Not sure how relevant my dredged-up memories of my first Gen Con (1995) are, but hey, survey answered.

Mine was 1987 so, even less relevant.  Not a very well targeted survey.  1st question should have narrowed the focus like 'was your 1st gencon in the last 5 years', if so continue...  

Haha, these were my thoughts exactly. My first Gencon was in 1998 but my next one after that wasn't until 2015. 

Yeah,  I thought the same thing.  I gave them my thoughts about Gen Con 1986 in Milwaukee, which had about 5,000 people at it. 

Not sure that question was well built. 

Not sure my 35 year old memory is all that reliable, either. 

I actually assumed they wanted a broad range of responses to see whether people thought things had improved, but now that you mention it, I am wondering if I was giving the survey an intention that was not actually present.

They ask you about your first experience.  But, they don't ask you when that was.

I think my favorite question was the one about how I first heard of Gen Con - none of the choices seemed to match "article in the physical Dragon magazine" well, so I went with Other.

Yeah, I actually bailed on the survey.  Given how poorly the questions were written I decided that my answers, based on my guesses about what they actually wanted to know, might cause more harm than good.

On a similar note, my Grandparents used to live in Skokie, IL.  One summer, my family went to visit (had to be early 80's I think), and my brother and I harassed our parents into driving to Lake Geneva so we could go to TSR headquarters.  It was in an office park.  I don't remember much other than they were very nice to us and gave us a module or two that were lying around the office.  I think we were disappointed that it wasn't an actual castle/keep/dungeon.

I got about half way and then I just clicked through it.  I got the sense that they were trying to find people who felt somehow excluded or offended by something to get their input, and that just wasn't me.

I think #12 asked for an assumption that something diversity-related was stopping you from attending.  Could use another choice there, I left it unanswered.

I agree with chaotic neutral
 

Yes that was just structured weird.  By the time I realized I wasn't going to be able to provide useful answers I was half way in, waste of time.  I guess I got to think about the old days

I don't understand how my first Gen Con, which was 2001, can be related to diversity of today.  While I enjoy diversity and think that people need to just let go of their prejudices I am finding myself getting very tired of getting this constantly jammed down my throat.

Gen Con is for gamers and I have found that gamers are some of the most accepting people around.

Virtually everyone I've gamed with at Gen Con or elsewhere would enthusiastically spread the hobby to  whomever they were able

The last part of the survey actually got to be offensive to me as well as I don’t think diversity really has anything to do with Gen Con and I am tired of that diversity message being jammed down my throat everywhere I go.  I personally have found that everyone that I have come in contact with at Gen Con has always been courteous and respectful regardless of what people want to call themselves or what they want identify themselves as.  Can’t we just leave politics out of Gen Con for gosh sake‘s I’m sick and tired of what it’s doing to sports. 

I think I see what they're getting at (trying to make GenCon more inclusive, bring in people who might have felt excluded, and by extension bump the sales numbers back up), but it seems... misaimed, I guess. 

The survey seems targeted to reach people who were turned off by GenCon, but is being delivered via GenCon's website and email list. Won't most of that audience be people who approve of GenCon? Is there a presumption that there's a large body of non-attendees with their noses pressed against the metaphorical glass, waiting for an unspecified change in diversity policy before coming in?