Help me compose a rant.... I mean rebuttal.

[selkiechick]

I am on a committee of a conventions and we are talking policy. We are talking about medical documentation requirements for accommodations, and I am having a hard time finding the right words to tell them why this is a /terrible/ idea, and as a newb of sorts, I'd love to have some authority to stand on. Is there a good blog post or website out there already outlining the reasons why that is a bad requirement, and why?

Thank you.

(I promise, my next post will have content)

Comments

[soc_puppet]

A couple years back, I found out that one of our registration people had interrogated an attendee's staff assistant over their right to be there as an adult-in-tow (which is a great name and I'm implementing it in our con ASAP) while I was away for a bit. I was furious, not only because I had assured the attendee over e-mail that it wouldn't be a problem, but because this same person had been the one to advocate against explicitly stating on our website that we comp badges for staff assistants of attendees. How the hell else would the attendee have found out that we comp badges for attendants, huh?

(I may have told this story here before, but only because it pisses me off.)

Ahem. That is to say, I know where you're coming from. I have in the past made the argument that an adult-in-tow is effectively necessary equipment for the attendee to actually attend, even if they do come with a brain installed. If the adult-in-tow also happens to enjoy anime, goody for them! They're still there to help the attendee in the first place.

[krait]

an adult-in-tow is effectively necessary equipment for the attendee to actually attend, even if they do come with a brain installed. If the adult-in-tow also happens to enjoy anime, goody for them! They're still there to help the attendee in the first place.

Exactly my thoughts! In fact, I'd be personally hoping they did have an interest in the convention; free admission doesn't mean free anything else, so they might well be spending money in the dealers' room or art gallery and making your (paying!) dealers and artists happy! Plus, I'd bet most of them will spend money in food areas, so that could make you happy (if food is part of the con service) or the rented space's owners happy (if it's their restaurant/vending machine/whatever)!