Worldcon 2005 UK - Membership FAQ

Membership FAQ

Day Admission

Membership FAQ

How do I join? - see the main memberships page for information on membership rates and payment.

What will it cost? - please see our comprehensive membership rate charts.

Do you sell passes to just one thing (like the Dealers' Room or the Masquerade)? - No. We will be selling single-day memberships on the door which will provide admission to all events and exhibits on that day, but you cannot buy a "dealers room admission only" or a "masquerade admission ticket" or any other limited-admission pass.

Can I pay by credit card? - Yes, you can. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards. Please note that all credit card payments will be processed in Sterling, except Discover which will be processed in US$. This is because most of our expenditure will be in the UK, and we therefore need to collect as much money in Sterling as possible to minimise our currency exposure. A currency conversion fee may be charged if this is not your normal banking currency.

What about online payment? - we accept online credit card payments through a secure web facility. This service is offered through Worldpay, a major international merchant service.

Your memberships sure are expensive! What do I get for my money? - To start with, remember that you are buying 5 days worth of convention, not the 2 or 3 days you get with most SF cons or media events. There will be a huge amount to see: including over 500 programme items, an Art Show, Dealers' Room and Exhibits, plus special events like the Hugo Awards and Masquerade. Also, because we are expecting thousands of people, we need to hire a convention center, and that doesn't come cheap. See the main What is the Worldcon? page for more information.

The membership form doesn't say anything about hotel rooms, what do I do? - we provide a full accommodation service to members, enabling you to book beds anywhere from hostel accommodation to the best hotels in Glasgow. This service is operated in partnership with Infotel, a specialist accommodation booking service.

Who are "Friends" and why do they pay less than other members? - there were a number of ways in which people could help us to win the Worldcon for Glasgow. These included presupporting the bid (giving us money to help with our bid costs) and voting for us at Conjosé in 2002. We offered these people reduced rates on membership as a way of saying thank you. Most of these discounts have now expired, but Friends (the highest level of support for the Bid) are still eligible for a low price conversion.

Have I joined already? - all members are listed in our Progress Reports, and most are also included in our online membership list. (We give everyone the option to be excluded from the online list, so there are 170 or so members who aren't shown there). If you aren't sure of your status, just mail us at memberships@interaction.worldcon.org.uk and we can check our database for you.

Did I vote in site selection? - if you voted in site selection at Conjosé, you will already be at least a supporting member. So you should be able to find yourself in the members list, unless you also filled in a conversion form and stated that you didn't want to be publicised (see previous question).

Was I a member of the UK in 2005 Bid? - you can find the list of PreSupporters and Friends here. If you were a Friend, you are still eligible for a reduced rate to become a full member of Interaction. Discounts for presupporters expired in November 2003.

I haven't had any mail in ages, what are you doing? - we are mailing out a total of 7 publications in the run-up to the convention. You can find out about them on our publications page. If you think you have missed a mailing, please contact us on memberships@interaction.worldcon.org.uk so that we can check that we have the right address for you.

I have volunteered to work on the con, do I have to pay? - Yes. Even the Committee are paying for their memberships. However, we will be running a scheme at the convention where workers earn reward tickets (exchangeable for T-shirts, drinks etc) for their efforts. Our ability to do more is limited because UK Worldcons have much higher site costs and therefore tighter budgets than those held in the US.

I have volunteered to be on the programme, do I have to pay? - Yes. Worldcons have hundreds of programme participants. It isn't possible to give them all free memberships. Our ability to support programme participants is very limited because UK Worldcons have much higher site costs and therefore tighter budgets than those held in the US.

Page last updated 3^rd May 2005