The Con Polizine

POLIZINE THECON

Ascomicconventions havegrown andar‐guablymainstreamedoverthepasttwenty years—ledinnosmallpartbySanDiego Comic-Con(SDCC)—theyhavenecessarilybecome morecomplicatedorganizations.Andwithgreat complexitytheremustcomealsogreatpolicies.

Conpoliciesareguidelineswrittenbyconventionor‐ganizersandcommunicatedtoattendees,volun‐teers,andexhibitorsthroughvariousmeans.They’re typicallyamixof“constitutive”rulesthatdefine howtheconworksand“regulative”rulesthatgov‐ernwhatpeoplecanandcan’tdointhem.*Some‐timestheyexpressevents’values;sometimes, they’rewrittentostaveoffcomplaintsorshieldor‐ganizersfromliability.

Butpoliciesdon’tsimplyrespondtoproblems“out there”intheworld:theyalsoshapehowweperceive andunderstandthoseproblems.†

As mediascholars,wewanttoexplorehowconpoli‐ciesstructurethesespaceswheremoreandmore peopleencounter,interactwith,andpurchaseenter‐tainmentmedia.As communicationscholars,we areinterestedinthepoliciesastextsandasdis‐course,inhowtheyrhetoricallyframetheshow,its attendees,andtheirrelationship.

Thiszineusesaquantitativeandcomparativeanal‐ysisofacollectionofconventionpolicydocuments fromourarchivestosetupaqualitativeanddiscur‐siveapproachtoComic-Con’spolicies.

*JohnSearle,“ConstitutiveRules,” Argumenta 4,vol.no.1(2018):52.DOI: 10.14275/2465-2334/20187.SEA.

†CarolBacchi,“PolicyasDiscourse:WhatDoesitMean?WhereDoesitGet Us?” Discourse:StudiesintheCulturalPoliticsofEducation,vol.21,no.1 (2000):47–48.

Comic-Con in Context

Asrecentlyas1991,theComic-ConEventGuide downplayedthenecessityofformalpolicies,withor‐ganizerssaying,“You’reheretohavefun.We’rehere tomakeitpossibleforyoutohavefun,notimpose rulesonyou.”Sincethen,asComic-Conhascontin‐uedtogrow,ithasembracedpolicymakingasa necessarypreconditionforfunevents.*

Likemanyotherfanevents,Comic-Connowpostsa seriesofpoliciesontheirwebsite,running justshyof3900words.

Buthowdotheycom‐paretotherestofthe sector?

Overthelastseveralyears,RoCCETLabre‐searchers†haveassembledanarchiveof publicly availablepolicystatementsfromthewebsitesof over1000comiccons,festivals,andrelatedfan events.

Oursearchesfocusedon ninespecificpolicycate‐gories—codesofconduct,harassment,assaultand violence,costumesandprops,non-propweapons, accessibility,childrenandminors,guestrelations, andintellectualpropertyorpiracy—thoughweoften grabbedotherkindsoftextalongwiththem.

ThefigurebelowcomparesSDCCtosamplesof eventsinsixcategories,eachofwhichalsocap‐turesalittlebitofwhatComic-Conislike:multi-city franchises,non-profitevents,anime,furry,and gamingconventions,andeventsfocusingonhistor‐icallyunderrepresentedcreatorsandaudiences(“in‐clusive”).ExceptforSDCC,all wordcountsareaver‐ages.

The outlinebar showsthe totalwordcount,while the shadedsegments showhowmanywordswere coded withineachpolicycategory.(Becausetext couldbecodedasbelongingtomultiplepolicy types,theysometimesexceedthetotal.)

Nonetheless,thedifferenteventtypes havedistinctpolicy“profiles.”

Whatdo you noticelookingat thechart?

*ErinHanna, OnlyatComic-Con: Hollywood, Fans,andtheLimitsof Exclusivity (NewBrunswick:Rutgers UniversityPress,2020),73.

†See roccetlab.ca/projects/con-policies for fullcredits.

Ouranalysisofthisdataleadsustofocusonthree keypointsaboutSDCC’spoliciesintheremainderof thiszine:

1.ingeneral,a relativelylowproportion ofits policiesarecodedto any ofourpolicycategories;

2.SDCChasan unusuallyshortcodeofconduct and(still) lacksasubstantiveharassment policy;and

3.SDCCdevotesa relativelyhighproportion ofits policytextto accessibilityservices.

WHATEVENTSMAKEUPTHESAMPLES?

Thetablebelowliststheeventsincludedineachref‐erencesample.Whenpossible,weincludedfive eventsweknewfromourownexperienceweresig‐nificantinthecategoryandfiverandomlyselected fromthearchive.Insomecases(non-profits,inclu‐sive),nonewererandomlyselectedandwedidnot reachafulltencomparators.

Franchise

BrickUniverse,ChicagoComic&EntertainmentExpo,Emerald CityComicCon,FanExpoBoston,HeroHypeTampaComic Con,MegaConOrlando,OttawaComiccon,St.LouisMighty Con,WalkerStalker/Heroes&VillainsFanFestChicago, WizardWorld

Non-profit

Anime

Furry

Gaming

Inclusive

Ama-Con,CapitalCityComicCon,Fandomonium,MoCCA ArtsFestival,SmallPressExpo,TorontoComicArtsFestival, Uchi-con,VancouverComicArtsFestival

A-Kon,AnimeCentral,AnimeExpo,AnimeFestivalOrlando, AnimeFestivalWichita,AnimeMatsuri,AnimeWeekend Atlanta,CAPEAnimeCon,KikoriCon,ShutoCon

Anthrocon,Fur-Eh!,FurryMigration,FursonaCon,FurSquared, FurtherConfusion,FurryWeekendAtlanta,IndyFurCon, MidwestFurFest,TexasFurryFiesta

BlizzCon,CouleeCon,Dreamation,FanLexicon,GenCon, NothingButGames–OpenAlpha,OriginsGameFair,Oz-Con, PAXWest,UBCon

BayAreaQueerZineFest,blerDCon,CrippingtheComicCon, FlameCon,GaymerXEast,GeekGirlCon,NYCFeminist Zinefest,QueerBetweentheCovers,QueernessandGames Conference

SDCC Policy Overview

Avisitorto comic-con.org lookingforSDCC’spoli‐cieswouldfirsthavetoselectCOMIC-CONfromthe topmenu,thenmouseover“AttendingtheShow”to findthegeneral conventionpolicies document.A seconddocumentonthecon’s“DeafandDisabled Services”canalsobefoundunderthesamedrop‐down,whilethechildbadgepolicyislocatedunder theseparateBadgesmenu.Whilethesepoliciesare alsoprovidedintheprintEventsGuidedistributed attheshowandmaybeflaggedinofficialsocial mediaposts,thewebsiteappearstobetheprimary pointofcontact—especiallyinadvanceofthe event—andnoneofthesepoliciesisespeciallyeasy tofind.

Together,thethreedocumentsare3894wordslong. Mostcontentrelatesto accessibility (902words), costumesandprops (274words),and piracyand intellectualproperty,largelyfocusingontheillicit recordingofpanels(268words).Attheotherend,

CodeofConduct

Harassment

Assault

Costumes/Props

Weapons

Accessibility

Children

Guests

IP/Piracy

thereisverylittletextrelatedto harassment (79 words)or guestrelations (21words)andnoneabout assaultandviolence.

BeforedivingintoacloserlookatSDCC’sharass‐mentandaccessibilitypolicies,wewouldliketo makesomegeneralpointsabouttheorganization andpresentationofthepolicies.

1.SDCC2023isthethirdin-personComic-Consince theCOVID-19pandemic’soutbreak.Forthe previoustwo,organizersmaintainedmandatory vaccinationandmaskingpolicies.Asofthis writing,thesepolicieshavebecome recommendations,buttheconventionpoliciesstill list“COVID-19HealthandSafety”first.This positionsuggestsorganizersbelieveitiseither mostimportantorwhatattendeesaremostlikely tobelookingfor.

2.Afterthis,however,therestofthepoliciesare organized alphabetically from“Airspace (Balloons,Drones,etc.)”to“WearableCameras/ VideoRecorders/CameraPhones.”Thisundercuts anysenseofpriority,withtheCodeofConduct fallingbetweena“BadgePrivacyNotice”andthe “CostumePropsPolicy.”

3.Fourteenof22sectionsinconventionpoliciesare titled“No…”:NoHandouts,NoPaging,No Running,etc.Havingtwo-thirdsoftheheadings startwiththesamewordisanoddchoicegiven thealphabeticalorganization.Italsoframesthe organizersnegatively,asthepeoplewhosayno. Thisimpressionisunderscoredbyothernegative language,suchas“ProhibitedItems,”“Nodevices maybe…,”and“Nofunctionalpropsorweapons areallowedatComic-Con.”Whatkindoffeeling wouldattendeesgetwhenconstantlyreading “No…”?

4.Theorganizersrarelyexplainthereasonsforthe rulesnortheconsequencesofbreakingthem.As inthecodeofconduct,theyseemtobetreatedas “commonsense,”leavingattendeestoguesswhy itemsoractionsaren’tallowedatthecon.

5.Manyofthepoliciesseemto responsibilize attendees and normalizecompliance.The documentstartswithaheadersaying,“ComicConhasafewpolicieswemustallfollowthatare necessaryforthesafetyandcomfortofeveryone. Weappreciateyourcooperationinhelpingto makeComic-Conaplacethateveryonecan enjoy.”However,thisinclusive“we”reallymeans “you.”Inourresearch,weusetheterm “responsibilization”whenpoliciesplacetheonus forcreatingandmaintainingasafe,comfortable, andaccessibleconventionontothereader,rather thantheeventanditsorganizers.Aswillbe discussedlater,thisisparticularlytruefor attendeeswithdisabilities.Moreover,requirements toalwayswearyourbadgeinavisibleplaceand warningsthattherewillbebadgeandIDspot checksarenotmatchedwithastatementof attendees’rightsoranappealprocess.

6.Finally,thepolicytextsoftentakeona legalistic tone,emphasizingorganizers’minimumduties underthelaw(suchastheAmericanswith DisabilitiesAct)andallthethingsthatthey “cannotguarantee,”fromCOVIDsafetyto accessibleseatinginpanels.Weappreciatethe materialandorganizationalrealitiesthatmean thesethingscan’tbeguaranteedandconcerns aboutliabilityfortheorganizationandthevenue, amongothers.Yet,thislegalistictonefocusedon CYA raisesthequestion: Ultimately,forwhose benefitarethesepoliciesbeingwritten?

Harassment

Aswehavealreadynoted,SDCC’scodeofconduct, harassment,andassaultpoliciesareamongthe shortest ofallcategoriesweexamined,with148,79, and0words,respectively.Thisisparticularlyshock‐ingbecauseofthehistoryofgrassrootspressureon SDCC—partofthebroader CosplayisNotConsent movement—toadoptacomprehensiveharassment policygoingbacktoatleastthe2008ConAnti-Ha‐rassmentProject.

Lookingatourcomparators,the “inclusive”cons (onaverage)devoteasimilaramountoftextto codesofconduct,buttheyhavelesspolicytext overalland—importantly—almostfivetimesas muchtextonharassmentspecifically. Othernonprofitconventions wereviewedhaveonaverage have817wordsfortheircodesofconduct,375on harassment,and136onassault.Onlyfurryand animeconshavelongercodesofconduct,andnonprofitshavethemosttextonbothharassmentand assault.

Ofcourse,thelengthofacodeofconductorharass‐mentpolicymaynotmatterasmuchifthecontent ofthepolicyisclearanddetailed.The Cosplayer

SurvivorSupportNetwork(CSSN) ratesconvention harassmentpoliciesaccordingtosixcriteria:

1.Dotheyhaveapolicy?

2.Isiteasytofind?

3.Dotheydefineharassment?

4.Arethereconsequenceslisted?

5.Doesthepolicyincludestaff/volunteersas possibleperpetratorsofharassment?

6.Isthereaspecificcontactperson?

SDCC’sharassmentpoliciesratedbytheCosplayerSurvivorSupportNetwork. Source: https://cosplayer-ssn.org/policies.php#CA.

AsoftheirlastupdateonDecember21,2022,CSSN hadreviewed706conventionsandfoundthat only 41metallsixcriteria.TheirlastreviewofSDCC’s policieswasoneyearago,andtheyonlyreceiveda singlethumbsup.

LET’SLOOKATSDCC’SCODEOFCONDUCT

“Attendeesmustrespect commonsenserules for publicbehavior,per‐sonalinteraction,com‐moncourtesy,andre‐spectforprivateprop‐erty.

“Harassingoroffensive behavior willnotbetol‐erated.

“Comic-Conreservesthe righttorevoke,without refund,themembership andbadgeofanyat‐tendeenotincompli‐ancewiththispolicy.

“Personsfindingthem‐selvesinasituation wheretheyfeeltheir safetyisatriskorwho becomeawareofanat‐

Okaysoyou mentioned it,but where isthedefinition? Where is the"cosplayis notconsent"?

Hereistheconsequencefornotrespecting "commonsenserules".But who actually reservesthisright? Every volunteerat SDCC?Also,whatif itisnotanattendeethatisat fault,butrathera volunteer or securityperson?

tendeenotincompli‐ancewiththispolicy shouldimmediatelylo‐catethenearestmem‐berofsecurityorstaff member sothatthe mattercanbehandled inanexpeditiousman‐ner.

“TheComic-ConInfor‐mationDesksarelo‐catedinthelobbiesof HallsCandDoftheSan DiegoConventionCen‐ter.

“Duringshowhoursyou canalwaysfinda Comic-Constaffmem‐berorsecurityguardat theInformationDesks. Pleasestopbythereif youhaveanyquestions orconcerns.”

Again,whatifitis SECURITY orAstaff membercausingthe situation?

Withsomanyconventionsincluding textandphone helplinesoran ombudsman’scontactinformation tohandlereportsofharassment, whyisn't NorthAmerica’s leadingcondoing this?

Charitably,wecansaythatSDCChasaharassment policy,thatitisrelativelyeasytofind,anditincludes consequences.However,it leaves“harassingand offensivebehavior”undefined, assumesthatonly attendeesmayviolatethepolicy,and failstopro‐videareportingprocessorcontactinformation foraspecificsupportperson.

SDCCisincreasinglyoutofstepwithbestprac‐ticesinthesector. Withmanyresourcesavailable fordevelopingharassmentpolicies,there’snoex‐cuseforthesegaps.

Accessibility

SDCC’s DeafandDisabledServices pageisthe longestofthecon’spolicydocuments.Unlikethe generalpolicydocument,thepageisnotorganized alphabetically.Rather,itisbrokenintosectionsthat makeiteasierforattendeestonavigate(sections include:“Otherimportantthingstoknow,”“Whoto askandwheretolook?”“HowdoIscheduleanADA hotelShuttletopickmeup?”etc.).Itisnotincluded aspartoftheotherpolicystatements,insteadit standsaloneas itsownwebpage with itsownFAQ.

WhileSDCC’sdescriptionofitsaccessibilityservices isthemostextensive(of its policiesandof allthe eventcategories weexamined),thegeneralstate‐mentonaccessibilityisitself quitebrief:

Significantly,theseservicesareframedas“offering ahand”tothosewith“specialneeds,”whichsounds likeavoluntaryactofcharityratherthana legal duty oran ethicalcommitment toequitable,univer‐salaccess.

Unlikeotherpolicies,theDeafandDisabledSer‐vicespageprovidesdetaileddescriptionsonloca‐tionsandon-sitevolunteerstaffdedicatedprimarily tothesupportofpeoplewithdisabilities.Theweb‐pageandtheFAQpagementiontheDeaf&Disabil‐ityServicesdesklocatedinLobbyAandthevolun‐teersingreenpoloshirtsmultipletimes.

Despitethedetaileddescription,however,thereare some limitations toSDCC’saccessibilityservices.

Thewebpageoutlinesallthestepsdisabledpeople andtheircompanionsmusttakeinadditiontoother regulationstoattendtheeventcomfortably.While theconventionseemsempathetictoattendeeswith disabilities,itgenerallyplacestheresponsibilityof overcomingaccessibilitychallengesontheatten‐dees,andseemstodeflectitsroleinprovidingan inclusivespacefordisabledandneurodiverseindi‐viduals.Forexample,thecondoesnotguarantee theavailabilityofaccessibleseatinginpanels,cap‐tioningofaudiovisualpresentations,orstaffthat canaccompanythoseinneedofASLinterpretation.

Bycontrast,someoftheanswersontheFAQpage show care and trust,emphasizingthatattendeesdo notneedto prove theyneedaccommodationswith documentations:

Thisisapowerfulexceptiontothegenerallylegalis‐tictoneweobservedelsewhere,insteademphasiz‐inginclusivevalues.

Lookingatwordcountsforaccessibilitypolicies, Comic-Con’sislongerthantheaverageofthefran‐

chise,non-profit,anime,furry,gaming,andinclusive conventions(thoughfiveindividualeventswithin thosesampleshadmoretextthanSDCC).However, aswesawwiththecodeofconduct/harassment policy,weneedtolookatpolicies’substanceaswell. Ahigherwordcountdoesnotnecessarilyindicate thataconventionisensuringinclusionandaccessi‐bilityforall—justthatitissayingmore.

Rather,SDCCassumesthatmostattendeesare able-bodiedandneurotypical,withonlysomehav‐ing“specialneeds”thatrequireahelpinghandfrom theorganizers.Moreattentioncould—andshould— bepaidtothephysical,sensory,andotherbarriers thatpeoplemayexperiencewhennavigatinga busy,crowdedspacelikeComic-Con.

Conclusion

Wearesympathetictothechallengesinvolvedin runninganycon,letaloneoneasbigandascompli‐catedasSDCC.Theymightbecomparedwithrun‐ningamajordigitalplatformlikeFacebookorRed‐dit,whichsimilarlyinvitepeopleintoaspacetoin‐teractwithoneanother.*Aswe’velearnedoverthe years,goodpoliciesareessentialtomakingplat‐formsfunctionalandpleasurabletouse,andthisis equallytrueofthe“IRLplatforms”thatconventions annuallyconstitute.

Inthesepages,we’veexaminedhowtheoverall structure(mostlyalphabeticalorganization)and tone(“negative,”legalistic,andresponsibilizing)of

*MelanieE.S.Kohnen,FelanParker,andBenjaminWoo,“FromComic-Conto Amazon:FanConventionsandDigitalPlatforms,” NewMedia&Society (2023), DOI: 10.1177/146144482311652.

thepolicypagerhetoricallyconstructstherelation‐shipbetweentheconanditsattendees.Wehave alsonotedthat,incomparisonwithotherfanevents, SDCChasaremarkablyscantycodeofconduct/ harassmentpolicyandarelativelylengthyaccessi‐bilitypolicy.Ouranalyseshavesoughtopportunities toimproveandstrengthenthembecausepolicies havematerialeffectsonwhocanattendaconven‐tionandwhattheirexperienceislike.

Despiteitssizeanditsintegrationswiththeenter‐tainmentmediaindustries,Comic-Constillpre‐servesmanyaspectsofitsgrassroots,fannishori‐gins.Itarguablyhasitsownfandom,*andthese fans’engagementwiththeorganizationcanbeseen in(e.g.)theannualComic-ConTalkbackpanel.While recognizinglegal,financialandotherconstraints withinwhichComic-ConInternationaloperatesand towhichattendeesarenotentirelyprivy,canatten‐deesperspectivesbebetterreflectedinthepolicy‐makingprocess?If,asHenryJenkinsargues,fan‐domisaparticipatoryculture,thenhowcanfans participateinthegovernanceofthespacesthat mattertothem?†

KateFedchunAseelQazzaz

JingBaiBenjaminWoo

RoCCETLab

Ottawa2023

*MelanieE.S.Kohnen,“Time,Space,Strategy:FanBloggingandtheEconomyof KnowledgeatSanDiegoComic-Con,” PopularCommunication vol.18,no.2 (2020):91–107,DOI: 10.1080/15405702.2019.1627547;RobSalkowitz,“The TribesofComic-Con,”in TheComicsWorld:Comics,GraphicNovels,andTheir Publics,ed.BenjaminWooandJeremyStoll(Jackson:UniversityPressof Mississippi,2021),147-164.

†HenryJenkins, Fans,Bloggers,andGamers:ExploringParticipatoryCulture (NewYork:NYUPress,2006).

BasedintheSchoolofJournalismand CommunicationatCarletonUniversity (Ottawa,Canada),the ResearchonComics, ConEvents,andTransmediaLaboratory is ahubforinterdisciplinarysocial-science researchoncomicbooksandrelatedmedia.

Groundedinthecriticaltraditionof communicationstudiesbutembracing theoreticalandmethodologicalapproaches fromacrossthehumanitiesandsocial sciences,ourresearchexaminesthe changingrelationshipsbetweenproducers, intermediaries,andaudiencesinthe contemporarypopularmediaindustries.

Ourresearchissupportedbygrantsfrom theGovernmentofOntarioandtheSocial SciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncil ofCanada.

Formoreonthelab,ourwork,andour members,visit roccetlab.ca.

TheConPolizine ComicArtsConference2023

SanDiego,USA