What
is Altfanthingie Con?
What
is Burning Man, and why should a Thingie care?
Can
I participate online?
How
do I meet other Thingies IRL?
What's
going on at Burning Man and can I come too?
Simply put, it's a weekend-long online chatfest with subscribers to the newsgroup alt.fan.neil-gaiman (a.k.a. "alt.fan.thingie"). When convenient, said subscribers get together in central locations to do Neil-related things over the Con weekend.
The first Altfanthingie Con took place in August of 1999. Part of it was held online, while in a few select locations (Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; and San Francisco, California, USA) several of us gathered IRL to share adventures and/or food, and then report about our endeavors online. Those of us who took part thought it was a wonderful success, and perhaps it should become annual - so here we are...
What is Burning Man, and why should a Thingie care?
Burning Man is a best described by the people who are a part of it, and their website. Basically, it is a community that is built up in the alkali desert of Nevada for a week every year, where free souls can express themselves pretty much however they see fit. It's a rough battle to survive the elements (ceaseless dust and winds, no electricity or water other than what you bring with you), but those who go there often return to reality with a new outlook on life and time.
A few of the Thingies went in 1999 and thought it would be a fantastic idea if we could incorporate a Thingie Theme Camp at Burning Man to coincide with Altfanthingie Con. It happened. There was a Thingie gathering at Burning Man, and shortly after we returned, we reported about it at the online portion of the Con. Another tradition to carry on.
Of course. Anyone who posts or lurks on alt.fan.neil-gaiman, or who is a friend to the group, may join in the excitement.* You will have to be a member of the ThingieClub at YahooGroups to find out more info as the time comes for the next Con. To join the ThingieCon mailing list, you will need to become a member of ThingieClub. This will entitle you to enter the chatroom, create a profile of yourself, look at other peoples' profiles (if they choose to create any), and post messages to all the other members of the group. Keep in mind, this group tends to maintain a low volume of messages (as most of our discussions are done on the newsgroup), so your inbox shouldn't get overly flooded. There is also an option *not* to receive notices by email, but only by checking in at the 'Club every now and then. To join, send a blank email to thingieclub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. For more information about the Yahoo ThingieClub, please click here, or send an email to Shira, the ThingieClub manager.
How do I meet other Thingies IRL?
There are a few ways to go about doing this during the Con, and it's definitely more easily done for some than for others. If you just can't meet in real life, don't feel bad, all the highlights are discussed online and usually we have just as much fun in the chat as we do anywhere else.
One thing you can do is host your own gather. This is not for everyone, as it depends on how many Neil-philes are in your area, or are willing to get to your area. (e.g., You'll probably have better luck in Melbourne, Australia than in the Chatanooga, Tennessee, but you never know.) Hosting does not have to be a big chore. Really, all it requires is that you take the responsibility of finding a computer with access to the chatroom, finding people to share it with for the chat, and entertaining said people (dinner, movie party, scavenger hunt, trip to comic shop, board games, whatever) during the weekend. If you are interested in hosting, drop me a line and I'll hook you up with people in your area and tips on hosting.
The alternative to hosting is to attend an existing Con site. In 1999 we had three (Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; and San Francisco, California, USA). 2000 saw gathers in Melbourne and San Francisco. It changes every year, dependent on where the Thingies are in the world. 2001 was just after the 9-11 tragedy and traveling to meet others wasn't as high a priority as being safe at home. When it gets close to Con time, I'll post potential gather locales, if there are any.
If you really want to meet some of us in person, but will not be able to make it to any of the Con gather sites, the final alternative is to meet up at Burning Man (see below).
What's going on at Burning Man and can I come too?
Every year, I try to put together a little Thingie Theme camp at Burning Man. Neil-based fan art makes up a museum of sorts for people to wander through, an autographed camp banner let's the world know that Neil Gaiman is cool enough to worship at Burning Man (i.e., he is an inspiration to artists), a Faerie Market (a barter market, like in Stardust) is set up for an hour or for days to barter off trinkets in exchange for gold shoes, cds, or a person's true name... One of these days the camp will be set up with enough interest to feature a 'story night', where we sit around the lamp in the warmth of the faerie decorated tent reading Neil stories, or sharing some of our own.
All Thingies and Neil-philes are welcome to help make this camp great. If you would like to attend, you will have to pull your own weight in water and help out at the camp (set up, tear down, and do your part to keep our shared space clean), or you can attend Burning Man on your own and just drop by to say hello.
Even if you are not going to Burning Man, you can still be of great assistance to the camp. Our Faerie Market is stocked with lots of stuff, but we can always use more. Any original art, particularly the Neil-influenced kind) that you would be willing to create and/or donate to the museum part of camp would be greatly appreciated. Costumey trinkets, crafts, and small souvenirs are always welcome, as well as short stories or poetry. Please email me if you have stuff you'd like to donate.
Questions? Comments? Ideas?
Contact me (Michelle) at favourite_stalker@snafu.org
Back to the Main Altfanthingie Con Page.