Longtime readers of my column know how much I love good science-fiction conventions. Part carnival, part debating society, and part revival, attending conventions can be one of the high points, and true joys, of being a fan.

So I had truly mixed feelings when I read the recent news (story) that convention organizer Slanted Fedora had gone out of business.

In many ways, Slanted Fedora's demise is not at all unwelcome.

Let me just say upfront that I've never attended a Slanted Fedora-run convention. However, many of my friends have and often meetings of the Chesapeake -- the sci-fi club I'm a member of -- were dominated by discussions of the antics of Dave Scott, the head of Slanted Fedora.

For instance, folks were double-billed for attendance. Slanted Fedora refunded the money, but only after these fans called to complain.

Kansas state authorities had Slanted Fedora under investigation for its questionable practices.

Then there was the con where Scott made what could've been a joke, but just as likely could have been a Freudian slip. Some folks toward the back of the room couldn't hear the guest and a microphone was requested. Whether joking or not, Scott said, "Who cares about the $10 attendees?"

So much for trying to cultivate a more "fan friendly" attitude than that other professional convention company. In fact, Scott went out of his way to relieve fans of as much cash as possible, saving some of the best seating for those willing to shell out upwards of a whopping $1,000.

So, in the end, there are a lot of good reasons to say "Hasta la vista, baby," to Slanted Fedora. Except, despite his excessive self-pitying (and intensely poor spelling) Dave Scott makes a very good point in his going-out-of-business announcement on his Web site.

"I love this hobby," he said. "It will [persevere], and is stronger than any one man, organization or business plan."

He's right. There is a lot of room for a good, honest (and truly fan-run) group to come in and offer more sci-fi conventions around the country. Believe it or not, there are still a lot of places around the United States where a science-fiction convention is a rare event.

Even where I live, in the Baltimore/Washington region -- which is extraordinarily blessed by such excellent cons as Shore Leave and Farpoint -- we fans have seen a marked decline, as several old favorite cons (like NovaCon) simply don't exist anymore.

Running a science-fiction convention is hard. It's a cliche, but true to say, that the fans who actually run the con do all the work while it's those who pay to attend who have most of the fun.

Yet those stalwarts like those here who run Shore Leave and Farpoint and those many more around the country who put on other excellent cons year after year prove it can be done.

It's done as a labor of love.

On his Web site, Dave Scott talks about plans already underway for new conventions in Oklahoma, Philadelphia and elsewhere. He also has a good point that with him out of the way, it may make it easier for others to come forward.

What they will need is skill, even more money, and a lot of that aforementioned love of all things sci-fi.

The fact fans came to Slanted Fedora conventions at all proved fans want sci-fi cons, it's just Slanted Fedora also proved their way was exactly the wrong way to go about it.

So, here's to hoping someone actually comes forward to take Slanted Fedora's place -- and knows enough to know to look at Dave Scott's experience as the way not to run sci-fi conventions.

A former entertainment journalist, Scott Nance is a member of the USS Chesapeake, an independent science-fiction and Star Trek club in the Washington, DC, area. He is a columnist for Airlock Alpha, and can be reached at scottnance@airlockalpha.com.