>>36965
I, too, was an attendee, every year the con was open (and have the pins given out since year 1, including the so-called "year zero" pin). It was my home con, and I loved it, but it had its problems.
Staff were lax about cracking down on problems. They were all volunteer, they had problems getting new people, and the long-time regulars had a fair number of "this is an easy job, I'm just here so I can feel important" types. One particular staffer got in hot water for really fucking up, but kept being let back onto staff. They DID kick a few people out, though; the very last year, some drunk, high guy who kept screaming "RAPE! RAPE!" every time security got near was formally booted-- twice (he came back a short time later).
Another staff issue: Gene Armstrong had been up near the top for years, and rather than learn how to do things, I think a large portion of staff stuck to "go ask Gene." Gene could be a self-important windbag at times, but he knew how to run a con. When Gene retired, I think staff ended up being kind of lost. They'd never really learned operations in-depth, so were a bit out-of-their-element. This paragraph is not based on what I've been told by involved people; rather, it's my personal opinion, and nothing more.
RF certainly had some dedicated trolls. There *were* diapers full of something which looked like shit thrown on hoods of cars in the garage (and yes, as far as I've been told, they were Depends, something that indeed AB people don't typically use), and I think this was out of a belief that RF was a con geared toward diaper-furs (it really wasn't). After the hotel kicked the con out, other hotels in the Stare got anonymous phone calls alleging a long list of made-up offenses, until no other hotel would rent to RF.
On that note, several years before, I saw a manager hanging around, and asked what the hotel thought of the con. I'd heard rumors that they hated RF. The manager said, no, so far (this was circa 2013) RF had been good. He said there were MUCH worse cons. He said specifically, when a con is coming, hote;s contact the insurance company, who says "send us an itemized list of what was damaged." But when Fraternal Orders such as the Shriners or Elks book, they call the insurance company, drop a figure, and insurance grants it. At his former job at the nearby Doubletree, at a Shriners convention, they took a motorcycle to the top floor in one of the elevators around 2 AM, kicked in a room door at each end, and drove it up and down the hall, using the rooms to turn around. He said, with those cons, gross damage is normal.
The con had a damage clause in the contract. Something like $10,000 (I forget the exact amount) could be done per year and be considered acceptable. For various reasons, the hotel abrogated the 2016 contract, claiming that the damage done in 2015 (which was less than half that allowed by the contract) was actually over the allowed limit. The hotel claimed they were soured on, and would no longer allow, any kind of fan-cons.
Damage is normal for cons. At NorwesCon, the long-running scifi/fantasy con at the Doubletree, things get broken, signs vanish, elevators break down, every year. But staff is on-point, everyone knows everyone, and it gets accepted as an inherent element to a big convention.
As for drugs, yes, it happens at every con. But one year, I think around 2014 or so, there was a BIG drug incident-- a guy was high on a whole cocktail of drugs including LSD and shrooms (plus a lot of alcohol). I saw in sitting on the floor in a party, looking gone, and being watched. Apparently, he hopped up and ran, stripped, hopped the pool area fence (no mean feat considering the height and the fact that it presented no footholds), jumped in the pool, then grabbed a swimmer and began trying to put his thumbs in their eyes. It took three people to haul him out (I was there for that). I've been told that, in his trip, he believed he was on fire. That was a perma-ban.
If I had to guess who was trolling the con, it may or may not have been an attendee, but for reasons unknown, staff had been letting Sibe attend. I suspect he, and maybe some of his buddies, were involved. For the short time Sibe lived in the area when he skipped his Oregon probation several years ago, he took over a local furmeet and had a little posse of like-minded buddies.
I, too, can probably answer some questions.