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Recording/streaming/captioning all WorldCon panels is a great idea and I am 100% for it, but in practice, I believe it's doable but there are important implementation questions to be asked. I don't raise these questions to dismiss the idea but to find ways to actually do it. (1)
Obviously it'd be very expensive to do (the con would have to procure a large amount of recording equipment to capture all the items happening simultaneously). Cons would have to raise additional funds for it or divert funds from elsewhere. (2)
Could we raise enough funds from a special membership type? If not, what do we choose to divert con funds from and how do we make sure that doesn't result in further accessibility issues? (3)
There's also volunteer time to consider. You need enough folks to cover single item/panel happening in one time slot, they need training to use the equipment, they need passes to slip queues & record multiple items in a row, but they also need breaks because cons are a lot. (4)
It's also crucial to ask & acquire the panelists AND the audience members' consent to being recorded. If we truly want to record EVERY ITEM and not burden the volunteers even more, we'd best make it a condition to agree to when signing up to be a panelist. (5)
(though I don't know if making being recorded a condition for being a panelist raise further accessibility concerns? If yes we'd have to weigh what would do the most good. I think it would still be recording & releasing everything. (5b))
One footage is recorded, cons would have to either pay for transcriptionists or recruit transcription volunteers. This would be a MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK and transcription is neither easy nor cheap (though it'd be fair to ask a freelancer for a mass volume discount imo). (6)
You would also need to pay for online hosting services, which do not come cheap if you want to keep huge quantities of data that will see huge amount of traffic. And you'd need a website to keep everything organized and findable and to have transcripts on. (7)
Throughout all of this, there would be heaps and heaps of admin to do! Budgeting for, buying & storing the equipment, making sure everything is charged, doing volunteer training, managing a website/podcast feed/video channel, labelling everything. HUGE AMOUNTS OF WORK. (8)
All of it can be done, but it would take time and a concerted effort over a long period of time. You could get together the budget & volunteers to make a really worthwhile start on this project in a year & then build on it in future to arrive at full convention coverage. (9)
Because of the long term nature of a project like this & because of the way Worldcons & Eastercons are administered separately each year, it would make more sense to have a separate non-profit organisation working with the cons to do this. (10)
It'd be easier for a dedicated organisation to focus on that one very complex project rather than ask conrunning volunteers to take on this massive extra amount of work. I'm not letting cons off the hook for accessibility, they'd have to work with whoever did this. (11)
Also realistically, if we want this effort to start soon and keep going and not be derailed when a concom doesn't think it's all that valuable, then it would be safer doing it separately but with help from the cons. (12)
Cons could help by donating memberships to the org, as they do with con or bust (a good volunteer incentive since it'd be tricky to give groats/volunteer shirts/other rewards to volunteers from a separate organisation), or donating equipment to build up the collection. (13)
Cons would def. need to arrange for a queue skip badge to ensure volunteers recording a thing could get in - or arrange to let them stay in one panel room their whole shift? Access to a private office/press room would also be crucial to manage the equipment & recordings (14)
It's all doable! IMO the most realistic implementation is a new non-profit dedicated to making convention panels accessible remotely online and preserving/archiving fannish memory. This org could get help/advice from orgs like Con or Bust, the OTW, We Need Diverse Books (15)
The WSFS Business Meeting is already being recorded and shared online, that's another place to go for help and advice! (15b)
An org like this could build from a small start to a really good amount of coverage in the time it'd take to pass a really uncontroversial amendment to the WSFS/WorldCon Constitution. And a separate organisation could cover many cons! (16)
It would make a lot of sense to have a Kickstarter to raise initial funds to buy or rent recorders & build a website, and then to have ongoing crowdfunding (yearly KS campaign, tip jar/patreon and/or charity auctions) to keep the content free at the point of access. (17)
In conclusion, it can be done but it doesn't make sense to rely on one convention organised by different folks every year to do it. I hope people who want to and have time to do this out something together. (I would love to do it but I have zero time). (18)
