Reading through this thread, I am amazed and how most of this is considered "etiquette" and not just being a rational human.

#brutaltruth

Convention Etiquette?

Show up to events to which you have purchased a ticket.  Especially if they are smaller solo-judge type events.  Everyone is counting on you to fill out that table.

Watch where you are going.  I've been run in to several times by people turning around while they are talking to someone.  You are in a crowd, expect that any area you cannot see is occupied.

Be kind to people who don't know the rules as well as you do.  A convention is a place to try new things, and unless the game is billed as "Expert", expect some people to be less familiar with the rules.

If you are talking about bringing a stroller to the many parts of Gen Con outside of the exhibit hall that would love to see a stroller, or if you insist on going into the exhibit hall but have the good sense to stay in the designated family areas or wait until Family Fun Day aka Sunday you are fine.

If you are the one who is making traffic problems worse (and you will) and creating a safety issue (way too many people have been rammed by strollers, run into them, smacked bags into them, and nearly tripped over them) in the most overcrowded parts of the most overcrowded days of the most overcrowded Gen Con on record you deserve every glare you get in the exhibit hall. Don't do it.

For generations hundreds of millions of parents around the world have been able to go into crowded public areas with little kids for long periods of time without using a stroller. For generations millions of parents have had the good sense to know what their kids can and can't do on vacation and adjusted their plans accordingly, and the same parents had the good sense to know that there are some places where you just don't take a stroller- no matter how bad the parent may want to go there themselves. Nothing changes just because it is Gen Con.

Nobody "needs" to cause problems in the exhibit hall because they "need" to go in there with a stroller. 

I thought this discussion had been shut down by the mods.

Problem is it keeps popping back up, and has for a few years now. If I was a betting man I would say that even if the thread got closed because of it we'd see a brand new discussion about it again next year.

Well, unless they finally take steps like they did with the "stop in the walkways and take pictures of cosplayers" people- just ban strollers in the exhibit hall hours outside of the family areas and Family Fun Day.

If I'm behind them, it's a neutral act.  Do you thank people for getting in line at the supermarket or going to the bathroom or wearing hats?  The person who held a door open for me did literally no kind of favor for me at all.  I'm not upset at them for doing this act.  I'm upset at them for thinking they extended some sort of courtesy, or acted valiantly, and deserve to be thanked.

He asked a question to which I gave a courteous, common sense answer. I encouraged him to respect others and cautioned him about previous problems encountered with stroller-using individuals. 

By attempting to limit his use and enjoyment of the con (suggesting that he's not welcome except on FFD, in the designated family areas or sans stroller) and calling his common sense into question bc you don't seem to think attending with an infant in a stroller is appropriate, you're not being kind, welcoming or inclusive. 

And that's pretty much against everything GenCon stands for. 

Good day, sir. 

Wow.  Just...wow.  I'm glad your opinion is in the minority.

Good thing also that being kind, welcoming and inclusive doesn't mean that you need to turn a blind eye to etiquette problems- otherwise why do we have this thread? Does your opinion of what Gen Con stands for mean that we have to tolerate bad behavior?

Being respectful while using a stroller also means realizing when you are causing a problem with a stroller, and no matter how "aware" you may be you are surrounded (and often tightly packed in by) people who can't or aren't always able to be aware of your rolling roadblock.

Due to the overpopulation we will have this year references to previous problems has to acknowledge that the problems have gotten worse.

And how exactly is my "limiting" his use and enjoyment of the con any worse than his "limiting" the enjoyment and use of the con by everyone around him in the exhibit hall when he is using a stroller? I am glad your opinion is his use and enjoyment is more important than everyone else's but it doesn't mean that anyone's opinion to the contrary are wrong. Strollers in the exhibit hall cause problems, period. 

You simply do not have the high moral ground here. It is fine if your opinion is different but the problem is still there. So to you I say:

Good day, madam.

*sigh*

There are minor inconveniences in life that we overlook bc we're by and large a polite society. We're going to encounter some of those things at GenCon in the forms of big backpacks, gamer crowds congregating randomly, cosplay photography roadblocks, and a host of other calamities, including grumpy gamers.

Polite people say "excuse me," move on. 

These are parents with a young child; they'd probably like to shop and play games and see all of the things in the exhibit hall like everyone else. By suggesting that they limit their con experience to make you hypothetically, possibly, maybe  a teensy bit more comfortable at their expense seems more than a bit self-serving on your part, especially when they cared enough to ask a question, only to be told "don't do that" and, basically, don't stray from the family area. 

Yes, it's going to be crowded. Yes, we're going to bump into each other sometimes. It's ok, though, because I'm guessing that a very small minority, if any,  stroller-wielders are maliciously roaming the exhibit hall looking for prey to injure, clobber or fell. I neither fear nor sneer at the stroller wielders; instead I welcome them bc that's what GenCon is about. We're gamers of every kind, shade, variety, both with and without strollers. 

I shudder to think what you have to say about people in wheelchairs. 

You may have had a point if I was the only one who was inconvenienced by strollers in the exhibit hall, and as a result the only one ever justifiably annoyed by them. But I am not.

Even if they mean well stroller users still cause a problem. Going with a "be polite to the problem causer or else YOU are the problem, not them" approach is neither fair nor realistic to everyone else in the exhibit hall.

And note again that there is a discounted day dedicated to families at the show. Just go to the hall then. Isn't another part of the issue that you are overlooking is people ignoring Family Fun Day and instead deciding to shove strollers through the exhibit hall when it will the maximum amount of trouble for everyone else? Is that what a "polite" gamer would do, and isn't that what a "respectful" stroller user would do?

You can't just hand wave this away. People, even (gasp!) people other than me will continue to complain about strollers for years to come as long as people keep trying to bring them through overcrowded aisles.

Simply put, your stance comes across as exclusionary and mean-spirited, and your posts are condescending in the extreme. 

Best wishes for an excellent con. 

First time attendee here. What I'm getting from this thread is basically "large crowds lead to short fuses". It's also suggesting that I should probably avoid the exhibit hall (which I wasn't planning on spending much time in anyway - too many good seminars to attend). Having been to a few other heavily attended events in the past and moving along with the herd rather than controlling my own speed, I find that I don't have less fun as long as I remember that I'm there to have fun. Heck, I've had some pleasant conversations with strangers in herds.

You have, however, all inspired me to fully deploy the 10 foot, 5 foot rule during my time at Gen Con. At worst, it'll make the crabbypants people nervous and uncomfortable. At best, it'll improve a moment for someone else. Regardless of anyone else, it'll mean I'm having a delightful day.  :)

Have to agree. Wow just wow. Glad I don't have to deal with him on a daily basis. 

I see no point in continuing this thread.

Just be decent to each other, and understand that everyone is trying to get through the crowd, the same as you.  Common courtesy is all we really need here.

Marian McBrine
Event Coordinator
Gen Con LLC