Policies
Keycon Code Of Conduct
NOTE: ALWAYS UNDER REVIEW AND OPEN FOR RESPECTFUL FEEDBACK
Behaviour at Keycon (and all Keycon related or sponsored events)
The venue is not dedicated completely to our use for the weekend. Members of the general public stay in and visit the venue to dine and socialize. Please be considerate of non-convention individuals at all times. Keycon equally expects its members to behave in a civilized fashion and to treat each other respectfully.
Keycon welcomes members from diverse communities. Any action that negatively targets individuals based on the prohibited grounds of discrimination (race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability, or pardoned criminal convictions) will NOT be tolerated and may be grounds for removal from the convention.
Incidents and Reporting
Please report to the convention committee any incidents in which a member of the convention is: abusive, insulting, intimidating, bothersome or acting in an unsafe or illegal manner. Keycon reserves the right to revoke, without refund, the membership of anyone for any reason. Persons violating the law may be turned over to the police or hotel security.
Harassment is NOT tolerated. Harassment is generally any behaviour that intentionally alarms or annoys another person or group. This includes: unwanted physical contact (including non-consensual hugs), following a person or group without a legitimate reason, threatening to physically attack someone or using hate-speech. If you approach someone and they tell you “no” or “leave them alone”, your business with them is done. If you do not leave them as they have requested, your behaviour becomes grounds for a harassment complaint.
Assault is ALWAYS a criminal matter and will be treated as such.
Reporting Incidents
All incidents and issues fall under the purview of Keycon Operations (Ops). If someone has become too boisterous or needs an escort to a room or taxi, these are the individuals to call. Ops is also responding to any incidents where this code of conduct has been violated. Ops phone numbers are posted at the entrance to all elevators and in bathrooms throughout the convention space as well as on the door to operations on the hospitality floor. Ops operates out of a room on the hospitality floor and Registration and can be contacted 24 hours a day during the convention. A member of Ops and/or the volunteer committee will be present on the hospitality floor throughout the convention.
Ops members will wear distinguishing markers (that look nothing like stormtroopers or Klingons) and will be easily identifiable. If you cannot find an member of Ops, we encourage you to seek out a member of the Convention staff (wearing identifiers on their badges), to the panel or hospitality room coordinators, or to the Hotel staff. These members will ensure that you are put in touch with operations promptly.
Convention staff (along with members of the hotel staff and convention volunteers) have been trained to respond/intervene in the event of an assault and to protect your rights. If you cannot contact Ops before/during an assault, we encourage you to choose report it afterwards. A member of the convention will ensure that you are safely escorted to the police or hospital of your choosing and without judgement.
Keycon takes the provision of safety for all of its members to be paramount. Any action which threatens the safety of anyone during the convention by a convention member or by an outsider to a member of Keycon will be dealt with promptly. This may include, revoking of memberships, banning from future conventions, and police action where appropriate.
Online Policies and Privacy
Virtual Keycon
Who we are
Our website address is: http://www.keycon.org/38.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact forms
We have various contact forms that may be filled out. They will be used for their stated purpose.
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
Who we share your data with
Data is not shared with any organization outside of Keycon without your consent.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Policies
Keycon’s policies have been designed to ensure the safety and comfort of all Members attending each year. Please remember that Membership in the convention in no way supersedes the law. For more information about Keycon and it’s policies please visit the WINSFA page.
Badge Policy
Badging will be in effect in all areas of the convention and at all times this means from opening ceremonies until the end of the dead dog. You may also be REQUIRED to show ID for adult-oriented panels and hospitality suites. If you lose you badge you will need to purchase a new one from Registration Desk!
Do you think you have what it takes to be a Ghostbuster?
Anyone caught in the convention spaces or the hospitality floor without a badge (Ghosting) will be asked to either collect their badge or leave the convention!!! Ghosters can be subject to criminal trespass and or banning from future Keycons.
Weapons and Accessories Policy
Keycon has enjoyed a long safe history of accessorized costumes with next to no accidents or incidents.
Let’s work together to keep it that way for every-one’s enjoyment. You are responsible for your accessory. Watch where your bow or staff is pointing, let’s keep the ankle bruising and noggin knockin’ to a bare minimum, and ensure that your replica weapon does not break any laws. Keep your blades sheathed, scabbards etc. Securing them in their sheath so that the item cannot be casually removed (peace-bonding) is REQUIRED. If you need help doing so, see Ops and they’ll help out.
Alcohol and Smoking Policy
Keycon’s Hospitality suites are REQUIRED to practice and hold current Manitoba Liquor service certifications and be well informed about the rules concerning mixing alcohol and minors. The rule is: alcohol mixes, minors don’t. Equally heinous is the over-serving of a person who is already intoxicated. Hospitality suites will be carefully checking badges and IDs. If any minor is found partaking an alcoholic beverage, or a suite is found over-serving a patron, that Hospitality suite will be shut down immediately, for the duration of the convention.
Smoking under Winnipeg Health laws smoking is only permitted in in outdoor areas. Please remember to time your smoking breaks accordingly to allow for travel time especially at peak. There is no smoking on the Radisson Terrace, expect to smoke outside!
Appropriate Dress
We felt it may be prudent to put our apparel expectations or dress code in writing so there is absolutely no confusion. We welcome the use of costumes and enjoy seeing them at the convention. We must however stress that there are other guests of our venue who are not involved in KeyCon and minors present in the venue. All costumes must be family friendly – there can be no nudity (partial or otherwise) in the common area of the venue. Please understand that there are public spaces in the venue that are not Guest rooms, Meeting rooms, or the Hospitality Floor. Anyone who does not follow this dress code will be asked to leave the venue immediately.
To be extra clear this means: In all public spaces, modesty in dress is REQUIRED.
NOTE: There may be filming by local media outlets on site and camera phones are everywhere.
Photography
Photography and videotaping is not permitted in the art show. To protect the safety of the masquerade participants, we do not allow flash photography during the masquerade. Ask permission before photographing our guests or other convention members. Do not use tripods and other bulky equipment where they might impede access to seats, doors, and aisles in the event a room must be evacuated.
Children as Fans
Children 11 years old and under may attend with a free children’s membership (with and under the supervision of an authorized adult/babysitter/guardian at all times). Keycon requires that there be at least one supervising adult with a membership accompanying every child member.
Parents of children aged 12-17 who believe their children are mature enough may choose to allow their children to freely roam the convention on their own. Any child who excessively misbehaves or engages in inappropriate, disruptive or dangerous behaviour is subject to having free-roaming privileges or their entire membership revoked.
Some program items dealing with adult-themed topics may be closed to individuals under the age of 18. Photo ID will be required to access these events. Membership in the convention in no way supersedes the law.
Liability
Neither Keycon nor the venue shall be responsible for any items lost or damaged in the public areas of the venue, in the venue’s parking lot, nor in any other parking area during attend at Keycon. All attendees will take responsibility for their own possessions. If another attendee damages your possessions, it is your responsibility to seek recompense from them directly. If an attendee damages venue property, they shall be held personally accountable for their actions and be responsible for repaying any debts so incurred.
Parent’s Guide To Keycon
What is Keycon?
Keycon is Manitoba’s Premiere Sci-Fi & Fantasy Convention with a literary focus. However it has become so much more than that, hosting a large board gaming area, pinball tournaments, an art show, masquerade(costume/cosplay contest), sing along, and various other fan related panels and events.
This year’s theme is World building, which is being interpreted in many ways throughout the convention. Some of the ways it is being incorporated, other than the literary world building, are through Minecraft and Lego. Which are two themes meant to include our younger demographic.
How much does it cost?
A weekend pass ranges from $45-$60, depending on when it is bought. Kids 12 and under get in free with a paying adult. Day passes will be available at the door, and prices will be posted closer to May long weekend.
Is Keycon kid friendly?
Absolutely! In fact as a 37 year old convention, a lot of kids have grown up attending Keycon since they were babies. Our record for youngest in attendance is currently 2 days old. We also ensure that your child’s badge has your name and phone number for contact in case of emergencies.
What is there for my kid to do?
We have crafts, and various kids programming items planned throughout the weekend. Once the schedule is available, you can check sched.org for the items colour coded as kid specific items. As well, we have our board game room for all ages.
What about my teenager?
Last year, some of the convention teenagers created a Teen Loft Hangout Room, which will continue for this year. This is a room run by teenagers for teenagers and was a big hit. It created a safe space for the teenagers to relax away from the adults, and also made it easier for parents to find their teenage child. Throughout the weekend, some of the teenagers also volunteered their time to help our convention and it was a very valuable experience.
Where can we eat?
On floor 12 there is a restaurant, otherwise there are several places near the hotel to eat at. We plan to have a guide available for attendees in case they want to know where to go. Also if you are like a few of our staff members and need caffeine to function, there is a Starbucks in the hotel lobby and many of us are fluent in Starbucks speak.
Do you have a designated quiet area?
Yes, at the convention there is a designated quiet area. You can ask a staff member if you need any help finding the area or if you need a place to help you child decompress. Many of us have children and are more than happy to assist.
If we have a problem, where do we go?
Con Operations is in Room 1510, you can also flag down a staff member if you see us around and not occupied. Many of our staff are first aid certified, and we are more than happy to help you out. Our lost and found is also located at 1510.
If you have any questions before the convention, feel free to contact the convention chairs at conchairs2021@keycon.org.
We hope our guide is helpful, we look forward to having you and your kids at the convention!
Thank you to PortConMaine, who gave us permission to model our Anxiety Guide after theirs! We appreciate them for allowing us to model this after theirs and recognize the hard work they put in to make it!
WINSFA Constitution
The following is a draft of the WinSFA that was most recently amended by Senate:
Please be aware that as with many such documents, it is a fluid work, and occasional changes/additions in the form of by-laws may be instituted.
WINSFA Senate Submissions
The Winnipeg Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (WINSFA) Senate is the Board of Directors for Keycon, which provides assistance to the Co-Chairs, administers the Equity fund for KeyCon, and chooses the Co-Chairs and Treasurer for KeyCon. All the members of the WINSFA Senate have had either a long-term commitment to fandom in Winnipeg, or experience in the running of KeyCon or other fan-run conventions. The Senate meets at least once per month. We believe this provides a continuity and stability for the convention, allowing it to continue for over 30 years where many other conventions in recent years have either foundered or shut down completely.
WINSFA Senate Elections
Each year the WINSFA Senate holds its Annual General Meeting at Keycon, open to all convention registrants, and at this AGM we hold an “Election from the Floor”. By doing this we offer an opportunity for two convention members to be elected to the Senate for a 1 year term, so they may have an opportunity to participate in Senate meetings, put forth their ideas and have a hand in the ‘backstage’ processes that contribute to Keycon and other fandom activities. At the end of their term they are given an opportunity to report back to the convention attendance about their experience and thoughts about the Senate and its work.
All KeyCon members are encouraged to attend the AGM, participate in the election (nominate, vote, offer bribes, etc) and to encourage their friends to attend as well. Please check your program book and come out to lend your voice to the process. In this aspect – as in all other regards to running KeyCon, – volunteers are a vital commodity and in fact are the lifeblood of the convention and other fandom activities.
Want to be Con Chair?
The WINSFA Senate is seeking people interested in running for the position of Con Chairs for Keycon 37 (2020) and beyond. Available on request is a copy of the relevant portion of the Constitution, which gives details on the obligations and responsibilities of running Keycon. Please be aware that the Senate would require from you a letter with the names of the two prospective Co-chairs, as well as their signatures and current contact information for each candidate. This must be received by an active member of the WINSFA Senate or by any of the current (36 / 2019) Con-Chairs by the end of closing Ceremonies on Sunday Afternoon. (To give you more time to plan, plot, dream and scheme 
However, if you find that circumstances find you tracking us down during the Dead Dog, well, that’s okay too.
Many thanks to all KeyCon registrants, and we look forward to seeing everyone in our extended fandom family enjoying KeyCon.