OPINION – What’s really important?

I sit down to write this article and find myself straining to pinpoint when we last had an in-person Planets Con. Lords of Cobols – do you realize it’s been three years?! Was the last one truly 2018? Yes, the Finns know how to party, but the rest of us need to get shaking. With that in mind, I key this note to remind everybody of what’s really important:

That image sends some potentially confusing messages; however, I assure you that I honestly mean that beer is the most vital part of Planets Con. Is there really any better way to connect to another human being than to clink glasses together?

[TS: Rhetorical sarcasm?]
[G: Actual fact. Though mine might be coffee. …OK, maybe Irish coffee.]

As “Cheers” is a common phrase, we easily forget its deeper meaning. Personally, I prefer to think of the European wording which generally means “wishing someone good life”. It’s a practice of relating to others and showing you mean them good will. This is what is missing in our current format of online Cons: the opportunity to connect with living people. That’s why I write this, in point of fact — first, to advocate for a face-to-face Convention of Planets peeps and, second, to promote a discussion group to plan future events.

[G: Honestly! I’ve never once poisoned an adversary in Real Life. No idea how these rumors get started…]
[TS: The epilogue of your Capricorn memoirs.]

We’re about to enter into a post-pandemic era and things are going to be different. …Right? That’s the common line that’s going around, but is it the truth? Are things really going to change? I don’t know the future, but I believe the only way to see the world become something else is to make a personal change. If we want the Nu community to be something more, we need to know real names not usernames, shake hands not an internet protocol, and share a pitcher — not vlogs and streams.

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Planning the Con

Going forward, let’s remember two important facts:

1. Most players would love the opportunity to share drinks and war stories with their fellow commanders.
2. Planets.nu is very much an international community.

Take a look at this real-world map where players have posted their home regions. It shows there are concentrations of fans all over Europe and North America, and most continents are represented.

[TS: Poor Antarctica. Does anyone living there play Planets? Let’s send the two of them a floppy.]
[G: I seem to recall we had one, at one point. I know we have someone playing from a mile underground in a disused salt mine.]

Linking Online and Face-to-Face Cons

If you did not know, you can find the recordings of the last two streamed Cons at this link: Planets Con Live.

Let’s not diminish the awesomeness of Planets Con Live (the online version) and how it gives us something to hold onto during a period of separateness and uncertainty. It’s a great show and we want this to continue, but let’s marry the online with the in-person and create something stronger and more memorable. How this looks is not my decision alone, but I dream of a Nuniverse where the physical and digital become one. We’ve done it before; now, let’s do it better.

With good times and an intercontinental mindset, there is a new planning group active at Nu. Its purpose is to bring a global community together to discuss future Cons. We need to make an effort include everyone when deciding the details; with such a diverse crowd, no single person should make these decisions.

[G: Not even me?]
[TS: I said diverse, not perverse.]
[G: HEY!!]

Planets Con Group

Join up, share your ideas, and offer your town as the next host location!

In the end, we all want this legendary celebration to thrive. My hope is the group will enable us to coordinate the virtual and real worlds, collaborate across continents, and create something amazing that will continue on and on and on, like Pisces and Capricorn.

[TS: Cheers! Proost! Gān bēi! Skål! Kippis! Zum wohl! Na zdrowie! Salud! Geonbae! Kanpai! Fi sihtik!]¹
[G: ‘IwlIj jachjaj!]
(redacted due to possible copyright infringements)

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Thanks for reading. Enjoy the journey! – TS

¹_{Due to my inability to speak 26 languages, these expressions were taken from another website. Click here to see the full list.}

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