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Previously posted on LiveJournal.

Part 6: Are fan funds still relevant today?

Update: Clarified a few points after Facebook discussion with Alison.

Today's episode might quite possibly be the last in this series (I was going to call it "part several of several" but then I'd be guaranteed to think of something else), and differs slightly from the others in that it's dealing with a slightly more subjective topic.

The main reason fan funds were set up has to do with the cost of international travel. With air fares a fraction of what they were in the 1950s, this argument certainly holds less weight. But if somebody's main reason for standing for a fan fund was because they couldn't afford to get to a worldcon, I'd be inclined to say "let them save up like everyone else." Let's face it, if anyone on even a modest income really wanted to, and planned far enough ahead, they could go to a worldcon.