Bob Schenck, N2OO offered a positive appraisal of the moved DX and
Contest Fora at Dayton.
I disagree.
It is true that:
* the presenters and moderators made the best of the situation--John
Dorr in particular maintained a very positive attitude.
* the low ambient noise level at the Meadowdale venue was arguably a big
improvement over the hubbub from the other side of the Dirty Curtain;
* there were plenty of buses and plenty of parking.
But, IMHO, it is also true that:
* the opportunity to easily slide into a forum or the display halls was
sacrificed--and missed by many, including me..
* the opportunity to go out and schmooze with your buds was unimpaired
if your buds were there with you, but lost if your buds had opted for
Hara while you were at Meadowdale.
* refreshments were annoyingly limited--a $10 lunch at midday, no beer,
and--at least in the afternoon--no soda pop.
My overall impression, as I had feared a priori, was one of
isolation--that the sessions were being conducted apart from--rather
than as part of--Dayton. I, in fact, never did go to the booths at Hara
at all, although my case might be extreme. The loss of flexibility--call
it CHOICE--took much of the excitement and spontaneity out of the forum
sessions, for me. I think many stayed away who would have dropped
in--and perhaps stayed--at the old venue. In other words, I think the
choir came to church, but there were few drop-ins among the faithful.
On balance, to me, it was not as bad as I had feared, but certainly not
as good as it has been and should have been. I give it a C-.
Bring back the fora of old, says I.
>
--
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
160 meters: not a band, but an obsession
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