Kumoricon
Convention Events and Programming => General Kumoricon => Topic started by: 2otaku on September 02, 2006, 01:06:30 pm
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.... as I type this, it is 12:44pm Saturday, the 2nd of September. I am a pre-registered here for Kumoricon. I am in my room. Why you may ask.
1. Helped set up the mascot winner, I drove her and my daughter down from near Seattle. They didn't have a space for her to set up for selling her work. That was part of the deal for the use of her artwork on every badge I see, t-shirts..ect. They find us a small place, get her a badge which is a staff one, sure. I had to run out and get some items for her, so I look to get my pre-reg badge around 10:40am.
2. I was in the wrong line for 30 min and it was moving slow. South side of the building so it was at least shady. I ask where/if there is a pre-reg line... find out there is from the 3rd staff badged person I grab walking by me....go find that one, no signage anywhere I could tell. Find this elusive line only to see it is many many people long... streaching outside with the mid-day sun beating down on those waiting in line. I have an over heating condition and can not stand in direct hot sun for more than 10 to 15 min before I must find shade. I moved from Florida to WA becase of this problem.
3. Be aware there are events, panels, videos and the 10am opening that I am missing.... in fact the opening was pushed back to 10:45. That didn't help me and a lot of others. I'll be lucky to get to many of the things I wanted to do. But I will try.
I am leaving the room now at 1:30 and pray I don't have to stand outside in the mid-day sun seeing I am not a mad dog or an Englishmen. (guess I am showing my age with that!)
Wish me luck.
Badge on my body at 1:52pm
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I agree. This morning was not handled well. The lines were horrible, and all around orginization was lacking. Plus my check was MIA so I had to pay again! $40.00!
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I completely agree. The more I think about this morning the more angry I get. My morning was complete and total hell because I had to wait for 3 HOURS in a freaking line just to get my badge. It was horrible. And it took them long enough to get the bright idea to start sending water bottles out to people still waiting in line. My morning was completely shot. I got there at about 9am and I didn't have my badge until about 12:30pm. That is rediculous. I preregistered! People who pre-reged shouldn't have had to deal with that.
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Yep, really didn't go as smoothly as other, more larger conventions. :(
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..this being our 1st time here... we didn't know where any of the viewing rooms, panels..ect were. No layout was printed in the pocket programing guide. If it was in the large program, I didn't notice and I wouldn't haul that around with me anyway It was pointed out some SakuraCon staff people were here to help out... so there were some people with much more Con know-how handy or I would believe so seeing Sakura has been going on longer.
OK... enough bitchn'.. gonna go get the mascot winner a Bento, she must be getting hungry!
Huge bummer on your payment being lost.. hope they do a refund when it shows up...or send you that check.
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I agree, the people who pre-registered shouldnt have had to have missed events such as the opening ceremonies! There is a reason for pre-registeration, and that is to avoid the long registeration lines...
The one thing that pissed me off most was when someone came outside (after me being there roughly an hour and a half) and saying that they were processing the un-registered people faster than they were the pre-registered people. I understand its hard to organize and plan ahead for certain situations at these kind of events, but that was rediculous.
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So... after the poor start, things went better. One drunk non-con person was asking people for thier badges so he could go in the dance Sunday night. Same people (3 adults and a 2year old running around in just a diaper) were escorted back to thier room. A call out from the ballroom about some guy getting hurt in there.
Wait... I said it went better.
More later. Gotta pack.(pardon bad spelling, it's early)
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I came to the con at 9:30 fully decked out in four layers of a black (and a little white) gothic lolita outfit, complete with a wig and thick tights. Had the line been either inside or shorter, I wouldn't have minded so much. But standing out in the sun for three hours was ridiculous, especially since I was on the ball enough to pre-reg (Like a lot of other people!) My sister's boyfriend hadn't pre-registered and he waited in line with us until we finally got up far enough that they said, "okay pre-registered people come over here".
And guess where that took us? To an even LONGER line! In the blazing heat! And after we were moved, we had to wait over an hour in the second line. My sister's boyfriend came strolling over long before our wait was over to show us his registration. Finally, my sister and I got our registrations, after thay hassled me and almost didn't give me my badge because I didn't have a ID with my age on it. Seriously, I wasn't trying to pretend I was 18. I am 17 and I had my school ID which says "GRADE 12" very largely on it. Since people ages 13-17 get the same color badge anyway, and I don't look like I'm under the age of 13, I don't see why it mattered at all.
And then we didn't get bags! Neither of us got our goody bags! But by the time we realized, we were shooed away from the place holding them.
I was pretty angry about this and the fact that I missed the Lolita tea party (which is the whole reason I dressed like that in the first place) because I had to go straight to karaoke auditions. Wow, what a hassle.
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Really, Do you think that staff wanted you all outside in the heat? The hotel hallways werent big enough to hold two lines for pre-reg and non-pre-reg lines so they had to wind it around outside.
Yeah, the lines were long. I had to stand in line too but I'm not complaining because (gasp) I eventually got in.
And the Gothic Lolita tea party went from 12 to two. You could have still made it.
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Well, I was going to make a whole report. But this seems like a thread to bring up problems with the registration line.
It was very poorly organized. Not that I'm going to point fingers or blame the staff or anything, but there were things that could have been easily avoided. Having only two people working at Pre-Reg is kind of like underestimating, especially when you already know there are more than 1000 reregistered. And when one of those two people gets up and leaves for 10 minutes, there could be better ways to go about pre-reg. I would suggest breaking the alphabet up more and taking some of those volunteers from the hall (the ones that are yelling at the line to stay back) and pass the badges out so those attendees can move entirely out of the hall.
I understand that it's by volunteer basis, but it still was kind of silly. Two of my friends were in the regular registration and my mom was with me in the pre-reg. We got in the line at the same time. Yet my friends got their badges a half-hour before my mom and I, already leaving for the gaming room or panel. If I had know that I wouldn't had pre-registered at all.
Seriously, I'm just wondering what was the staff mentality behind this fiasco? Did anyone realize you were understaffed up in the booths or try and figure out a solution?
At least I know when I can, I will volunteer for staff and try to help making these sort of things go smoother.
But other than the pre-reg line, the staff did such an awesome job and I'll mention it later on in a different thread or post.
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Really, Do you think that staff wanted you all outside in the heat? The hotel hallways werent big enough to hold two lines for pre-reg and non-pre-reg lines so they had to wind it around outside.
Yeah, the lines were long. I had to stand in line too but I'm not complaining because (gasp) I eventually got in.
And the Gothic Lolita tea party went from 12 to two. You could have still made it.
No I don't think anybody wanted anybody out in the heat. I think even though it isn't fun to get negative feedback that people the staff should not take it personally and use it as a learning experience. I would have to agree I saw quite a few people who were not pre-reged that got through the line faster than myself even though we were close to the same part of the line. Also from what I heard from a comment by a staff member that they had moved the pre-reg line 3 times around. Again the pre-reg line and the regestration line should be seperate and kept that way.
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*raises hand in agreement and sits there silently*
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This just tells them that they'll need more volunteers for the pre-reg line if the amount of people in line gets to be that huge again. Lesson learned. This prompts me to want to volunteer next year so that something like this might not happen or if it does, to help lessen the damage come K-Con 2007.
On that note, thank you for bringing water outside to us. ;)
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HORRENDOUSLY organized this year, I'm sorry. This was BY FAR the worst Kumoricon of all time.
1.) I'm on medication where I'm not supposed to be outside in the heat too long. I was outside in three different lines due to the screw ups in registration for THREE hours. I Pre-registered and the point of that is to avoid the gigantic lines. My friend also pre-registered and showed up an HOUR after I did.
Upon staying in the non-registration line, he got in an hour before I did.
2.) The schedule book, which was a problem last year because readability was terrible, was made even smaller and more difficult to read. I offered my graphic design skills to make it readable but nobody asked for help.
3.) The hotel was way too small for a con that is growing as rapidly as ours is. I realize that we couldn't get the Double Tree or the other previous Hotel we had but Jantzen Beach? Probably the worst location of ever. It's far away from downtown where there are LOTS of places to eat, hang out, wander around, and stay. There were what, two hotels for con-goers to stay in on J.B? And the worst mall in all of Portland and Vancouver combined?
The hallways were crammed with people, viewing rooms were difficult to find, the creation station was sort of hidden away from people and it's one of the greatest things about K-con!
4.) Got to spend another hour outside in the heat to get into the cosplay. Some of the most magnificent costumes didn't get so much as an honorable mention. As a cosplayer I found that really insulting. The skit awards were super well deserved, but I really don't understand the way the costume awards were chosen considering . . .
5.) Spent 45 more minutes in the heat to get into the dealers room which was yet ANOTHER gigantic disappointment. You went from table to table of the SAME exact stuff. Only difference was the price range for the same object. I mean, pay $2 for Ramune' from table A or go to the Uwajimiya stand and buy it at regular price for only $1 a bottle. I wonder which choice I'll make . . .
The room was incredibly too small. Remember the dealer's rooms we've had in the past? WAY better, bigger, selection of merchandise, etc.
6.) Several staff members were incredibly rude to con-goers. I realize that we, who waited in lines for hours and hours were asked for patience, but the same could go for staff members. Barking at us with not so much as a please? Come on. It was rough for all of us.
If Kumoricon, my favourite con and the only one I offer my services to, decides to be at the Red Lion next year there is no way I'll be there.
I don't understand how all the past organization and friendliness went out the window.
There were some exceptional staff members, though, that I noticed working really really hard and who were very friendly despite some hostile crowds. Cid Highwind was the most noticeable, so thanks to him! Also anyone who brought us water outside!
P.S. Also, as resident Demon Nurse of Kumoricon I was really disappointed to find out I wasn't allowed to carry my prop despite being told ahead of time that it would be all right because it wasn't sharp and I'd get it peace-bonded. It's heavy and I carried to to the con and turns out I wasn't allowed to have it after all. REALLY really sucky . . .
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I understand the frustration here, but I have a couple things to say in defense of the con...
Firstly, they were understaffed; I heard it a number of times. There were several high-ups that were actually in charge of three or four different events/rooms, so you can imagine the insanity there. That isn't the convention's fault, they needed more volunteers.
Also, I have NEVER been to a con with a short or fast prereg/reg line. Even my year at the 1700-or-so-person Sakura Con 2001, it took something like 2 hours to get through the line, prereged and all. I never go to a con and expect to power through the line in 10 minutes.
But, where I do agree with you guys is that if it's true there were only two people at the reg desk on Saturday morning, that's a little ridiculous. I picked up my badge Friday night, and it took about 40 minutes to get through--this was with five people manning the desk. It moved pretty smoothly, so I'd really like to know why they decided to only have 2 people at that desk the next morning, when the bulk of con-goers would be there. x_x;;
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I understand the frustration here, but I have a couple things to say in defense of the con...
Firstly, they were understaffed; I heard it a number of times. There were several high-ups that were actually in charge of three or four different events/rooms, so you can imagine the insanity there. That isn't the convention's fault, they needed more volunteers.
Also, I have NEVER been to a con with a short or fast prereg/reg line. Even my year at the 1700-or-so-person Sakura Con 2001, it took something like 2 hours to get through the line, prereged and all. I never go to a con and expect to power through the line in 10 minutes.
But, where I do agree with you guys is that if it's true there were only two people at the reg desk on Saturday morning, that's a little ridiculous. I picked up my badge Friday night, and it took about 40 minutes to get through--this was with five people manning the desk. It moved pretty smoothly, so I'd really like to know why they decided to only have 2 people at that desk the next morning, when the bulk of con-goers would be there. x_x;;
What I think was some peoples complaints when it came to the pre-reg saturday line was that there were at times when those who didn't pre-reg got through the line faster than those who did and they were right next to each other in the beginning. I can use myself as an example. I had just got in the front door maybe 20-25 people ahead of me and I get sent to the new (in the heat) line outside for Pre-reg. Sad part was I was probably now 40th in line. So I ended up moving backwards. And this line took longer that the non-prereg.
Though if they were understaffed then it was probably more of a need to find those things they need people more for than other jobs. For instance they could probably have taken a few of the people outside who's only job was to tell us to stay against the wall and have them man the pre-reg and non-prereg sign ins.
Just my two cents worth. And to repeat again I do plan to volunteer next year. Even outside of the line problem I had a blast and would like to be part of something like this next year. And hopefully co-splay next time. Just need to get the guts to do it. :-)
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Aha, I see. That's happened at Sakura Con one year that I remember--where unregistered people were moving much more quickly than the prereged.
Kudos to you for deciding to volunteer, Jason. That's what the con needs to make it better, not tons of complaints. (Well, constructive criticism does help too.)
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I really really really wish you'd all have stayed for rant and rave.
SERIOUSLY.
I was working the reg table both Saturday and Sunday, and I feel your pain.
I did stand up for you all at the rant and rave and brought up the issues of registration and organization. So, you as con goers aren't alone in recongizing these problems. The staff knows that we're having these issues and we need to fix this.
And the biggest message I have to all of you is if you want to see things change, PLEASE GET INVOLVED. Attend our meetings, especially the one where we'll be voting for the directors for next year. The meetings are announced on the forums, and it's said the election for directors will be held in late October.
If you want more organization, and more staff, there's really no better way to do that than to be involved and lend a hand.
As for the hotel, from everything I've heard, I believe that hell will most likely freeze over before we hold a con at that hotel again.
Seriously, if anyone has a suggestion of a good hotel, send emails to the directors, and they'll check into it.
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I understand the frustration here, but I have a couple things to say in defense of the con...
Firstly, they were understaffed; I heard it a number of times. There were several high-ups that were actually in charge of three or four different events/rooms, so you can imagine the insanity there. That isn't the convention's fault, they needed more volunteers.
Also, I have NEVER been to a con with a short or fast prereg/reg line. Even my year at the 1700-or-so-person Sakura Con 2001, it took something like 2 hours to get through the line, prereged and all. I never go to a con and expect to power through the line in 10 minutes.
But, where I do agree with you guys is that if it's true there were only two people at the reg desk on Saturday morning, that's a little ridiculous. I picked up my badge Friday night, and it took about 40 minutes to get through--this was with five people manning the desk. It moved pretty smoothly, so I'd really like to know why they decided to only have 2 people at that desk the next morning, when the bulk of con-goers would be there. x_x;;
No other Kumoricon has ever had people standing in line for that long. It's my fave con ever, which is partly why I'm so upset with what happened this year. The pre-reg line usually moves really quickly!!!
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It took me over hour and a half just to reach the hotel, so I was not happy that it was not in Downtown Portland... I even missed out on 18+ events because I could not stay long enough, or else I would have missed the bus. But with the number of attendees expanding rapidly, and the factor that the con was understaffed, it is understandable...
But this being the only con I attend, I wish it would have turned out better. I may be moving soon, so I might not give support as a staff, but I will definetely look into volunteering.
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but I will definetely look into volunteering.
Seriously, even just having more volunteers would make a huge difference. ^_^
Hopefully, we have a better located hotel for next year, but I'm 99.9% certain that we'll not be going back to this hotel ever again.
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Is the Double Tree that we used in 2005 already booked as well? That was a pretty convenient spot, being so close to the Lloyd Center and a MAX station.
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Is the Double Tree that we used in 2005 already booked as well? That was a pretty convenient spot, being so close to the Lloyd Center and a MAX station.
It is. We talked about it at rant and rave. 2007, shriners have the Double Tree.
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hm... i had no problem with the location. the main problem i had with this year's kcon was how some things didn't happen. when i got to the hotel, i was in line at about 9am. when i finally got to the front desk, it was about 12... then they finally told me there was a pre-reg line next to the desk... maybe it's just me, but i think i would've had more to do if the people shouting 'AGAINST THE WALL!' and 'PRE-REG M-Z COME WITH ME!' said something about pre-reg'ed people going to the front. another thing i HAVE to say is that i was quite disappointed when i heard DDR Style, Halo 2 Team, and GGXX#reload tournaments were cancelled. i can understand GG, (just because Slash a dif. ver. ... although i did train hard on #reload) but style and teams cancelled? i heard those two happened last year. what's wrong with this year? also, did any of the gaming tournament winners get anything? (....btw, what happened to Kirk Thornton?)
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Okay, similarly to what everyone else said, standing in line for three hours was VERY disappointing. I was in my Tsuzuki costume which consisted of a white shirt, black blazer, black pants/socks/tie, and black trenchcoat so it wasn't very comfortable in the heat (so I took the trenchcoat off, eheh).
Also, due to the lines, I missed my photoshoot which was supposed to be at noon...that was dispappointing, but I was lucky enough for a Yami no Matsuei group to come by the lines and be willing to have a picture taken with me, and for me to notify them that I was stuck in the lines...
Oh, and my first-con-goer brother missed his Soul Calibur 3 tournament. ._.
I'm all up for the "dividing the line into smaller, alphabetical lines (like at SakuraCon)" so it'll go much more smoothly next year. Oh, and changing the hotel, because the panel that I was hoping to go to was packed inside a small room like a can of sardines.
Also, on the Bakazoku...at the cosplay competition, it was hilarious at first, but then it started to drag. Maybe my humor is just different from others, but I think a sexual joke here and there is funny, but if they're one after another for practically an hour it just isn't so funny anymore. And when I went to their daytime show, I thought it would be like Whose Line Is It Anyway? or something similar...not a talk show. Did they do anything besides talking after I left? (Just wondering if I missed out...)
On the positive, thanks for the water while waiting in-line! And the karaoke contest was AWESOME, especially since we were filmed...x3 But I'd REALLY like to know what the judges write down on how to decide if you pass the auditions or not. It would be great if each person could get a paper of what the judges thought on why or why not we should or should not make it to the finals.
Oh, and the Anime Dating Game was HILARIOUS. Much love for that, and I hope to see it again next year (along with other anime-themed game shows, haha)!
And the Cosplay Competition! The skits and walk-ons were love.
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(....btw, what happened to Kirk Thornton?)
He's back home with his wife and family. At the con he was in panels, he just didn't end up with anything individual to him, he sat in on a voice acting panel and the dubbing workshop panel.
He really enjoyed our convention, as this was really the first time that he's been able to attend and enjoy a convention as a guest.
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As said above, i would advise all of you to go to rant and rave so you can voice your thoughts....it would be so much better
also if you see a need, volunteer
if you volunteer just to fix the one problem you see it would helps things run so much smoother, then everyone can have more fun and the whole thing just runs smoother
just the 2 cents for a fool
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hm... i had no problem with the location. the main problem i had with this year's kcon was how some things didn't happen. when i got to the hotel, i was in line at about 9am. when i finally got to the front desk, it was about 12... then they finally told me there was a pre-reg line next to the desk... maybe it's just me, but i think i would've had more to do if the people shouting 'AGAINST THE WALL!' and 'PRE-REG M-Z COME WITH ME!' said something about pre-reg'ed people going to the front. another thing i HAVE to say is that i was quite disappointed when i heard DDR Style, Halo 2 Team, and GGXX#reload tournaments were cancelled. i can understand GG, (just because Slash a dif. ver. ... although i did train hard on #reload) but style and teams cancelled? i heard those two happened last year. what's wrong with this year? also, did any of the gaming tournament winners get anything? (....btw, what happened to Kirk Thornton?)
I am SO on your side with the DDR style tournament. They said they cancelled due to lack of participants, but there were 8 or 9 people signed up, which should have been plenty. My little brother who had signed up for it was terribly disappointed, as they cancelled it at Sakura Con too, and he's always wanted to play in one. 8 or 9 people should have been enough; and even if that's too few, the style tournament is all about having fun and playing around anyway, so why not just let it go?
=/ I was really disappointed about that; I was looking forward to watching it.
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I just need to add my 2 cents here.
for those who felt the registration linewas a big issue, we are sorry. We have said it many times on the forums.
but that aside I have to adress this one small issue.
IF you have a medical issue that made it so u could not be out in the sun for more then a few minutes, then please.....TELL US! we can make exceptions. We moved mothers with small infants, injured people, extremely small children, and such to the front in these cases because they cannot take the wait like others.
If you do not tell us, then you cannot hold it against us.
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I would like to add my own two cents,
I was trying my best to make your stay in the lines as easy and funny as possible, for those that remember me I was smiling the whole time, trying to crack jokes and be friendly dispite my antisocail nature.
For those of you the feel I barked at you I am sorry, I tried my best.
And for those of you that "Made Friends" with the wall, ty for the laugh, I needed it 8)
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HORRENDOUSLY organized this year, I'm sorry. This was BY FAR the worst Kumoricon of all time.
Do you mean that? Really? You had a hand in creating this con, Legato. The pre-reg sucked, but I know for a fact that your contributions were awesome. So were those of our guests, panelists, event coordinators, etc. It seems really unfair to say Kumoricon sucked, when it was really just the wait to get inside.
And you are so on about the hotel....how much am I allowed to say? :P
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*ahem*
This is the first year Pezcat has not directed the registration stations. :roll:
We all know the hotel was a bad location. We are trying very hard to find another one. This year it was sort of our fallback location.
I liked the island though, it had a late night restaurant within walking distance. Nothing like Lloyd Center but good for post-curfew people without cars.
As far as panels. The funny thing about panels not happening or being cramped was that there were rooms available (like, 5 hours worth of availability if you look at the Random panel) if you looked hard enough. I took charge of my Pocky club panel and made a deal to have it moved to a bigger room and even helped the AV guys get their stuff set up so they wouldn't have to worry about us.
Now, about Bakazoku, they play to their crowd and they've ALWAYS had to stretch material for the cosplay judging. Its inevitable that they'll be dancing and making yaoi jokes before their job is done.
The best way to get your badge is to be there Friday night. Not always possible but it's true. The line went outside then as well but, of course, the sun was down. Even then, there were about 60 people who got cut off and sent packing without a badge (like me, heh heh).
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I say,
the hotel was kinda spread out and the hotel staff wasn't much help. They wheren't even much help with Spidey and his bunch. They just fined him, they did nothing about the babe running around nor the fems that tried to force their way into the dance. *end of her minor rant, sorry it was a pet peeve*
But, on the most part it was a nice place.
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Is the Double Tree that we used in 2005 already booked as well? That was a pretty convenient spot, being so close to the Lloyd Center and a MAX station.
It is. We talked about it at rant and rave. 2007, shriners have the Double Tree.
Make them battle us for it, i'm pretty sure we can beat them. Our sword and weapons ratio is far greater than theirs.
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Now, about Bakazoku, they play to their crowd and they've ALWAYS had to stretch material for the cosplay judging. Its inevitable that they'll be dancing and making yaoi jokes before their job is done.
We do cater to the crowd, and the crowd always wants yaoi jokes and antics :? ...so we do our best to oblige. If you noticed, we had a single yaoi joke in our skit. Our filler, however, began to become more and more yaoi jokes/antics, as the crowd reacted better to them than any other kinds.
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We do cater to the crowd, and the crowd always wants yaoi jokes and antics :? ...so we do our best to oblige. If you noticed, we had a single yaoi joke in our skit. Our filler, however, began to become more and more yaoi jokes/antics, as the crowd reacted better to them than any other kinds.
I say you bring up some more girls on stage. When that many guys are up there of course it's going to lead to yaoi.
You should have more audience interaction, as in, bring people on stage or go into the audience and do an improv game or something. That way, people are more attentive since they are interacting or have the chance of interacting. ...Yeah, that's just my idea.
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We do cater to the crowd, and the crowd always wants yaoi jokes and antics :? ...so we do our best to oblige. If you noticed, we had a single yaoi joke in our skit. Our filler, however, began to become more and more yaoi jokes/antics, as the crowd reacted better to them than any other kinds.
I say you bring up some more girls on stage. When that many guys are up there of course it's going to lead to yaoi.
You should have more audience interaction, as in, bring people on stage or go into the audience and do an improv game or something. That way, people are more attentive since they are interacting or have the chance of interacting. ...Yeah, that's just my idea.
Well, we have Lizzie...and "The Otaco" (who has horrendous stage fright lol), but most other girls with potential we know are already involved in other groups. Maybe we should have some auditions for female extras onstage. XD
I've already talked to Joe about coming up with games for our panels (I have one idea already that has potential), but a game for filler during events is a good idea also....as long as we stay away from ripping off the Whose Line format like some other groups do. XP
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Could it have been done better? Yes. And I sure hope it will be better next year! I felt bad for my friend because he came up to visit his first con and had to end up leaving because he works nights and well, 3 hours spent in line was a bit too much considering he had to be awake at 6PM.
That said.. I actually had a good time standing in line. Granted, I ended up having to run to the bathroom twice but I got to meet some really cool people and have a lot of fun talking to them. And to me, that's kinda the point of even coming to the con in the first place! Actually, come to think of it.. at about hour 2 my back started to act up (lower back problems), but it was more of an annoyance (stiffness) than anything serious. </gripe>
Although I'll admit I'm sad I missed opening ceremony. (Er, I guess I lied.) </gripe>
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Haha, I'd totally be a female extra. XD
Our panel room was too small, and none of the equipment that we requested on our form was provided to us. Overall I really enjoyed the con, though. So great job to all the staff really, I know how hard it can be to organize things as I have founded my own anime con here in Alaska.
And for the people saying the crowd wanted yaoi jokes, I find it so funny that people have been flaming my cosplay group for making too many yaoi jokes when in reality most of the crowd seemed to love it.
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For some reason, man love is funny. Not quite sure why, but I'm sure it's the same reason as cheese, kidneys and Tuesdays.
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We do cater to the crowd, and the crowd always wants yaoi jokes and antics :? ...so we do our best to oblige. If you noticed, we had a single yaoi joke in our skit. Our filler, however, began to become more and more yaoi jokes/antics, as the crowd reacted better to them than any other kinds.
I say you bring up some more girls on stage. When that many guys are up there of course it's going to lead to yaoi.
You should have more audience interaction, as in, bring people on stage or go into the audience and do an improv game or something. That way, people are more attentive since they are interacting or have the chance of interacting. ...Yeah, that's just my idea.
Well, we have Lizzie...and "The Otaco" (who has horrendous stage fright lol), but most other girls with potential we know are already involved in other groups. Maybe we should have some auditions for female extras onstage. XD
I've already talked to Joe about coming up with games for our panels (I have one idea already that has potential), but a game for filler during events is a good idea also....as long as we stay away from ripping off the Whose Line format like some other groups do. XP
Are you insinuating that a certain troupe is just a poor imitation?! Blasphemy I say!
You're lucky I was stuck in the middle of a row of seats during your filler dance. I was ready to head up to the stage with a fiver clenched in my teeth for you.
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Well, we have Lizzie...and "The Otaco" (who has horrendous stage fright lol), but most other girls with potential we know are already involved in other groups. Maybe we should have some auditions for female extras onstage. XD
I've already talked to Joe about coming up with games for our panels (I have one idea already that has potential), but a game for filler during events is a good idea also....as long as we stay away from ripping off the Whose Line format like some other groups do. XP
You should make that one of your games. Bringing girls up on stage and.. erm.. talking with them. Aw, ripping off Whose Line (if done will...) can be somewhat funny. But only some games. You could always go an audience scavenger hunt. Have someone list off characters and a couple of members have to run through the audience and try to find those cosplayers. As you find people, you bring them up on stage. (Such as, "Find an Edward Elric" Looking Person: "Aha! I found one! *brings cosplayer Ed up to stage then goes back for next thing on the list*")
*shrugs and does a dance*
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thhhings like this happen they just do, pzart of havin g such a big turn out but dosnnt change the fackt it was funness
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After discussion at con, I've come to the conclusion that Yaoi is the new fart joke for anime. It's a really just a cheap laugh, so it's easy to see why people go for it. The group that I really liked this year at Cosplay was Ninja of the Night, great skit, hilarious, no yaoi jokes.
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You're lucky I was stuck in the middle of a row of seats during your filler dance. I was ready to head up to the stage with a fiver clenched in my teeth for you.
You would have just contributed to the yaoi antics, which a few people are complaining about. lol
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I agree. This morning was not handled well. The lines were horrible, and all around orginization was lacking. Plus my check was MIA so I had to pay again! $40.00!
I remember you! We had a lengthy discussion about trying to get this rectified - have you been able to cancel the check to the convention like we discussed so that you only had to pay us once? I remember that when we talked about that and I asked if that solution would be okay, you said yes, so I'm hoping it all got worked out. I assure you, the convention did NOT want you to pay for admission twice. I ask, because I've seen you post twice about it, so it's obviously a big deal.
PezCat
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For some reason, man love is funny. Not quite sure why, but I'm sure it's the same reason as cheese, kidneys and Tuesdays.
Tuesday is coming....did you bring your coat?
I'm glad to see some positive going on here. I think the greatest thing in this whole mess is how fantastic reg will be next year. We are already working on ways to make ourselves better. From the ideas I've heard, and with the crack team of individuals who will be working on this next year, I think we are going to set the standard for how reg gets done.
Thank you everyone for the compliments and constructive critism. :)
Person who paid twice - pm me. This was not fair. We'll get it figured out.
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Does staff have an idea of where Kcon 07 will be held? I mean, apart from the size, I liked the Red Lion [they had good creamy potato soup at shenanigins. xD]
Grr. At the Doubble Tree. I realy liked that location.
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I have a great idea of where KCon 07 will be held. I'll let the rest of you in on the secret as soon as I can :)
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HORRENDOUSLY organized this year, I'm sorry. This was BY FAR the worst Kumoricon of all time.
Do you mean that? Really? You had a hand in creating this con, Legato. The pre-reg sucked, but I know for a fact that your contributions were awesome. So were those of our guests, panelists, event coordinators, etc. It seems really unfair to say Kumoricon sucked, when it was really just the wait to get inside.
And you are so on about the hotel....how much am I allowed to say? :P
I think you're allowed to say how much you wanna, really! :D
I love Kumoricon and that's probably why I was sooo disappointed this year. So much just wasn't right. I really missed having abig dealer's room and a place on the Max line so we could go places.
It wasn't just the wait outside that was disappointing about this con. If it had been I wouldn't have said that it sucked. I wish I'd been contacted by e-mail before the con so I'd had some clue as to what to do @ the con, but everything was terribly confusing! T_T
I'm gonna work super hard next year to make our con kick ass!
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This is where I whine about the hotel in a category no one else has seemed to yet--Shenanagins.
Saturday, around 5:30 PM, my brother and I were starving, but we had a tourney at 6:30, so we had to eat fast. We decided to give Shenanagins a shot because I wanted to go to a sit down place, but we deicded before they seated us, we'd ask if they could get us in and out in under an hour. So we waited for seating. And waited. And waited. And WAITED! Waiters and hosts kept walking right past us, ignoring us, even though we were right by the podium. I didn't want to have to say "EXCUSE me, will you seat us?" because, isn't that their job...?
We got so irritated after sitting there for about 5 minutes (and they were NOT flooded with customers or anything), so we left and went to Taco Bell.
Poor customer service.
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I have a great idea of where KCon 07 will be held. I'll let the rest of you in on the secret as soon as I can :)
D:
omg.
let me iinnn on it PUH LEASEEE.
Okay, you don't have to tell me.
Just tell me like.. how many rooms it has. That's all I wana know. :]
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Also, I have NEVER been to a con with a short or fast prereg/reg line. Even my year at the 1700-or-so-person Sakura Con 2001, it took something like 2 hours to get through the line, prereged and all. I never go to a con and expect to power through the line in 10 minutes.
That's odd... we did SakuraCon in 2001, it was our 2nd year doing it and didn't wait more than 10 minutes, we always pre-reg... and it's just 25.00 each if you do it before it's over. Never have had to wait more than maybe 20min there. Perhaps getting badges early Saturday or even Friday is why?
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Also, I have NEVER been to a con with a short or fast prereg/reg line. Even my year at the 1700-or-so-person Sakura Con 2001, it took something like 2 hours to get through the line, prereged and all. I never go to a con and expect to power through the line in 10 minutes.
That's odd... we did SakuraCon in 2001, it was our 2nd year doing it and didn't wait more than 10 minutes, we always pre-reg... and it's just 25.00 each if you do it before it's over. Never have had to wait more than maybe 20min there. Perhaps getting badges early Saturday or even Friday is why?
x_x Well, we didn't get there very early Friday morning, it was more like mid-morning, so I can imagine the line was longer.
But, I'm shutting up now, since I think I'm getting off-topic. =D
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I really really really wish you'd all have stayed for rant and rave.
SERIOUSLY.
And the biggest message I have to all of you is if you want to see things change, PLEASE GET INVOLVED. Attend our meetings, especially the one where we'll be voting for the directors for next year. The meetings are announced on the forums, and it's said the election for directors will be held in late October.
If you want more organization, and more staff, there's really no better way to do that than to be involved and lend a hand.
No can do... I live near Seattle and have a job. Besides, what kind of Con would you have if 3/4 of the people attending were also working it. I don't think MORE people would actually do much...just having people in charge that know what to do and able to delagate to others what needs to be done and when. Like I said, after the lines...things were good. OH... wasn't the closing done like at 6pm in stead of 3pm? We had to get driving back at 3ish. 6 would have been out of the question! And weren't Rants done after closings?
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IF you have a medical issue that made it so u could not be out in the sun for more then a few minutes, then please.....TELL US! .
Well, I did tell someone. I told one of the people yelling out the alphabet I couldn't stay in direct sun for more than 15 to 20 minutes and the line was out in the sun. She just kind of looked away.
I waited on a sofa for an hour hoping the line would end up shorter and inside. I had my tunes with me, I am used to waiting. And I didn't want to butt in line after the others were standing in the sun so long either.
I went back to my room seeing I couldn't do anything without my badge. I couldn't even see if niccy needed anything for her art table.
Yeah, I missed Kirk and I had something from Samurai Champloo for him to sign. I didn't know where he was or when he would be there!
I eased my dissapointment by buying THE Death Box. The ONLY ONE..bhawawawa!!!
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This is where I whine about the hotel in a category no one else has seemed to yet--Shenanagins.
Not just that place... Tux Charlie or WTF it is. My hotel bill had a charge from that place for 20.00..... I asked what it was, it was the bar. I don't drink, no one in my party drinks. I didn't even know where the bar was!
The guy running the place took my bill and found the charge slip. It had my room number and and a single name sig... didn't look like any thing I would write. He asked if anyone in my party would have come in and signed for me. Ummmm.... no. They took off the charge but acted like I was trying the rip them off. I am complaining to the corp offices. They need to ask for more than a last name and room number. I am well over 21 but that doesn't mean I need to drink because I am...sheesh.
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OH... wasn't the closing done like at 6pm in stead of 3pm?
*squashes this like bug*
The closing ceremonies ran at 3:45, to accomodate the charity auction and the contest winners' slideshow. If I'm going to get in trouble, at least let it be for things that did (or didn't) actually happen. Rant and rave was well before 6.
*Drools over 3/4 of attendees working the convention for the mutual enjoyment of fellow otaku...* :D
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No can do... I live near Seattle and have a job. Besides, what kind of Con would you have if 3/4 of the people attending were also working it. I don't think MORE people would actually do much...just having people in charge that know what to do and able to delagate to others what needs to be done and when. Like I said, after the lines...things were good. OH... wasn't the closing done like at 6pm in stead of 3pm? We had to get driving back at 3ish. 6 would have been out of the question! And weren't Rants done after closings?
You don't have to go to the meetings to be able to help out the con. And your ratio there is a tad bit off. I don't know the full number of staff, but I can tell you right now there were less than 100 of us (there were only, what, 27 yojimbo?). Now let's try the math again: 100/2257 != 75%.
I don't want to sound like a jerk, but if you've never worked an understaffed con, you can't really say "no, more people wouldn't help" because I can tell you for a fact, yes, more people would have helped. A lot. The lines would have gone faster because we'd have had more people for reg, the yojimbo wouldn't have been nearly as tired as we were because we'd actually have gotten breaks (though I feel kind of bad, because I did get my breaks though it seems most of us didn't). I could go on, but if you can't see how having more staff would help then it's not really any use.
As for closing ceremonies, it wasn't even scheduled to end until 5. And it actually ended earlier than that, if I remember correctly. And as always, yes Rant & Rave was after closing ceremonies.
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No can do... I live near Seattle and have a job. Besides, what kind of Con would you have if 3/4 of the people attending were also working it. I don't think MORE people would actually do much...just having people in charge that know what to do and able to delagate to others what needs to be done and when. Like I said, after the lines...things were good. OH... wasn't the closing done like at 6pm in stead of 3pm? We had to get driving back at 3ish. 6 would have been out of the question! And weren't Rants done after closings?
A lot of things happened badly this year because some of our positions went unfilled all year long. These were positions that were determined long ago to be necessary and mission-critical. No one stepped up. We need more staff if only for the reason we need people to fill the positions we absolutely must have to run the convention smoothly. Positions like Volunteer Manager, which simply got placed in the lap of one of our more gracious Yojimbo at the last minute.
And of course it goes without saying that at registration everyone was deployed and it still wasn't enough. We can delegate until we are blue in the faces but the only thing that will make those lines go faster is more people behind the registration desk.
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As trumby said though everyone can help the con one way or another, this can be being staff/volunteer or just do your best to not make trouble.
Also for the idea of more people not really helping? this is wrong more people helping would mean alot less hours put in per person. Yojimbo could actually take a break!
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No can do... I live near Seattle and have a job. Besides, what kind of Con would you have if 3/4 of the people attending were also working it. I don't think MORE people would actually do much...just having people in charge that know what to do and able to delagate to others what needs to be done and when.
And THAT is where you're seriously mistaken.
First of all, you're assuming that the con will never get bigger. It will grow and is. It's grown every year. Every year new people show up. This will not stop. We have not out tapped the otaku in the area. The more people who show up, the more people we need who want to help us out.
And from being a staff member this year, I ASSURE YOU that organization of staff resources was not the ONLY PROBLEM. We were short handed. We need more people and will CONTINUE to need more people.
Please understand this well.
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No can do... I live near Seattle and have a job. Besides, what kind of Con would you have if 3/4 of the people attending were also working it. I don't think MORE people would actually do much...just having people in charge that know what to do and able to delagate to others what needs to be done and when.
And THAT is where you're seriously mistaken.
First of all, you're assuming that the con will never get bigger. It will grow and is. It's grown every year. Every year new people show up. This will not stop. We have not out tapped the otaku in the area. The more people who show up, the more people we need who want to help us out.
And from being a staff member this year, I ASSURE YOU that organization of staff resources was not the ONLY PROBLEM. We were short handed. We need more people and will CONTINUE to need more people.
Please understand this well.
True 'dat.
People from Seattle come down for Kumoricon just like people from Portland go up to Sakuracon. We HAVE grown every year and there isn't really any reason why we shouldn't continue to.
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ok, i agree with the people talking about the bakazoku.last year, i went to it and it was great but since it was my first, i had planned to leave durring the middle of it so my aunt rushed me out of it and i missed a good portion of it. this year i really really wanted to stay for all of it, but NOOOOOOO. why? becuase i went with my friend and her mom and it was getting really rediculous. finally after the guy with the tight-fitting spandex came up, her mom turned to us and asked if we wanted to go. since she was the authority, we kinda had to leave. i was really embarrassed too because i didn't know they were like that, since i had missed out the year before..........
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ok, i agree with the people talking about the bakazoku.last year, i went to it and it was great but since it was my first, i had planned to leave durring the middle of it so my aunt rushed me out of it and i missed a good portion of it. this year i really really wanted to stay for all of it, but NOOOOOOO. why? becuase i went with my friend and her mom and it was getting really rediculous. finally after the guy with the tight-fitting spandex came up, her mom turned to us and asked if we wanted to go. since she was the authority, we kinda had to leave. i was really embarrassed too because i didn't know they were like that, since i had missed out the year before..........
The guy in tight spandex was an audience member. In case you didn't notice, he was pretty much yanked off of stage and sent back to his seat. That was waaaaay over the top and wasn't planned. The yaoi jokes weren't sooo bad considering how many 13 and below kids even know what that word MEANS unless it's in their fandom and there's nothing you can really do about that . . .
I think they were quite funny and it's unfair to judge them for the cosplay, or to judge the cosplay on them. Two totally separate things.
If you didn't like the Bakazoku you aren't forced to go to their panels. If it's the cosplay that wasn't to your liking, nobody forced you to stand in line for an hour in the heat to see it. ya know?
I'm a fan of both, so I suffered for it. Wasn't teh best, but it wasn't a sucky cosplay. I laughed through most of it!
I can understand if the bakazoku isn't your cup of tea as far as humour goes, but the cosplay was 90% cosplay.
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nonononono......i didn't mean that at all! i love bakazoku dearly and i love watching the skits everyone makes up!
its just that the yaoi jokes were a little overwealming. i know it's the new fad and it's pretty funny to see the pairing some people come up with. the bakazoku were really funny at first. i was even laughing. but they keep dragging it on and on sometimes. it was yaoi this and yaoi that.......on and on.......well, yea....you get it, right?
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a portion of anime fans are just obsessed with yaoi and they see those chibi baka zoku and they just go nut and yeah there gonna be yaoi shout outs
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yea, true. but it's kinda annoying sometimes.
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Yeah, I deffinitly have to agree with that. While yaoi is great and all, yaoi jokes can become tired and old, like beating a dead horse. I think the new Bakazoku group is different than the old one (No more Big Chris, and no more Mike apparently, is Mike's gf still in it?), so they might still be getting a handle on the reins of the comedy thing.
They'll probably be completely awesome next year. 8)
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First of all, you're assuming that the con will never get bigger. It will grow and is. It's grown every year. Every year new people show up. This will not stop. We have not out tapped the otaku in the area. The more people who show up, the more people we need who want to help us out.
Not only will the con probably get bigger, we WANT the con to get bigger. Meg's goal is to find a hotel with a larger capacity again next year and then fill it. Fire code at the Red Lion permitted 2250 people. We had 2257 registrations, which is as perfect as we can measure. Next year we want to hit 3000 attendees.
Just as the con gets bigger, so must the staff to keep up.
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Yes!! We must recruit new attendees!! Even if we have to bring them in kicking and screaming +-+... Okay, maybe not like that 'cause we'll get in trouble o.o...
But I AM getting more people at my school into anime! Stalking and keeping logs on people, finding their interests, and matching them up to a favorite anime ^^
And I got a few friends that just learned about the con a few days ago, so... yeah.
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As for the yaoi, though. I aggree... It gets a bit childish if it drags on. I say keep jokes and acts that will please the entire crowd, and that's unique, or appealing to fans of that certain anime, if you do a certain group.And have things flow into each other instead of dragging out. Have a plan months in advance, rehearse it, film it, and revise untill you're happy with how you have it.
Of course, I've never done a skit myself, but I have written scripts and filmed a few times and they turned out good...
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Ah, I should stop my blabbering, as said many times in the past, I hope Kcon will be bigger and better each year, and will hopefully be at the level Sakuracon is now someday...
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................there's a new bakazoku?? why didn't i get that memo?!?!? lol
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First of all, you're assuming that the con will never get bigger. It will grow and is. It's grown every year. Every year new people show up. This will not stop. We have not out tapped the otaku in the area. The more people who show up, the more people we need who want to help us out.
Not only will the con probably get bigger, we WANT the con to get bigger. Meg's goal is to find a hotel with a larger capacity again next year and then fill it. Fire code at the Red Lion permitted 2250 people. We had 2257 registrations, which is as perfect as we can measure. Next year we want to hit 3000 attendees.
Just as the con gets bigger, so must the staff to keep up.
are you telling me that next year I need to bring two rolls of duct tape for the repair station
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are you telling me that next year I need to bring two rolls of duct tape for the repair station
Yup, two of each color!
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lol XD
I wonder how big we'll get next year..? ~squee~ can't wait!!!
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Next year we want to hit 3000 attendees.
I'd be surprised if we don't reach that at least.
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yea last year i wanted to bring all of my friends.......witch is about.....*counts on fingers*7 or 8ish but only one was able to come. i hope next year that changes though!