I avoid forums because I tend to agree with their complaints about the show. Sadly, though, there's naught we can do about it but...sit around and bitch. That's cathartic for about 2 days and then it just stuck me in a, "I hate everything they're doing" frame of mind and killed any enjoyment at all I could get. So...I stopped. And while Stargate still has the same problems, I don't hate being a fan so much.

I know Creation faced some difficulties when they wildly expanded the Stargate con offerings but sometimes I wonder how they've survived as long as they have and not gotten savvier about the business.

I mean half the people that worked as secondary characters in SG work on BSG, so they'd be a good draw.
Absolutely. I hope they're smart enough to play that angle, too. I'm surprised that they make no attempt to better balance the con between SG-1 and Atlantis but I'm very happy for it.

well, you've motivated me to look at more than my current Point and Shoot camera
It's a virus! The camera-lust virus! Seriously, though, we took our digital point and shoot to an air show over the weekend because it was likely to rain on us. This was no slouch of a camera (Sony 5 megapixel CyberShot back when that was a big deal) but the difference was shocking! I've gotten spoiled by a much better field of vision. We finally gave up photographing planes because by the time you got back far enough to fit the plane into the photo, the pic was mostly tarmac and sky. :( I was quite bummed about that because they had a Stealth Fighter there and I *wanted* pics.

>>I know Creation faced some difficulties when they wildly expanded the Stargate con offerings but sometimes I wonder how they've survived as long as they have and not gotten savvier about the business.

Well for me, it's because in my next of the woods, they're the ONLY game in town. The closest cons to me (with the exception of Chiller Theatre which is a general free for all & a NYC con and ICON) are four-five hour drives. This con is close enough for me to drive each day.

And I only attended the first time because I was going to be in town to visit jalabert and we looked at the weekends I was choosing amongst and realized the con was one of them. :) Now I attend because Creation IS smart about seating. Fans are invested in returning to get good/better seats.

For all that I bitch about Creation and for as much as I hate the (usually) paltry guest offerings? I VASTLY prefer the seating arrangements and the access to ALL the guests to what I experienced at Gatecon. Gatecon had plenty of rude people snapping at me, wasted hours and hours of my time as I cooled my heels, offered excellent access to "2nd tier" actors and none to main cast. Well, not precisely true. I paid for the opportunity to have lunch with Chris Judge (and 5 other fans). But if you weren't a lucky fan with deep pockets, you had no access at all.

In the end, I'd rather pay for a sure thing that doesn't have me sitting on my butt in a hall for hours every day. But it seems like there is a middle ground between the two shows.