Dashcon

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Ryan Broderick ... @broderick Those who do not learn from Dash Con are doomed to repeat Dash Con Ryan Broderick O @broderick 2h It's the last day of the Miami Bitcoin convention 9,962 views Q 27 27 59 V 190 ili 12:20 PM · Apr 10, 2022 · Twitter for iPhone 12

phantomrose96 I would pay top dollar for a comprehensive, source-supported explanation of how Superwholock vanished Like.......that was the core of tumblr in 2013. Its tainted life-blood. Its fetid royal palace. Destiel this and Johnlock that. Tardis-in-the-impala-at-221B URLS. Bendydoot Cucumberpatch and long analytical debates of which doctor is best doctor What caused the end? What destroyed it? What series of events sunk this fortress? I'm so. So curious. This was so much of what tumblr was. So unavoidable. It's cultural history.I want. to know theofficialvincenzo So I'm not completely sure but I think you can pinpoint the disappearance to the month following Dashcon. Like, the entire year prior, things were going f------ insane; The DW 50th anniversary, Sherlock returned after a hiatus, Dean became a demon or something I don't remember. Point is, the fans were worse than ever And then Dashcon happened: All those people got together for a nightmarish event in the ball pit (for anyone who doesn't know what Dashcon was, look it up and read any of the news articles about it. I promise, you will not be disappointed) Now, I wasn't too active on tumblr at that point because of school reasons, but I remember finding out that the new season of Supernatural had aired on TV and I saw NOTHING about it on tumblr. Not a single post on my dash. It was a miracle, but I was so confused. How had the whole fandom just vanished like that? I still don't know for sure, but it was very shortly after the Dashcon incident. Then Doctor Who returned. New doctor and a new companion. Same scenario Nobody said anything online. I was still big into DW so that was kind of a bummer but it was still astounding I went back online more readily and started realizing that fandoms, as I had known them, were essentially dead after that summer. It was like everybody simultaneously realized how toxic those communities were after they all got together in person and proved themselves to be a disgusting bunclh It was the fastest and most unsettling jump in internet culture l'd ever seen. Overnight it became an embarrassment to admit that you were in a popular fandom. All because of f------ phantomrose96 "Superwholock died as a result of Dashcon" is the most fascinating theory l've heard in a while amazing (And you know, seasonal rot and kids getting older and all that but s t i l Source: phantomrose96 37,957 notes

tumblokami masakunidragon $1 uso RAISED OF $17,000 GOAL 0% O 40 days left DashCon2 This campaign started on Jul 16 and will close on September 14,2014 (11 59pm PT) . Flexible Funding @ CONTRIBUTE NOW kiyodono I CANT T BELIEV THEYRE MAKING A KICKSTARTER WHO THE F--- IS GOING TO FUDN THIS ALSO THEYRE USING THE FLEXIBLE FUNDING PROGRAM WHICH IS A BIG NONO USUSALLY KICKSTARTERS HAVE A SET GOAL, IN THIS CASE 17 000S AND IF THEY DONT REACH THIS GOAL AND ARENT ABLE TO FUND THE EVENT, THEN ALL THE MONEY WOULD BE RETURNED TO THE BACKERS WHO MADE A PLEDGE BUT WITH FLEXFUNDING, THEY GET TO KEEP HOWEVER MUCH THEY MAKE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT IS SO LETS SAY THAT THEY MIRACULOUSLY REACH ABOUT 15 000S THEY COULD EASILY SAY 'WELL ITS NOT 17 00OS SO WE DONT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FUND DASHCON, SO IT'S OFF BUT THEY STILL GET TO KEEP THAT MONEY AND DO WHATEVER THEYD LIKE WITH IT DO NOT FUND THIS That's Indiegogo, not Kickstarter. Kickstarter doesn't do flexible funding. Which is why they went with Indiegogo. DO NOT FUND THE SCAM Source: kiyodono 71,077 notes

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Overview

Dashcon was a convention organized by and for the core community members and audiences of Tumblr, including content creators and fans of a wide range of exceptionally popular subcultures, hobbies and interests within the microblogging network. After successfully completing a fundraiser in 2013, the inaugural convention took place in Schaumburg, Illinois during the second weekend of July 2014. However, the event was largely marred by poor planning and mismanagement of the budget, the news of which quickly spread on Tumblr and became a source of ridicule under the designated hashtag #Dashcon.

Background

Originally proposed under the name Tumbl-Con USA in March 2013, the convention got its jump start after successfully raising $4,000 via IndieGoGo. ^[1] The name of the event was subsequently changed to Dashcon to clarify its non-affiliation with the company itself. Shortly after that, the weekend passes ($65) and day passes ($30 – $50) for the convention went on sale. The inaugural event was planned to be held between July 11th and 13th in the Schaumburg Renaissance Convention Center in Illinois.

Notable Development

Welcome to Night Vale Cancellation

One of the most highly anticipated events at the convention was a live performance and Q&A session by the staff members of popular podcast series Welcome to Night Vale. However, the event had to be dropped from the program as a result of misallocation of funds by the organizers, which drew much criticism from the attendees.

An Extra Hour in the Ball Pit

Some Dashcon attendees also pointed out that one of the most memorable attractions at the convention was a colorful children's ball pit in an otherwise mostly empty room.

Following the cancellation of the Welcome to Night Vale appearance, rumors began to spread on Tumblr that the convention organizers were trying to appease the angry attendees by offering "an extra hour in the ball pit" in compensation. Soon, many attendees at the convention, as well as Tumblr users who were remotely following the story through the hashtag, began making mockeries of the ball pit as the primary attraction of the entire event.

As the weekend progressed, the #Dashcon and #Ball Pit tags^[4]^[5] accumulated large numbers of posts on Tumblr, in addition to several side rumors surrounding the ball pit such as its deflation, it being urinated in, or having a child conceived in it.

Emergency Fundraiser

As the news of the disastrous turnout at the convention continued to spread on Tumblr, it became known that the organizers had raised more than $17,000 USD in emergency donations to continue hosting the event at the venue. Combined with the moderately high admission price of $65 for the weekend pass, the emergency fundraiser soon prompted suspicions that the convention is litle more than a money-grabbing scheme. In criticizing the poor planning of the event, the Tumblr blog 17000dollars^[6] was launched to offer a variety of alternative ways in which the money could have been spent on instead.

Official Explanation

On July 17th, the DashCon organizers released an official statement^[9] to address the controversial turnout of the event. In the statement, the staff acknowledged that they were underprepared to host the event, citing "mismanaged communication," contract misinformation and other clerical errors, but it also clarified that they had to raise $17,000 to pay an outstanding balance billed by the venue, the Renaissance Schaumburg hotel. The statement also included a scanned copy of the bill, which verified that a sum of $21,000 were paid before the convention and a separate payment of $22,237.45 between during the weekend of the event.

CONSOLIDATED GROUP MASTER ANCILLARY CHARGES&MISCELLANEOUS CREDITS SUMMARY DATE NAME NUMBER CHARGES PAYMENTS: 11082 11082 11082 11062 1082 964 ADVDP VS ADVDP-vS 002473 CC 2014 DASHCON 013 CC 2014 DASHCON 1007/13 CC 2014 DASHCON Prior to Event cc 2014 DASHCON 5,000.00) 1,000.00) 5,000.00) 5,000.00) 5.000 Payments 7/10/14 CC 2014 DASHCON CASHAH CC 2014 DASHON 11082 CASH 11779 86 11082 ,000 00 95.01 CC 2014 DASHCON TOTAL PAYMENTS 43,237.45) uso NDICATES THE CHARGE HAS BEEN CORRECTED Donations DashCon Payments Owner's CC Page 25

In addition, the organizers also announced a conditional refund for those who had made cash or Paypal donations for the event.

If you would like your PayPal donation refunded, please let us know by 11:59pm EST on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Please send an email to dashcondonations@gmail.com with “PayPal Donation Refund” in the subject line. Within the body of the email, please include your full name and PayPal transaction number so we can verify your claim.

If you donated cash and would like it returned, please also let us know by 11:59pm EST on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Please send an email to dashcondonations@gmail.com with “Cash Donation Refund” in the subject line. Within the body of the email, please include your full name, phone number, Invoice ID from your badge purchase [to verify your ability to have been in attendance], and the amount you donated.

Legacy

On February 22nd, 2017, YouTuber Internet Historian posted^[14] a humorous retrospective video about the convention titled "The Failure of Dashcon | The world's first Tumblr convention" that gained over 15 million views in four years (shown below).