Radio batteries

($237.10)

20/12/2002

EQUIPMENT

Baggies for art show

($300.00)

20/12/2002

PROJECTS

SF History

($100.30)

09/01/2003

PROJECTS

Fan Gallery

($223.40)

10/06/2003

PROJECTS

ConJose

($3,934.00)

24/06/2003

PROJECTS

Blood pins

($500.00)

24/06/2003

PROJECTS

Web hosting

($250.00)

24/06/2003

PROJECTS

Web hosting

($1,500.00)

($9,827.26)

15/08/2003

Total Expenditures

($33,089.37)

15/08/2003

Remaining Reportable Balance

$31,356.63

BucConeer, the 56th World Science Fiction Convention

Report to the 59th World Science Fiction Convention

Business Meeting

Covering the Period Aug. 20, 2002 to Aug. 31, 2003

Opening Balance: $ 10,439.04

Deletions:

Banking Expenses $ 199.06

Miscellaneous $ 29.00

Student Contests $ 10,210.98

 

Remaining Balance: $ .00

This depletes the remaining funds from the 56th World Science Fiction Convention. Student Contest for the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention is financed on contributions received to date. Future student contests will be determined by future contribution.

This constitutes the final report from BucConeer. Future reports from the Baltimore Worldcon 1998, Inc., the organization operating the student contests with the seated Worldcons, will report only upon request.

Submitted by Robert J. MacIntosh, Chief Financial Officer & Peggy Rae Sapienza, Chairman

 

 

ConJosé
60th World Science Fiction Convention

Income and Expense Statement Summary1

July 1999 through June 2003

All amounts US$

Income

% of Income

Memberships

$710,319

72%

Art Show

$144,972

15%

Dealers Room

$61,393

6%

Pass-Along Funds Received

$27,040

3%

Sales to Members

$7,436

1%

Advertising Sales

$6,300

1%

Grants & Donations

$5,934

1%

Miscellaneous

$16,771

2%

Total Income

$980,165

100%

Expenses

Facilities Division

Convention Center Rental

$111,000

Decorator

$138,305

Other

$52,935

$302,241

31%

Exhibits Division

Art Show

$134,371

Dealers Room

$6,645

Exhibits

$8,656

$149,671

15%

Publications Division

Pre-Convention Publications

$35,830

At-Convention Publications

$55,618

Other

$2,066

$93,514

10%

Support Services Division

Technical Equip/Svcs

$30,054

Office Expenses

$33,226

Treasury

$16,702

Other

$17,243

$97,225

10%

Member Services Division

Registration

$23,135

Childcare

$12,890

Other

$28,381

$41,270

4%

Hospitality Division

Con Suite/Fan Lounge

$22,546

Hugo Nominee Party 2001

$5,096

Other

$8,803

$36,445

4%

Programming Division

Guest of Honor Expenses

$16,087

Green Room

$5,307

Other

$10,351

$31,745

3%

 

 

Fairy Godfather Division

Hugo Awards

$10,686

Tours, Transit Passes

$4,210

Other

$3,505

$18,401

2%

Events Division

Masquerade

$4,067

Hugo Awards Ceremony

$4,333

Other

$2,090

$10,491

1%

Chair Division

Miscellaneous

$8,370

$8,370

1%

Total Expense

$789,372

81%

Net Ordinary Income

$190,792

19%

Other Income/Expense

Interest Earned

$7,125

Gain (Loss) on Currency Exchange

($10,461)

Net Other Income (Expense)

($3,336)

Net Income Before Reimbursements

$187,456

19%

Membership Reimbursements2

$96,653

10%

Net Income Before Pass-Along Funds

$90,803

9%

Pass-Along Funds Paid3

$30,000

3%

Net Income as of June 30, 20034

$60,803

6%

Notes:

1: For a full, much longer version of this statement, contact ConJosé at controller@conjose.org or write to PO Box 61363, Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363.

2: Additional reimbursements were paid after June 30, 2003. If you think you were entitled to reimbursement and have not received it, contact ConJosé at the address in Note 1.

3: ConJosé still has remaining convention-related expenses not reflected on this statement. Note that this statement reflects the committee's status as of the end of our most-recent fiscal year, June 30, 2003, and we have incurred additional expenses since that time. We anticipate additional pass-along funds payments of approximately $3,000 to each of our three successors.

4: This figure is the anticipated starting figure for ConJosé's report to the 2004 WSFS Business Meeting.

 

 

ConJosé

60th World Science Fiction Convention

Balance Sheet

June 30, 2003

All amounts US$ unless noted

Assets

Current Assets

USA Checking

$5,591

Money Market Account

$47,318

Canadian Agent Account

CA$ 7,508

$5,576

Euro Agent Account

EU€ 945

$1,081

UK Agent Account

GB£ 268

$443

Bulk Mail Account

$3

$60,011

Fixed Assets

Computer Equipment

$550

Mailbox Key

$2

Office Equipment

$240

$792

Total Assets

$60,803

Liabilities & Equity

Total Equity

$60,803

Total Liabilities & Equity

$60,803

 

 

 

Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003

 

Financial Statements with Notice to Reader

December 31, 2002

 

 

 

 

 

Notice to Reader

 

 

 

 

 

I have compiled the balance sheet of Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003 as at December

31, 2002 and the statements of deferred revenue and expenditures for the General Fund and the Bid Fund

for the year then ended from information I have assembled in my capacity as Treasurer of the Corporation.

Readers are cautioned that these statements may not be appropriate for their purposes.

Toronto, Ontario

D. Larry Hancock

February 23, 2003

Chartered Accountant

Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003

 

Balance Sheet

As at December 31, 2002

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

2002

2001

Current

Bank

$412,817

$305,561

Accounts receivable

949

-

Advances receivable

2,292

1,262

 

 

 

 

 

 

416,058

306,823

GST recoverable

1,132

388

Deferred expenses

176,026

77,115

Facilities deposit

5,000

2,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

$598,216

$386,326

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Current

Accounts payable

$316

-

Deferred revenue

597,900

368,326

 

 

 

 

 

 

598,216

368,326

Net assets

 

 

 

 

 

Net assets

-

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

$598,216

$368,326

Unaudited -- See Notice to Reader

 

Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003

 

Statement of Deferred Revenue and Expenditures

For the year ended December 31, 2002

 

 

 

Deferred Revenue

 

 

Year ended

Cumulative to

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 31/02

Dec 31/02

Dec 31/01

Memberships

$ 185,783

$475,220

$289,437

Financial

3,478

20,830

17,352

WSFS Funding

15,476

15,476

-

Advertising

2,104

2,936

832

Sales to members

1,821

2,546

725

Other

2,244

2,527

283

Bid

668

78,365

77,697

 

Total deferred revenue

 

 

211,574

597,900

386,326

Deferred Expenses

 

 

 

 

 

Facilities and hotels

62,440

62,440

-

Communications and publications

16,649

24,642

7,993

Chair activities

13,962

18,387

4,425

Bank charges and credit card fees

3,865

8,500

4,635

Finance

1,995

3,693

1,698

Bid

-

58,364

58,364

 

Total deferred expenses

 

 

98,911

176,026

77,115

Excess of deferred revenue over deferred expenses

112,663

421,874

309,211

Cumulative excess at beginning of the year

309,211

-

-

Cumulative excess at end of the year

 

$ 421,874

$421,874

$309,211

Unaudited -- See Notice to Reader

Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003

 

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended December 31, 2002

 

 

 

1.

Incorporation

 

 

 

 

 

Toronto World Science Fiction Convention in 2003 was incorporated without share capital by Letters

Patent in the Province of Ontario on July 29, 1997.

2.

Significant accounting policy

 

 

 

 

The purpose of the organization is to host, organize and manage the World Science Fiction Convention

which will be held in Toronto in 2003. All funds raised and expended are for purposes of that event.

Therefore all revenue and expenditures are deferred and will be recognized at the time the convention takes

place.

3.

Bid fund

 

 

 

 

 

The Board of Directors of the Corporation has established a restricted fund, named the Bid Fund. Revenue

received and expenditures incurred during the bidding process to obtain the right to host the convention

comprise the Bid Fund.

Future amounts will be expended from the Bid Fund only with the prior approval of the Board of Directors.

The balance of the Bid Fund is represented by the difference in deferred Bid revenues and deferred Bid

expenses. As at the end of the year the difference amounted to $20,001 ($19,333 at the end of 2001).

The increase in the Bid Fund balance during the year represents interest earned on the fund balance.

Unaudited -- See Notice to Reader

 

 

Interaction - Worldcon 2005

Financial Summary - 1st Aug 2003

Income

 

GBP

Report by:

 

 

Memberships

88,447.30

Vincent Docherty

 

 

Bid Surplus

13,605.56

Operational Chair & Company Treasurer

 

Pass Along Funds

6,186.00

chair@interaction.worldcon.org.uk

 

Merchandise

411.69

 

Bank Interest

367.82

 

Miscellaneous

3.09

 

TOTAL Income

109,021.46

Expense

 

Publications:

Progess Report 0

-527.50

 

Burns Night Card

-376.53

 

Newsletter 1

-2,286.47

 

Progess Report 1

-199.60

 

Receipts

-1,114.08

 

US Flyers

-142.69

 

Publications Software

-3,201.22

 

Fasthost web server

-164.43

 

Envelopes

-331.50

 

Bulk Mail Fee

-185.58

 

 

Promotions

Adverts

-775.25

 

Merchandise

-481.17

 

Banners & Posters

-219.80

 

Agents costs

-299.03

 

Conjose promotions

-881.26

 

Seacon promotions

-90.00

 

 

Services

VAT

-2,357.34

 

Credit Card Fees

-2,509.35

 

US Office costs

-879.82

 

Currency gain/loss

-866.00

 

Company setup

-714.71

 

UK Office costs

-190.30

 

Finance software

-128.27

 

Finance:Bank Fees

-83.01

Disposition of balance:

GBP

 

Misc

-95.88

Bank accounts

88,716.97

 

 

Cash

338.57

 

TOTAL Expense

-19,100.79

Credit card pending

223.74

 

 

Debtors

641.39

TOTAL Balance

89,920.67

TOTAL

89,920.67

 

WSFS Business Meeting Procedures

Welcome to the Business Meeting of the World Science Fiction Society. Every member of this Worldcon is a member of WSFS, and every attending member of this Worldcon can attend this meeting and participate in the government of the Society. WSFS Business Meetings are run under formal meeting procedure ("parliamentary procedure") as codified in our basic manual of rules, Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Edition, and as modified by the WSFS Constitution and Standing Rules (see the Souvenir Book), and traditional customs and usages of the Society.

Head Table Staff

The Business Meeting officers at the head table are:

Chairman (Kevin Standlee): Presides over the meeting; decides whether motions are in order; does not participate in debate; only votes when his vote could affect the decision (usually to either break a tie or to make one).

Deputy Chair/Parliamentarian (Donald Eastlake III): Assists the Chairman by keeping track of the parliamentary situation; presides over the meeting if the Chairman is unable to do so, such as if the Chairman wants to participate in the debate; does not make "rulings" as Parliamentarian -- only the presiding officer makes rulings.

Secretary (Pat McMurray): Takes the minutes (official record) of the meeting; maintains the official documents of WSFS; prepares the agenda; manages the attendance list.

Timekeeper (Clint Budd): Keeps track of the debate time and advises the assembly when time has expired.

The Head Table Staff are here to help you. If you have a question about procedure, such as wanting to know if something you want to do is allowed and how to go about it, obtain the floor (see below) and ask.

General Procedure

The most important general rules to remember are:

Decorum

Address all motions, debate, questions, etc. through the Chair, even if the question is directed to another member. For example, "Mr. Chairman, do I understand Mr. B------ to say that his motion will have the effect of…" or "Mr. Chairman, I would hope that the member who last spoke would think of the consequences of…."

Obtaining the Floor

To make a motion, participate in debate, or ask the Chair a question, you must "obtain the floor" and be recognized by the Chair. To do this, when nobody else is speaking, stand up and address the Chair ("Mr. Chairman"). The Chair will call on you and you can make your motion, state your question, or debate whatever is currently pending. If several people rise at once, the Chair will recognize one person, and the others must sit down. When you are finished speaking, you "yield the floor" by sitting down. You cannot establish "prior claim" to the floor by standing up before a previous speaker has finished. If you attempt to do so, the Chair will ignore you and call on someone who rises after the previous speaker has yielded. Note that the person who makes a motion is entitled to preference in recognition - that is, s/he may speak first - and that debate alternates between speakers for and speakers against a motion. Debate time is equally divided between both sides of the debate, with time for neutral matters charged equally to both sides.

There are a small number of motions, such as points of order, appeals, and Objection to Consideration that can take priority and interrupt a speaker. If you have such a priority interrupt, make it clear when you rise by saying "Point of Order" (or whatever priority business you want to bring up). Note that "because I think it is important" or "the current speaker has made a factual error" is not sufficient priority to interrupt; you’ll have to wait your turn - and use your own debate time - for that.

It is possible to ask questions of someone speaking in debate by interrupting; however, the speaker must agree to yield for the question, and the time spent asking and answering the question comes out of the original speaker’s time. For example, if Member X is speaking, Member A can rise and say "Mr. Chairman, would the member yield for a question?" If X agrees, then A can ask her question (through the Chair), and X can answer it. All of the time consumed in doing so is charged to X and to the side of the question that X is debating.

Unanimous Consent

For many items of a routine and non-controversial nature, the Chair may say "Without objection, [action] will be taken." A member may make a unanimous-consent request; for example, "Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that we hear the report from X immediately because he has to leave soon." If even one person objects, the Chair must put such motions to a vote; however, we urge people not to object to obviously routine and non-controversial motions solely for the sake of form.

Voting

We will not vote by asking for "ayes and noes" because it leads to people trying to out-shout each other. When a vote that would traditionally be held by asking for ayes and noes is called, we will take an uncounted show of hands. The Chair will say, "All those in favor, raise your hands…hands down. All those opposed, raise your hands…hands down."

If the result of the show of hands is inconclusive (and in any case if 10% of the people attending the meeting request it by calling out "Division."), the Chair will take a counted standing vote by the "serpentine" method. In a serpentine vote, all those people who are voting on a give side first stand up. The Chair then indicates the first person to be counted, who says "one" and sits down. The next person standing in that row says "two" and sits down. The count continues down that row until the end of the row then moves to the next row and traverses back the opposite direction. The count continues back and forth until it reaches the last person in the back of the room. Then the Chair calls for the other side to stand and the process repeats. This allows everyone to clearly see who is voting, what the count is, and it means you don’t have to hold your arms in the air for a long time while tellers try to get a clear count.

Agenda and Schedule

There are meetings scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 AM to 1 PM and Monday from 10 AM to Noon. The Friday meeting is called the Preliminary Business Meeting. At this meeting we will hear reports from various committees, take nominations for the WSFS Mark Protection Committee, and set the agenda and debate time limits for the Main Meeting on Saturday, as well as directly consider any changes to the Standing Rules. This means that any new motions to amend the Constitution may be amended, and may also be dismissed entirely through an Objection to Consideration. (If 2/3 vote to kill a new motion without debate immediately after it is introduced, it is dismissed from the agenda.) The Saturday meeting is the first Main Business Meeting, where we will debate and vote on amendments to the WSFS Constitution, elect members to the WSFS MPC, and take care of other business not completed on Friday. Sunday is the Site Selection Business Meeting, where the first item of business is hearing the results of the Worldcon (and NASFiC) site selection and hearing from the winning committees. Also at this meeting is Question Time, where you have a chance to put questions to future Worldcon committees. This meeting will also deal with any business not completed on Saturday. If there is so much business that we are unable to finish on Sunday, a Monday Business Meeting will be held; however, this almost never happens, and it is likely that all business will be finished by the end of Sunday’s meeting.

We expect to call each day’s meeting to order at 10:15, and continue until about 12:15 unless we complete all business sooner. You should spend the time before the meeting reading the various handouts distributed before the meeting, because there will not be time to do so during the meeting itself. The time after the meeting is for the use of ad hoc committees that usually are formed during the meeting.

Access

If you have a physical challenge that limits your ability to raise their hands, rise and be counted, and so forth, talk with the head table staff before the meeting to make alternative arrangements to accommodate you.

Procedural Motions

There is not enough space to give a complete course in parliamentary procedure here. There is a separate handout that lists the most important procedural motions and their rank amongst themselves. As stated above, if you have questions about the proper procedure to follow, please ask the head table staff for help.

Summary

 


Last updated: 24 August 2003

Send comments or suggestions to WSFSbusiness@torcon3.on.ca.