If Gen Con changes direction and the bossy vendors that are trying to control everyone are gone, I'd be THRILLED.
 

There is a difference in what they say you should do in daily activities and what they recommend when you travel or attend a large event. They are treated differently.

https://www-northstarmeetingsgroup-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.northstarmeetingsgroup.com/News/Coronavirus-CDC-Event-Meeting-Conference-Planning-Guidelines-Tips-Advice/AMP?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#aoh=16527433225561&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northstarmeetingsgroup.com%2FNews%2FCoronavirus-CDC-Event-Meeting-Conference-Planning-Guidelines-Tips-Advice

Staff members should be required to wear face masks and attendees should be encouraged to wear them as well, especially those participants who are not vaccinated.

Trying hard to keep this open, really wish you people could follow the rules for this topic but some of you are back to the back and forth.

Mike

Honestly I don't think Gen Con management is particularly pro- or anti-mask. I think they are pro whatever is not going to irritate the majority of people attending and spending money. I also think they got burned last year when they went with no masks for the vaccinated early in the summer and then the "Delta wave" hit and they reversed and rescinded that at the last moment to masks for everyone. No doubt a lot of wasted time and resources handling refunds and customer service when they could have been devoted to preparing the actual convention. There was a blog post earlier this year where it was stated they can only change policy once and we're still 80 days from Gen Con. 

As several have stated Origins has gone with "Masks highly recommended" roughly a month before that convention. I suspect Gen Con is waiting to see what happens with that convention... I know smaller but with an identical gamer demographic, very similar Midwest city and state also with no mask mandates, identical gaming conditions, etc. 

It is unfortunate that masks have developed such a political/ideological connotation (for and against,) which makes all of this highly charged. It is also important to realize that everyone active on the forums is a very small subset of the larger Gen Con attendees. 

Reading the tea leaves (of which I am no better than anyone else) I am guessing they want to nix the mask mandate and/or vaccination requirement for no other reason than the simple logistics of enforcing all of that. There have been a few posts from Gen Con employees where "If the mask mandate is still in place" with the if in bold type and they have yet to release definitive policies. I would suppose they are hoping such policies will not need to be developed or released. 

Obviously I could be completely wrong, but I am relatively confident that we'll have something more set in about a month or so. 

Mike, thanks for being patient with us - no science debate or uncivility here!

Most people, in a sense, "don't care" if there's a mask mandate at Gen Con.  (They "don't care" in that, if there is one, they'll comply, because four days of gaming in masks beats four days sitting at home without them.)

Some people can't or won't come if there isn't a mask mandate.  They're either at higher risk and can't justify the trip without some assurance that everyone is taking similar precautions, or they're just more risk-averse and don't want to spend all the time manning a vendor booth just to have shitty people come and blow their germs on everything.  (Which, granted, happened pre-COVID, but now carries potential long-term serious consequences.)

Some people won't come if there *is* a mask mandate.  They *don't* think that four days of gaming in masks beats staying home, and would stay home instead.  (Many of) These people will shout about "personal choice" and "let people decide their own risks".  In my opinion, they can make the "personal choice" to skip the con if they can't deal with a mask, but that's just me.

Personally, I'm mostly in the first camp, although I lean a little into the second.  I think Gen Con *should* require masks, mostly because I personally don't care about excluding the third group vs. the second.  Also, they've been saying they're required all year so far, so they should just make the policy concrete so all the people in the third group that haven't already made other plans can go ahead and do that well before the refund deadlines.

Also, the precautions for not getting/spreading COVID-19 at Gen Con are a lot bigger than just wearing masks or not and getting vaccinated or not.  You should test beforehand (an at-home rapid test is probably fine if you're not symptomatic) to make sure you're not bringing it with you, and you should test again a few days after you get home to make sure you didn't bring it back and spread it to your friends, local game stores, and community at large.  You should get vaccinated (if a doctor hasn't otherwise recommended against it).  You should get a booster (again, if medically indicated for you).  You should do all the personal hygiene stuff that gets stressed so much on these message board because we all know a significant portion of the attendees don't.  (Although masking might also help with that smelly person next to you.)

Conventions like this are inherently risky right now, but there are things they can do to provide the most protection they can to the most attendees as possible, and it's downright irresponsible to not do them.

Early rumblings that Origins is going to reinstate the mask requirement. With cases rising nationally sounds like a good call and we should be prepared for masking requirement to be in place for Gencon if large game gatherings are reverting in the face of spread at similar events and in removal of masks for domestic travel against recommendations.

I was just coming here to post that, as has already happened like six times since March 2020, the rumors of COVID-19's death have been greatly exaggerated and Here We Go Again(tm) so we will have to see how things look even for Origins, let alone Gen-Con (I will be a VIG at both!  Live updates!)

Good call indeed. Whatever it takes for them to run the con at full capacity safely.

Honestly, I don't get why masks are such a big deal to some. Would I prefer things to be back to normal and not need them? Of course. But they're not yet, at least not entirely. Until they are, the most convenient way to keep ourselves and others safe is to mask up. I don't understand why it's such a deal-breaker for some, or treated like the worst-case scenario.

I just don't get why the restrictions are more this year then last year when things were much worse

Vaccines were not required last year because they were not available in many places due to phased rollouts and supply issues, and were not approved for most kids at all.  Now supplies are plentiful and they’re approved for everyone of ages down to 5.