Official code of conducts for guests at Torucon's events.
Blunt weapons, knife replicas, etc.
Guests are responsible for bringing their ticket to the events. This includes after the ticket has been scanned. If someone has forgotten their ticket, they must carry some form of identification with full name and photo to gain permission to enter the con. The name on your identification must match the name written on the ticket.
Guests are also responsible to make sure their ticket bracelet does not break during the event. We are unable to provide everyone with a new ticket bracelet, so if the bracelet is torn, you cannot expect to be let back in on the convention premises. The bracelets are made to last for a couple of days, so they will not break unless done so by force, in which case you yourself are accountable for any consequences this will have.
It has been a few years since the Free Hugs campaign took the con world by storm (in several ways). One of Torucon's keywords is obviously "Kos is King", so we're all about the enjoyment, and we think it's very nice that so many would like to give out hugs.
However, not everyone enjoy hugs. Therefore, everyone who wants to carry a Free Hugs sign and the like, are required to ask for permission before giving away hugs. We also recommend that you let others come to you for hugs; do not follow people to give them hugs, especially if they express that they do not wish to be hugged.
In the sea of costumes that appear at Torucon there are costumes of the more covering kind, as well as those with less coverage. Regardless of what type of costume someone is wearing, or what clothes they have on, all guests at Torucon are required to respect each others' personal space and privacy.
We have zero tolerance for sexual harassment. Do not make sexual comments, do not touch others without their permission, do not take photos from inappropriate angles (unless they have explicitly given their permission and have consented to it themselves).
Ask for permission before touching someone's costume or props. Some costumes makes it hard for the person to see (ex. fursuits), and it can be uncomfortable that someone you cannot see is touching your costume. Some costumes are fragile, and it is very unpleasant to have to buy or build a new part because someone "just had to touch it", especially since some cosplayers spend a lot of time and money on their props and costumes.
If you take photos or record video at Torucon, we ask you to try to avoid taking footage of people without letting them know in advance. If you take photos of someone while they are in the middle of a conversation, while they are eating, etc., the result will often be unflattering, and many will be uncomfortable with such photos being shown to others. Most people would like to look as good as possible in photos, and are more than willing to pose or otherwise get ready to be photographed or filmed first, before the footage is taken.
Norwegian law requires everyone to ask permission before publishing photos or videos. For minors, meaning anyone under the age of 18, permission must be given by a parent or guardian. If the minor has reached the age of 15, they can still give permission themselves to be photographed or filmed.
Additionally you must ask permission in advance to publish the footage online, regardless of whether you post it on social media, a closed website, to your own profile, etc.
We expect that all our guests respect the laws and regulations that relate to this issue.
In general, most props are permitted at Torucon. If you apply common knowledge, you will almost always be given access to our events while carrying your props. However, we do have some guidelines pertaining to what we do not want people to bring to our events. These are mainly objects that potentially can cause a lot of damage/harm.
We would like to emphasise that these are intended as guidelines. If something seems unclear, please send us a message via the contact form on our website, or a message on our Facebook page.
The guards at our events have the final say when it comes to what is allowed inside the premises. Therefore, we ask you to be aware that even though we say that your prop appears OK based on your description or photos you have submitted in advance, our guards may still refuse you to bring them inside the premises. You will then be asked to leave your prop(s) at the security check until you leave the event.
Many guests carry large props or wear big costumes. We have no restrictions regarding how large these can be, but ask everyone to be aware of their surroundings, so that you do not cause others injury or damage to their belongings.
We do not permit massive props that can be used as blunt weapons. Hereunder, bats, bokken (wooden practice sword) and the like. Other props will be permitted despite being massive, as long as they are not seen fit to be used as actual weapons (i.e: Cloud Strife's buster sword made from wood).
Regardless of whether the prop is heavy/massive or light, we will not permit sharp or pointy props made from metal. Hereunder knives, swords, machetes and the likes, regardless if they are only replicas (or so-called "wallhangers"), and whether the edge has been blunted.
We do not permit any functional, realistic replicas of handguns, other guns or the likes.This allso applies to air guns, soft guns and similar objects modeled from proper guns, or that are shaped in such a way that they could easily be mistaken for real weapons by others.
Toy guns and other prop-weapons that clearly appear to be fake, either because they are made from strongly colored plastic, or because they have an unrealistic shape (i.e "The Needler" from the Halo universe) are permitted. If these are functional - shooting foam projetiles, plastic bullets or the like - they must be without ammunition, and the clip must be removable to prove that it is empty. Ammunition is not to be brought onto the convention's premises.
Props that fall under the above paragraph and is not strongly colored (i.e green or yellow plastic), must be marked with a strongly colored stripe around the muzzle of the weapon (orange or similar) to make it clear that the weapon is not real. This can be done by either painting the prop, or using tape.
All props with functional triggers should be peace bonded, so that the trigger is locked to a set position. Here too it is recommended that you use colored plastic.
We naturally do not permit props that are illegal to own or carry publicly according to Norwegian law or regulations. Here are some excerpts from the Regulation on guns, weapon parts and ammunition (The Weapons Regulation).
It is prohibited to acquire, own or possess electroshock weapons, pepperspray and other means of self-defence, in similar fashion, switchblades, batangknives,stilettos, brass knuckles, nunchaku, shuriken, blowguns for shooting darts or other objects, slingshots or other similar and particularly dangerous objects without reputable reason and that appear as products of violence.
The Weapon legislation § 29's first and second section about age 18 restriction similarly pertains to the drawing of air- and spring guns, hereunder airguns driven by gas, paintball guns and airsoft guns.
If you need your prop for a competition (i.e. the Cosplay- and Craftmanship competition at Torucon), we permit you to bring your prop on stage and to the pre-judging etc., but it must be handed back to us at once when you are done.
If you think your prop can be denied access to the event and you know you need it for a competition, please do tell us in advance. We can also have made arrangements for you to give notice as you register for the competition.
We cannot prohibit you from bringing confiscated props out of the event's premises, even if you are planning to return later. You will then have to give the prop back to us before we let you back onto the premises. We would still like to strongly discourage going out in public with props that might frighten others, in example, realistic weapon replicas, as this could lead to reactions from the police. Torucon is not responsible for what our guests do outside of our premises or events, but we are also reliant upon a good cooperation with the police, and do not wish to be set in a bad light before them.
If our guests do not follow our rules, or otherwise behave in unacceptable fashion, we can implement suitable sanctions (penalties). This can for instance be to prohibit guest participation in a competition, or disqualifying them from the competition at a later time, suspension from the event, or as the strongest consequence, deny the guest access to our future events.
What consequences follow, will in each case be determined by what kind of infringement is in question, and how serious the infringement is. In most cases, sanctions will only be implemented after one or more warnings, if the guest does not respect these and abide by these.
Torucon is not responsible for damage or the like caused by our guests. In the event of guests performing vandalism, we will forward any claims of compensation to the guest in question. Likewise, if a guest does not follow our rules of conduct for props and it causes a reaction from the police, we will not stand responsible for any penalty fees or fines.
Outside of the event's premises, guests are responsible for themselves, in every way.