Hi, Seanan, don't know if you recall, but you met me and my Great Dane puppy Pagan at Confluence last year (you may remember Pagan, at least!). This is an excellently written review of what is and is not harassment, IMO. I have been at multiple cons, including one where my wife was cornered in a hallway late at night by a former boyfriend who was convinced that she must be missing being with a man now that she was with me (the con staff's response to my complaint the following day was "Well, no harm done", so I welcome John Scalzi's policy whole-heartedly and hope it spreads broadly).

That said, there is a bit of me that wants to point out that people dressed in costume *want* that costume to be appreciated. It is, of course, possible and necessary to do so in a non-creepy way. As an anecdote, some years ago I was at a con - cannot remember which one now, but it might have been a Conclave - at which there was a *beautiful* young man dressed in such a way as to display himself most gorgeously. I don't find men attractive - but this one literally made my head turn as he walked by. He stopped, looked at me and asked if I had a comment. I shook my head and said, "No. Just admiring." He grinned ear to ear, came over and hugged me, and bounced off happily.

Was that crossing the line? I dunno. Certainly not intentionally, but my attention affected him to the point that he stopped and asked about it. Which I would feel worse about if it hadn't been obvious that my answer made him happy.

Do I think harassment policies are needed? Absolutely. Am I a bit concerned about the implementation and enforcement of those policies? Yep.

Still, it's a (big) step in the right direction.