View source for Whichness of the Why

A [[poll]] on alternative methods of limiting attendance at [[Worldcon]], specifically [[MidAmeriCon]], in reaction to the rising [[Alarm and Despondency]] at the [[increase in convention sizes in the 1970s]].

It was distributed by [[Bill Fesselmeyer]] via the mails to a large number of veteran [[con]]goers, distributed at the 1974 [[MileHiCon 6]] in [[Denver]] and [[Windycon I]] in [[Chicago]], and finally run through various [[APAs]] of which Bill was a member. 

The options were: 
#Setting an absolute maximum attendance. 
#Selling no [[at-the-door]] [[memberships]].
#A very high at-the-door rate combined with a rapidly escalating membership fee.
#Eliminating [[programming]] appealing to [[fringe fans|those only marginally interested]] in the rest of the convention.
#No limiting at all &mdash; doing nothing. 

The results, partly published in the [[lettercol]] in [[MidAmeriCon]]’s [[PR]] 2 and (supposedly) in full in a second issue of ''Whichness'', directed [[MAC]]’s policies to sharply escalate membership fees culminating in at-the-door rates of an unheard of $50; to eliminate any [[programming]] on [[fringe fandom|special interest areas]] of [[comics]], ''[[Star Trek]], Planet of the Apes'', and the [[Society for Creative Anachronism]]; and to cut down the [[movie]] schedule.


{{publication|year=1974}} [[Category:fanzine]] [[Category:US]]
[[Category:conrunning]]