SK10

Last time we checked in at the Skepticon ranch (our brand is the Lazy X!), we were fighting over speaker choices. The next order of business is to pick a theme, and brainstorm ideas for fundraising. Skepticon’s themes aren’t really about the talks. We don’t try to get speakers whose topics Read more…

Many have tried to define “art”… “Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus.” – David Hockney “We have our Arts so we won’t die of Truth.” – Friedrich Nietzsche “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso Read more…

Second meeting of the year, and it’s time for the speaker fight! If you’re imagining PZ Myers punching out Matt Dillahunty, you’re seriously on the wrong track. (Plus you’ve clearly never met either of them. They’re super awesome, and would never hurt a fly. Okay, PZ might, but only in Read more…

After Venue, the next Skepticon division to get busy at the beginning of the year is Speakers. We look through all of the suggestions made by attendees and previous speakers. (And we’re sorry, but Neil deGrasse Tyson is not going to come speak to us for free, ever. Especially not after Read more…

Subtitled: A Committee, a Plan, a Canal, Paeettimmoca! Planning by committee can make it so hard to get what you hoped for in the end. On the other hand, doing it all yourself is a recipe for utter disaster. There’s just too much work, and too many skills needed to run Read more…

Hello again, Skepticondoleers! The work of making a Skepticon is divided up into 12 roles. Let’s take a good, close look at one of them: the Venue role. From the job description: The Venue role is responsible for finding and booking an adequate venue within Skepticon’s budget, and for working with Read more…

Hiya Skepticonderites! On this episode of Inside Skepticon, I want to talk about how Skepticon makes decisions and gets work done. The structure of Skepticon is something that has changed in the last year, in ways that we hope will make life easier, and I’m going to share how it’s gone so far.

Since the dawn of Skepticon it has been sacred tradition for the organizers to make decisions via (friendly) argument among those who were both available and interested. Work was performed by those who were willing, (or bribed, or cajoled), and had the time and energy to cope with it. This has the advantages of immediacy, flexibility, and if no one else is around at the moment, autocracy! In a small volunteer organization this is pretty common, since life often interferes with everyone’s ability to participate regularly.

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For our first adventure in making a Skepticon, let’s take a look at the contract with the hotel and convention center that we sign (not in blood, honest!). Exciting! After choosing a weekend to party, this is the first real step in getting this show on the road. In a later post I’ll say more about our home of the last three years, the Springfield Oasis, and why we keep coming back.

So, what’s in the venue contract? It lays out what convention and hotel space Skepticon is reserving. It says how much Skepticon needs to pay for that space, and when. On the convention side it’s easy, we just take over the whole place! It’s comfortable to have it all to ourselves, and not have to worry about sharing with a holistic crystal faire or finance industry festivale. (We’re sure they’re nice people.) (more…)

Hiya, Skepticontown! Skepticon 10 is a mere seven and a half months away, and already the organizers are hard at work making it a reality. What’s that you say? You always assumed that we hibernated from December to October, stirring occasionally to ask for donations? It’s a plausible hypothesis, seen from the outside, but Read more…