Re: NEC convention and video of AGA's speaker

[Karen Randall <krandall@world.std.com>]

At 02:53 AM 2/14/2000 -0800, you wrote:
>Well, perhaps AGA could arrange a private taping, outside the
>convention; something which the whole of the Aquatic Gardeners
>Association membership might have opportunity to see. 

I don't know what Claus' schedule is like yet.  If he ends up staying with
me some extra time, I might be able to arrange it.  But I can't make any
promises.  I don't even have a camcorder these days, and Erik has already
said he and Kathy can _only_ stay for the weekend.

>This seems like a dog in the manger attitude unless they are planning to
>make tapes available to us themselves. This has never been a problem at
>the Killie convention that I'm aware of.

There is some history there.  I guess quite a while ago, someone was
allowed to video tape speakers, and took advantage of the situation.  It's
more a "burned once" mentality in terms of protecting the rights of the
speakers, than a dog in the manger mentality.

>The point should be made to the AGA committee, that AGA funds are being
>used to sponsor a speaker at the NEC convention, however, not all AGA
>members will be able to avail of this speaker. Poor use of funds IMHO.
>>:-[

That's true whenever you have a live speaker program.  ANY local group is
welcome to invite a good plant speaker to give a presentation in their
area, and ask AGA for a contribution.  I have never seen one of these
requests denied.  If you want some one out there in Vancouver, arrange it,
and request a contribution from AGA.  I'd be _very_ surprised if they
didn't respond positively, given the number of people in the NW area that
could benefit.

I personally think it would be sort of dog in the manger-ish for AGA to
withold funds from a LARGE group of AGA members just because not everyone
can attend.  You will never have a situation where everyone can.  Why is it
not better to make the same offer open to all?  You arrange it on the local
level, AGA will contribute as long as funds are available.  So far, there
has not been enough demand that there has been any conflict for funds.  If
that became a problem, we would have to institute some sort of "bid" or
"approval" process.

>I think in future, it should be a condition of AGA when they sponsor a
>speaker to such an event, that a tape should be available for the OTHER
>regional clubs to show at meetings. 

You forget that not all speakers are comfortable with the idea of being
taped.  I agreed to be taped in Seattle, but I wasn't really comfortable
with it.  I made some mistakes that I picked up later on the tape, just
because I was nervous about being taped.  Very few of us are professional
speakers.  The final decision has to be left to the individual speaker.
The other problem is the speakers slides.  They own _ALL_ the rights to
their material.  You can't go into a performance hall and tape a
performance even for your own later enjoyment, let alone to distribute it
to people who "couldn't attend".  

Finally, what about the rights of the convention itself?  These conventions
run on a very tight budget.  How well they do this year often dictates
whether the event will be held at all the next year.  Attendance is the
biggest factor in whether or not they will break even.  Would it be
reasonable to expect them to distribute tapes of their speakers, therefore
allowing people to view these talks for free, in the privacy of their own
homes, when the convention has spent thousands of dollars to put the whole
program together?

You may have an unrealistic view of what AGA is paying for its involvement
in this event.  We are donating $200 toward Claus' expenses.  In exchange,
we have negotiated that: 

* Claus will give 2 talks instead of 1
* We have a table for an AGA display for the length of the convention in
the vendors room
* We have a large, PRIVATE conference room for our exclusive use for 4
hours on Friday afternoon
* We are able to give another presentation (Lee Finley) during that time
period, which is not included in the NEC planned events
* NEC is planning to have a plant vendor come in specifically because they
know it will be well received by the AGA members (no    cost or obligation to
AGA)

That doesn't seem to me to be a bad return on investment for AGA.  Do you
think so?

>Our club would be happy to cover the
>reasonable costs of any such tape. I'm sure the NEC committee will see
>its to everyone's advantage to share and share alike. I doubt that the
>mere availability of a tape would dissuade folks from attending since
>there is so much more to be enjoyed at a big conference like this.

I will forward this to both the AGA MC, and to Dave and Janine Banks, who
are the organizers of the NEC convention, as I have no power to make or
change this decision.  (AGA doesn't either, at this point, though your
objections are noted, and will be taken into consideration when we are
approached for help in the future.  If you want to take the matter up
further with Dave and Janine, please feel free to do so directly, but also
remember that the final decision rests with the speaker themselves, not
even with NEC.

Karen 
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