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The CON.TXT 2014 Schedule is live!
May. 30th, 2014 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
axiom_of_stripeGet ready! The full CON.TXT schedule is up - come see what the excitement will be all about!
axiom_of_stripe
axiom_of_stripeWe're still looking for a few good moderators!
Most urgently, we'd like someone for the panel on "My Gender Is Queer: Negotiating Fandom Terminology". Here's the description:
"What is slash when we shift the gender paradigm? Does slash require both characters to share the exact same gender-identification? Beyond m/f, f/f, and m/m, how can we use existing fandom terminology and create new kinds to describe our queer fiction?"
We have folks willing to help out, but given the topic, we don't want to do it without a mod with knowledge (and ideally, experience) in the genderqueer world. Please let us know if you would like to help lead this discussion!
We are also seeking scribes for several panels: folks who are willing to help with taking notes and otherwise assisting the mods in keeping panels on track. If this is a skill you have and would like to exercise, please email panels@con-txt.net -- or, if you have some time and interest during the con itself, please feel free to talk to the concomm (look for the purple sash!) or the panel moderator(s) listed in the program at the con.
Most urgently, we'd like someone for the panel on "My Gender Is Queer: Negotiating Fandom Terminology". Here's the description:
"What is slash when we shift the gender paradigm? Does slash require both characters to share the exact same gender-identification? Beyond m/f, f/f, and m/m, how can we use existing fandom terminology and create new kinds to describe our queer fiction?"
We have folks willing to help out, but given the topic, we don't want to do it without a mod with knowledge (and ideally, experience) in the genderqueer world. Please let us know if you would like to help lead this discussion!
We are also seeking scribes for several panels: folks who are willing to help with taking notes and otherwise assisting the mods in keeping panels on track. If this is a skill you have and would like to exercise, please email panels@con-txt.net -- or, if you have some time and interest during the con itself, please feel free to talk to the concomm (look for the purple sash!) or the panel moderator(s) listed in the program at the con.
axiom_of_stripeThe CON.TXT 2014 panel schedule is coming together, but we still have a few popular panels without moderators:
Please drop a note to panels@con-txt.net if you're interested in modding one (or more) of these! We're happy to talk you through our handy moderating how-to guide if you're willing to jump in and lead a discussion.
Thank you! We can't con without you. :)
- Celebrating Femslash - From Xena/Gabrielle through Buffy/Faith to Pepper/Natasha. Whether they're best friends, bitter enemies, or characters who don't even talk to each other in canon, but totally should, let's talk about the pairings and possibilities of femslash. What are some of your favorite fandoms, characters, and tropes? Which writers do you follow to any fandom? Which stories do you have bookmarked to read over and over? Which Femslash Friday posts at The Toast make you pump your fist and go, "Hell, yeah!"? What femslash stories do you hope someone will go home and write tomorrow?
- How To Put Fandom On Your Resume Without Putting Fandom On Your Resume - Brainstorming session! Fandom teaches critical-thinking skills, fosters an international community, provides a basic understanding of how life on the internet works, and other important life skills you can totally use professionally without necessarily telling your boss that you read 100K words of explicit Kirk/Spock a week. (Unless you want to.)
- Star Trek: Let's Talk Trek - From Kirk/Spock all the way through the years, let's talk about Star Trek and all its various permutations!
- Tag, you're it!: Tagging for fun and profit - Tags - on Tumblr, on AO3, on DW and Pinboard - tags are everywhere. How do tags work? What are the most effective ways to tag your fannish content so it can be found? What are the most effective ways to use tags to find content? Why does fandom love tags so much, and why do tags love us so much? Also an AO3 tag wrangler will be around to answer AO3-tagging-specific-questions.
Please drop a note to panels@con-txt.net if you're interested in modding one (or more) of these! We're happy to talk you through our handy moderating how-to guide if you're willing to jump in and lead a discussion.
Thank you! We can't con without you. :)
CON.TXT 2014 Panel Voting -- Extended!
May. 2nd, 2014 08:11 pmaxiom_of_stripeThe programming committee is already starting to tally panel votes but we have decided to extend the voting period until Monday, May 5th. If you haven't had a chance to peruse the list and pick your favorites, now is the time: vote for panels!
Also, if you're interested in being a panel moderator and you haven't said so yet, please email panels@con-txt.net now!
Also, if you're interested in being a panel moderator and you haven't said so yet, please email panels@con-txt.net now!
It's time to vote for panels
Apr. 21st, 2014 07:36 pmaxiom_of_stripeThe 2014 CON.TXT Panel Poll is up! If you're coming to the con, please vote for panels now and drum up support for your favorites among your fellow con-goers. Please VOTE EARLY and often exactly once! The poll will close on May 2nd.
Interested in being a moderator? You can put your name down at the end of the poll or contact panels@con-txt.net. You'll see on the poll the badge names of people who've already volunteered -- some of them many times, as some hearty mods have volunteered a lot knowing that some of their panels might not make it through the voting. (Thank you for your excellent enthusiasm!) Don't hesitate to join them if you're ready!
Interested in being a moderator? You can put your name down at the end of the poll or contact panels@con-txt.net. You'll see on the poll the badge names of people who've already volunteered -- some of them many times, as some hearty mods have volunteered a lot knowing that some of their panels might not make it through the voting. (Thank you for your excellent enthusiasm!) Don't hesitate to join them if you're ready!
Discussion Topics for CON.TXT 2014
Apr. 7th, 2014 06:05 pmaxiom_of_stripeThere is still time to put in a few more panel suggestions before the form closes on Friday! After that, it will be time for voting on which of them you want the most for this year's con.
Suggest A Panel
If you want to influence this decision, there's an even better method than ballot-stuffing (please don't go for ballot-stuffing): panels which already have moderators are a lot more likely to end up on the schedule. If there's a panel you really want to attend and it doesn't have anyone running it yet, in addition to rustling up votes you could ask around and see if there's someone in your fandom who would be interested in volunteering to do it -- or consider stepping in yourself! We aim to have at least two people moderating every panel, so you wouldn't be alone up there.
Moderate A Panel
Here are some excerpts from the tips we offer to moderators which may help you get a sense of what it's like to lead a panel, if you're on the fence about it:
Suggest A Panel
If you want to influence this decision, there's an even better method than ballot-stuffing (please don't go for ballot-stuffing): panels which already have moderators are a lot more likely to end up on the schedule. If there's a panel you really want to attend and it doesn't have anyone running it yet, in addition to rustling up votes you could ask around and see if there's someone in your fandom who would be interested in volunteering to do it -- or consider stepping in yourself! We aim to have at least two people moderating every panel, so you wouldn't be alone up there.
Moderate A Panel
Here are some excerpts from the tips we offer to moderators which may help you get a sense of what it's like to lead a panel, if you're on the fence about it:
First things first -- these generally aren't professors lecturing or panels with presentations like you might see at a professional conference, but more like friendly discussions with a lot of audience participation. Even if you are giving a presentation, allow a lot of time for discussion.
You might want to prepare a short "opening statement" to describe why this topic was suggested and to relate any recent relevant activity online or on screen to put everyone on the same page.
Have a list of "starter" questions to get discussion going. You might want to start by polling the room; ask things like Y/N on a meta question, who has a favorite character or OTP, how many have written a drabble, and so on. This helps you know your audience, and gets people interacting with you. In a smaller panel, you may want to go around and have everyone introduce themselves and give their reason for attending.
Think about splitting the time up into 3 or 4 subtopics. For each, prepare a list of 3 or 4 open-ended questions to start discussion. If discussion lags, go on to the next topic; if discussion is lively, feel free to stay with it. Having a few backup questions that you don't get to is better than running out of things to talk about.
While it's not appropriate for all panels, you are encouraged to write up notes, how-to, resources, links, etc, and print them to hand out. This is also darned useful to hand to a trusty scribe in the panel to mark up and then post as your panel notes later...
axiom_of_stripeReminder: you've only got a little more than a week left to suggest panel topics for this year's con!
We're looking for discussion subjects in every category -- from meta to how-tos, from single-fandom topics to ones that apply across multiple fandoms -- as long as they're related to slash and/or slash fandom, we want you to suggest them.
Also, come browse the list of already suggested panels for ones whose discussion you might like to lead! We typically have two or three moderators as discussion leaders for every panel, so you can put yourself down as a possible moderator even if there's already someone there. You don't have to have suggested the panel to lead it, and you don't have to lead a panel just because you suggested it!
We're looking for discussion subjects in every category -- from meta to how-tos, from single-fandom topics to ones that apply across multiple fandoms -- as long as they're related to slash and/or slash fandom, we want you to suggest them.
Also, come browse the list of already suggested panels for ones whose discussion you might like to lead! We typically have two or three moderators as discussion leaders for every panel, so you can put yourself down as a possible moderator even if there's already someone there. You don't have to have suggested the panel to lead it, and you don't have to lead a panel just because you suggested it!
CON.TXT 2014 Panel Suggestions are Open
Mar. 24th, 2014 06:46 pmaxiom_of_stripeStarting today (March 24th), and through April 11th, we're asking all CON.TXT members to start making suggestions for roundtable discussion topics. We're looking for discussion subjects in every category -- from meta to how-tos, from single-fandom topics to ones that apply across multiple fandoms -- as long as they're related to slash and/or slash fandom, we want you to suggest them.
Just go to the Member Login page, log in, and then go to Programming and click on "Panel Suggestions." Once you've filled in the boxes, just click submit.
Once people start clicking "submit", you'll be able to see what has been suggested. This year, if you see something right up your alley (so to speak), you'll be able to put your name down as a potential moderator right away! Just log in and click on the moderator volunteer button below the panel.
That list of suggestions can be sorted by date, category, topic, or number of moderators volunteering so far, and you can see all of the suggestions or just the ones you've proposed and/or offered to moderate. We'll be using this information to select panel topics, to find moderators, and to gauge which topics and fandoms are garnering the most interest.
Remember -- you have to be logged in to make suggestions, sort your own suggestions, and volunteer to moderate; everyone can see what's been proposed, whether they're logged in or not.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email us at panels@con-txt.net or to comment here (or on any of our update platforms).
Just go to the Member Login page, log in, and then go to Programming and click on "Panel Suggestions." Once you've filled in the boxes, just click submit.
Once people start clicking "submit", you'll be able to see what has been suggested. This year, if you see something right up your alley (so to speak), you'll be able to put your name down as a potential moderator right away! Just log in and click on the moderator volunteer button below the panel.
That list of suggestions can be sorted by date, category, topic, or number of moderators volunteering so far, and you can see all of the suggestions or just the ones you've proposed and/or offered to moderate. We'll be using this information to select panel topics, to find moderators, and to gauge which topics and fandoms are garnering the most interest.
Remember -- you have to be logged in to make suggestions, sort your own suggestions, and volunteer to moderate; everyone can see what's been proposed, whether they're logged in or not.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email us at panels@con-txt.net or to comment here (or on any of our update platforms).
