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| − | [[World Conventions]], in order to increase funds, have traditionally sold two classes of membership: attending and supporting. [[Supporting Members]] receive (theoretically) all publications of the convention, and may vote by mail for awards and future convention sites; [[Attending Members]] have all the rights of [[Supporting Members]], plus the right to attend the convention. [[Supporting Memberships]] may be converted to [[Attending Memberships]] by payment of an additional fee. On the grounds that "Supporting" memberships didn't actually support the [[convention]] (some cons had priced [[Supporting Memberships]] so low that they didn't even pay for the publications they received), and were only a way of temporizing in case someone decided months later to actually attend, [[L.A.con II]], the 1984 [[Worldcon]], sold Corresponding Memberships, instead. These had the right of receiving publications and of voting, but not of being converted to [[Attending Memberships]]. | + | #REDIRECT [[Membership]] [[Category:redirect]] |
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| − | Some groups [[bidding]] for the [[Worldcon]] have sold [[Pre-Supporting Memberships]] (or, occasionally, [[Pre-Opposing Memberships]], at a higher fee), purchasers of which received rebates or reduction of their membership fees if the group won. With the escalation of the size of the [[Worldcon]], however, the number of people who can (and will) misconstrue rights and privileges of their membership type has also escalated, causing some [[bidding]] groups to avoid such discounts in actual membership rates. (Thus, [[L.A.con II]], instead of [[Pre-supporting Memberships]], sold memberships in a separate group, [[Friends of L.A. in '84]], to support the [[bid]]. [[Friends]] (and [[Enemies]], the equivalent of [[Pre-Opposing]]) got special privileges, buttons, etc., but paid the full membership rate.)
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| − | Membership fees were originally almost insignificant. The $1.00 fee of the 40's increased to $2.00 in the mid-50's, $3.00 in the mid-60's, $6.00 by 1970. [[Conventions]] began a series of time-dependent fee increases that could range from $20 at the cheapest time to $75 at the door of the convention (rates for the 1984 [[Worldcon]]). Many [[fans]] found that it was safer to buy a membership at the cheap rate if there was even the slightest possibility of their attending the convention. They could also buy a "Guest of..." membership at that rate just in case they found someone to invite to the [[con]] later. If one or both memberships weren't needed, they could probably be sold to latecomers from the local [[fandom]] group at a bargain to both purchaser and seller. | |
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