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Pirate Party Invited To, Then Banned From Gaming Exhibition
esocid writes with this excerpt from TorrentFreak:
"Despite having booked and paid for their booth at Gamex, Sweden's largest gaming exhibition, the Pirate Party have been excluded from the action this week. The party, who say they were nagged for 2 to 3 months to book for the event, were this week informed they were too controversial and no longer welcome. ... [Pirate Party leader Anna Troberg] says that after the sales people from the exhibition pursued the party for months to participate, they decided to book and pay for a booth. ... 'I thought it was a bit strange, but in the afternoon, the pieces fell into place when the fair manager, Bear Wengse, phoned me and kindly, but firmly, announced that the Pirate Party was no longer welcome at the fair.' Wengse informed Troberg that the exhibition is a meeting place and not a venue for political conflict and the party's presence could cause problems, particularly since some of their work "could be perceived as criminal."'"
Will they get their money back? Because pursuing them so doggedly then banning them could probably also "be perceived as criminal".
Seriously, what trade show thought they would get away with a move that would piss off 90% of their exhibitors?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
They were popular enough to win 2 seats in Sweden's parliament. The SSU (Swedish Social Democratic Youth League) are still allowed to attend the event, and they support the decriminalization of non-commercial file sharing, so I don't buy the political exclusion claim. Most likely it was pressure from the big Corp. attendees.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
"hey guys! EA has a new game about pirates coming out, lets invite some pirate enthusiasts!!"
Good people go to bed earlier.
The point is: why would they even try to invite them? It isn't like three months ago the public opinion of something named "PIRATE PARTY" would be any diferent.
The point is, even if they were banned, why would they not show up and occupy a booth anyway? I see much opportunity for hilarity here :-D
Because sales guy wanted his commission and when the higher ups figured out who the booth had been sold to, they cancelled it.
> they decided to book and pay for a booth. ... 'I thought it was a bit strange, but in the afternoon, the pieces fell into place
This is an example of either poor clipping, or intentionally inflammatory clipping. From having RTFA, the pirate party had called to get answers on a couple of practical issues, and the person they talked to sounded vague and extremely stressed out. THAT is what Troberg, as quoted in the actual article, thought strange.
No, the Pirate Party did not win any seats in the Swedish parliament. They have two seats in the European parliament, however.
In general, marketing and sales people have a tenuous grasp on reality.
The point is: why would they even try to invite them? It isn't like three months ago the public opinion of something named "PIRATE PARTY" would be any diferent.
The scuttlebutt is that they thought the Ninja Party would be there, too, but declined. All fell apart after that.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I'm sure the organizers never wanted the pirate party there at all. But inviting them was a brilliant business move. For a whole host of reasons, from inflaming other exhibitors, getting those other exhibitors to spend more, encouraging another segment to exhibit, and impressing sponsors in the first place. Then, finally, supporting those that wanted the pirate party gone.
I'll bet it was the best period of business activity for the organizers. Welcome to playing one side against the other, and getting news-level advertising fory our show in the process.
Why is any of this surprising to anyone? It's just a gossip-tree and a rumour-mill at the business level.
Ooh, guess who's coming to dinner. Oh, sorry, they cancelled at the last minute.
The manager's name is Björn Wengse, not Bear Wengse. Björn is a common name that also happens to be the Swedish word for "bear".
They have one seat in the European parliament. They would have one more in the expanded parliament under the Lisbon treaty, but even though the it has been ratified for years and all the bits of the treaty related to the commission and the council are in place, the bits that govern the only institution in the EU that is actually elected apparently aren't that important.
All it takes is one huge Pirate supporter in the sales team with enough freedom to sign the deal without anyone noticing until the ink has dried. And that guy probably figured that if higher-ups try to overrule him afterwards, it'll hit the news. Either way, it's a win for the Pirate Party.
The SSU (Swedish Social Democratic Youth League) are still allowed to attend the event, and they support the decriminalization of non-commercial file sharing, so I don't buy the political exclusion claim.
This is the reason it's a story IMO. If they don't want political organizations there, that's fine. Allowing some political groups and not others is not so kosher. Of course it's a private event so they decide, but it makes it newsworthy.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Because sales guy wanted his commission and when the higher ups figured out who the booth had been sold to, they cancelled it.
The funny thing, though, is that the Pirate Party's name features prominently on Gamex' advertising in papers and in the subways. Did the advertising get approved without even a cursory examination by the bosses (or any other responsible person within the company)? And nobody discovered the mistake until a few days before the convention opened?
The Pirate Party did show up outside the convention and handed out t-shirts. They also paid the entry fee for the 20 first people who went in with their t-shirt on.