Call to Action!

[Matt Brown]

Hi All,

Dragon*Con Academics was GREAT this year. We did 8 panels with high
attendance, great presentations, and rousing discussions. Now's the
time to push for an expansion of academic programming at Dragon*Con!
The way to do this is to let the Dragon*Con office know how much
support there is for academic programming and an academic conference
at the convention. I'm aiming for the stars, hoping to get a full
academic track at the convention.

What I'm asking from you is to contact the office and let them know
how you feel. There are three ways to do this. You can email them at
drag...@dragoncon.org. You can fill out the webform at:

http://dragoncon.org/dc_contact.php

Or you can call the office at 770-909-0115 (M-F 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
EST).

Below I've provided the beginning of a message. You can edit it, mix
and match your reasons, and (this is crucial!) provide some detail
about your own experience.

Thanks for your support!

Best,
Matt


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Subject: Track Request: Academics

Dear Dragon*Con Office,

I'm writing to request the creation of an academic track at
Dragon*Con. I [[attended / participated in / wish I could have been
at]] the academic conference organized by Matt Brown at Dragon*Con in
[[2008 / 2009]], and I am very much in support of expanding it. The
attendance has been very high, the presentations have been interesting
and informative, and have lead to lively discussions.

While the ordinary, informal fan discussions at Dragon*Con can be fun
and informative, these panels really bring something extra to my
Dragon*Con in terms of the amount of work that has gone into the
panel, and the type of intellectually stimulating discussion that
results.

It would really help to have the academic panels be more officially
organized, so they would be easier to find and in a more consistent
space as well.

It seems like making an academic track would allow a wider variety of
academic presentations. Right now, it seems to be limited by what
tracks have space open.

We're not only ready for a higher level of intellectual discussion at
Dragon*Con. We need it!

I've also heard that Matt Brown is willing to continue to organize
academic presentations at Dragon*Con. [[I'd also be willing to help
out by presenting / volunteering at the Con / helping with
organization / attending the panels.]]

Thank you for your time!

[[Your signature here]]

[Matt Brown]

Just got the following response to posting this somewhere else. So
here's a different strategy for trying to get this done.

Best,
Matt

From: Cassy Gordon

Hi Everyone,

Please STOP what you are about to do in responding to the office via
email and photo calls. Spamming the office is the best way to upset
the office staff, and the Convention volunteers.

So how DO you get this sort of information to the people that need to
know?

Please WRITE, yes, WRITE (it takes no effort to send an email, and we
feel that if you care about something you can take a few minutes to
write about it), to the address below:

Dragon*Con
Attention: David Gordon
Programming/Panel Suggestions
PO Box 16459
Atlanta, GA 30321-0459

Preferably write your letter in your own words rather than using a
form letter.

David does read these and take them into consideration for future
planning (just ask the Alternate History track if you don't believe
me). However, please keep in mind that the convention does have space
considerations, and while we would love to have a fan track for
everything, we only have room for so much.

Thank you for caring enough to write to us.

Best Regards,
~Cassy Gordon

Senior Director
Public Relations
Dragon*Con

On Sep 17, 2:56 pm, Matt Brown <thehanged...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Dragon*Con Academics was GREAT this year.  We did 8 panels with high
> attendance, great presentations, and rousing discussions.  Now's the
> time to push for an expansion of academic programming at Dragon*Con!
> The way to do this is to let the Dragon*Con office know how much
> support there is for academic programming and an academic conference
> at the convention.  I'm aiming for the stars, hoping to get a full
> academic track at the convention.
>
> What I'm asking from you is to contact the office and let them know
> how you feel.  There are three ways to do this.  You can email them at

> dragon...@dragoncon.org.  You can fill out the webform at: