@cstross What I'm hearing: a global event that's been running for decades, with an annual budget that must run in the millions of dollars, gets to pretend it's only a bunch of fans volunteering to set up a little get-together. When it ends up taking place in frickin' China, nobody thinks to help the poor sods pussy-foot around the obvious issues, given the famous openness of the host country. Instead people wash their hands of the entire thing, claiming it couldn't have been anticipated. Right?