Unofficial History of Drama in the Free State

[dalebert]

Someone brought up the thought that she may be in some cult or something.

Yeah, that's what some people think of the FSP.

[blackie]

http://www.deikman.com/wrong.html

Some degree of cult behavior can be seen in all groups, so instead of asking “Is this group a cult?,” a more useful inquiry is: “How much cult behavior is taking place here?” This question has special urgency as we face the reality of a present-day terrorism whose destructive possibilities have been fearfully magnified by modern technology. Although it is not hard to spot cult behavior in al Qaeda, we are not inclined to notice it in ourselves as we respond to the threat. Yet, we had better be able to do so, because the price of cult behavior is diminished realism. We cannot afford that now.

   To heighten our awareness, Them and Us identifies four basic cult behaviors that influence our thinking: 1) compliance with a group, 2) dependence on a leader, 3) avoiding dissent, and 4) devaluing the outsider. These forces operate in all aspects of society. The core process is devaluing the outsider, resulting in Them-versus-Us behavior.

   This book makes clear the nature of the problem and the attitude necessary for its solution. The book expands on Deikman's earlier work, The Wrong Way Home (1990), showing the connection between classic cult manipulation and the milder forms of group pressure that can be found in even the most staid organizations—churches and schools, mainstream political movements and corporate boardrooms.

[John Shaw]

1) compliance with a group
2) dependence on a leader
3) avoiding dissent
4) devaluing the outsider

Seems like #4 is the most common violation among the liberty crowd, but there's also a general us vs. them attitude our crowd has that is probably pretty healthy considering.

I know for a fact that #4 is the only one that I do, heh.

[Sovereign Curtis]

The difference this year is I dont have $10,000 cash or credit that I can devote to covering PF budget shortfalls, as have past organizers.
Being 10k 'short' two weeks out is normal. Having a head organizer who can't or won't cover the budget until revenue catches up, is not

Tell the FSP to cover it.

I think that's what he's implying that they did.

Remember, they pulled the plug on the Liberty Forum because they were afraid shelling out the money in advance for it would lead to bankruptcy.

You may be surprised but NOPE. I made a deal with 'the FSP' early on. PorcFest 2011 wont cost them a dime.
Why? I want to prove PorcFest can survive sans Free State Project Inc. FSP has to go, PF does not.

A way to help avoid this in the future -

Register - Get a bracelet/lanyard tag

Have a bracelet/lanyard tag - Attend events

Don't have a bracelet/lanyard tag - Fuck off

Ignore crybaby entitled freeriders.


Problem solved.

There are many other possibilities as well if you stop and think about it.

A website with little bars that fill up in order of priority would work.

Campground Goal X dollars (Percentage of money on graph. When it reaches 100%, you roll down to the next item)

Events (Maybe broken down into types of event from most popular downward.)

Other items.


Make it a game. Add bonus events that don't eat up all the profit for reaching certain goals. Non liberty specific things like vidya game competitions and cheap carnival games and fuckin' balloons for the kiddies and shit. Petting zoo. Whatever the fuck ya gotta do to motivate people to pony up cash on the front end. Gambling events. Organize adult events like a stripper tent or some shit. Or if that's offensive make it a burlesque show and call it classy. Get fucking authors to do readings. LUPO I'M TALKING TO YOU. Where are the fuckin' face painters and clowns and fuckers on stilts and belly dancers and shit?
 
ALL THESE THINGS AND MORE CAN BE HAD AT PORCFEST IF WE EXCEED X DOLLARS IN REGISTRATION FEES

Sell that shit.

Of course, I'm not pointing fingers or anything about who is responsible for what. Just thinking about ways to avoid shit in the future. Almost universally, conventions make profits. The idea that Porcfest doesn't make money and has had to be bankrolled repeatedly by cool people who have extra cash begs the question of how in hell they don't end up in the black in the first place.

It's because of cheap fuckers. Porcfest isn't a goddamn charity event. I totally understand that the event is basically one giant sales pitch for moving and all, but if you can't make it pay for itself, you aren't gonna be able to put the thing on forever.

This is a fairly small community and you'll eventually run out of individuals who have enough money to bail the event out.

Great suggestions.

PorcFest DOES make a profit. It just doesnt hit the black until Friday/Saturday. In the past PF was run buy one or more of those individuals with money. They covered the shortfall, and reimbursed themselves at PorcFest. I'm a broke fucker, that shit aint happening this year. Maybe if I hadnt spent the last 11 months working on PF full time I coulda got a part time job to help cover the shortfall (el oh fucking el. How much more of my life can I give this festival?)

Ignore crybaby entitled freeriders.

I propose that we have an official gleeker and anyone who whines about $30 for a week-long party get officially gleeked.

I highly encourage those who have registered to out those who are freeloading. Fuck that shit.
I've put in 40+ hours a week for the last 11 months (and more recently [like the last two months] its been closer to 80+ hours/week....)
PorcFest is cheap. If someone refuses to pay THEY ARE ROBBING ME OF MY TIME AND LABOR. As such they deserve to be shamed and shunned.
And you KNOW I'll lead that fucking charge.


tl;dr click the banner below and give PorcFest your most generous donation. <3

[blackie]

I made a deal with 'the FSP' early on. PorcFest 2011 wont cost them a dime.
Why? I want to prove PorcFest can survive sans Free State Project Inc. FSP has to go, PF does not.

Then what are you whining about?

I highly encourage those who have registered to out those who are freeloading. Fuck that shit.
I've put in 40+ hours a week for the last 11 months (and more recently [like the last two months] its been closer to 80+ hours/week....)
PorcFest is cheap. If someone refuses to pay THEY ARE ROBBING ME OF MY TIME AND LABOR. As such they deserve to be shamed and shunned.
And you KNOW I'll lead that fucking charge.

No one has to out me. I have said that I will not pay if I go.

Robbing you of your time and labor? If I go to porcfest and don't pay, how does that cost you time or labor?

But if that is how you feel, I just won't go.

[John Shaw]

PorcFest DOES make a profit. It just doesnt hit the black until Friday/Saturday.

Well... It doesn't make enough to put into the kitty so you don't run into the same problem next year.

There's should be assets sitting there at the end of PF this year that go into paying for next year. If you don't have enough money at the bottom line to pay for your next con, you aren't doing your con right. Porcfest should pay for Liberty Forum which pays for Porcfest etc. until the end of time.

Money on top of that is profit. Donations aren't profit.  

Not bagging on you, I'm just talking about the economic realities here.

[alaric89]

John, doesn't it give you a nice warm feeling when people kindly prove your stance that the Freestaters are cheap fucks?
Don't bother answering. It depresses the hell out of me.

[One two three]

Robbing you of your time and labor? If I go to porcfest and don't pay, how does that cost you time or labor?

But if that is how you feel, I just won't go.

If you aren't volunteering, paying, an official performer that has been told they do not have to pay, a child or the organizer, of course you shouldn't go to Porcfest.  Everyone knows that, even a common thief could figure out something so basic.

[blackie]

Robbing you of your time and labor? If I go to porcfest and don't pay, how does that cost you time or labor?

But if that is how you feel, I just won't go.

If you aren't volunteering, paying, an official performer that has been told they do not have to pay, a child or the organizer, of course you shouldn't go to Porcfest.  Everyone knows that, even a common thief could figure out something so basic.

I'll just be going to Rogers campground. Fuck Porcfest.

[John Shaw]

If you aren't volunteering, paying, an official performer that has been told they do not have to pay, a child or the organizer, of course you shouldn't go to attend events at Porcfest.  Everyone knows that, even a common thief could figure out something so basic.

FTFY.

You can't stop peeps from going to a campground and hanging around with their friends. The PF org isn't buying out Roger's Campground for the week.

Not being welcome at events is a separate issue, however, if you wanna be the guy who does that.

If I were going to PF this year I'd hang with Blackie. He's good people.

[Turd Ferguson]

Seems to me, this PF thing is getting too big for its britches. Not in the sense that too many people are coming, no, thats what you want at an event..... lots of people. I'm talking about the complications of it all.  Just seems it started with a simple concept, getting liberty type people together. First few seemed like people had fun, everything went as planned, no prob. Now it seems it is in the beginning stages of turning into a monster. Always having to make something better, always having to one-up the previous one, all the while forgetting what made the thing fun to go to in the first place.

I've seen that type of shit happen soooooo many times with different festivals and whatnot. Starts out innocently enough...... just a bunch of people getting together, wanting to celebrate something, having a good time. Well, its such a huge success that all the sudden, everyone wants in on the deal, so they make it bigger, better, harder and faster, and it turns into something else entirely. Fees, licenses, rules, blah blah blah, this and that. Now all of the sudden everyone is speaking of shortfalls in funding, number crunching, head scratching, central planning to figure out how to keep it going.

I dont know if thats what is going on here, but from the conversations I see in here on a regular basis, seems to be that is whats going on.


K.I.S.S   and the numbers will still continue to grow, people will still have fun and it is relatively headache free.


Correct me if im out of line and have no idea what im talking about.

[John Shaw]

Seems to me, this PF thing is getting too big for its britches. Not in the sense that too many people are coming, no, thats what you want at an event..... lots of people. I'm talking about the complications of it all.  Just seems it started with a simple concept, getting liberty type people together. First few seemed like people had fun, everything went as planned, no prob. Now it seems it is in the beginning stages of turning into a monster. Always having to make something better, always having to one-up the previous one, all the while forgetting what made the thing fun to go to in the first place.

I've seen that type of shit happen soooooo many times with different festivals and whatnot. Starts out innocently enough...... just a bunch of people getting together, wanting to celebrate something, having a good time. Well, its such a huge success that all the sudden, everyone wants in on the deal, so they make it bigger, better, harder and faster, and it turns into something else entirely. Fees, licenses, rules, blah blah blah, this and that. Now all of the sudden everyone is speaking of shortfalls in funding, number crunching, head scratching, central planning to figure out how to keep it going.

I dont know if thats what is going on here, but from the conversations I see in here on a regular basis, seems to be that is whats going on.


K.I.S.S   and the numbers will still continue to grow, people will still have fun and it is relatively headache free.


Correct me if im out of line and have no idea what im talking about.

I dunno. My first PF was two years ago and it seemed like no one knew what the fuck was going on the whole time. I couldn't have gotten to an event until it was half over most of the time.

Of course, my overall experience sucked that year as well.

Last year was better because Melissa was there with me, but we spent 90% of our time there trying to promote the flick, and people generally thought that a mug and a music CD plus FREE BEER FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK ALL FOR TEN BUCKS was a ripoff.

We had a seven foot sign on the side of a van to advertise. Yes, it said free beer all caps. And yelled for people to come over.

Ended up paying for the manufacturing of the mugs and nothing more. (We left with around $450, which paid for gas for the trip home and a little more.) Many CDs are sitting in a box in Library #1 of Shaw Manse. Oz is taking a large crate of the mugs back this year to hand out.

Have heard word from maybe ten people about what they thought of the CD. S'aight if people don't like it, but SOME feedback would have been nice. Gardner Goldsmith liked it. Couple other cool people.

But seriously, ten bucks for all the beer you can drink and music and a mug to chug from? Cheap fuckers.

The big problem I saw with PF was lack of communication. Nine times out of ten when I heard that something cool was going on, it was when someone was hanging out with us and had to leave to go to it. "We're gonna got to the X, it started five minutes ago." ... "Oh."

[Turd Ferguson]

Geez, thats some serious gift-horse in the mouth bullshit right there.

Never question an unlimited beer tap for 10 bucks.........ever.

Hey, is there still a place where you can hear samples of the tracks on your CD online, or is that just an old project at this point?

[John Shaw]

Geez, thats some serious gift-horse in the mouth bullshit right there.

Never question an unlimited beer tap for 10 bucks.........ever.

Hey, is there still a place where you can hear samples of the tracks on your CD online, or is that just an old project at this point?

The fact that you didn't immediately look on www.chartarum.com makes me very, very sad. I gets updated a couple times a week and has for over a year.

Yes, Chartarum is alive. It is soon to be done. There will be news at Porcfest.

[Turd Ferguson]

See, now I know. I'm out of the loop on a lot of stuff.

Cant be helped.