This is probably the kind of thing I shouldn't expend too much energy on, but it annoyed me, and I believe in getting things on the record:

This is a note sent out to the English Literature Students' Society email list about the reading I organized and hosted last Saturday:

Well, today was certainly an interesting day. I headed downtown earlier this evening with the intention of going to the Old School reading at the Truck Gallery. I got downtown to the gallery’s front steps, only to be confronted with a sign stating, quite clearly, that the reading was open to “members and invited guests” only. This caveat had not been mentioned in any of the advertising for this event, including the official mailing list, the readers’ promotions, and the University of Calgary English Department webpage. Not feeling inclined to try bluffing my way past the doorman (and probably woefully underdressed anyway in my khaki cargo pants and fleece sweatshirt), I decided to call it a loss and caught the next train home. Bugger all to show for my time. So let this be a lesson to all you event planners out there – if you’re going to make your do an exclusive party, be a nice chap and let people know ahead of time! My apologies to any of you who tried the same thing as I did, based on the fact that I listed this event in my last newsletter, and got the boot at the front door.

This is the email I sent in reply:

I'm sorry you had so much trouble getting to my reading last night, but I can't imagine that there was a sign like that outside the Truck Gallery. I certainly didn't see one. Maybe you were at one of the fancy restaurants on either side of it? Or the jazz club on the corner? The Truck is in the basement of a pretty old and run-down office building, and there is no way they have a dress code, doorman, or members only policy.

It bothers me that you have sent a notice to your entire mail list insinuating that I would be careless enough to invite the public to an exclusive event. I've been organizing events in Calgary for close to ten years, and my reputation in the writing community is very important to me. I'm sure your mail list is large enough to have some influence on people's opinions.

Obviously, the event was open to the public, or I wouldn't have advertised it all around town. I was hoping someone would post a correction of some kind to the email list, but so far no luck.