Tumblr's Failed Convention: The Story of Dashcon

[@SarahZ]

FAQ "How old did Cain actually turn out to be?" multiple people who knew cain at various times have commented on this video with their own experiences, mostly corroborating everything the anonymous commenters said in this video. cain apparently was known to lie about his age frequently and claim to be older than he was, but the majority of commenters have said he was in actuality around 21. many people who knew him, however, have stated that they're uncertain of his exact age because of his propensity for lying. "Was a baby born at Dashcon in the ballpit?" no; that was a rumour started on tumblr very recently, maybe about a year or less ago. i didn't include the rumour in the video because it happened so late and i didn't think it got that much traction, but based on the comments it seems like a pretty popular rumour, so maybe i should have "Why is the BDSM 101 panel not listed as 18+?" as far as i can find from other panelist accounts, that was just a printing error in the schedule, and the panel was indeed marked as 18+ for the actual convention itself. based on what former panelists and security guards have said, the rumour about minors being allowed into the panel is likely untrue. "Is it true that you didn't try to contact any of the people who organized Dashcon when researching for this video?" no. web.archive.org/web/20211209200837/twitter.com/marysuewriter/status/1469036192163250176 "What are you drinking?" homemade blueberry iced tea! "Why?" thirsty "Is your arm tired from holding that glass?" no "Didn't Internet Historian make a video on the same topic?" please watch literally the first two minutes of the video before commenting "Who is doing the additional voices in this video?" as per my description, the dashcon organizer voice is eldena doubleca5t and the tumblr text post voice is lady emily! "Why do you pronounce it zed?" eh

[@honeyandhyacinths5542]

The amount of tired teacher energy in this is astounding and inspiring you are truly a role model

[@fridab3793]

recipe for the blueberry ice tea????

[@SarahZ]

@@fridab3793 oh it's just blueberry tea from davidstea put on ice and sweetened with honey!!

[@fridab3793]

@@SarahZ thank u!!! ❤️🥺

[@DiamondDogVenomSnake1984]

Bruh why are so many ppl onto you abt the drink. It's not a big deal. Ignore the drink.

[@catherineharvey6359]

"faked a british accent and said his birth name was loki" i am CRYING why was everyone on tumblr 2013-14 like that

[@moosekalz254]

I remember being a reddit kid instead of a tumblr kid and by God were we much, MUCH worse

[@wa11ie]

It only gets better when you remember that Loki is literally the god of playing pretend and lies

[@vivi_stardust]

that triggered me so hard, i had friends in middle and high school who would actually do that.

[@Rob-yj1gg]

I'm willing to bet alot of it had to do with "being a teenager on the internet back then" I was a Goon on Something Awful back during those days, we were a bit snootier and viewed ourselves a bit better but it wasn't by much.

[@TiyasBMenon-td4ti]

@@moosekalz254 as a reddit kid myself I'd have to defend my turf -- I think the cringe value of the two were more or less equivalent

[@joantoons]

Nothing is more "2013 era Tumblr" than massive collaborative projects run by people who hate each other and refuse to communicate

[@kaydwessie296]

Yup, I remember 2013 tumblr. I stayed for the fandom shit, but I was already calling it a Hellsite. I was one of the early 20-somethings who was posting about how the idea was cute but was never gonna work.

[@user-sc6qj3uv2u]

@@kaydwessie296 I can only imagine all the hate you got until people realized that you were right

[@massconvergence]

I vaguely remember some kind of video game people were trying to make (I think it was called Arkh)? It had an IndieGoGo campaign and a few character concept art pieces. Not sure if it was run by people who hated each other but they definitely were refusing to communicate and anyone who questioned the lack of progress of the game or asked them to address some concerns were called racist or bigots. It was big on my dash for a while with people arguing that it was a scam vs others saying that it would be the greatest game ever.

[@electrocast]

@@kaydwessie296 oh man same here, except i was just using it for rp at that point & generally avoided doing much else there haha

[@borpflop2201]

2013 era tumblr or alternatively every project originating on something awful

[@abrady0]

I can’t believe the literal teenager was the only one actually running the convention while the two that could drink alcohol did nothing.

[@rani.andretti]

It's a miracle the whole hotel didn't catch fire

[@partydowntown]

They seemed like old, bitter adults who couldn't fathom being in their 30s so they set up a convention to play off trying to be young again.

[@ca-ke9493]

Roxanne should have quit and warned people to not fall for their scam.

[@idontevenknow9758]

I get the impression and with the sudden fund raiser for 17k, this was two adults who didn’t care (they wanted someone to run the con for them and seem like general fuck ups anyway) to sudden con artists. It seems unlikely they planned it as a con from the start but they seemed very willing to exploit teens for their own gain. Sadly adults like that do exist and they pray on people who are younger and more naive.

[@PsychoSavager289]

The other two probably did nothing BECAUSE they could drink alcohol.

[@TheDudeSmashTrash]

there's something so quintessentially "tumblr" about two adults being catty to a teenager while that teen is the only one trying to actually get things done

[@Im__Andy-f6x]

omg Appalachian State!!!!!

[@TheDudeSmashTrash]

@@Im__Andy-f6x go mountaineers!!

[@ItsjustAdam1165]

Imagine being a bullied teen getting an opportunity to organize a convention where you can meet all your online friends then getting bullied by a couple of lazy 30 somethings

[@occamschainsaw6102]

roll neers

[@Lee-dm7xm]

“we’re being extorted 20,000 dollars because they don’t like you” is such a funny concept

[@davidmhh9977]

And then paying 20,000 dollars out of spite

[@mmcgrath2510]

davidmhh9977 haha! Screw you! We have £20,000 for you! DIABOLICAL!

[@WillowJordan1979]

There was also some rumor that WTNV walked bc they didn't like the fans of other shows, which is ludicrous. I'm not sure who started that rumor.

[@alexandrapedersen829]

It's also very emotionally manipulative considering the majority of the attendees were probably bullied teens and young people who felt like outcasts.

[@frograts6816]

Ikr 💀💀 the entire situation and energy in the room just sounds like a fanfiction

[@AlisonChains13]

"We're all gonna sigh together, one, two, three-" "give me back my money!"

[@cruzcflores]

Imagine having that kind of presence of mind to know you're being fucked over while everyone else is willing to go along with it and also having the courage to shout out about it. Heroic is what that is.

[@Soaring_lizzard]

Honestly "we're all gonna sigh together on three" sounds like something an grade school teacher would say to their class full of children, and those people were not grade school children. It's so infuriating.

[@hibak_]

I know right? Respect to that guy

[@athenajaxon2397]

A legend

[@BriaRoseSax]

i cringed at that part like who in their right mind could legit stand up there and say something like that in the most unironic way 😂

[@katyb6009]

"just because someone has the same geeky interests as you does not mean they have your best interests at heart" might be the most important quote about internet culture i've ever heard

[@zebnemma]

yeah there's always going to be shitty people of any group giving the group a bad name. Sometimes the fact that someone doesn't have any friends IRL is not because they are geeky and misunderstood, sometimes that person is just a shitty person and that's why they don't have friends. I bonded with people online about that we both had no friends and that turned out to be a bad mistake, the people I met from that was all super weird people that I honestly could see why they don't have any friends. Big Yikes for my past self. And many of those people took advantage of the fact that I had sympathy for them cuz I was a loner too, like they treated me like a personal psychologist or wanted me to give them money. Yeahhhhh.... I wanted to be kind to these people cuz I knew how much loneliness sucks but I was a fool for thinking their life story is the same as mine or that they have the same morals and integrity as me. Long story short: don't base a friendship on pity, I only wasted years of my life on people that only took advantage of me.

[@Darkblaze129]

When I was around 13/14 years old I used to idealize conventions, as I was the weird/geek/lonely girl of the school. "Oh my god, I could FINALLY meet geeky people like me who are into video games and Internet culture !" I frequented conventions between the age of 16 and 19. I was enchanted at first. Met people who were into cosplay and fandoms. But I slowly felt a sort of discomfort with my new friends. I liked fiction for the intellectual and creative reflexion that it brings. I could discuss theories and brag about how passionate we are, but my cosplayer friends were the new "popular kids" of conventions. They liked cosplay because it was a way for them to be glorified, to become popular in the "geek/fandom" society that conventions has explicited. It was very superficial and I didn't identify to their vision of what it's like to be a fan of something. One of them was around the age of 30/35, he was completly disconnected from reality and didn't have a job for 10 years. Only went out of his home for going to conventions. He tried to seduce me even thought I was underage. And there were kids. I went once to a convention cosplayed as an Undertale character because I truly loved the game for what it was, I got litteraly harassed by a 12 year old girl. Never coming back again.

[@lyavain2764]

@Ooohbopbopboppadoohwah I think the important thing is to remember not to glorify people you meet online because they will always be different in person. All of these accounts are subjective and maybe you'll have a totally different experience if you do decide to go to a convention later on, don't let it dictate your decisions of course. Personally, I enjoyed them when I was younger but I think I would enjoy them for different reasons now. Also I know it's hard when you don't feel like you have many friends but I'm sure they will come eventually. I've always been shy and insecure but over the years I picked up new friends through college and mutual friends. Join groups or clubs that focus on your Intersts if you can. And don't take it personally if people don't click with you, that happens a lot too.. It's slow but it happens. The statement about people without friends being awful is obviously not always the case, but many of us have had experiences with people who were friendless and then went on to realize just why people left them. In my experiences, they were manipulative and selfish kids who maybe have grown up by now and hopefully don't give into those habits anymore. I pitied both of my ex's for that reason but the truth is they did things that made others decide to leave. That's not to say anyone without friends is like that, just that it's good to be conscious that those kinds of people exist all over the internet. I sound like a mom but just be careful who you talk to and focus on the people who truly make you feel wanted for you and not someone you pretend to be. Sorry for the rant maybe this helped a little haha. But just try to stay positive and hopeful for the future.

[@killerkitten7534]

“So let’s all collectively sigh. One, two...” “Give me back my money!” Never fails to make me laugh

[@danielzakgaim2764]

That guy has his priorities straight.

[@the_sky_is_blue_and_so_am_I]

He does

[@martynkal.1248]

Hahahaha

[@Lucifersfursona]

Apparently the guy who yelled that is somewhere in these comments. Wish I remembered where

[@AstralPhnx]

Such a classic

[@bigbeefscorcho]

As much as the ballpit situation tends to be the iconic symbol of how much dashcon failed, I think that clip of the “1-2-3 group sigh” where the guy yells “give me back my money!” really sums up the particular flavor of the failure

[@herefortheshrimp1469]

Easily my favorite part of the video lol

[@p3bblez]

the ”free Palestine!” one was hilarious too

[@whatdoyousuppose]

and “this is extortion!”

[@foxja1]

Zygarden what was the time stamp lmao

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@@foxja1 not here, but internet historian's video got you covered

[@victoriangm7774]

"The hotel is extorting us for $17K because they don't like you." Jesus. That sounds funny now six years later, but what a horrible and emotionally manipulative thing to say to a group of probably bullied teenagers.

[@fluidwolf]

Really shows the mindset of the people who were running the thing honestly.

[@robert23456789]

spollier i was beat the hell out of all these kiddies losers in school

[@laragallahue7127]

robert23456789 Okay though guy try that and see how that gets you in life oh wait your the loser bye bye troll

[@danielferguson5971]

@@laragallahue7127 i think he meant he got beat up by the so called losers

[@robert23456789]

@@laragallahue7127 it was years ago i was in school now bye bye wannabe troll

[@casperwashere]

There’s an alternate universe out there where Dashcon was a success and there’s one held every year

[@FirstnameLastname-zq4rt]

That’s the darkest timeline

[@liaminator4950]

Honestly thatd be a cool timeline, if organized by different people

[@MsAmber82]

@@liaminator4950 And if they made the con in a park to make not so much money in the first year

[@msfthe1st117]

Is this tumblr blog @postsfromadarkertimeline?

[@serialvapist5807]

It's good to know we're not living in the darkest timeline

[@camelkingclarith]

An actual "Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and 4chan" convention would be pretty funny, if only for the extreme cultural clash that would inevitably result from it

[@amelia3146]

i wouldn't go, but i'd *relish* the inevitable contraversies, fights, conspiracies, and countless, countless vlogs detailing the disaster

[@camelkingclarith]

@@amelia3146 All of these sites have diverse subcultures that don't get along, but 4chan alone would be a bloodbath, just because /b/, /lgbt/, /pol/, and /v/ would have to share a space. The chaos would be beautiful and terrible

[@ummyou2872]

@@camelkingclarith That would require 4chan users to go outside tho, so it wouldn't be that bad

[@megib901]

Most tumblr users nowadays are chill and too tired of old fandom discourse so I think most drama would come from Twitter and 4chan users *Facebook users are over 60 years old so they would die before they get to the con

[@camelkingclarith]

@@megib901 There's a pretty thriving community of shitposters on Facebook tbh

[@ohhithereanimations5860]

“What if Tumblr is a school?” *Shows Danganronpa, where teenagers kill each other in a school* “Or an island” *Shows Danganronpa 2, where teenagers kill each other an an island*

[@thatsdisco]

that was peak comedy

[@godzilla4189]

Or a spoiler: Tv Show? (Shows DR V3)

[@bubblegum-uo5pf]

makes sense tbh

[@turtlethegreat7202]

Yeah that makes sense.

[@Gloss613]

"What if we made a series out of Tumblr?" *Shows Danganrompa 3...y'all get it.*

[@sandstormxx]

Noelle Stevenson: writer for the lumberjanes, creator of she-ra, survivor of dash-con

[@bowielolz]

The new or old one?

[@kreissthekeeper]

@@bowielolz she-ra? The new one

[@gastllyxo]

Don’t forget about nimona!! I bought the full book recently bc of nostalgia

[@thats_so_laven]

Also Critical Role guest, which is where I knew her from lol

[@theflickchick9850]

Thank you for not forgetting Nimona. (I kinda prefer it to She-Ra tbh)

[@Bready_Player_Bun]

The mistake was the belief that "CON" stood for "Convention."

[@asrieldreemurr1988]

Hah hah hah

[@barbicel]

... Wait it isn't?

[@asrieldreemurr1988]

@@barbicel the joke is that con also means that you are cheating people

[@barbicel]

@@asrieldreemurr1988 oh! 😅

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

@@barbicel Silly me, I thought it was "Consensual".

[@amelia3146]

Every sentence about Cain is an absolute rollercoaster “Lying about having a British accent” “Said his birth name was Loki” “Frequently lies about his age” “Now has a shoplifting conviction” “Still lying about attending an Ivy League school” ??? Huh ???? There’s so much to unpack-

[@amaliavillarreal1311]

He sounds like that very lame dude that hits on 12 or 14 years old girls because they sometimes believe his bullshit

[@ty-seansenior6660]

Are you sure this isn't Loki from the MCU? This sounds exactly like something he would do.

[@NyanCatHerder]

It's actually not too uncommon for these things to go together. The fact that his lies were bizarre, while funny, seems like a red flag. He was lying without any obvious material motivation, for the most part, and some of the things he claimed don't even sound plausible (like saying that his birth name was Loki and faking an accent). That's pathological behavior. Pathological lying is strongly associated with personality disorders, and particularly AsPD. This isn't meant to be an insult to people with similar mental illnesses (I was actually diagnosed last year with a related condition), it's just reality. Theft and other economic crimes are also strongly correlated with Antisocial traits. It makes perfect sense that someone who lied constantly for no obvious reason would also pocket money from a failed convention and later be arrested for shoplifting. I hope that this was the last time he ever took advantage of vulnerable minors and young adults, but I unfortunately very much doubt it.

[@cup_of_tea755]

@@NyanCatHerder I don't know if all of the lies are uncommon, I've seen several people lying about having a British accent. It's quite funny since most of them are Americans whose only knowledge of how British people sound is movies. Lying on Tumblr is really common since most people on there are anonymous.

[@NyanCatHerder]

@@cup_of_tea755 I agree that some of these are things otherwise normal teenagers might say online. People at that age are often experimenting with their identity, and the Internet offers a safe place to try that, with few likely consequences thanks to anonymity. It becomes more unusual when the person doing it is an adult, though, especially if they don't have anonymity to hide behind. Adults *should* (and usually do) know that certain claims that might be believed by teenagers aren't actually plausible, even online, and really shouldn't still be trying to alter their perceived identity constantly.

[@changingyoutubeusernameisn7302]

All I can think is that Roxanne's experience sounds like a year-long anxiety dream.

[@0rbeez]

It’s like being the only one to actually work on a group project, except you also have hundreds of people expecting you to do well, and you owe thousands of dollars to various people/companies. I have no idea how she survived it

[@sengroagers1111]

and the fact that she was literally 19... I’m 18 and I can’t imagine having that astronomical amount of pressure forced on me

[@hortensetaylor5707]

I am dead Inside I feel like the sheer insanity of Dashcon would just keep her away from ever trying that again, though that’s just my theory

[@aurora5481]

@@hortensetaylor5707 Unfortunately so, and I feel like "organiser of Dashcon" isn't exactly a glowing mark on your resume, either, even if her work was admirable for the circumstances.

[@winetofive1464]

@@aurora5481 Not always, the Captain of the Titanic is considered a hero in the town he was born in.

[@theohaegele9011]

All the hype... It's like seeing people in 1911 talk about how cool and fancy their transatlantic boat trip is gonna be.

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

Or WWII being the end of all wars.😞😭

[@ivylives559]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor you mean WWl

[@Jazz-nr7nk]

@@ivylives559 oh haven't you heard?

[@sully1492]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor WW1 started 1914

[@w.k.astrolabe280]

@@Jazz-nr7nk No, I think what Ivy lives means is that WWI was the one known as the "war to end all wars" instead of WWII

[@mayar.8944]

Meg and Cain are basically 30-year old versions of the people who don’t do any of the work in group project in high school and Roxanne is the one who pulled three all-nighters to get it done.

[@rinnhart]

... you don't have to put on the red light

[@reid3031]

And then it gets a D grade. :(

[@rinnhart]

@@reid3031 ....those days are over

[@Lucy-nw4im]

Justin ...You don’t have to sell your body to the night

[@rinnhart]

@@Lucy-nw4im ...Roxanne!

[@boxo2219]

I feel so bad for Roxanne. They legit forced her to run the whole con by herself when she was a little older that a literal kid.

[@katana2k]

I'm wondering if they ever intended for the con to happen in the first place? Maybe they meant to just collect money and disappear, but Roxanne was screwing it all up by actually doing the con? It kind of makes sense..........................

[@SnipsyStripes]

I didn't know how to do anything at the age of 18 and this kid ran a convention all by herself lol

[@mrcritical6751]

@@katana2k I could see that, they chose her to be a dumb kid that would give up or screw the whole con up allowing them to run away with the money but Roxanne proved to be too smart and actually succeeded somewhat (albeit badly)

[@radschele1815]

People can be reall smart at 19 and organise a shitton of stuff. I think the hardest thing was rather her taking all the shit and not being backed at all.

[@sophiagonzales8974]

I think a flaw was Roxanne trusting Kane and meg

[@lindseyclair921]

Dashcon walked so Fyre Festival could run and Tanacon could fly.

[@DaniAlexandria]

Lindsey Clair 🔥🔥🔥

[@nooneinparticular2638]

And come crashing down

[@EmberBaye]

I see you there, copying two-thirds of a comment posted 3 hours before yours

[@pepebabushki9376]

... And crash and burn

[@vonPeterhof]

Not sure if the fact that Las Pegasus Unicon is almost never mentioned alongside those says more about the relative scales of mess on display or about the fact that the Brony fandom as a whole has come to be remembered as one huge mess...

[@Sorrelhas]

Attention, all Tumblr Gamers: Dashcon is in trouble, and needs your help! All we need is your credit card number, the expiration date, and those three _wacky_ numbers in the back, so we can keep the convention going, and tell those losers at the hotel staff to *go back to 4chan!*

[@IsaacMayerCreativeWorks]

you mean the HACKER FOUR CHAN

[@thefaceofinsecurity]

Let’s all collectively sigh together that I’m even asking you for this

[@StainsStainsStains]

Gold

[@LucasLima-pi1ux]

BR?

[@Sorrelhas]

@@LucasLima-pi1ux Sempre

[@meaninglesscommenter8457]

i wish roxanne had just dropped out a month into organising and let meg and cain suffer

[@its__Ev]

Or a month before everything happened.

[@EnderWarlock]

If she did that though she'd have berb pretty much ensuring it failed although if she dropped out and had made a big warning post about how it was going terribly maybe she could've stop others from going and wasting their time and money.

[@SeptembersOblivion]

I got the feeling while watching this, that Roxanne just really wanted to make it a success for everyone who wanted it so badly. At some point she just forgot to take a step back and look at the bigger picture to realize that it wasn't going to happen. Poor girl, she tried so hard.

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

Maybe it can help her get another job because she was in a leadership position.

[@jackvac1918]

@@gabrielleduplessis7388 "Organiser at DashCon" isn't something one would want on their resume. Roxanne was putting her heart and soul into trying to carry the show even if DashCon was an unholy disaster far too messed up for any one person to sort out, but a prospective employer is unlikely going to dig deep into the history of DashCon to discover this. All they'll see is the memetic degree of failure and controversy that Roxanne has her name associated with.

[@NosebleeddeGroselha]

I can’t explain why but the lonely ball pit in the middle of a giant empty room is the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. I don’t know why, every time I see that picture I crack myself in half, I have tears in my eyes and I can barely breathe. It looks so dystopian, it looks like a liminal space pic. The ball pit looks like a monster from the back rooms. The picture and the scenery are so dramatic but it’s just a ball pit, I can’t 💀

[@evanbradley6169]

It's such a big venue and it's *so* empty. The idea of someone walking all the way across the empty convention floor and getting into the ball pit with nothing next to it kills me! 😂

[@davidshea6272]

It looks like the kind of thing you'd find in a room in Fallout, with a skeleton next to it, and no explanation at all.

[@mattuwu9978]

The current twink-ish rendition of Charles Entertainment Cheese (popularly known as Chuck E. Cheese) was thought to have been made the official mascot of the children’s pizza and arcade franchise in 2012. However, I posit that Twink Charles actually existed in a gestational period for approximately one (1) year and was thence birthed from the Dashcon ball pit. In this essay I will-

[@kayleyanna3164]

I can't believe they tried to frame the panelists as "selfish jerks who don't care about their fans" when they essentially left them stranded and homeless, while still expecting them to be at the con. It would be one thing for everything to fall apart due to not having enough money and general incompetence, but knowing that a lot of the money was pocketed just adds salt to the wound. It's clear that Megg and Cain kicked Roxanna out for having a conscience. I know this all comes from second hand accounts, but even so, I can't imagine a version of this that doesn't make those two look bad. I hope no one was seriously hurt by all of this, be it financially or emotionally.

[@user-sc6qj3uv2u]

I know right! It makes me so mad. Especially the fact that Roxanne was trying her absolute best while the others not only refused to put in an effort, but they immaturely mocked her and irresponsibly handed the funds.

[@FalgaiaRT]

As this was my first time hearing about WtNV (hearing that they walked second-hand) it didn't exactly make me interested in looking them up. Truly a shitty way of handling things for sure.

[@TheLuckySpades]

@@FalgaiaRT same here, back then I was part of the crowd that pointed and laughed at the chaos that was Tumblr (before that crowd went full toxic) and that weekend was a glorious trainwereck It also made me associate WtNV with that crowd, but since then I have rediscovered them and love the bizzare format and story they built up over the years

[@katteisace4563]

If it’s all secondhand we have reason to believe it’s true since a bunch of deperste second hand accounts unaffiliated with each other corroborate the same or incredibly similar stories

[@jackieackilewis1878]

I was an artist who tabled there, and a bunch of my friends tabled there too. We lost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on this con. It sucked, but it's something that I'm glad I was at, if only for being part of a really weird piece of fandom history.

[@WhoTookMyMirr]

Night Vale didn't "just walk". YOU PAY PERFORMERS BEFORE THE GIG. That's how this works!!! You don't just tell artists "I'll totally get you the money after your gig". You don't pay, you don't get a performance. Period.

[@CarrotConsumer]

If you're famous enough.

[@bleach00101]

Ealdy fair enough but I think for amateur performers in the situation you describe compensation is usually openly stated as conditional on audience enjoyment. So it makes sense to get paid after. Plus the dollar amount would be something like $100-$500 which any decent venue can pull together at anytime so it’s not like the performers need to be worried whether the bookers have the money or not

[@WhoTookMyMirr]

@@bleach00101 @Ealdy WTNV was hugely popular at the time. Before-gig payment is appropriate in this case.

[@bleach00101]

TheGamingNovice oh I don’t think either of us are disputing whether they were famous enough, just that it’s not always standard practice to be paid up front. Although I would add regardless of how big a group of person actually is, if they are one of the primary draws to an event that already entitles them to be paid upfront

[@WhoTookMyMirr]

@@bleach00101 ahhh gotcha. But yeah. Agree on that 100%.

[@carolkoski4875]

Being a 19 year old with the history of a major failed convention has the same energy as Ben being a mayor at 18 and bankrupting the town in Parks and Rec

[@bluessbelles]

Cain and Meg are either Mona Lisa and Jean Ralphio or they’re both Bobby Newport

[@thecpmr6276]

Lol. *Icetown.*

[@teijaflink2226]

Not many can say this, I'm sure a good learning experience at least.

[@art-is-awen8842]

lmao ask Tana Mongeau

[@JMBAD_art]

Oh my god

[@pepi7404]

"The staff was overwhelmed and barely anyone showed up" Those words should never go together.

[@charliedawson6318]

That's got big, "The ramp was very long and steep" energy.

[@annaflaherty5087]

fun fact: dashcon was mentioned in Noelle stevenson's memoir, "In 2014, I: - went to a con that turned into a meme" iconic

[@Liggliluff]

iCONic

[@Annafyz]

Who is Noelle Stevenson?

[@absolutew33b]

@@Annafyz She-Ra creator and showrunner.

[@shan8130]

Nothing has filled me with as much joy as the idea of an “apology panel.” Absolutely incredible.

[@Rikku147]

The USA government should hold one of those every other day

[@MR-td8jp]

Imagine one w youtubers who've made viral apology videos

[@pastelhotmess9299]

beauty gurus, TAKE NOTES!!

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

@@Rikku147 Nah.

[@doggytheanarchist7876]

proud of being the 666th.

[@ShootingStarNeo]

So between this and Jenny Nicholson’s Brony video, the moral of the story is: if you wanna organize a convention, find yourself a reputable, experienced team of furries.

[@CarrotConsumer]

Little known fact, the Nuremberg Rallies were organized by furries.

[@princesstamika]

did you see Internet Historian's mini-doc on Rainfurrest? whoever was sabatoging that con, was privy to insider information. the call was literally coming inside the house.

[@kookyandstrange]

I'm loving that all the KZbinrs I like are making similar content on cons and internet fandom

[@sick_icarus]

Say what you will about furries, they may well be more functional than the lot of us.

Furries are efficient and productive. Just look at the amount of money some are willing to pay for their fursona commission. They'd get the job done every time.

[@WiiMan25]

On the weekend of Dashcon, I was hanging out at a mall near the actual venue. I was not at all aware of Dashcon, but I was thinking about anime conventions. I saw a couple of cosplayers in the mall and asked them if there was a con nearby. They told me about Dashcon. Later that week I googled Dashcon and foudn out about the $17,000 scam, the ballpit, etc. Then I started to look back on that day as if I had run into fleeing survivors of some catastrophic event.

[@ketsiaiitan]

"I think this shift of tumblr users moving from loving it to hating it wasn't just because of dashcon and there were a number of other social factors at play that I could spend a whole video talking about" I want this so badly.

[@thefischdeo]

Yes, please! I saw this shift happen in real time and it is a goldmine for commentary.

[@Full_Bloom2_Hey_Its_Leah]

I would watch that.

[@KaylaStanfield96]

Actually, yeah. I feel like part of it was when Yahoo bought Tumblr so many users were upset and wanted to leave, and then when they removed all p0rn I think there was a mass exodus. And not to mention cringe culture probably playing a part as well. People being embarrassed of their past selves and just wanting to flee that platform. That’s sure as hell what happened to me, every time I’ve tried to get back into it I just can’t.

[@tamarawynne424]

@@KaylaStanfield96 I mean most of us were embarrassed about our Tumblrs before this happened. I mean there was a reason accidentally linking your account to your facebook was considered the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. But yeah, the porn ban fiasco certainly had something to do with it.

[@LuluBeLulu]

I was on tumblr during this shift. Tumblr went from a fun place where people would talk about fandom stuff and see fanart etc to a pit of people eating each other alive for stupid reasons. Also, fandoms began to be very sensitive to legitimate criticism. Still, I miss old tumblr days since its hard to find a site that replicates the community that was there :(

[@namecorrectly9245]

Anyone remember when they photoshopped the ball pit into a fyre festival photo.

[@sweetumami1338]

Remember when journalist sites kept thinking it was real and included it in their articles about fyre fest

[@Niriixa]

The ball pit memes have kept us fed for years 😂

[@yuffiehighwind]

Yeeeessss

[@91Vault]

Crayola cat to be fair...there may as well have been a sad pall “pit” at fire festival

[@congrilla-]

33:29

[@lucasite]

My eyes legit widened when she said that was all day 1.

[@platinum_noelle]

Ik you mentioned that naming it Dashcon is like making a "Timeline-con" or "Complaint-con", but you can't deny that "Dashcon" is actually a catchy AF con name. Despite it crashing and burning, the name _flowed_

[@TsundereOtter]

Though it is ironic, because of the synonym for run. As in. It was doomed

[@hellacoorinna9995]

REEEEEEEE-con

[@jasperjazzie]

when i first heard abt it i thought it was a my little pony convention, and considering how some other mlp cons have gone over i wouldn't have been super shocked

[@EldenaDoubleca5t]

Next time someone asks me for a When Posting Goes Wrong episode on Dashcon I'm just gonna refer them over here

[@elilass8410]

Can you do an Arkh Project vid? or even just medievalpoc?

[@Florceleste28]

Every time I come across comments asking him for WPGW episodes about certaing subjects, I find out something new.

[@spacecadetkaito]

I love your WPGW videos!

[@ewfahgehajigeamiefma]

Omg do make more posting goes wrong tho-

[@Jaros]

Halfway through the video "wait, is that-"

[@ooblecki]

"dashcon" and "thomas jefferson miku binder" have the same feeling to them

[@camiiisado]

if hamilton was around in 2014 i swear the fandom wouldve been 100% worse than it was

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

@@camiiisado Oh god, don't go there. Image 2012....

[@ooblecki]

@@carolinemcgovern4488 Lets not even mention the whole Hamilton HIV fanfiction thing..that was a whole ride

[@hexeddecimals]

Thomas Jefferson miku Binder is a blind spot in my tumblr history and I don't know if it should stay that way

[@ooblecki]

@@hexeddecimals it should DEFINITELY stay that way

[@swirlingsun]

I know enough about Dashcon to be scared to watch this but not enough to know why

[@sardine56]

“just because people have the same geeky interests as you doesn’t mean they have your best interests at heart” THIS

[@jessicagauthier2499]

"Claiming his birthname was Loki" I had a visceral, physical reaction there akin to that one screaming seagull meme but with more eyerolling.

[@neoqwerty]

So, Gaston Lagaffe's seagull pet, then?

[@jessicagauthier2499]

@@neoqwerty I didnt understand that reference at first, but after cursory google search: Yeah, that looks about right. Not just now, but for how I feel 99% of the time.

[@FrankNFurter1000]

Enough eye rolling to power New York over winter.

[@kewlusername6692]

More cringe than cringe can cringe

[@RedMageUltra]

Damn, seeing clips of mass groups of people, sitting close each other and being normal, really seems alien to me now.

[@SarahZ]

SAAAAAAME

[@IQzminus2]

I’m honestly super interested in the long term effects on I guess more or less the whole worlds behaviour and thinking after the pandemic is over. We are changing a lot behaviours for a pretty long time and will probably continue to do so in some capacity for quite some time. How much will this change our habits and thinking in the long term? I suspect it might be like many people who grew up and experienced rationing during WW2 thought of the idea of throwing away any food and not finishing you plate as super tabu and really bad for most of their life. And other things as well. No matter how their life turned out. Will we continue to not touch our faces (especially while in public)? Will people stay further away from each other while standing in line? Will it become more common in most of the world to wear masks in public? Will the sort of thinking we learned to stay safe now still affect us if we are attending a convention 10 years from now that jam packed with people? Will I still be washing my hands for like over 30 seconds every time, when I’m 67 years old? Will everyone in our generation forever have a cupboard where we stash a hoard supply of toilet paper, flour, pasta and yeast? Are we going to come out of this and the whole world just agrees that certain things are gross and unacceptable, and it will still be affecting people in like 100 years from now? Who knows

[@alistair4909]

IQzminus2 I felt that

[@potmeetkettle]

@IQzminus2 I’ve thought about this too. I think one of the things that will continue is some of the policies and services some companies have put in place. For instance, contactless delivery, online pickup, and closing earlier to disinfect. Even if companies don’t wanna continue those things, I think that people will “vote with their feet” as the saying goes, and not go to companies that don’t offer those services or continue those policies. Just guessing though.

[@angelsartandgaming]

Honestly same.

[@LyzLocked]

So, I'm coming back to this video because i recently found out that someone i used to be close friends with was one of the con organizers. Specifically, Megg. I only found out that she was the organizer because someone happened to make a ball pit joke in a discord and it allegedly sent Megg into an anxiety attack because of the "trauma associated with the con memories." At the time i was then told that Megg had been completely innocent and tried to keep the con on track but that Cain was basically mia the whole time and Roxanne was manipulator who ruined everything with her need for control. Given everything in this vid, i doubt the veracity of those claims though. Especially considering that in the time i knew Megg she, along with her current partner, attempted to manipulate my wife into leaving me by making any argument my wife and i got into seem much worse than it actually was and pressuring my wife to consider leaving if i "continued to show i couldn't improve my behavior." At that time my wife was also employed by Megg and her partner, so the added pressure of potentially losing that income source did not help at all. I was never able to directly ask Megg about the con, but given my experiences with her i don't think i would've gotten a straight or honest answer. I'm reticent to say what business she runs now for fear of them getting harassed, it doesn't seem like she wants to have a spotlight on herself. That being said, Megg and her partner did eventually fire my wife from their position as a social media/order manager and the business almost immediately suffered and got severely backed up on orders. Knowing Megg was freaking WILD and not in a fun way.

[@thelastholdout]

This is the kind of comment I've been searching for and hoping to find: one from someone that knows one of our three main characters and has further insight on them. Thank you for coming forward. Megg sounds like the worst.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Oh my, that's terrible. I know that type of person all too well. Of course she calls Roxanne a manipulator, and I'm sure the "need for control" meant her trying to get everything set up before the deadlines...

[@ChristinaMitchellwriter]

My experiences helping to run a couple conferences/groups suggests that generally speaking, the people who complain about control or pushiness are the people who do the least and then get resentful of being asked to put in literally ANY amount of effort. There's a very strong, "You're not the boss of me" vibe to that kind of person. And it's difficult because no, you're not their boss, but someone has to keep people on task if they're not doing it on their own. Running a group of any kind is usually a nightmare and getting three people working together, who don't know how to argue effectively or how to handle conflict like adults, is a recipe for disaster. I'm not surprised it all went down in flames. I do like that Megg still accepts absolutely zero responsibility. It was the other two, not her. Sure, Megg.

[@liveangel93]

The Four Horsemen of the ApoCONlypse Famine: DashCon War: RainFurrest Death: Fyre Festival Pestilence: TanaCon

[@theresafisher8781]

Don't forget Tentmoot!

[@neckpeck2738]

what happened at RainFurrest? ive never heard of that one before

[@thomasakagi7545]

@@neckpeck2738 it was a Seattle-area furry con that was held annually between 2007 and 2015. It failed to secure a venue for its 2016 edition after the 2015 edition resulted in damage to the host hotel caused by vandalism and flooding which required two plumber calls, thefts of hotel property, and multiple hospitalizations and calls to the police.

[@aldebaran2643]

@@neckpeck2738 Internet Historian made a vid on that con too, look it up!

[@TheDarkhollowteme]

@@thomasakagi7545 Don't forget the diapers!

[@SongbirdAlom]

You know it’s a good con when there’s an apology panel.

[@SaltedRain]

How has nobody commented under this in 2 yrs when it has so many likes

[@Oasis888]

Wish BotCon 2012 had done that.

[@BenEd2]

P.O.V: Your talkative waitress tells you an internet history lesson and you're too awkward to just ask again for your cranberry juice

[@verostation]

this is how i will view all of her videos from here on out, it’s either that or your older sister trying to finish her story before she hands you your drink she made

[@luckyducky4066]

@Dangerz Own hold up let me look for who tf asked

[@buddywriggles]

@@luckyducky4066 THANK YOU!

[@luckyducky4066]

@@abandonedaccount6755 I came up with a conclusion, no one tf asked

[@buddywriggles]

@@luckyducky4066 @sluglady Nah, we gotta go deeper! Someone MUST have asked!

[@mindfulselfindulgence]

Did not expect to have dashcon recontextualized into a loss of childhood innocence. It’s good to hear about the event from someone who was present on the platform

[@jackieackilewis1878]

So wild to watch this and revisit this shit show. I was an artist tabling at Dashcon, along with several other artist friends of mine. We were looking forward to this weekend, and that first night where organizers were just going around the hotel, rounding up people into that conference room to sell the lie of needing donations to make the $17k because the hotel "hated" us is burned in my mind. I donated $100 I couldn't really afford, but I was worried that, if the con was shut down, I'd lose out on way more money. I only made about $60 that weekend (not profit, just amount of money I made on my merch). I tabled across from Noelle Stevenson that weekend, and we had a talk about just ghosting the con because it was a huge scam. We were supposed to be on a panel together that Sunday, but she had already left the con, and I skipped it in favor of staying at my table to try to make any kind of sales. It was the worst convention, but I don't regret it now. I just never would want to do it again, and I'm much more wary about new cons I attend now.

[@jackieackilewis1878]

Also, no one I know who donated toward the $17k got their money back, including me. They had a form to fill out and everything. It was such a scam.

[@sweetviolents29]

Oh, too be a fly in the wall of that artist alley... Seems like you have a really goodabout it! The moment the organizers asked con goers to put all the money that should have gone to artists into the hat was definitely a learning minute for artists everywhere.

[@sweetviolents29]

Fudgey phone fingers aaa!! To* Good attitude about**

[@springgreengoober]

at least you got to meet noelle !! :)

[@Droemar]

I've attended conventions for the express purpose of selling my art and making money, and I've always been afraid of one of them being like Dashcon. I try to do my due diligence, and I don't attend anything that's first year. But holy crap, what happened to you sucks SO bad. I would've burned those people to the ground and salted the earth. And so many people got fucked out of their money with no repercussions.

[@Carols989]

i feel bad for roxanne but I'm pretty sure the other two ADULTS were seriously conning people

[@AT-rr2xw]

Putting the con in Dashcon. They probably thought that they could control her and did not like that she was trying to put legitimate work into the project, which would mean using funds for their actual stated purposes.

[@spectre9340]

A staffer (I think it was an intern/volunteer) said that they initially used up the money by going on trips and eating out at restaurants. The swimming pool they used for the ball pit already belonged to someone and wasn't even brand new.

[@Katie-xd1nt]

@@AT-rr2xw i think she probably came from an upper middle class household and they were gonna try use her as a piggy bank. its why she prolly signed the set up forms so she would be the one liable for their fuck ups

[@kicica13212]

can we also mention how unlikely it is that a group of teenagers and young twentysomethings raised $17,000 in just an hour? there's a theory that the money actually came from the kickstarter for a fan-made webseries called a finger slip (based on a fanfiction of the same name), which had raised a little over $17,000. the AFS team was at dashcon, and allegedly the person in charge of that project was friendly with the dashcon organizers. they showed a trailer for the webseries during their panel at dashcon, but the series never ended up getting finished or released. the timing for both of these failed fan projects (dashcon and AFS) is suspicious to say the least...

[@SarahZ]

Holy shit

[@kicica13212]

Sarah Z Yeahhhhhhh... It’s all still alleged, but I had a few friends at the con. One of my closest friends worked on AFS herself, but quit after dashcon. She was convinced that’s where the project’s money went and didn’t want to be involved in anything shady, plus she thought it was just generally mismanaged. Those who donated to the AFS Kickstarter (myself included) were never refunded the money given for a project that never got finished. I didn’t even get my kickstarter gift for donating (though I think some higher tier donators did). It’s fckin wild and also such a special interest of mine haha

[@fufucuddlypoops]

@@kicica13212 what an interesting concept. If we assume attendance at the con was around 500 the night they needed donations, that would average out to a $35 donation from every attendee to raise the $17,000. which is possible, but I'm certain there were many people who did not donate as they realized how preposterous the situation was, and I'm sure a lot of these attendees were teens who may not have had the ability to donate that much at all. I would scream if this AFS thing turned out to be true

[@ceesay876]

Savanna :o

[@Naomi1701]

Honestly I was around during the AFS Kickstarter and it would be so interesting to see someone do a video of what happened to it/how it failed.

[@Eclectic-Sheep]

Your tumblr videos have really helped me stop hating my younger self. It’s helpful to remember that “that was the culture at the time.” And we were just young, earnest, and excitable. We riled each other up to things that were bad ideas in retrospect, but yes your videos have helped me remember that I was just a kid and I couldn’t have known how cringe it would seem to my adult self. So yeah. Thanks.

[@jotabeas22]

It was a different time. We've all been cringeworthy teens and preteens, some worse than others, some more online than others... But, it is a tale as old as humanity :)

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

I’m in my mid twenties and I just casually observe all the dumb shit teens do now in fandom and recognize the ones that mock us are just the pot calling the kettle black. The cringe-rs will soon cringe at their own behavior in a few years.

[@Outcast115]

I think the fact that the internet provides a massive and very public outlet for being ridiculous is the main reason that people have been aggressively calling Tumblr culture at the time cringy. I think it's mean-spirited in retrospect because while a lot of the stuff on there was ridiculous it was also just stuff teens and young adults do

[@ComicCrossing]

@@Outcast115 Honestly the Internet magnifies these and makes it way worse.

[@L_Train]

Now you can focus on hating your current self.

[@cori742]

the idea that I lived literally less than 10 miles away from this shitshow as a 12 year old, less than a year before I joined tumblr, and had no idea... truly two ships in a night, me and dashcon

[@madelinevlogs5898]

Same I was 12 in 2014 and got on tumblr less than a year later as a 13 year old in 2015. For some reason I hadn’t heard of Dashcon other than some ball pit memes

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Except that your ship was, like, maybe a personal yacht? While Dashcon was a rotting wreck at the bottom of the bay.

[@illinoisgirldreaming9085]

Same here. I was a little kid when dashcon happened, and the fact that it was only like 40 minutes away from my house hit me like a sack of bricks-

[@MissAlexisBlack]

same oh my god

[@poili243]

Poor Roxane, it sounds as if she genuinely wanted to create something good for the people of 2013 tumblr

[@martins.4240]

The real MVP.

[@Ghidorah96]

People like Cain should legitimately be fined and jailed. Atrocious

[@TheShanicpower]

Meg and Cain are the real villains here.

[@CaribouGutSludge]

that day, she didn't create something good for the people of 2013 she became a hero. not just for those of 2013, no. she became an inspiration for us all.

[@alessandramaria00]

The only a war hero i will ever expect #justiceforroxanne

[@Samookely]

1 week ago: Jenny Nicholson’s video on brony con Now: Sarah Z’s video on dash con We’re being fed this month lads

[@mackoons]

Tbf, this is would be standard con season. It feds our neeeeed

[@Samookely]

Lunea Schnolf For real. I know it’s only been a year but it feels like I haven’t been to a con in ages.

[@KatKit52]

2 weeks ago: Doubleca5t gave us a video on Hamilton fics. July truly is the month of internet historians.

[@magicalgirlmel3289]

I believe Red Bard has an upcoming project about Izumicon too! We are blessed.

[@Samookely]

Across the Pages Oh!! I forgot to mention her recent video on yaoi paddles too, another piece of conventions that’s better left in the past

[@MarshmallowEclipse]

In the words of Izzzyzzz, "If Dashcon taught us anything, it's that when Tumblr wants to make something into a real thing...don't fucking make the thing."

[@Olwwolf]

Poor Roxanne.. she's the kid doing everything herself in a group project and then gets pressured into plagiarizing it

[@Fede_uyz]

They probably disliked roxane because roxane was a teen telling them what to do while they procrastinated.

[@lesterramos6468]

That's how I like to think it happened. Roxanne was the only one making an effort to make things actually happen. It's just astounding that the two people who are 10 years older than she is are acting like fucking children and shunning her for doing her job.

[@arandomcomment1092]

@@lesterramos6468 I think adults who constantly put down teenagers are more immature than those teenagers

[@TheFeyRa]

@@arandomcomment1092 10 months later but I agree. I think everyone should give and receive respect, and it shouldn't be conditional to one's age.

[@cosimodarmi3321]

Someone should make a movie about this and call it “Dashed”.

[@renshifter3804]

Theres a full length documentary abt fyre festival, I want that but for dash con

[@Artsingitup]

What do you think were watching right now?

[@cpinktea]

That's what people said about making dashcon

[@Sunflowerp3bbles]

or "Con & Dash"

[@makennashuter6606]

Get the cash n dash - a con of cons

[@lindensalter6713]

Came here from Strange Æons video on dash con. Everyone said this is the perfect video to understand all the bs happening behind the scenes. Strange interviewed like 50 people who went to Dash Con to get a good idea of what it was like to go there. Really is like 2 perfect halves

[@12me91]

It really is. Strange tells the tale of the con goers who had the best time they could given all the shit Meg and Cain pulled. This one lays out exactly the type of scammers meg and cain are

[@ionaf9]

Tana Mongoose: Who would have thought a 20-something with no experience arranging a convention would be a disaster? Me: Do not cite the deep magic to me Witch, I was there when it was written.

[@thatsdisco]

AVSDHJSKC

[@Moonhermit-]

Fingers crossed that Internet Historian also makes a short vid about that garbage fire. He's done ones about Dashcon, Fyre and RainFurrest so it would be a great part 4 in the series of "cons dead on arrival".

[@Just_Zack_]

I honestly feel bad for the people who attended Dashcon. They didn’t get refunds, they got screwed over and someone pissed in the ball pit

[@neoqwerty]

The deflating ball pit, at that.

[@Mechabang]

That damn hacker 4-Chan! *Shakes Fist In The Air*

[@cryptidrose.]

Dashcon took place like thirty minutes from my house and that fact lives in my mind rent free

[@cryptidrose.]

In another timeline, I could've been there,,,

[@Lucy-nw4im]

cryptidrose You could have seen the ball pit

[@cryptidrose.]

@@Lucy-nw4im that's what keeps me up at night

[@DeviousMilk]

Omg same. I was 30 minutes away from a ball pit and i had no idea

[@Bridget466]

I don’t know why but this comment legitimately makes me laugh. Thanks for that

[@CaptNaptastic]

100% if I was Roxanne, I would've quit when they started ignoring me. Inform the people I was in contact with for the event that I was no longer with the organization and give them tweedledee and tweeldedum's contact info. But I also have no problem ignoring childish adults.

[@kaitlyn__L]

That's the kind of thing I'd do nowadays, but if I was 10 years younger I would definitely feel the weight of "responsibility" to "the community" too much on my shoulders to drop it. Especially thinking about the online harassment that'd probably generate, knowing the blame would be placed on my shoulders for "abandoning the project". All the more reasons to just quit earlier than later now as an adult, but, all I can say is hiring a 19 year old was evil genius.

[@MacyPooh196]

“On 3, we’re all gonna sigh together.” That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.

[@martins.4240]

Cringe level was over 9000 on that one.

[@RaeIsGaee]

@@martins.4240 You're making a 9000 joke in 2020 and yet you're acting like you get a say in what is Cringey.

[@morley364]

You could tell they were trying to rush people back into feeling a sense of community with the organizers so they wouldn't get mad at them- saying 'we', talking about how they ALSO feel frustrated, trying to do things as one entity (like sighing) to encourage a collective mindset.

[@BrooklynBalla]

It’s patronizing as fk

[@doubtful_seer]

I want my money back!

[@hopefullywholesome1955]

For some reason I feel terrible when I hear those kids cheering and singing. They were so happy. So hopeful. No idea what was about to happen.

[@theuncannydag]

These kids are probably all undergrads now, depressed, up to the ears in debt & barely any job opportunities (like me, but I'm lucky I don't have debt)

[@Altermerea]

Americans in the nutshell. I mean, I feel sorry, it's all going downhill and reaganomics are fucking everyone except for a small rich elite.

[@user-ho6py6fj3s]

they look so young too. Little middle-schoolers so happy to finally find a safe place. ahh sad

[@RealLukeWilson]

TFW the “con” in question doesn’t stand for “convention” :(

[@ProfessorStuDDS]

Sarah Z: "We don't have time to get into the Omegaverse." Lindsay Ellis: "Hold my beer."

[@Nadia1989]

Amanda: hold my door.

[@dylankennedy4539]

Addison Cain 'To WHOM it may concern,'

[@BrendanJSmith]

Sarah Z: "Okay, mom."

[@justineberlein5916]

@@dylankennedy4539 I read that in Jenny Nicholson's Addison Caine voice

[@karlaeickhoff3594]

@@dylankennedy4539 With! Prejudice!

[@cherriblossomss]

i was on tumblr hearing this all go down live and i'll literally never forget it it was like watching the roman empire fall

[@rachael5300]

Oh man I wish I was a tumblr user at that time. I was like 12 and in Europe so I wouldn't have gone anyways, but just waking up excited to see how the con was going and seeing that dumpster fire...

[@AnimalLover101195]

same

[@simshaver]

i miss it so much

[@mileskimasktheslumpgod]

do you remember any videos, images, or text posts? i'd love to hear about what tumblr was like as everything was falling apart

[@Nadia1989]

I didn't know anything about it until I the Baker Street Babes talked about it.

[@victoriatortilla]

As someone who was briefly (and mean BRIEFLY) a part of the dashcon crew the rumors about Roxanne trying run the con by herself are 100% true. Rox was the only one who who had something relevant to say during meetings.

[@teijaflink2226]

Imagine beeing 19 and pretty much alone trying to run a convention at the same time as the others are bullying and working against you. I'm starting to feel really bad for her now, I could never deal with all that, I really hope she's doing well and hasn't been discouraged from following her dreams. Just important to know who you will work with.

[@shelbiecain9289]

Rox deserved better

[@heatherlee2967]

@@shelbiecain9289 I know. It makes me feel so bad for her.

[@cocoacatto]

@@teijaflink2226 especially when the people who literally hated her were like 10 years older than her- like what the hell was up with that

[@TheBizzle1984]

This reminds me of Ben Wyatt and The Ice House, except it's real life. Nothing like putting a teenager in charge so that they can take the fall when everything inevitably falls apart, because the teenager doesn't know it's a scam.

[@zoeb3573]

"No matter how badly things are going for us right now, at least we're not spending an extra hour in the ballpit" strangely comforting.

[@littlestjenna]

A weird little thing I noticed on that supposed letter from the hotel asking them for money. The date formatting is in the British standard (Day, Month, Year). The hotel would have been using the American standard (Month, Day, Year).

[@FlameQwert]

definitely faked by the "faked a british accent" guy

[@cddummy9642]

@@FlameQwert OMG

[@patrickracer43]

Basically, Roxanne wanted to actually run a convention for something that she felt was important in her life, while Meg and Cain just wanted to con... and look, small cons are good, I went to a small con last year, and I had fun

[@danielshore1457]

This was said in the Internet historian Q&A about this but like any convention needs to start as a small convention of only a few hundred people that way you can 1)build a reputation 2)find out what works and doesn't work etc. However this con just jumped straight into the deep end

[@starfunplay4155]

I kinda feel bad for Roxanne

[@teijaflink2226]

Yeah, I don't think any blame should be on her because sounds like she at least tried to make things better but the two scammers worked against her. No 19 year old has enough experience to start and lead a con. I think that she would have done totally fine if she had done the con together with two adults with some experience.

[@katefresina832]

@@danielshore1457 Exactly! My local library hosts, well used to hold a con every summer! It got so popular in my town that they did end up renting convention space from a hotel because it got so popular. And it always runs so smoothly, and the big key is? The librarians who plan it are super experienced in this sort of thing. I just always had this funny feeling that if Dashcon was run by people who actually knew what they were doing then it would have been much of a success.

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

Word, small conventions can be great! I went to the first comic book convention my city held ever, and now I go almost every year. They rented out this teensy locale and they expected like 500-1000 attendees. They got about 3000, underestimating the sheer amount of nerd culture in West MI. It was pretty funny, me dressed as OG Harley Quinn with mallet, smooshed next to a guy dressed as Pyramid Head and a Homestuck Troll, all of us nerds stacked like sardines in small rooms trying to play CAH. It was a one-day event and it was awesome; nowadays the con lasts a weekend and is way more intense, with a bigger venue. I remember getting one of my prized objects for my Joker memorabilia collection there. Great times!

[@carolinewheeler77]

Cain gives me bad vibes if he was in his late 20s and specifically lying about things that would appeal to a tumblr teenager (his name being Loki, having a British accent, etc).

[@aeddiefarmer]

Fair but some people really do just never grow out of that phase. It doesn't have to be some sort of predatory thing, though he may be.

[@donutsandgravy3150]

@@aeddiefarmer yeah even if it is entirely unintentional it’s still pretty gross. The fact that he hasn’t grown out of it and realized the harm he could be doing.

[@jazwhoaskedforthis]

Yeaaaah red flags

[@darvell.]

arrested development is some shit.

[@PassTheMarmalade1957]

It is hugely disappointing and sad that a con which came from a desire for lonely, ostracized young people to hang out in a place where they wouldn't feel like outsiders fell apart because two of the organizers snidely started ignoring the third one and decided they didn't like her.

[@FauxGemini]

*blinks* ... I think you're the same person I responded to today on a Danny Gonzalez video. Weird coincidence. lol But yes, I agree. It's pretty sad and pathetic honestly.

[@buttrioska8737]

i think its sad how most of the internet intends on remembering the attendees of dashcon as these "fools" who naively believed something that, in retrospective, looked cursed from the start, but you are so right, i remember being a lonely small town nerdy teen with few people in my immediate social circle to talk with about my obsession with whatever show, i do remember that naiveté, soon turned cynisism and "what a hellsite" perspective, and i do look fondly on the cringy pre dashcon posts. they were cute, they made me feel safe and it was my first participation in a community that felt of my own. i just think we should all aspire to grow up to be at peace with the cringy naive child we once were, and this video makes me emotional in that way, as much as it also makes me laugh at how deranged we were. accepting all the good and bad things of the stuff we like or liked is part of growing up, i love that i participated on that culture even tho it was /flaming trash/ and i hope everyone who is now participating on things that are deemed "cringy" grow up to not bash themselves for being part of it, but to accept it for what it is and was.

[@gwyneth2869]

Honestly this is a testament of Roxanne's skills. The other two basically did nothing and they got as far as they did

[@WobblesandBean]

I know. Meg and Cain truly are just, the worst people.

[@slithra227]

it sucks that it turned out so horrific, it would have looked bomb on her resume

[@chebic5095]

IKR, being able to pull off even the most lackluster convention is still quite impressive for a single person and especially if said person is fresh out of high school

[@Mary-sy8ox]

Yep, Roxanne is...awesome. she managed to put up a convention...WITH two drunk inmature adults.

[@majahultgren5368]

I honestly just feel so bad for Roxanne. I know I shouldn’t but it seems like she was just thrust in this super messy situation where the only two adults were acting like drunk toddlers while she was scrambling to actually make the con good. Like, she’s obviously not 100% innocent in this but still, I feel really bad

[@theUSpopulation]

I feel bad for Roxanne. She was just doing her job.

[@AleTitan]

Ikr

[@KristopherBel]

I have worked for monsters before and I wonder how much of the truth Roxanne even knew with this, because monsters lie to themselves each other and their employees, what a shit end of the stick for Roxanne.

[@jewelv1600]

Plus, she was 19 at the time, and her business partners who were in their late 20s and 30s seemingly took up hardly any responsibility, leaving Roxanne to organize an entire convention by herself at age 19 when she was already overworked and dealing with Meg and Cain literally ignoring their responsibilities

[@suckit1335]

Yeah, I can’t even imagine being in her position

[@Patrick_Bateman92]

She didn't have to put on her red light

[@binah7744]

I appreciate that this video isn’t mean-spirited. I know I joke about how cringey tumblr was during the early 2010s, but it was, for a lot of people, an outlet during a very confusing and difficult stage of life.

[@JT5555]

i was a teenager before tumbler was even a thing (or at the very least i'd have never heard of it) and i did just fine with all the nerdy shit i'm into (on top of being pans),without it so i don't see why it had to be some kind of "outlet" for people.

[@FanyLI]

@@JT5555 Assuming that something that doesn't apply to you, does not apply to everyone else, is pretty self absorved and lacks any logic.

[@CRIMSONBAMBOO-g6f]

@@FanyLI yes, people like to be a part of a community that understands them. even if you are okay without it, a community just makes things better. unless its a toxic one

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

I didn't even join the internet until around 2014 or 2015-ish, but for some weird reason early 2010s Tumblr just feel so nostalgic. Despite the fact that I never had a Tumblr account.

[@Starburst514]

And honestly...it was fun. Cringy in hindsight YES, but I think about that time, being up late scrolling fanart and theories and laughing at in-jokes I knew I was a part of, reading awesome fanfic, etc. It was a fun time, I look back fondly

[@Sidorio]

Happy 10th anniversary to Dashcon. You all get an extra 10 years in the ball pit.

[@The11thEvilEx]

Seeing all those people cheer and sing broke my heart. These folks just wanted to meet other Tumblr users and love things deeply without judgement, all to get swindled out of their money and extorted for their passions. I feel so bad for them.

[@donaldhysa4836]

THey deserve it. You seen what kind of art they are into?

[@The11thEvilEx]

@@donaldhysa4836 your opinion has been noted and discarded. Have a wonderful day.

[@donaldhysa4836]

@@The11thEvilEx You too deg*ne*rate

[@Pusheenowaaa]

@@donaldhysa4836 What kind of art?

[@donaldhysa4836]

@@Pusheenowaaa Rick and Morty shipping for one

[@satanluciferington7580]

Noelle Stevenson staying in a hotel with the Welcome To Night Vale guys because of Dashcon is the weirdest and most hilarious thing I have ever learned about 2013 Tumblr

[@slothfox]

Same, it was so obscure

[@EpicB]

Wait, what?

[@dimensionalremi]

they're still good friends because of it! i believe cecil and noelle make a habit of tweeting about dashcon come july 11th-ish :0

[@EpicB]

@@oliviawoloshyn5824 What was Noelle Stevenson up to at that point anyway?

[@JT5555]

honestly,it just tells me that the welcome to night vale guys are chill enough to let a stranger crash on their hotel couch for the night.

[@gargamellenoir8460]

What a "death of innocence" story. Old tumblr was pure cringe, but in kind of a sweet way.

[@EpicB]

I pretty much never used Tumblr. Someone in elementary school tried to rope me into it but I was mostly averse and I tried to get into it again years later but ended up not doing anything. And since the porn purge I there isn't much on there for me to care about.

[@batwingsoda]

@@EpicB trashing republicans and reblogging funny posts is p fun imo

[@kayleighbrown459]

It went from watching two little kids playing pretend to watching a teen go through their edgy grunge phase.

[@samt3412]

@Rhese Avallone So they're the average resident of Ohio

[@samt3412]

@Rhese Avallone no, the part about them being crackheads at Walmart. After all, Cleveland's motto may as well be, "At least we're not Detroit"

[@kyletucker3811]

I feel the need for a Dashcon netflix documentary like they had for Fyre Festival.

[@BrendanJSmith]

YES!

[@RuRaynor]

Why didn't they plan a smaller convention as a test run? Like a 1 day event? And then scale it up the next year if it was successful. They shot themselves in the foot by going big from the beginning.

[@davidk7439]

100% hubris. There's a lot of people that see big events in niche, somewhat nerdy spaces (Conventions, FGC/eSports tournaments, etc.), And immediately think they can run one without starting small first. It pretty much never works, since the people that actually go through with it don't know anything about anything.

[@RuRaynor]

@@davidk7439 I used to be a squatter and organised events at the squat with the rest of the group, ranging from workshop programmes spread over a couple of months, to long weekend festivities with bands, panels, etc. This was in a free space, free entry, run entirely by volunteers; and OMG the very definition of "herding cats". At least if we got it wrong the worst we'd get was someone saying last year's was better, no demands for refunds or anything. Doing events is HARD!

[@BenRangel]

A) it doesn’t SEEM that hard. ”Just book a room and some people. Done” B) with travel time, checkout etc, a one day event seems like a waste. I rarely book a single night at a hotel - cause travelling checking in and out is a bit of a hassle

[@atinysoftbean1645]

@@BenRangel Not to mention that there's hotels that straight up won't let you book for less than 3 days, especially if there is a convention going on in the area.

[@ReaperCH90]

Because they weren't the beightest.

[@ProgShell]

The phrase “British men with cheekbones” gave me Vietnam flashbacks.

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaa5378]

"British men with cheekbones." Something tells me that would have been mostly about Benadryll Cookie crumbs.

[@HelplessFangirl]

Tom Hiddleston was more than likely at least 50% of that panel

[@gregjayonnaise8314]

The fact that teenage girls had a crush on him proves that sexuality is not a choice

[@Nadia1989]

@@HelplessFangirl There was a time in 2013 that my dash was 100% Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus. The training pictures were my favorites.

[@TNTales]

I love how you can call him whatever and people still know who you're talking about. I call him Butterbean Cooterpunch

[@TwighlightLugia]

@@TNTales My personal favorite is Blueberry Pumpkinpatch

[@nowandaround312]

They led them in singing "Do You Hear The People Sing?", a song about fighting oppression and inequality, to get donations from people for their scamcon. That's a new level of cringe

[@ninasgro2043]

There's something so messy about using the lie that "upper management doesn't like the attendees" on a building/community full of largely bullied teens who feel out of place without other members of the community. These people feel constantly misunderstood and disliked so Of Course they're gonna lash out and fight for their little place. It's kind if the perfect crime if you think of it.

[@fossilfighters101]

yepppp

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

While in this case it was a boldfaced lie, convention venue staff having disdain for the event and its guests is something I actually experienced. It was an anime convention rather than Tumblr, but still. Several years ago (2006 to 2008), Katsucon took place in the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington DC. During the 2008 event, there were a large number of complaints from attendees about mistreatment, including hotel staff (who were not part of the security team) demanding proof of attendance even though people _wore badges around their necks._ Other people reported hearing the hotel staff calling attendees "a bunch of freaks" and either outright ignored or told they wouldn't get help when they tried to ask. Then on Sunday, I and some people I knew were told we weren't "supposed to be standing on the carpet" because they were going to be cleaning it. Let me make this clear, they didn't ASK for us to move, they said were weren't ALLOWED to stand on the carpet. This was my first time at Katsucon and maybe my third convention ever, and it was not exactly the most pleasant.

[@kellyjones4735]

literally that's how to build a cult. you create an "us vs. them" narrative and then get those people's money.

[@facelessdrone]

@@kellyjones4735 not all cults are built off of an us vs them mentality, but I get your point.

[@highdefinition450]

Haha largely

[@dxcibel7772]

so what you're saying is that megg and cain are con artists

[@primordialgazpacho]

*ba dum tsh*

[@chaseleedaleno6823]

booooo get off the stage

[@millhousesdad]

get out

[@wh4teley]

YYEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@dantesdiscoinfernolol]

👏👏👏

[@juliocbp9389]

This cant get even more 2013-ish, right? > " In solidarity, hundreds of people raised three fingers to the air in true Hunger Games fashion. Damn it.

[@SturgeonPilot]

I wanted to go to Dashcon SO bad when it happened, I am now friends with the guy who cosplayed as slenderman in the infamous slenderman in the ballpit picture and hearing his stories and watching this video makes me very glad I couldn't go.

[@KittyFAN13]

To sum it up, DashCon is what happens when people who are used to doing nothing during group projects start a convention and one of them usually does everything in a group project.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

And everyone gets mad at her for actually trying to get the work done when she asks someone to please do SOMETHING for once.

[@saldebrowde7823]

God I know. I felt so incredibly sorry for her the entire time. She was the youngest and her just actually trying was seen by everyone as overbearing, dull and bitchy. She really tried. Without her Dash on would probably have been worse than Tanacon imo. Ugh. Hope she's doing ok now!

[@Cielinabox]

Whenever I hear the dashcon organizer was a teenager, it makes me think of one of my friends who freshman year of highschool who was convinced she was going to buy a building to open her own maid cafe that year. She thought it would be very fun and talked about the decorations and costumes all the time, but when I eventually mentioned permits, licenses, finances, and responsibilities involved I was the bad guy crushing her dreams. when you're young you just see the end result, not the logistics involved. I see where this convention came from definitely and wish the older people involved, even her parents, would have said "you need more than good intentions to run an event with hundreds of people".

[@orangew3988]

Tbf, if they had set their horizons lower, to an event made for 500-1000 people, then they might not have been so swamped.

[@aaravos4371]

I mean I still think Roxanne was well, at least trying to do those things, I mean she was the only funcioning adult staff member it seems like

[@baguettegott3409]

I honestly admire (and envy) people like that. People who only see the dream, the end result, and not the logistics. I literally just don't believe the end result could ever be real until it's there, and I worry ridiculously much about logistics. All of my nightmares are about logistics, every single one of them. A certain dose of faith that it's "just gonna somehow work out" is good and neessary for many things. Just... maybe not with an event of that scale lol

[@t.adamcollins2162]

She was the one who was doing all the work, if you'd bothered to listen to the story.

[@theotter7021]

@@baguettegott3409 I wish I could be like that. I know logistics are important, but I can't really think about them, like I can't begin to understand how a project is supposed to go, so in the end I usually end up giving up. I wish I could have your brain

[@WhaleManMan]

Sarah Z Drinking Blood While Talking About Tumblr History for 50 Minutes

[@guillermodebaskerville7117]

Now that you say she pretty much looks like a vampir... Oh shit!!!

[@saifakib8346]

I cant un see that anymore, keeps reminding me of a vampire asmr video.

[@galaxyandspiritstudios8242]

It kinda looks like cranberry jucie

[@nelle1899]

lol i was like soo are we not gonna talk about her cup of blood juice orrrrr

[@LeeDeeThe1]

@@guillermodebaskerville7117 As a fellow vampire I can asure you, she deffinitly is a vampire

[@SpiffanyWolfe]

This is literally a large scale version of a group project where most of the group does next to no work and one person ends up having to carry the whole thing, except instead of being graded by a single teacher they’re being graded but hundreds of random people

[@FlooraFlovira]

And there is money involved.

[@HelplessFangirl]

Roxanne, if you read this: nobody blames you, you did your best.

[@Ghidorah96]

Arrest and fine Cain, please.

[@jamie1654]

THE FACT THAT SHE WAS 19 AND DOING ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING IN ARRANGING A CONVENTION

[@JyujinPlus]

Well.. some people probably blame her. But hopefully after circulating and watching this, people learn that she did her best. I didn’t know how hard she worked and only learned after watching this that she did work hard to do her best for this con.

[@MOP-uc7ul]

I wonder if Cain and Meg were actually Toby...

[@rtsitsi]

M.O.P. 3000 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA this got me 😭😭

[@EngineerLume]

I honestly thought that "Steam Powered Giraffe" was an actual Steam Powered Giraffe and not a band.

[@papersonic9941]

Powered by steam summer sales money.

[@theshamanite]

I wish a stream room was named Steam Powered Giraffe.

[@rinnhart]

I'd buy that for a dollar.

[@jessicastark3625]

me too! I thought someone had just made a huge robot that everybody thought was really neat and they'd just pay to see it.

[@cruzcflores]

@@jessicastark3625 I'd pay more to see that than the band

[@WolframHeart]

A fact about me that sounds fake but is true is that I went to Dashcon. I was one of the lonely weirdo kids you describe-- most of my friends were online, I'd found people who liked the same things, and one of these friends said she was going, so I wanted to go too since it wasn't too far away (I live in Indiana) and I'd been to ChicagoTARDIS the previous year and had a blast, so it sounded like fun, especially with the chance to see my friend. I was 19 at the time and had just finished high school and my parents let me go, they stayed in another hotel and I got to stay at the con, the first time I'd ever been completely on my own. What we were able to do was fun, I got to meet my friend and also Doug Jones (who is the sweetest guy ever). My friend and I were cosplaying as Cecil (my friend) and Carlos (me) from WTNV and iirc it was not too long after it was announced Night Vale left, we ended up joining an impromptu fan panel, where among other things we answered questions in character. Then the panel put on our own reading, of Part 1 of Old Oak Doors, which was a very recent episode then, and I read as Carlos. I'm usually terrified of being in front of people but somehow I did all this. The best part of this is there's a part where one of the characters calls Carlos a hero, to which he replies "I'm not a hero, I'm a scientist" and when I read that line and the audience lost its SHIT. It was amazing that I'd survived several days without my parents in a strange place with such a chaotic atmosphere and gone up in front of a room full of people and read as a character and people cheered my performance. The con was a mess but I wish people didn't act like us dumb teenagers should have known it would be from the start. And what really made it bearable and even fun WAS getting to meet friends and share our interests. If only it had been managed better.

[@LibertyBelle82]

I was there too, and I think I may have met your friend! I was approached by a Cecil cosplayer on Sunday morning who was trying to let everyone know about the impromptu fan panel that was being organized to make up for the live show cancellation. I didn't get to attend because I had another panel to go to, but I wanted to!

[@terrih7165]

I'm so happy for you and other people alike that got to have that amazing human connection despite the chaos of the convention. At its core that was the goal of dashcon ... For people to connect. Reading your comment made me really happy

[@gargles5270]

it makes me smile you got that moment bro :) 💖im glad you had a pretty good experience!

[@meandmybobbygee1812]

Finally a wholesome dashcon story

[@vibenic]

This is so wholesome thanks for sharing :)