Update an hour ago on Facebook:

We have been closely following the current outbreak of COVID-19, and we know that our attendees and community are as concerned as we are about the virus and the uncertainty that comes with it.In light of announcements made by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, we want to assure our community that we are considering health guidelines from Indiana State officials as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as we monitor the situation and prepare for any contingencies.While we evaluate safety measures related to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, both the release of the event catalog and the opening of event registration will be delayed. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time. We will update our community with the measures we are taking to keep everyone safe and healthy in the coming weeks.In the meantime, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. We wish you health and safety, and we will continue to post updates to this page as the situation develops.

Thanks for posting this here.  I am not allowed to have social media due to my job, and I look here for updates.

Gen Con Covid updates

That's it. And lo, they did! And a hair of info! And that's great! I don't see why some take umbrage with the suggestion.

If they think it's a good one (and while likely a coincidence, maybe someone did think it was reasonable), that's better information going out to more people. If they don't, they won't, and we're left with the status quo.

It doesn't need to be done by committee. I had an idea, and shared it. If you don't like it, cool, we've both given our perspectives, but I really think the ask it being blown out of proportion in a baffling manner.

They could "Update" it next week to say "Updated May 7th: no current changes to policy or expectations, please wait for further information" and little time or effort has been wasted, but those who swing by the site know that the staff are on the ball regularly.

Very few of any community swing through the forums. Back when WoW had its peak userbase, Blizzard noted that something like 5% of the userbase ever logged into them, and less than 1% were active/regular lurkers or posters. Providing a hair of info on a public facing side of things does no harm and likely at least a little good, so why the issue with a net beneficial risk/reward balance?

Boy, when I was told there'd be pushback on the notion, it wasn't at all wrong. They could do nothing but change the date once a week and I think it'd be a net positive.

Surely us smart gamer sorts can recognize where a tiny bit of effort might have disproportionately positive ramifications? Or am I the only one who has to occasionally deal with the corporate comms department?

Keep in mind GenCon is 3 months away. Look how much progress was made in April alone against covid-19. 

Also, there's a bunch of other Indy events in the months ahead that as of now are still going on: Indiana Comic Con (June 26-28), The Indy 500 (Aug. 23, and they're still selling spectator seats even), and Naptown Clutch (Aug. 21-22, a fighting game tournament).

Looks like the Governor of Indiana is waiting until the last minute to make the call if they will continue the stay-at-home order: https://www.14news.com/2020/05/01/stay-at-home-order-expire-fri-night-gov-holcomb-expected-give-update-during-daily-briefing/

I wonder if they're going to follow a track similar to IL, where they start easing distancing requirements while making masks mandatory. Given their statements about wanting to keep the conventions in operation for the year, it would be a logical step; start easing their way back into business, mandate masks to  reduce spread by asyptomatic/presyptomatic carriers, watch the numbers as they go for any troubling spikes (a la the "hammer and dance" scenario) that would need fresh shutdowns, and proceed from there. That said, the announcement that's really going to make me think we're in business is when we get word about bars. Once IN is at a place where they can do casual, close-quarters social gatherings, that's going to be a big green light for the convention.

Also, personal question, (assuming the best), is anyone planning on self-isolating when they get back home from the con as a precaution? I'm not looking to do anything crazy about it, but keeping the mask on at work, avoiding gatherings and staying at home as much as possible just feels prudent. 

Target is July 4th.

https://www.wthr.com/article/indiana-coronavirus-updates-governor-details-plan-reopen-indiana

The Governor just announced:
• 5 stage road map to reopen:
o Targeted to end on July 4th 
o Stage 1: 3/24-present. Essential businesses have remained open
o Stage 2: over the next 3 weeks starting Monday May 4th 
 65 y/o+ and high risk should remain at home as much as possible
 Social gatherings of 25 or more allowed
 Restaurants and bars open to 50% capacity on May 11th 
• Bar seating remain closed
 State government offices to open with social distancing
 Non-essential manufacturing able to open
 Retail will open at 50% capacity (Mall stores, downtown shops, etc…)
 Hair salons, spa, tattoo may 11th open. Appointment only 
 Office settings encouraged to work remotely 
 May 8th - Churches may convene following social distancing 
o Stage 3:
 May 24th: 
 65+ and high risk may venture out cautiously 
 Social gatherings up to 100 people
 Retail open to 75%
 Movie theater to 50% capacity 
 Playgrounds, campgrounds, gyms open with social distancing 
o Stage 4:
 June 14th
 Face coverings optional
 Zoos, museums, bowling alleys at 50%
 Social gatherings up to 250 people 
 Mall and retail open at 100%
 Dining room service 75% capacity
• Bar seating open 50% capacity
 Recreational sports open
o Stage 5
 July 4th
 Fairs, festivals, sporting events resume normal operation
 Retail, gyms, personal services, etc open at full capacity

Here’s hoping that works as planned. 

I would love to see that plan work and not cause a new peak of infections.

But I'm not sure how...

Here's hoping the plan goes as planned. Now that Evo's cancelled in-person, I *really* hope Gen Con happens as scheduled.

Marion county - which is Indianapolis is delayed 1 week from these timelines.  

and each stage requires 14 continuous days of decreasing cases admitted to hospitals.   

it’s going to require cracker-jack timing to make those dates by end July for stage 4.  Not saying it’s impossible, but everything needs to go right.   At each stage....

when was the last dungeon crawl that went according to plan?

also this is just the state of IN - not sure about decisions from Gencon vendors & GM groups & others.

i do wonder if we don’t get to the final stage - what Gencon @ 50% capacity would be like?

i also wonder if there is a boss monster to face in the final stage?

Pretty sure we qualify as a social gathering of over 250 people. By this, it's Make The Final Boss or pure wipe.

[This post has been removed]

By tying the "opening up" to future improvement patterns, it's now just longer-duration uncertainty. That uncertainty may (hopefully) decrease as we get closer (either as we learn that the numbers have failed to improve often enough that the deadlines now extend past Gen Con's window decreasing the uncertainty to zero, or as the numbers trend downward consistently repeatedly, and the uncertainty decreases as a simple matter of odds).

But honestly, that timeline [specifically the requirements for that timeline applying] shouldn't fill anyone with overwhelming optimism.  A LOT of things need to go right, over and over again, for the timeline to work out in Gen Con's favor.

Official breakdown:

https://backontrack.in.gov/2348.htm

one dim spot:

Social gatherings of over 250 people may take place following the CDC social distancing guidelines. The coronavirus is often spread among groups of people who are in close contact in a confined space for an extended period of time. This limit applies to wedding receptions, parties, and other events where people are in close physical contact for extended periods of time