Security Questions

Security is provided by the Dorsai Irregulars, a team of volunteers who collectively have more than thirty years of experience in providing security to conventions such as ours.

Security at the con is a full-time job, and as such we are allowing the Dorsai to operate as full staff members. They will take care of maintaining order for us; however, there are still volunteer positions such as guarding doors to the art show, etc., that we could use help with. Check in with the Con Ops at the convention to find out what is needed. You may also want to check our volunteer page.

This question is answered by the DI's own John Hall:

The Dorsai is the name of a planet, and of the people and culture that lives on that planet. They were created by science fiction author Gordon R. Dickson. Colonists on a resource-poor planet, they survived by becoming super-competent warriors and hiring themselves out to other societies. There are a good dozen Dorsai books (more properly known as "The Childe Cycle"). "Dorsai", "The Tactics of Mistake", "Soldier, Ask Not", and "Lost Dorsai" are the best to start with.

We, however, are the Dorsai Irregulars. Our story is that in every society there are misfits, and the Dorsai world is no exception. We're the guys who don't like getting up at dawn to drill and march in straight lines. We live in a swamp in a remote area of the planet. We like to sleep 'til noon, and win battles by stealth and trickery. The "regular" Dorsai soldiers think we're a disgrace, but grudgingly admit that we're effective. We often get the weirder off-plant contracts, like riding herd on 2500 furries for a weekend.

The fact of the matter is that our founder, Robert Asprin, was a big fan of Dickson's work, and thought that "Dorsai Irregulars" was a good name for the security and operations group he was putting together.

Membership to the Dorsai Irregulars is by invitation only. The membership selection process is somewhat complicated, but an attempt to explain it is over in this forum post.

To avoid alarming anyone and to avoid any unnecessary injuries, we have a strict policy regarding weapons. No weapons, real OR artificial, can be carried at Anthrocon except as part of a masquerade skit (see the full Standards of Conduct for details). In short, if it looks like a weapon, we don't want you carrying it.

The safety and comfort of our members is of paramount importance to us; however, we have only limited options. The issue is covered in the appropriate section of our Standards of Conduct:

Anthrocon is not responsible for solving any interpersonal problems that may arise between individual members. In general, we can take no action to prevent a person from attending the convention unless that person has made a specific and credible threat toward the convention itself. If you feel that a threat exists against your person, we advise you to seek a restraining order against the individual in question and to present it to the chairman in advance of the convention; otherwise, we recommend simply avoiding that individual. If that individual stalks, harasses, or attempts to assault you at the convention itself, you may report that individual to a member of the security staff and the appropriate action will be taken. Conversely, any attempt to have an innocent person removed from the convention by falsely accusing him or her of threats will be itself treated as an act of harassment and will be dealt with appropriately. The responsibility for settling interpersonal disputes lies solely with the individuals involved, and Anthrocon will not tolerate being used as a leveraging point in such disputes.