Convention Policies

*This does not apply to instances of discrimination or harassment; where a “difference in opinion” is actively harmful to an individual or group

**Meaning to be under the influence of a drug to the point of having little or no control over one's behaviour and/or bodily function. The point at which some people reach intoxication differs from person to person, so please be mindful of how your body reacts to certain substances before engaging in alcohol or marijuana use.

Harassment Policy

Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated at Maple Gel Con. This policy applies to all attendees, guests, volunteers, security, and staff.

Harassment

Harassment is generally defined as unwanted behavior that creates an intimidating, offensive, and/or hostile environment for the person being targeted. It can be physical or psychological. If someone tells you that your comments or behavior are unwelcome, you need to stop immediately. If that person tells you to leave them alone, you need to cease contact. It doesn't matter if you don't think your behavior was harassing; harassment is defined by the victim.

Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to:

Making comments about a person's appearance, sexual and/or vulgar statements, offensive jokes, or anything disparaging a person's gender, race, religion, sexuality, identity, et cetera.
Bulling and discrimination.
Whistling, catcalling, and any kind of non-consensual flirting or sexual advances.
Following someone or impeding their path.
Attending a person's panels solely to heckle (harassing the panelist with impertinent questions, gibes, or insults) them.
Photographing or recording someone without their permission.
Exposing oneself or miming sexual acts.
Bathroom policing (harassing someone because of the bathroom they feel most comfortable using).
Touching someone without their permission.
Repeated texting, phone calls, or emails, after being told to stop.
Any persistent action that creates a hostile environment for the person or persons being targeted - harassment is when a person is feeling harassed, period.
If a person is in cosplay, that does not give you consent to photograph or touch them without their permission. Remember that underneath the costume and make-up is a real person; they are not the character they are portraying and you do not have the right to treat them as you would the fictional character.
Excessively loud noises/music and disruptive behavior is prohibited unless noted otherwise. Please refrain from screaming, blasting music, or using noisemakers such as vuvuzelas and air horns, especially in hallways.

Explicit Content

Costumes must cover any area usually hidden by a bathing suit (genitalia, buttocks, nipples unless otherwise specified). Flashing/mooning other people is considered harassment and will not be tolerated. Please be aware that businesses and other venues in the area may have stricter dress codes (e.g. shirts required before entry, shoes in the hotel restaurant).

Any clothing, signs, props, or other materials containing explicit content must NOT be visible inside our convention space. Anyone in Artist Alley selling work with explicit content must have it out of view and must view a photo ID before showing it to interested customers. Customers must then keep the purchase in a pocket, bag, or case that does not allow it to be seen by other attendees. Ahegao shirts are prohibited.

Cosplay and Weapons Policy

As with most conventions, Maple Gel Con attendees are welcome and even encouraged to wear cosplay throughout the event. Of course, this also comes with certain rules and etiquette that cosplayers and non-cosplayers are all expected to follow.

Racefacing, as in artificially darkening one's skin to imitate a character's race, and otherwise altering one's appearance to imitate other “racial” features, is absolutely not permitted. Racefacing and blackfacing have a deep, irrefutable history rooted in racism and is considered discriminatory behaviour. In order to respect the very real people who face discrimination every day based on the colour of their skin, we require that you do not use makeup or tanning supplies that mimic darker skin tones when dressing for cosplay.

Remember that cosplay is about having fun. Whether a cosplay is professionally made or handmade, whether it's 100% accurate or a casual “closet” cosplay, whether a cosplayer is big or small, dark- or light-skinned, able-bodied or working their assistive device into their cosplay, or cosplaying another gender than what they identify with, it is never okay to discourage or discriminate against a cosplayer regarding their cosplay.

Treat cosplayers with respect and dignity, regardless of what they are wearing. Many fictional characters wear outfits that can be revealing, ridiculous, beautiful, or absurd, but cosplayers are real people, and what they are wearing does not give anyone permission to harass or abuse them verbally, physically, or sexually.

Get your weapons and props checked. Make sure to take your weapons and props to the front desk for approval and to receive a sticker or ribbon indicating that we have given you the okay. Real weapons made of metal or that can be used to inflict serious physical harm are not permitted within the con space.

Reporting

Please report any incidents of harassment as soon as possible. We take all reports very seriously, regardless of who is involved. You can report harassment even if you are not directly involved, and no retaliation for filing a report will be tolerated.

Harassment by any individual (attendees, guests, volunteers, or staff) should be reported to Kira, Nikki, Eric, Leach, Kayla or Cassie from staff in person or at maplegelguild@gmail.com or Carol McMulkin, Kelly Beach, or Don Beach. We are looking into more solutions and options for reporting and keeping everyone as safe as possible. When solutions are found this policy will be updated and an announcement made that it has been updated.

Our job as staff is to ensure you have a safe, enjoyable time at Maple Gel Con, and as such we will take any and all violations seriously, regardless of who is involved. You have the right to anonymity when reporting misconduct, including if you want your name kept from con staff, or if you want to use a friend as a mediator when reporting. Anyone who seeks to retaliate against someone for reporting them will be automatically seen as violating our terms of conduct.

CONSEQUENCES

Any violations of our harassment policy will result in immediate penalties dependent upon the severity of the action. Such penalties include:
Verbal warnings. (You will only be warned once.)
Confiscation of your badge and ejection from the event, with no refunds.
Banning from any and all future events put on by Maple Gel Con.
Contacting law enforcement when appropriate.

This policy was put together from the Cosplayer-SSN Sample Policy at

https://cosplayer-ssn.org/sample.php

Other Cosplayer-SSN Resources:

https://cosplayer-ssn.org/index.php

https://cosplayer-ssn.org/help.php

https://cosplayer-ssn.org/converse.php

For the safety of all convention attendees, staff, volunteers and hotel employees we ask that you read and follow the following policies:

General Policies

Be mindful and courteous to others while attending. This includes other attendees, staff, volunteers, and non-attendees as well. Being disruptive, or putting your own enjoyment over the needs or concerns of others, is highly discouraged.

Be civil and understanding when it comes to disagreements or differences of opinion*. It is not appropriate to antagonize or shame other guests when the goal at Maple Gel Con is to have fun and share our common interest in the Tales of series.

Follow hotel rules. Maple Gel Con would not be possible without a spacious, well kept, and convenient space to host us, so we ask that all attendees respect the rules of the hotel. No loud noise in the main hotel areas after 10pm, and no outside food or drink except for in your own hotel rooms.

Keep your convention badge on you at all times when accessing exclusive con areas. Many veteran attendees are familiar faces to staff, but that doesn't mean staff is always able to keep track of who belongs and who doesn't. For everyone's safety, please wear your badge in plain view as you move through con spaces so staff can reliably keep away trespassers.

Remember, Maple Gel Con is for Tales of fans of all ages and backgrounds. While guests are free to buy drinks from the hotel bar, as well as drink or use recreational marijuana where permitted, we ask that guests over 19 avoid being intoxicated** while at the convention. To do so can disrupt other attendees' enjoyment or cause serious discomfort.