Vintage Computer Festivals???

[Ian Finder]

Evan wrote:
>> When people who have casual interest attend a VCF, they're not going to come back if the room is a big confusing mix of exhibits and stuff for sale. These people -- a massive audience vs. the few of us active collectors -- aren't attending to find memory for their Banana 3000. They're attending to be wowed.

Evan, I think your point above is totally valid- I agree with you 100%- it's the right decision.

Still, part of it seems like something that the primary local organizers should be able to weigh in on based on their idea of the intent of the event-- but then they are also free to not use / adulterate the VCF trademark, which is only fair.

I suppose I just wish this singular VCF banner and a focused intent behind it had been enforced better from the start, and my main criticism is just that at this point VCF and the phrase "vintage computer festival" seem awful generic.

No easy solution...

Cheers,

- Ian

Sent from Outlook for iPhone<https://aka.ms/wp8k5y>

_____________________________
From: Evan Koblentz <cctalk at snarc.net<mailto:cctalk at snarc.net>>
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2016 11:52
Subject: Re: Vintage Computer Festivals???
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org<mailto:cctalk at classiccmp.org>>


>Still, calling a hobbyist who> sells some of his creations a vendor is a dubious distinction, in my> opinion, since no one is making much money on these things, it's just a> service for fellow enthusiasts. All of the other shows I attend (like> the upcoming CocoFEST!) make no distinction.We have a good reason for doing this.Events that mix sales/exhibits together, without making distinctions from booth to booth, tend to become flea/swap-type events. That's fine for those of us IN the hobby, but these events will only ever shrink, not grow, as the audience/collectors get older.Our goal at VCF is to produce awesome events that show vintage computing to people * beyond * hobby insiders. When people who have casual interest attend a VCF, they're not going to come back if the room is a big confusing mix of exhibits and stuff for sale. These people -- a massive audience vs. the few of us active collectors -- aren't attending to find memory for their Banana 3000. They're attending to be wowed.