gotegenks wrote:Is that really a common rule (not entering unless you're going to a con)?
I was planning on entering a few cons, but if it's looked down on to enter without going then I might reconsider...
There's always been a fair amount of debate over that. Some people want their small local cons to stay small and local and think the contest is run for the benefit of the local editors, while others think the contest is run for the sake of the audience and want to put on a good show to entertain them.
There are other things to consider like the cons' budget to ship out awards and regional overlap of attendance (i.e. are you sending something in that's been seen before by locals), though the latter comes up more in debates about trolling the contest scene. The con's size is the biggest factor. If you are sending to a "big" con (i.e. a venue with more than about 10K in attendance figures - AX, Otakon, ACEN, AKon, Sakuracon, AB, ANorth, AWA, Ohayocon, ANext, NYAF, etc.) then you won't be alone in submitting and not going.
I've never really looked into it, but I didn't think many large cons are still local-dominated, but some seem to be.