It makes perfect sense if one happens to be a friend of the Lake Geneva / TSR-3 people, has no idea of the history of D&D, and wants to have a convention just like Gary Con. I've been now invited to be a guest of honor at both conventions (Mr. Dorso's and the one later on in the year being run by Kevin McColl and Griffith Morgan) because of my Tekumel connections, and I am having to advise both parties of the issues that the Tekumel Foundation has with my running anything related to Tekumel at conventions. I don't want to have happen to either of them what happened to Luke when he asked me to run a Tekumel room at Gary Con, so I've had to do a lot of explaining about the issue.

I am not pleased. My impression is that Dave is getting shunted aside in all of this.

Art that has nothing to do with Dave.

Guests who have nothing to do with Dave.

A date that I have yet to figure out the significance of, but am pretty sure has nothing to do with Dave.

Yup, this just screams "Let's celebrate the legacy of Dave Arneson" :|

Well, the date has a context, but is equally tasteless: Mr Arneson died on April 7th, 2009. - And now these guys, of all people, want to give him a belated eulogy? - Like, "why"? "Why would they think they should be the ones doing this?"

If this was Wesely's thing, or Hoyt's thing, it would, of course, be a different matter. But as it is - what is it?

Because if they put any thought into this, at all, then they must be aware that this would look like a bad attempt at some form of "hostile takeover", bordering on "wrongful appropriation". You are seriously interested in doing something like that, you prepare it differently, and you talk, and act, and behave with greater sensitivity. Like, one week of additional preparation, and public perception could be completely different.

The way they've been doing this so far, a nightmare, and a nightmarish self-parody, really. Sure, it's mildly convenient for them to run such a convention, and have the name rights, and all, for such an event - but on every level, and within any margin, unless these guys are outright planning in generational dimensions, the losses outweigh the gains in ways that are impressive.

...Then again: Let's start with the part where this is my -or, for that matter, our - problem.