It's been ok so far....but it's definately not as fun as I thought it was going to be.
It's been ok so far....but it's definately not as fun as I thought it was going to be.
I am beginning to agree with you, it is not as fun as i thought, i guess thats why i have been hanging outside all day or in the driveway to the exhibition hall taking pictures of everyone. I have had more fun doing that than anything else.
Hopefully tonight will be better after the curfew.
The Kumoricon staff was also telling us to move to the walls to clear the way, I didn't mind that, I just wanted to know why. O:
Oh yes, that too!! It's because of the crowding I think, the people in charge of the panels were late, weren't able to set up in time because of it, etc.
I went to a panel thinking I would find my friend there, it should have been 15 minutes in and the staff person waiting outside the panel room didn't even know why people were lining up for the panel. So no one knew what was even going on... I must say this has been very disorganized.. It sucks, because it does make a con feel like a bad experience for newcomers, or even regular congoers having a first go at kumoricon. Those people are more than likely not impressed and might not come back. Mistakes like that aren't good at all...
Also after waiting for a hour for the RAVE and reaching the front entrence we were told that the age limit was changed from all ages to 18+.
Yes but we were told the RAVE was for all ages 13+ and, it did not say 18+ in our booklet.Also after waiting for a hour for the RAVE and reaching the front entrence we were told that the age limit was changed from all ages to 18+.
Actually it was never all ages, if you look at the time slot, it is / was scheduled after the 12:00 curfew. Even if it was open to all ages, you would not had been in their long. Security would have had to remove anyone underage at midnight if not before. This would be impossible to do with the rave going on. would you want security to stop the rave just before midnight and spend awhile, with the lights on, to go through and check everyone's ID? Personally I wouldnt.
Child: 12 and under – Can attend the convention except during convention curfew between midnight and 6:00 AM and must be accompanied at all times by a parent or legal guardian paid attendee
Minor: 13-17 – Can attend the convention except during convention curfew between midnight and 6:00 AM and must have a Parental Permission Form or proof of legal emancipation on file by check-in.
Is it just me or does it feel like there's not as much to do this year? All the somewhat interesting panels are kind of early and after noon they look less and less interesting... And I havn't seen one game of Glomp Spin the Ramune Bottle or Red Rover. Of course that's because there's nowhere to do it... I really hope they choose a place with a park area on the side like the other ones, those gave everyone breathing space, a place for photoshoots, a place to relax, play games, and record videos. Oh and have RPG fights. It's like there's no space to do any of that anymore! ; x;I saw people playing that bottle game outside around 7:30 pm in pioneer place. The weather was nasty today, standing in that line outside for the cosplay contest was not fun. I was lucky to have an umbrella on hand but it was cold.
I love you, Kumoricon, but this year our relationship seems to be faltering a little! If you need to we can have relationship counseling, or family counseling D:
XD I'm really hoping they fix these bad mistakes next year.
At least tomorrow wont be as crowded, the last day never really is.
Next year's con will be in the same place...
Frankly, the start of the con really confused me, and I was a little bored.
During the opening ceremony, after they said "Don't strip," it started getting so hot that I was tempted to unbutton my jacket/dress. (I only unwrapped my scarf and I had clothes on underneath, but you get my point)
Although I loved the bathrooms for their spaciousness, lines formed and people would just cut ahead when stalls opened up.
What was with the escalators? They're too skinny to have people walking side-by-side(much like the obscurely located stairwell next to the women's locker room), and they all started out turned off. Later on, some were turned on, but there were also lines going across escalators just to go down the escalators to the ballroom, etc.
Lots of people were confused by the location of events, especially the exhibitors hall; I found it by walking around the building. A location with a park would be great, especially for all the photo shoots.
Yes but we were told the RAVE was for all ages 13+ and, it did not say 18+ in our booklet.
And what was kumoricon thinking? You should never make a 2 year contract in a building that you've never even tried using before. It's totally unfair to the con-goers who are part of the reason this entire convention can do what it does. And now look, people wont want to go next year because of this location choice. There's thinking ahead, then there's just going ahead of yourself. There is no way next year at the Hilton will be very fun. More people will want to come, but wont be able to now because there will surely be 7,000 to 8,000 people, and when it can barely fit 6,000... Pardon my french but I think we are quite f***ed.
Can you imagine? Registration line would close off so fast no one would even see it coming, and a lot of people are going to be disappointed.
For the con's sake, I hope the hotel ends the contract.
It was ridiculous to have only 4 elevators
Okay, seriously.
I need to point something out.
How is this Kumoricon's fault? Did they arbitrarily decide to put four elevators in the hotel? Are you expecting them to magically build more elevators or something?
And who told the hotel security to start greeting everyone with "Hello and thank you for coming, I like your costume!" on Saturday? because that was creepy.
If the weather was nice, and there was a park across the street like at the Double Tree, it would have been alot funner.
Does anyone know why exactly we're habing it at the Hilton again next year?
If the weather was nice, and there was a park across the street like at the Double Tree, it would have been alot funner.
Does anyone know why exactly we're habing it at the Hilton again next year?
Because they only sign in 2-year contracts, so we're stuck here unless the Hilton wants to cancel on us.
If the weather was nice, and there was a park across the street like at the Double Tree, it would have been alot funner.
Does anyone know why exactly we're habing it at the Hilton again next year?
Because they only sign in 2-year contracts, so we're stuck here unless the Hilton wants to cancel on us.
we could have a chance of changing venues if we raise enough complaints about harassment and assault against the attendees. I know I got some, and it is illegal and could possibly help with a loop hole in the contract. I havent read the contract but our best chance of getting out of it is most likley to express our distaste for it, and back it up with the story's we have of WHY we dont like it.
Okay, seriously.
I need to point something out.
How is this Kumoricon's fault? Did they arbitrarily decide to put four elevators in the hotel? Are you expecting them to magically build more elevators or something?
When you decide to put a new building somewhere, you usually send out a surveyor to make sure the site is suitable for the project. If a company constructs a building on unsuitable land where it shortly sinks and topples over, blaming the earth is ridiculous. (E.g. the fact the hotel only had 4 elevators).
The issue isn't that the convention didn't build the hotel, the issue being brought up is that the chosen place was apparently unsuitable. It is the staff's duty to ensure that the site selected is appropriate for the given crowd. This is the complaint being raised.
This convention Sucked!!
IT was wayy to crowded! The staff ppl were completly ruuude!! i mean i was trying to get my friennd who was mickey mouse to the girls bath room from the lobby the the ramp bathroom area and we told him we were going to the bathroom and he said no! I mean hello come on!! so we went around to the escalator down to the lobby and ask her if we can cut across to go to the bathroom and she shook her head no and we just looked at her and said the other guy said we couldnt go up the ramp to just go to the bathroom so she letted us go.
The Hotel was small spaced!!!
Haha, I'd like to point out how my friends and I felt when we made a trip to Voodoo.._.
Osla, care to share our experience with random drunk strangers getting abnormally close to us?
Do you expect that a hotel is built with the fact that a major anime con is going to happen there?
How can you predict that an event is going to cap/sell out?
wordsIrrelevant.
Haha, I'd like to point out how my friends and I felt when we made a trip to Voodoo.
Osla, care to share our experience with random drunk strangers getting abnormally close to us?
double tree would be nice but we are WAY to big D: which really sucks. we were to big last year and I dont want to imagine what it would be like next year if we went there.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Definitely different hotel, since the Hilton was absolutely terrible (and if you haven't found that out, seriously read all the previous posts...)
I would suggest doing at one of these past hotels, since for me and my friends were were the BEST experiences of Kumoricon we had (out of the 6 years we have gone) I'm going to suggest WHY as well, that Kumoricon should be here.
Because if it is at the Hilton next year....a lot of con-goers will not attend (I will be one of them)Double Tree (Portland, OR)
This was a nice location, it had food nearby, and a park. It seemed like everyone had a good time last year there, and it was very nice location. It had shade, and it was slightly secluded from "normal people".
Red Lion Hotel (Janzen Beach, OR)
I know this was a very hard hotel for the staff, but it was the best BEST Kumoricon I had ever attended. The locating was AMAZING, beautiful scenery, amazing rooms and spaces. And I never once had to deal with anyone who was rude, or packed rooms/hallways. It was a very large convention space. It also was a great location. It was literally the best Kumoricon, ever *(all my friends agreed)
It was amazing, because it was friendly, and just perfect. If you have it here, I will definitely attend in less than a heartbeat.
Hilton (Vancouver, WA)
I know the downtown Hilton was a pain, but this one was again, a wonderful location. It was VERY SPACIOUS outside, to the point where it was so large that people could roam off and do their own thing. We didn't disturb others with or antics, and they appreciated our efforts and cosplays. It was friendly, and very nice. Though there were some hiccups, it was a very nice convention. Though it is out of the way, it was worth it because it was very spacious and friendly.
But none the less, if the contact is still valid with Hilton next year, all of my friends and myself will not attend~
Even if we can't get the Double Tree, at least it has a huge park and a mall right next to it whereas the Hilton has nothing so that most people are forced to be squished inside.
I'd like to get out of the downtown area, it smells bad, everyone's always smoking and at night the creepers are creepy.
Whatever the case, this year didn't have many food places around. I found myself hungry in the middle of the day and unable to eat anything but McDonolds or Subway or Voodoo Doughnuts, really. :/ There weren't a whole lot of places to hang around there, either, except for Pioneer Square.
m.
Honestly my favorite location so far was the 2007 location... It seemed pretty spacious~
I still vote convention center....
Isn't next year or the one after K-con's tenth anniversary?
XFD: I dont quiet understand your idea. I doubt well be able to change but even if we dont im willing to be things will go smoother next year.
XFD: that is a good idea : o it would make the other building more useful and get a smaller crowd in the main building and even the two out.
Lychee: we can hope, I heard from some one in the dealers hall thats what we need to do to even have a hope of getting out of it (why i told you today xD)
There was a couple haveing s@$ on the dance floor at the mascarade ball and they didn't even do anything to syop it
I'm glad nobody got hurt though.
If you think about it, even walking to get dinner at night in Portland is kind of dangerous. O.O;;
I was kinda of freaked out about the number of homeless people congregating around the hilton. i think that all the benches in the back entrance was covered in homeless.....ness....thing-word-that-would-finish-this and they were a little rude about it. i know they are just trying to get some money, but it's a little annoying trying to get through fellow cospalyers, only to again try to get through homelesss people.i know my boyfriend and i had the same issues we were freaked out actually. another issue we had was some religious guys handing out fliers and they wouldnt take no for an answer.
There was a lot of important debate and arguement that went on after everyone left the con. The rant and rave was actually very eye opening to me. I was about to leave the con with downed hopes and dislike towards the hotel and such but as time progressed and more information was revealed about the hotel and con situation, I left with a much better feeling and a sense of guilt towards being angry at the hotel people.
To be honest, I don't think I could be all that happy either with having myself going to be laid off from work due to lack of guests.
But beyond that, there was an entire 2 hour run of this Rant and Rave. It was amazing. There were discussions of what was going on with the sound sets, how registration was handled, line guidance, why people were being so uptight. And so many more things. I really wish everyone stayed for it. I mean it. It was a truly enlightening experience.
I had a problem with how the people in the gaming area seemed to hog all the systems. i got to play rockband twice, some weird fighting game where it was all girls (which were all very slow. and not cool besides the one with the gel thing. i kept yelling at my opponent saying THE GLOB WINS) and the computer for a while. i decided to leave at about 3 today because i was so tired of walking around the con with nothing to doI was kinda of freaked out about the number of homeless people congregating around the hilton. i think that all the benches in the back entrance was covered in homeless.....ness....thing-word-that-would-finish-this and they were a little rude about it. i know they are just trying to get some money, but it's a little annoying trying to get through fellow cospalyers, only to again try to get through homelesss people.i know my boyfriend and i had the same issues we were freaked out actually. another issue we had was some religious guys handing out fliers and they wouldnt take no for an answer.
But I am glad that the hotel guest who screamed at us, called us f***ing freaks (about 10 times), threatened to beat us, and after exiting the elevator, lunged back in and gestured like he was going to reach for a weapon did not hurt anybody.
That is Arcana Heart if you were curious ;D
I had a problem with how the people in the gaming area seemed to hog all the systems. i got to play rockband twice, some weird fighting game where it was all girls (which were all very slow. and not cool besides the one with the gel thing. i kept yelling at my opponent saying THE GLOB WINS) and the computer for a while. i decided to leave at about 3 today because i was so tired of walking around the con with nothing to do
But I am glad that the hotel guest who screamed at us, called us f***ing freaks (about 10 times), threatened to beat us, and after exiting the elevator, lunged back in and gestured like he was going to reach for a weapon did not hurt anybody.
Seriously? That's really not good; that's downright frightening.
I also had a problem with the religious guys in the square on pre-reg day. Now, I have nothing against religion in any way... but seriously, a no means a goddamn NO. There was this guy passing out flowers and we all for the most part either told him no or took the flier and threw it out. He came back and tried to pass out more fliers and tried to convert some of us(I remember one of us saying they were Wiccan and the guy still didn't leave us alone).
oh i know. i got to the con this morning around i would say 10-1030ish and we shopped for a while and then ran upstairs to see what was going on and we felt bored and were ready for the real world again. we left at 12 today. and basically only shopped. im feeling a bit depressed about this years con. i was trying to change my boyfriends mind about cons and this didnt do any justice. this was my 5th year and i havent ever had it this bad.I had a problem with how the people in the gaming area seemed to hog all the systems. i got to play rockband twice, some weird fighting game where it was all girls (which were all very slow. and not cool besides the one with the gel thing. i kept yelling at my opponent saying THE GLOB WINS) and the computer for a while. i decided to leave at about 3 today because i was so tired of walking around the con with nothing to doI was kinda of freaked out about the number of homeless people congregating around the hilton. i think that all the benches in the back entrance was covered in homeless.....ness....thing-word-that-would-finish-this and they were a little rude about it. i know they are just trying to get some money, but it's a little annoying trying to get through fellow cospalyers, only to again try to get through homelesss people.i know my boyfriend and i had the same issues we were freaked out actually. another issue we had was some religious guys handing out fliers and they wouldnt take no for an answer.
my boyfriend was ganna get really mean with them because they wouldnt quit.But I am glad that the hotel guest who screamed at us, called us f***ing freaks (about 10 times), threatened to beat us, and after exiting the elevator, lunged back in and gestured like he was going to reach for a weapon did not hurt anybody.
Seriously? That's really not good; that's downright frightening.
I also had a problem with the religious guys in the square on pre-reg day. Now, I have nothing against religion in any way... but seriously, a no means a goddamn NO. There was this guy passing out flowers and we all for the most part either told him no or took the flier and threw it out. He came back and tried to pass out more fliers and tried to convert some of us(I remember one of us saying they were Wiccan and the guy still didn't leave us alone).
my boyfriend was ganna get really mean with them because they wouldnt quit.But I am glad that the hotel guest who screamed at us, called us f***ing freaks (about 10 times), threatened to beat us, and after exiting the elevator, lunged back in and gestured like he was going to reach for a weapon did not hurt anybody.
Seriously? That's really not good; that's downright frightening.
I also had a problem with the religious guys in the square on pre-reg day. Now, I have nothing against religion in any way... but seriously, a no means a goddamn NO. There was this guy passing out flowers and we all for the most part either told him no or took the flier and threw it out. He came back and tried to pass out more fliers and tried to convert some of us(I remember one of us saying they were Wiccan and the guy still didn't leave us alone).
lol my boyfriend was ichigo from bleach with a boken sword on him so he was being protective.my boyfriend was ganna get really mean with them because they wouldnt quit.But I am glad that the hotel guest who screamed at us, called us f***ing freaks (about 10 times), threatened to beat us, and after exiting the elevator, lunged back in and gestured like he was going to reach for a weapon did not hurt anybody.
Seriously? That's really not good; that's downright frightening.
I also had a problem with the religious guys in the square on pre-reg day. Now, I have nothing against religion in any way... but seriously, a no means a goddamn NO. There was this guy passing out flowers and we all for the most part either told him no or took the flier and threw it out. He came back and tried to pass out more fliers and tried to convert some of us(I remember one of us saying they were Wiccan and the guy still didn't leave us alone).
Really? I was extremely uncomfortable(I was in PJ Garnet at the time. xD for 50s/60s lingerie) with what they were doing. It just didn't have the guts to get really pissed at them(I did tell them to just back the hell off, however).
I really want to say that this was the best con i ever went to. (which it's the only one so i can't really back it up) but i think the only good panel i went to was the randomness panel. we got to tell pick-up linesunfortunately i was part of the panel and i didnt make it to it because i couldnt find it. TT.TT
(mine was: hey baby, your so hot your hotness level, IT'S OVER 9000!!!)
which was a lot of fun to watch and hang out. i saw all the cool cosplays, and today saw the one i was looking for all day, HASEO FROM .HACK//ROOTS, and also saw a medic and kept yelling MEDIC whenever he went by. and i saw him alot
RECOMMENDATIONSUnfortunately I hear we're too big for them now
Definitely different hotel, since the Hilton was absolutely terrible (and if you haven't found that out, seriously read all the previous posts...)
I would suggest doing at one of these past hotels, since for me and my friends were were the BEST experiences of Kumoricon we had (out of the 6 years we have gone) I'm going to suggest WHY as well, that Kumoricon should be here.
Because if it is at the Hilton next year....a lot of con-goers will not attend (I will be one of them)
Double Tree (Portland, OR)
This was a nice location, it had food nearby, and a park. It seemed like everyone had a good time last year there, and it was very nice location. It had shade, and it was slightly secluded from "normal people".
Red Lion Hotel (Janzen Beach, OR)Nooooooooo nononononononono
I know this was a very hard hotel for the staff, but it was the best BEST Kumoricon I had ever attended. The locating was AMAZING, beautiful scenery, amazing rooms and spaces. And I never once had to deal with anyone who was rude, or packed rooms/hallways. It was a very large convention space. It also was a great location. It was literally the best Kumoricon, ever *(all my friends agreed)
It was amazing, because it was friendly, and just perfect. If you have it here, I will definitely attend in less than a heartbeat.
Hilton (Vancouver, WA)I wasn't there so I can't say anything about this.
I know the downtown Hilton was a pain, but this one was again, a wonderful location. It was VERY SPACIOUS outside, to the point where it was so large that people could roam off and do their own thing. We didn't disturb others with or antics, and they appreciated our efforts and cosplays. It was friendly, and very nice. Though there were some hiccups, it was a very nice convention. Though it is out of the way, it was worth it because it was very spacious and friendly.
I have to admit I had a bit issue with the sheer amount of out-of-control and just plain RUDE unaccompanied minors. No offense to those in the under-18 crowd who know how to act like civil human beings, but a lot of the younger crowd seemed to be doing absoutely EVERYTHING they could to give us all a bad name. It got so frustrating that I found myself muttering "fricking Yellow Badges..." with disdain.YES YES YES!!!! This was a huge prob this year and its only been getting worse. unfortunately they think they can get away with it because their parents aren't here and they are in public. ... sometimes things like that are funny but there is a point where they need to stop its only funny when the people know how to stop. and the elevator thing was ****. that isnt funny when its that packed. no wonder it took so long!
A few things witnessed:
- Young kids making out and exploring their sexuality on the sidewalks in front to the hotel.
- Young kids sprawled out on the sidewalk like beached whales. My friend politely said, "excuse me, we're walking here..." and they rudely said "yeah, you DO that", did not care AT ALL that they were blocking the way on the already crowded sidewalks.
- Young kids screaming obscenities at other con-goers as well as people in public
- Young kids riding the elevators, pushing every button and snapping pictures of people whenever the doors opened on a floor.
- Young kids running around asking for hugs and dancing on people (when asked to stop, they did not)
- Young kids screaming about rape in public in front of non-convention goers.
Did anyone else feel like this year's con was over-run with out-of-control preteens with no consideration for others? It was very frustrating.
I really want to say that this was the best con i ever went to. (which it's the only one so i can't really back it up) but i think the only good panel i went to was the randomness panel. we got to tell pick-up linesMustash was butt-hurt.
(mine was: hey baby, your so hot your hotness level, IT'S OVER 9000!!!)
which was a lot of fun to watch and hang out. i saw all the cool cosplays, and today saw the one i was looking for all day, HASEO FROM .HACK//ROOTS, and also saw a medic and kept yelling MEDIC whenever he went by. and i saw him alot
RECOMMENDATIONSUnfortunately I hear we're too big for them now
Definitely different hotel, since the Hilton was absolutely terrible (and if you haven't found that out, seriously read all the previous posts...)
I would suggest doing at one of these past hotels, since for me and my friends were were the BEST experiences of Kumoricon we had (out of the 6 years we have gone) I'm going to suggest WHY as well, that Kumoricon should be here.
Because if it is at the Hilton next year....a lot of con-goers will not attend (I will be one of them)
Double Tree (Portland, OR)
This was a nice location, it had food nearby, and a park. It seemed like everyone had a good time last year there, and it was very nice location. It had shade, and it was slightly secluded from "normal people".QuoteRed Lion Hotel (Janzen Beach, OR)Nooooooooo nononononononono
I know this was a very hard hotel for the staff, but it was the best BEST Kumoricon I had ever attended. The locating was AMAZING, beautiful scenery, amazing rooms and spaces. And I never once had to deal with anyone who was rude, or packed rooms/hallways. It was a very large convention space. It also was a great location. It was literally the best Kumoricon, ever *(all my friends agreed)
It was amazing, because it was friendly, and just perfect. If you have it here, I will definitely attend in less than a heartbeat.
They double-booked us with a wedding and changed some of the agreements DURING the convention.QuoteHilton (Vancouver, WA)I wasn't there so I can't say anything about this.
I know the downtown Hilton was a pain, but this one was again, a wonderful location. It was VERY SPACIOUS outside, to the point where it was so large that people could roam off and do their own thing. We didn't disturb others with or antics, and they appreciated our efforts and cosplays. It was friendly, and very nice. Though there were some hiccups, it was a very nice convention. Though it is out of the way, it was worth it because it was very spacious and friendly.
YES YES YES!!!! This was a huge prob this year and its only been getting worse. unfortunately they think they can get away with it because their parents aren't here and they are in public. ... sometimes things like that are funny but there is a point where they need to stop its only funny when the people know how to stop. and the elevator thing was ****. that isnt funny when its that packed. no wonder it took so long!
About the Red Lion... we were double booked with a wedding THIS year.(Well, part of one anyway) Some people heard that there was a wedding, and I was getting congradulations >.>(probably the giant white wedding dress and veil for Yuna? xD)the little ones were darling but the early teens were a pain.
By the way, my pick-up lines were "Will you be my guardian?", "I have an airship; wanna ride?", and another I can't remember. xD
Back on topic, I am seventeen, eighteen in January, so am techinically a minor, but I know what you're saying. Way too much rudeness in some of the younger congoers; though that's not saying they all were. I knew some pretty awesome litt;e cosplayers myself ^^(I so want a picture of that little Zidane*Game one, not the Amano one with gold trim. I have a bunch iof her. xD*)
I have to admit I had a bit issue with the sheer amount of out-of-control and just plain RUDE unaccompanied minors. No offense to those in the under-18 crowd who know how to act like civil human beings, but a lot of the younger crowd seemed to be doing absoutely EVERYTHING they could to give us all a bad name. It got so frustrating that I found myself muttering "fricking Yellow Badges..." with disdain.Oh good lord, yes.. I saw some of this stuff. Particularly the kids making out, which I saw in the line for the vendors area. -_- honestly not appropriate. There was also a lot of unnecessary shouting and screaming which sometimes disrupted the panels.
A few things witnessed:
- Young kids making out and exploring their sexuality on the sidewalks in front to the hotel.
- Young kids sprawled out on the sidewalk like beached whales. My friend politely said, "excuse me, we're walking here..." and they rudely said "yeah, you DO that", did not care AT ALL that they were blocking the way on the already crowded sidewalks.
- Young kids screaming obscenities at other con-goers as well as people in public
- Young kids riding the elevators, pushing every button and snapping pictures of people whenever the doors opened on a floor.
- Young kids running around asking for hugs and dancing on people (when asked to stop, they did not)
- Young kids screaming about rape in public in front of non-convention goers.
Did anyone else feel like this year's con was over-run with out-of-control preteens with no consideration for others? It was very frustrating.
I have to admit I had a bit issue with the sheer amount of out-of-control and just plain RUDE unaccompanied minors. No offense to those in the under-18 crowd who know how to act like civil human beings, but a lot of the younger crowd seemed to be doing absoutely EVERYTHING they could to give us all a bad name. It got so frustrating that I found myself muttering "fricking Yellow Badges..." with disdain.Oh good lord, yes.. I saw some of this stuff. Particularly the kids making out, which I saw in the line for the vendors area. -_- honestly not appropriate. There was also a lot of unnecessary shouting and screaming which sometimes disrupted the panels.
A few things witnessed:
- Young kids making out and exploring their sexuality on the sidewalks in front to the hotel.
- Young kids sprawled out on the sidewalk like beached whales. My friend politely said, "excuse me, we're walking here..." and they rudely said "yeah, you DO that", did not care AT ALL that they were blocking the way on the already crowded sidewalks.
- Young kids screaming obscenities at other con-goers as well as people in public
- Young kids riding the elevators, pushing every button and snapping pictures of people whenever the doors opened on a floor.
- Young kids running around asking for hugs and dancing on people (when asked to stop, they did not)
- Young kids screaming about rape in public in front of non-convention goers.
Did anyone else feel like this year's con was over-run with out-of-control preteens with no consideration for others? It was very frustrating.
I honestly had no problems whatsoever with Yojimbo. They were all very courteous and complimentary, and understood what was going on.
I also hope we go back, when we can, to one of the previous hotels or the convention center (just how big do we need to be to do that, anyway?)
would you rather have the police enforcing this or the con staff?
Does anyone know what the full attendee count was for all three days?I also hope we go back, when we can, to one of the previous hotels or the convention center (just how big do we need to be to do that, anyway?)
We have to have an event size of at least 8,000 before Kumoricon can book the convention center.
I'm sorry.. I've loved the past 3 years of kumoricon, even last years disaster of crowding. But this 4th year for me takes the cake on the worst convention I've ever attended. It's 10x as crowded as last year, and last year people complained about crowding, so why is it WORSE this year? Do the people in charge even pay attention? This thing is all over the place, there are lines galore, people shoving and shouting so much that we're being rushed to god knows where (I was rushed into a line with no explanation when I was simply trying to get back to the lobby) and I've only been able to take five.. FIVE pictures without being shoved, shouted at to move, or even just in general because picture taking is nearly impossible in the cramped crowd. And it's raining, to boot, so no one wants to be outside. It would be a little less cramped if the weather was nice but.. Nope. We got 3 full days of rain coming up. Isn't that just great?Count your blessing at least you got to go. I would of loved to been in a cramp place with all my friends
This convention was the first kumoricon for my boyfriend, and he hates it. We planned this out for so long to go together because he's not from around here, and we were so excited to go together for the first time.. and this is what I get to introduce him to. I'm ashamed. I really am. Newcomers will probably never come back, that's for sure.
I'm home right now and changing costumes so I can at least move around there better, but at the end of the con I'm, going to write up a nice long review of the whole thing.
Does anyone know what the full attendee count was for all three days?I also hope we go back, when we can, to one of the previous hotels or the convention center (just how big do we need to be to do that, anyway?)
We have to have an event size of at least 8,000 before Kumoricon can book the convention center.
Does anyone know what the full attendee count was for all three days?I also hope we go back, when we can, to one of the previous hotels or the convention center (just how big do we need to be to do that, anyway?)
We have to have an event size of at least 8,000 before Kumoricon can book the convention center.
Apparently a little over 6,000. Or something like that.
I say there was OVER 9,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Does anyone know what the full attendee count was for all three days?I also hope we go back, when we can, to one of the previous hotels or the convention center (just how big do we need to be to do that, anyway?)
We have to have an event size of at least 8,000 before Kumoricon can book the convention center.
Apparently a little over 6,000. Or something like that.
And I find it ironic that this is the first time I've heard so many complaints about sexual misconduct at Kcon when by far I felt more threatened and disturbed outside the convention than in it.
YESTHIS CONVENTION WAS BETTER THAN 2006
AT LEAST GIVE IT THAT MUCH
Hey FolksI wish I could join.
This thread is pretty cumbersome :)
I commend you all on keeping this thread positive and constructive and refraining from turing it in to one big con bash. Hopefully by voicing our concerns now staff will have ample time to work on and hopefully rectify the issues before K-Com 2010. I myself am currently drawing up the plans for a new elevator bay ;D
I ugre you all to stay active on the forums and to keep attending K-Con. Those that have input and issues they would like solved I suggest you join staff and help to make our next con truely awesome
-P
There was a lot of important debate and arguement that went on after everyone left the con. The rant and rave was actually very eye opening to me. I was about to leave the con with downed hopes and dislike towards the hotel and such but as time progressed and more information was revealed about the hotel and con situation, I left with a much better feeling and a sense of guilt towards being angry at the hotel people.
To be honest, I don't think I could be all that happy either with having myself going to be laid off from work due to lack of guests.
I feel bad for the people who say "OMG I AM NEVER RETURNING AGAIN."
god i know how you feel. i was wearing a my little pony costume and people were looking at me and one was asking me if "is that a natural blue" in a super creepy tone. it was outright uncomfortable. and my boyfriend was right there with me!!would you rather have the police enforcing this or the con staff?
Umm... actually I'm pretty sure this isn't an either/or situation. I noticed an extreme amount of police officers whose job seemed to be solely enforcing hotel rules and controlling cosplayers (which brings me to my second comment:)
"Some of the costumes us ladies wear while fine within the con could cause some uncomfortable leering or comments outside the con"
YES! Thank you for noting this. Whenever I was outside the convention for any amount of time at all I was cajoled by strange older men, often with a police officer nearby who would literally do nothing at all. And I was not someone wearing borderline lingerie, I was simply wearing a fairly modest cat-maid costume. But this made downtown, especially on or near the max or pioneer square, EXTREMELY uncomfortable. Sunday's gothic maid costume was just as bad if not worse. I would go as far as to say downtown is /not safe/ for female cosplayers, especially at night. Even without considering all the other downsides of the Hilton, I think this alone should force us to consider a new venue because I'll be honest: no matter how much I want to support K-con if me or one of my friends got raped at 1AM waiting for the MAX I would feel more than justified never attending Kcon again. And I think this is a very real possibility considering a huge portion of Kcon attendees are underage female cosplayers. Everybody should feel guilty if something like that happens simply because we didn't do anything to prevent it.
And I find it ironic that this is the first time I've heard so many complaints about sexual misconduct at Kcon when by far I felt more threatened and disturbed outside the convention than in it.
I'd sort of like an official response to our complaints, not necessarily from the hotel but from the Kcon staff. I would honestly feel a lot more comfortable investing my pre-reg money if I knew the staff was considering things like the hotel staff's ridiculous behavior, the creepy/dangerous surrounding neighborhood (depending on your clothes, size, and the time of day), and the extremely inconvenient hotel layout. That isn't intended as a challenge or anything; could someone over the level of Yojimbo give an official response to those things? I would love that. <3
The location was sheer awful, but I didn't really have a problem with anything else. It was simply so hard to move around or get anywhere at all that it really took a lot of the fun out of it.
It sounds like next year we're stuck at the Hilton again, but it would really be nice if the venue changed to something a little more horizontal and less vertical. The elevator situation was ridiculous, and walking up and down X flights of stairs in some of those costumes must have been a nightmare. I was so glad for my boots.
well its not really goin to change next year considering that its going to be held at the same area.
The location was sheer awful, but I didn't really have a problem with anything else. It was simply so hard to move around or get anywhere at all that it really took a lot of the fun out of it.i know by the last day i was figuring things out so easily because we had made so many wrong choices all weekend. it was so retarded i couldnt believe where the anime was being shown we found that late the second day and the rooms for those were so small.
It sounds like next year we're stuck at the Hilton again, but it would really be nice if the venue changed to something a little more horizontal and less vertical. The elevator situation was ridiculous, and walking up and down X flights of stairs in some of those costumes must have been a nightmare. I was so glad for my boots.
god i know how you feel. i was wearing a my little pony costume and people were looking at me and one was asking me if "is that a natural blue" in a super creepy tone. it was outright uncomfortable. and my boyfriend was right there with me!!would you rather have the police enforcing this or the con staff?
Umm... actually I'm pretty sure this isn't an either/or situation. I noticed an extreme amount of police officers whose job seemed to be solely enforcing hotel rules and controlling cosplayers (which brings me to my second comment:)
"Some of the costumes us ladies wear while fine within the con could cause some uncomfortable leering or comments outside the con"
YES! Thank you for noting this. Whenever I was outside the convention for any amount of time at all I was cajoled by strange older men, often with a police officer nearby who would literally do nothing at all. And I was not someone wearing borderline lingerie, I was simply wearing a fairly modest cat-maid costume. But this made downtown, especially on or near the max or pioneer square, EXTREMELY uncomfortable. Sunday's gothic maid costume was just as bad if not worse. I would go as far as to say downtown is /not safe/ for female cosplayers, especially at night. Even without considering all the other downsides of the Hilton, I think this alone should force us to consider a new venue because I'll be honest: no matter how much I want to support K-con if me or one of my friends got raped at 1AM waiting for the MAX I would feel more than justified never attending Kcon again. And I think this is a very real possibility considering a huge portion of Kcon attendees are underage female cosplayers. Everybody should feel guilty if something like that happens simply because we didn't do anything to prevent it.
And I find it ironic that this is the first time I've heard so many complaints about sexual misconduct at Kcon when by far I felt more threatened and disturbed outside the convention than in it.
I think the only difficulty I had during this con was the lack of wayfinding signs. I understand that maps were provided for us in the program book but stand up signs in different high traffic locations would be a great help in navigating around the con. It took me half a day to figure out that there was ANOTHER tower across the street. lol. That, and I am slightly a bit of a Ryoga. lol.
The con staff did the best that they could, given the situation. I could only imagine having to operate a huge event in a location that they are not used to. With new location typically comes with unexpected issues. I think next year will be better now that these issues were brought up and they can get past their growing pains. :)
Hey I counted the people from con that were kicked out of the executive tower on the second night and uhh...48 people were kicked out for just about nothing. The hotel staff completely didn't care. There was a couple haveing s@$ on the dance floor at the mascarade ball and they didn't even do anything to syop it and I heard that the sakura con chair for next year left the con early because of the managements treatment of con members. :(
would you want to walk 20 blocks in a giant costume? or take the max in it amongst non con-goers who want to touch it, or crowd you in.
god i know how you feel. i was wearing a my little pony costume and people were looking at me and one was asking me if "is that a natural blue" in a super creepy tone. it was outright uncomfortable. and my boyfriend was right there with me!!would you rather have the police enforcing this or the con staff?
Umm... actually I'm pretty sure this isn't an either/or situation. I noticed an extreme amount of police officers whose job seemed to be solely enforcing hotel rules and controlling cosplayers (which brings me to my second comment:)
"Some of the costumes us ladies wear while fine within the con could cause some uncomfortable leering or comments outside the con"
YES! Thank you for noting this. Whenever I was outside the convention for any amount of time at all I was cajoled by strange older men, often with a police officer nearby who would literally do nothing at all. And I was not someone wearing borderline lingerie, I was simply wearing a fairly modest cat-maid costume. But this made downtown, especially on or near the max or pioneer square, EXTREMELY uncomfortable. Sunday's gothic maid costume was just as bad if not worse. I would go as far as to say downtown is /not safe/ for female cosplayers, especially at night. Even without considering all the other downsides of the Hilton, I think this alone should force us to consider a new venue because I'll be honest: no matter how much I want to support K-con if me or one of my friends got raped at 1AM waiting for the MAX I would feel more than justified never attending Kcon again. And I think this is a very real possibility considering a huge portion of Kcon attendees are underage female cosplayers. Everybody should feel guilty if something like that happens simply because we didn't do anything to prevent it.
And I find it ironic that this is the first time I've heard so many complaints about sexual misconduct at Kcon when by far I felt more threatened and disturbed outside the convention than in it.
Those were not Police officers, that was hotel security. As for the leering go read the 10 CON-mandments http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11105.0
5 ) Thou shalt not be offended when locals whistle at the Felicia outfit. Thou chose to walk down Main Street (err SW Taylor st) in it.
And while I never had any issues with the staff personally, I heard the hilton staff were quite nasty to some people.. calling con-goers freaks and whatnot.. plus it seemed like some of the k-con staff were being asses too.. like Sunday night, a friend and I were in the lobby, it was about 12:30am, with a few minors, and the mother(i.e. legal guardian; who had driven up from eugene that day) of someone there, and the cross-eyed k-con staff member told them all the minors HAD to leave.. even though there were atleast 4+ adults with them, one of which was the legal guardian of atleast one of them(not sure if any of them were sisters).
Long story short, the mother went to the Hilton staff and got confirmation that as long as the legal guardian is with them, and in control of the group, they can legally stay there(it was 12:30am, nobody was around, and and there was a total of about 8 of us, sitting by the staircase in the main lobby).
Oh, and lets know forgot about Monday, at around 3:30pm, there was a group of us, simply lined up against the wall outside, hanging out. We had 2 con staff members checking what we were doing, since the closing ceremony line was outside too. We indicated we were simply hanging out. One was like 'alright', and the other was like 'if you wanna get in line, it ends over there' and indicated the line ended on the wall, a bit closer to the main entrance to the lobby.
Within 10 minutes after the 2nd one, there was a douche, who came over and said we had to move because the ceremony line was outside, and making the sidewalk congested, and with us there it was too congested, so we had to move. Which was obviously incorrect, since we were all pushed up against the wall, and had little to no effect on the actual traffic of the sidewalk.
The general age (or more importantly, the maturity level) of the Kumoricon attendee seemed to drop disgustingly this year.
The general age (or more importantly, the maturity level) of the Kumoricon attendee seemed to drop disgustingly this year.
THIS.
I couldn't believe how some people were acting. The PDA got real old after awhile, and the tweenies yelling and being generally obnoxious was just ridiculous. We get it, it's a con. It's exciting. But for the love of God spare us. It's no wonder cosplayers/con attendees get a bad name.
Common sense: Not very common anymore.
This.
Agreed.
Quoted for truth.
[insert another term]
The general age (or more importantly, the maturity level) of the Kumoricon attendee seemed to drop disgustingly this year.
THIS.
I couldn't believe how some people were acting. The PDA got real old after awhile, and the tweenies yelling and being generally obnoxious was just ridiculous. We get it, it's a con. It's exciting. But for the love of God spare us. It's no wonder cosplayers/con attendees get a bad name.
Common sense: Not very common anymore.
I was only there on sunday, but I never noticed this.
Most of the people I saw or came into contact with were very respectful to me and each other.. in fact I was impressed, and very happy with that as my mother (even though I am 21) was reluctant to leave me at the convention, but from word of a hotel staff (on saturday night) she was told that the con attendees were very well behaved. O.o So maybe somehow I just missed all of the bad stuff people are talking about? It was my first convention though... but I thought it was awesome (having nothing to compare it to). I will definitely be going next year if I can get the money to go.
rationing the elevators (counting off seven people per car)
When you said people in gaming were hogging all the systems, essentially there was the quarter play effect in rule (I.E. Winner stays, loser switches out). If you had wanted to play, all you had to do was ask, and if they wouldn’t let you play I.E. telling you to go away or whatever, INFORM STAFF. Staff members cannot be behind every console and tell people to play, but instead, the players and attendees NEED to inform staff.I had a problem with how the people in the gaming area seemed to hog all the systems. i got to play rockband twice, some weird fighting game where it was all girls (which were all very slow. and not cool besides the one with the gel thing. i kept yelling at my opponent saying THE GLOB WINS) and the computer for a while. i decided to leave at about 3 today because i was so tired of walking around the con with nothing to doI was kinda of freaked out about the number of homeless people congregating around the hilton. i think that all the benches in the back entrance was covered in homeless.....ness....thing-word-that-would-finish-this and they were a little rude about it. i know they are just trying to get some money, but it's a little annoying trying to get through fellow cospalyers, only to again try to get through homelesss people.i know my boyfriend and i had the same issues we were freaked out actually. another issue we had was some religious guys handing out fliers and they wouldnt take no for an answer.
I have to admit I had a bit issue with the sheer amount of out-of-control and just plain RUDE unaccompanied minors. No offense to those in the under-18 crowd who know how to act like civil human beings, but a lot of the younger crowd seemed to be doing absoutely EVERYTHING they could to give us all a bad name. It got so frustrating that I found myself muttering "fricking Yellow Badges..." with disdain.
A few things witnessed:
- Young kids making out and exploring their sexuality on the sidewalks in front to the hotel.
- Young kids sprawled out on the sidewalk like beached whales. My friend politely said, "excuse me, we're walking here..." and they rudely said "yeah, you DO that", did not care AT ALL that they were blocking the way on the already crowded sidewalks.
- Young kids screaming obscenities at other con-goers as well as people in public
- Young kids riding the elevators, pushing every button and snapping pictures of people whenever the doors opened on a floor.
- Young kids running around asking for hugs and dancing on people (when asked to stop, they did not)
- Young kids screaming about rape in public in front of non-convention goers.
Did anyone else feel like this year's con was over-run with out-of-control preteens with no consideration for others? It was very frustrating.
words
words
Any guess as to what the viability would be on splitting the con into two parts next year; a <=15 oriented k-con and then a >=16 k-con? It would certainly maintain the cash flow needed to pay off the junk-debt of this Hilton, permit to hunt for a second place and then make the transition for the year after. The net traffic in one would be reduced considerably so the congestion would be moot.
I have to say, the con was mainly terrible due to hotel staff. Everyone I talked to that was part of the convention staff was so apologetic, but the hotel staff was rude, obnoxious, and even tried kicking me out of the con because I stood up for myself saying that if I paid hundreds of dollars to stay in their hotel, that the lobby should not be considered an 18+ event due to the fact that you do not need a badge to sit in the lobby. Every other KumoriCon I've been to, the hotel staff has been extremely nice and realized that fact. I have even stayed in the lobby all night once, and they didn't say a peep about it- even asking us if we were doing alright and if there were any problems with our rooms.
I wouldn't exactly consider it terrible, due to the fact that everyone on the con staff was very helpful and very apologetic, but there were just a few things that set me off. There were an abundance of underage kids that were smoking(and although I am sixteen and I do smoke, it is technically legal for me to have a cigarette- just not carry them with me. Well, at least in Washington.), intoxicated, and shouting terrible things to people. That, and everyone was blocking the sidewalks. People do need to get by, and if you want to smoke, there is even three more sidewalks around the hotel! Crazy, huh?! You don't all need to crowd around one entrance! That's why there are multiple!.
Oh- and I would like to point out to people that the ice/soda rooms on each floor ARE NOT MEANT FOR SEXING UP. They had a sign saying the service elevator wasn't for attendees? Yeah- please next year put one that says "Attendees must not feel each other up in this room." I was going for a soda, and did not like what I saw while people were "getting ice".
I wouldn't exactly consider it terrible, due to the fact that everyone on the con staff was very helpful and very apologetic, but there were just a few things that set me off. There were an abundance of underage kids that were smoking(and although I am sixteen and I do smoke, it is technically legal for me to have a cigarette- just not carry them with me. Well, at least in Washington.), intoxicated, and shouting terrible things to people. That, and everyone was blocking the sidewalks. People do need to get by, and if you want to smoke, there is even three more sidewalks around the hotel! Crazy, huh?! You don't all need to crowd around one entrance! That's why there are multiple!.
This is what the Youji at the elevator were counting off. They were taking into consideration people getting on at other floors, and costume sizes.rationing the elevators (counting off seven people per car)
Loved and agreed with the entirety of your response. (^_^)
Out of curiosity, do you know by any chance how the figure of seven came about? If you took the biggest seven people I saw all weekend, they couldn't have broken 2000# by much (if at all). Let alone the 3000# the elevators were supposed to be rated for.
Well, Gatamon02, I did post quite a few suggestions quite a few times in this thread. I havn't been tearing apart this con but I've been sharing my concerns over all the issues it had and I did give a large post of some things that could be done to make it better if it must be in the same building next year. I'm just hoping my ideas are helpful and heard. I would have been at the rant and rave but I was feeling sick, the fan in my costume head lost it's switch so it stopped working, so I sadly wasn't able to attend. This is the best I can do now, sadly...I actually recommend to all of you to please go back through your posts where you have your ideas and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Copy and paste to a word document and e-mail them to the con staff.
Those were not Police officers, that was hotel security. As for the leering go read the 10 CON-mandments http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11105.0
5 ) Thou shalt not be offended when locals whistle at the Felicia outfit. Thou chose to walk down Main Street (err SW Taylor st) in it.
I actually recommend to all of you to please go back through your posts where you have your ideas and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Copy and paste to a word document and e-mail them to the con staff.
Those were not Police officers, that was hotel security. As for the leering go read the 10 CON-mandments http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11105.0
5 ) Thou shalt not be offended when locals whistle at the Felicia outfit. Thou chose to walk down Main Street (err SW Taylor st) in it.
Off the hotel premises at 1AM in a jacket that read "PDX Police" on it? Fairly sure that was a police officer. And yeah, I read the CON-mandments as suggesting you not be /offended/ not that you not feel physically threatened by men twice your size. And that is also suggesting you are wearing a promiscuous-looking costume, whereas I noted that I was wearing something extremely tame. This has absolutely nothing to do with me being insulted and everything to do with us needing to make sure the area around the Con is safe for us smaller con-goers.
I have noticed a lot of hating on homeless people but I'd like to say I only had experiences with mostly harmless homeless people. The people who really messed with me were all non-convention adult men, generally of the drunk variety.
And similar to the request for "anti-con" people to stop quoting people and typing "THAT" I'd really like it if "pro-con" people would stop regurgitating the "If you don't like it go to Rant & Rave and/or become a staffer." Anyone who has been on this thread has heard that at least once by now and it is totally unhelpful. Somebody previously noted that there were 750 people at the R&R which was the fire-martial limit, so obviously not everybody who was interested could have gone. And those numbers kind of hurt the implied "you people are lazy and not contributing to our convention anyway" argument. And anybody who does not live in PDX doesn't really have the option of being a staffer.I actually recommend to all of you to please go back through your posts where you have your ideas and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Copy and paste to a word document and e-mail them to the con staff.
Is there a specific person/email address that we should send this to?
Those were not Police officers, that was hotel security. As for the leering go read the 10 CON-mandments http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11105.0
5 ) Thou shalt not be offended when locals whistle at the Felicia outfit. Thou chose to walk down Main Street (err SW Taylor st) in it.
Off the hotel premises at 1AM in a jacket that read "PDX Police" on it? Fairly sure that was a police officer. And yeah, I read the CON-mandments as suggesting you not be /offended/ not that you not feel physically threatened by men twice your size. And that is also suggesting you are wearing a promiscuous-looking costume, whereas I noted that I was wearing something extremely tame. This has absolutely nothing to do with me being insulted and everything to do with us needing to make sure the area around the Con is safe for us smaller con-goers.
I have noticed a lot of hating on homeless people but I'd like to say I only had experiences with mostly harmless homeless people. The people who really messed with me were all non-convention adult men, generally of the drunk variety.
And similar to the request for "anti-con" people to stop quoting people and typing "THAT" I'd really like it if "pro-con" people would stop regurgitating the "If you don't like it go to Rant & Rave and/or become a staffer." Anyone who has been on this thread has heard that at least once by now and it is totally unhelpful. Somebody previously noted that there were 750 people at the R&R which was the fire-martial limit, so obviously not everybody who was interested could have gone. And those numbers kind of hurt the implied "you people are lazy and not contributing to our convention anyway" argument. And anybody who does not live in PDX doesn't really have the option of being a staffer.I actually recommend to all of you to please go back through your posts where you have your ideas and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Copy and paste to a word document and e-mail them to the con staff.
Is there a specific person/email address that we should send this to?
And similar to the request for "anti-con" people to stop quoting people and typing "THAT" I'd really like it if "pro-con" people would stop regurgitating the "If you don't like it go to Rant & Rave and/or become a staffer." Anyone who has been on this thread has heard that at least once by now and it is totally unhelpful. Somebody previously noted that there were 750 people at the R&R which was the fire-martial limit, so obviously not everybody who was interested could have gone. And those numbers kind of hurt the implied "you people are lazy and not contributing to our convention anyway" argument.
Rant and Rave. They answered all questions. Even went over their scheduled time because of how many issues there were. That was with a very small amount of people in it too. Think what it would have been like should that room have been filled to the brim with all 750 max occupants.
All of the problems I had were with the hotel, staff (not our wonderful kumo staff) and the actual building.
The staff of the hotel was rude, and disrespectful. They thought for some strange reason that the normal hotel guests were more important than us. We paid too.
Another was that the building was just too hard to navigate. I had issues making it from point A to point B, and my timing (as always) would have been terrible without me getting lost.
My last thing is, my bag got stolen. I left the convention crying because in that bag was my Renge cosplay, wig, and a few chibi dolls. I put a lot of love in to those things, and it was not ok for whoever stole it to steal it. If it wasn't for my great friends (thanks Cloudy, Demony, Megan, Bri, Teddy, Ari, Konan, Mikki, Griff, Mini-man, Sahara, Coleen my roomies, and anyone I forgot) I would never want to come back.
Rant and Rave. They answered all questions. Even went over their scheduled time because of how many issues there were. That was with a very small amount of people in it too. Think what it would have been like should that room have been filled to the brim with all 750 max occupants.
I have a request for every one. I think every subject has been covered by now.
SO CAN WE PLEASE STOP BASHING THE CON
instead try to think of ways to improve it for next year or by volunteering yo improve it
THANK YOU
just gonna toss one little thing out here.
for all those who had issues with the staff and felt we could have done better .. Join Us.
help us do better. help us make the convention all it can be.
just gonna toss one little thing out here.I would love to.
for all those who had issues with the staff and felt we could have done better .. Join Us.
help us do better. help us make the convention all it can be.
Rant and Rave. They answered all questions. Even went over their scheduled time because of how many issues there were. That was with a very small amount of people in it too. Think what it would have been like should that room have been filled to the brim with all 750 max occupants.
Oh well, I guess I was wrong on both accounts. My actual point was we had all heard that advice by now and it wasn't contributing to the discussion. Similar to this post:I have a request for every one. I think every subject has been covered by now.
SO CAN WE PLEASE STOP BASHING THE CON
instead try to think of ways to improve it for next year or by volunteering yo improve it
THANK YOU
Yes, please if you do not want to listen to us critiquing something that many of us believe was not up to standards, just stop reading this thread. It says that that's what we're doing in the title of the thread itself.
I think now is the absolute worst time for us to stop talking about it: a lot of people have either decided "the con was great and everybody else is crazy" or "it was awful and I'm not coming back next year". We need to start talking about how we can improve and what the staff should be focusing on.
Personally, I am still very upset that we will be in the Hilton again. I do not feel that it's conducive to our convention and the two actually important issues: overcrowded-ness and the general unsafeness of downtown after dark, have mostly been shrugged at by the staff as well as pretty much everyone else. Sure, there were a lot of "rambunctious teenagers" and "smokers clogging the sidewalk" but if something really bad were to happen next year, at this point I wouldn't be incredibly surprised. I agree that these are issues that are going to be hard to solve, so I feel that we should be talking about them right now.
Rant and Rave. They answered all questions. Even went over their scheduled time because of how many issues there were. That was with a very small amount of people in it too. Think what it would have been like should that room have been filled to the brim with all 750 max occupants.
Oh well, I guess I was wrong on both accounts. My actual point was we had all heard that advice by now and it wasn't contributing to the discussion. Similar to this post:I have a request for every one. I think every subject has been covered by now.
SO CAN WE PLEASE STOP BASHING THE CON
instead try to think of ways to improve it for next year or by volunteering yo improve it
THANK YOU
Yes, please if you do not want to listen to us critiquing something that many of us believe was not up to standards, just stop reading this thread. It says that that's what we're doing in the title of the thread itself.
I think now is the absolute worst time for us to stop talking about it: a lot of people have either decided "the con was great and everybody else is crazy" or "it was awful and I'm not coming back next year". We need to start talking about how we can improve and what the staff should be focusing on.
Personally, I am still very upset that we will be in the Hilton again. I do not feel that it's conducive to our convention and the two actually important issues: overcrowded-ness and the general unsafeness of downtown after dark, have mostly been shrugged at by the staff as well as pretty much everyone else. Sure, there were a lot of "rambunctious teenagers" and "smokers clogging the sidewalk" but if something really bad were to happen next year, at this point I wouldn't be incredibly surprised. I agree that these are issues that are going to be hard to solve, so I feel that we should be talking about them right now.
Actually, part of me is glad it will be at the hilton again, mainly because we (staff) know where to fix the mistakes we made, at the same time, I'm horribly depressed its at the hilton again because of the size of rooms and everything.
Rant and Rave. They answered all questions. Even went over their scheduled time because of how many issues there were. That was with a very small amount of people in it too. Think what it would have been like should that room have been filled to the brim with all 750 max occupants.
Oh well, I guess I was wrong on both accounts. My actual point was we had all heard that advice by now and it wasn't contributing to the discussion. Similar to this post:I have a request for every one. I think every subject has been covered by now.
SO CAN WE PLEASE STOP BASHING THE CON
instead try to think of ways to improve it for next year or by volunteering yo improve it
THANK YOU
Yes, please if you do not want to listen to us critiquing something that many of us believe was not up to standards, just stop reading this thread. It says that that's what we're doing in the title of the thread itself.
I think now is the absolute worst time for us to stop talking about it: a lot of people have either decided "the con was great and everybody else is crazy" or "it was awful and I'm not coming back next year". We need to start talking about how we can improve and what the staff should be focusing on.
Personally, I am still very upset that we will be in the Hilton again. I do not feel that it's conducive to our convention and the two actually important issues: overcrowded-ness and the general unsafeness of downtown after dark, have mostly been shrugged at by the staff as well as pretty much everyone else. Sure, there were a lot of "rambunctious teenagers" and "smokers clogging the sidewalk" but if something really bad were to happen next year, at this point I wouldn't be incredibly surprised. I agree that these are issues that are going to be hard to solve, so I feel that we should be talking about them right now.
Actually, part of me is glad it will be at the hilton again, mainly because we (staff) know where to fix the mistakes we made, at the same time, I'm horribly depressed its at the hilton again because of the size of rooms and everything.
I'm not sure who's side I should take. One of the big issues I brought up was just the overall difficult-ness of moving about in it. My suggestions to make this easier:
- Pass out a map, and label everything, what floor they're on, and other things of that sort. There were maps in the con book and in the schedule, and everything in the schedule was labelled. Whenever I needed one, since I lost mine, I just asked someone else that had a blue bag if I could see theirs. You could've probably also found another one lying somewhere, or up by the reg table.
- Another is to have them turn on the friggen escalators, it was super hard to maneuver without them actually on. They were turned off for safety reasons; people with huge dresses, weird shoes and such dragging on the floor could've easily been caught in escalators.
- signs EVERYWHERE. There were not enough signs, I could not find anything. Yeah, they would've been very helpful... Or more maps posted around on the walls.
- You should tell the Hilton to tell normal people that we're coming. I was flabbergasted when people were not warned pre-con.
- Staff should be positioned everywhere. If you can't find the karaoke room, they should be there to help. There were plenty of staff/yoji/maids around to help, you just had to look for them. Remember that the staff is mostly volunteers (if not all) and they're pretty short-handed.
On the same point, the Hilton staff should be informed of what we will be calling everything. They were already everywhere, they just had no clue what I was talking about when I said I was looking for panel room 2.
Another point:
The rooms WERE tiny, but this year we're pre warned. Added to that, you should tell the con goers that the executive tower is another building. I had no idea. Don't the rooms have the dimensions on the hilton website? If not, you could've called ahead. And it's labelled in the maps that the executive tower was in another building. It says above the floormap of it, "Across 6th and Taylor from the Lobby", and it also shows those streets on the map.
I'm not sure who's side I should take. One of the big issues I brought up was just the overall difficult-ness of moving about in it. My suggestions to make this easier:
- Pass out a map, and label everything, what floor they're on, and other things of that sort.
- Another is to have them turn on the friggen escalators, it was super hard to maneuver without them actually on.
- signs EVERYWHERE. There were not enough signs, I could not find anything.
- You should tell the Hilton to tell normal people that we're coming. I was flabbergasted when people were not warned pre-con.
- Staff should be positioned everywhere. If you can't find the karaoke room, they should be there to help.
On the same point, the Hilton staff should be informed of what we will be calling everything. They were already everywhere, they just had no clue what I was talking about when I said I was looking for panel room 2.
Another point:
The rooms WERE tiny, but this year we're pre warned. Added to that, you should tell the con goers that the executive tower is another building. I had no idea.
I agree about the posts on lack of maturity a few pages back.
You lost the game, good for you, just don't scream it at me.
I'm not sure who's side I should take. One of the big issues I brought up was just the overall difficult-ness of moving about in it. My suggestions to make this easier:
- Pass out a map, and label everything, what floor they're on, and other things of that sort. There were maps in the con book and in the schedule, and everything in the schedule was labelled. Whenever I needed one, since I lost mine, I just asked someone else that had a blue bag if I could see theirs. You could've probably also found another one lying somewhere, or up by the reg table.
- Another is to have them turn on the friggen escalators, it was super hard to maneuver without them actually on. They were turned off for safety reasons; people with huge dresses, weird shoes and such dragging on the floor could've easily been caught in escalators.
- signs EVERYWHERE. There were not enough signs, I could not find anything. Yeah, they would've been very helpful... Or more maps posted around on the walls.
- You should tell the Hilton to tell normal people that we're coming. I was flabbergasted when people were not warned pre-con.
- Staff should be positioned everywhere. If you can't find the karaoke room, they should be there to help. There were plenty of staff/yoji/maids around to help, you just had to look for them. Remember that the staff is mostly volunteers (if not all) and they're pretty short-handed.
On the same point, the Hilton staff should be informed of what we will be calling everything. They were already everywhere, they just had no clue what I was talking about when I said I was looking for panel room 2.
Another point:
The rooms WERE tiny, but this year we're pre warned. Added to that, you should tell the con goers that the executive tower is another building. I had no idea. Don't the rooms have the dimensions on the hilton website? If not, you could've called ahead. And it's labelled in the maps that the executive tower was in another building. It says above the floormap of it, "Across 6th and Taylor from the Lobby", and it also shows those streets on the map.
As for the rooms, i stayed in the executive tower it was only $10 more a night. When you reserved your room you had the choice to choose which hotel to be in. I was on the 20th floor with an enormous room, a bath room half the size of the room, a large desk, a big 42" HDTV, and one hell of a view.
- Pass out a map, and label everything, what floor they're on, and other things of that sort.The maps were past out, it was on the second page of the small handout, and at the info booth
...
- signs EVERYWHERE. There were not enough signs, I could not find anything.
...
Signs, I fully agree, and mentioned it to the K-con operations staff while at the con.
Marco Polo was put together by a small group of people wanting to cause havoc on the last day to annoy the hotel staff. Someone approached me and told me I should get involved. I told them I didn't think it was a good idea, and that that wasn't the way to handle things. Returning rude behavior with rude behavior isn't the right thing to do.
Fighting fire with fire just makes a bigger fire.
Marco Polo was put together by a small group of people wanting to cause havoc on the last day to annoy the hotel staff. Someone approached me and told me I should get involved. I told them I didn't think it was a good idea, and that that wasn't the way to handle things. Returning rude behavior with rude behavior isn't the right thing to do.
~Just an idea, and I'd even be happy to help do it - what about not only signs / arrows, but also "You Are Here" maps in strategic locations?
I never could figure out why we were not allowed to walk from the lobby to the escalators without going up that short escalator down the stairs on the other side and around from the other side. I never saw it explained in this thread either. Why couldn't we exit to the parking garage where the escalators stopped?
Am I the only one who felt sorry for Cynthia Martinez? I attended both of her panels, and I don't think more than 30 people showed up for either of them. Maybe not even 20. COME ON PEOPLE, WHY DO YOU WANT A VOICE ACTOR GUEST TO COME HERE IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO GO SEE HER! I went out into the registration area outside panel 2 and there where probably 80 people just loitering there. I said Cynthia is in there talking right now anyone want to go see her? They said, who is that, I said the voice of Lina Inverse from Slayers, Sora for Kaleido Star, Poemy from Puny Poni Poemy, Hermes from Kinos Journey. You know one of the Guests for the con. About 8 of them trampled me in the rush to enter the room. Maybe it shouldn't have been called meet Cynthia or Q&A with Cynthia But meet the VA's or something similar instead. For the few who did attend, she was a blast! There are YouTube links to her panel at K-Con here: (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PaladinCecil&view=videos&start=20)
I have a request for every one. I think every subject has been covered by now.
SO CAN WE PLEASE STOP BASHING THE CON
instead try to think of ways to improve it for next year or by volunteering yo improve it
THANK YOU
During the rant and rave it was asked why we cant use a convention center, the reason for that is a couple of things, a major one is, having a decent sized hotel nearby to hold all the con goers. would you want to walk 20 blocks in a giant costume? or take the max in it amongst non con-goers who want to touch it, or crowd you in.
Maybe if a counter is put up on the pre-registration numbers, it might bring up the numbers faster.
Think about this- On the front page of the kumoricon website it says something like this:
Registered- 5,426/8,000
Help us reach 8,000 so we can have kumoricon at the Oregon Convention Center!!
If you try to ban something like that then you'll get a crap load of pissed of attendees.
Signing, shouting, and what not while waiting in lines are what make line waiting fun, infact, it's the random stuff other atendees do that actually make the con for me. It will seem like your trying to make them stand in a neat little line like 5th graders, and quietly wait to get into an event.
I really do look forward to the day Kumoricon gets to be in a big place like that. I'm sure with better initiative to make it happen, it will! It's up to everyone to work together for a better Kumoricon <3QuoteMaybe if a counter is put up on the pre-registration numbers, it might bring up the numbers faster.
Think about this- On the front page of the kumoricon website it says something like this:
Registered- 5,426/8,000
Help us reach 8,000 so we can have kumoricon at the Oregon Convention Center!!
I think that is a FABULOUS idea. I agree that there are plenty of hotels close enough to the convention center to work just fine. That convention center is beautiful and roomy inside and I think that once we reach the size needed it would be a great and comfortable fit. So much room for photo shoots inside out of the rain, and good lighting for them too! <3
Either way, I am going to go warn staff of the restaurants by the hilton next year (unless K-staff is already planning to do that) before kumoricon. I felt so bad for the subway people running out of bread and not having enough staff scheduled to cover our rushes. ;)
I know I'm posting a lot but I find it kind of sad that some people say the only way to help is to stay for the Rant and Rave or Join the K-con Staff...
And that's not fair or right. I think everyone involved in K-con, attending, volunteering, selling, whatever, has every right to share their opinons and should be regarded and thought about as legitimate suggestions. Not everyone coudl attend the rant and rave, like me. I was feeling sick and my costume was making me overheat so I had to go home early on monday. And I can't join the staff, as much as I'd like to help, I can't handle stress well like some people and I had other plans for things I want to do at the con because I love workshops, panels, and events and I love to perform in skits. (sadly this year I wasn't able to because our group wound up losing a lot of people.. Next year will hopefully go better)
So not everyone has the option to join or desire to join the staff, and not everyone could make it to rant and rave, but that doesn't mean they don't want to help.
Sorry for the little rant, but I really wanted to make that point to those who keep saying to join, go to the rant, or shut up.
Not all of us are old enough to join staff, though.I know I'm posting a lot but I find it kind of sad that some people say the only way to help is to stay for the Rant and Rave or Join the K-con Staff...
And that's not fair or right. I think everyone involved in K-con, attending, volunteering, selling, whatever, has every right to share their opinons and should be regarded and thought about as legitimate suggestions. Not everyone coudl attend the rant and rave, like me. I was feeling sick and my costume was making me overheat so I had to go home early on monday. And I can't join the staff, as much as I'd like to help, I can't handle stress well like some people and I had other plans for things I want to do at the con because I love workshops, panels, and events and I love to perform in skits. (sadly this year I wasn't able to because our group wound up losing a lot of people.. Next year will hopefully go better)
So not everyone has the option to join or desire to join the staff, and not everyone could make it to rant and rave, but that doesn't mean they don't want to help.
Sorry for the little rant, but I really wanted to make that point to those who keep saying to join, go to the rant, or shut up.
If I am thinking properly, its not that the board is against people sharing their ideas and stuff like that, but its that everyone wants all of these changes, but the staff that is on hand makes it hard for them to actually come to fruition.
Now you say you can't be staff, I'm curious why you can't be, unless its the thing about stress, and really, depending on where you're working, there isn't so much stress as there is just being tired. I worked nearly 60 hours during the 2 and a half days of con, and I really didn't get stressed, but I did get a bit tired, then staff pres saved me several times ^_^
The other personal RnR that I have is the whole thing with photo staff. I mean cmon you guys, I was told that there were three people on photo staff, 4 if you include Jawni. If someone comes up to you saying they want to join you and help out doing photos, don’t go and tell them “you’re full”. Yeah there are 3 spots, but no one is being paid for this. Its free work and free publicity, I severely doubt you are bound by some policy of 3 people max, also being told that you picked people without any like portfolio type proof made me a bit salty too. If it was a misunderstanding on that part, then my apologies.
You only have to be 16 to be staff.
And if you aren't old enough for staff, or can only spare a couple of hours any given day, there is always volunteering. Even if you are only able to sit at Info Booth and help answer questions, or watch a viewing room for a couple of hours... every little bit of time you can spare helps us.
The other personal RnR that I have is the whole thing with photo staff. I mean cmon you guys, I was told that there were three people on photo staff, 4 if you include Jawni. If someone comes up to you saying they want to join you and help out doing photos, don’t go and tell them “you’re full”. Yeah there are 3 spots, but no one is being paid for this. Its free work and free publicity, I severely doubt you are bound by some policy of 3 people max, also being told that you picked people without any like portfolio type proof made me a bit salty too. If it was a misunderstanding on that part, then my apologies.
Actually, it is official board policy (a motion passed and voted on by the board) to limit staff positions, except a few specific ones which are in the "as many as we can get" category, to a specific number. People were approved for the position early based on the lack of demand for the position in previous years. I had already decided before speaking with you to recommend to the next director to make this an application-based position, and not to fill it until close to the con so we can have the most fair application process. But until then, I cannot take the position from people for whom it had been approved, as that would not be fair to those people.
Again I made clear to you that you were free to take photos in general attendance areas. Every year, we have many attendees who offer free use of their photos to the convention, who get (and ask for) no reward for this. Honestly, that fact has made me question whether to keep a position dedicated to Photography Staff at all (though that decision would be made by next year's director). Your request was for special access to the VIP dinner, where, as it turns out, we decided not to have any photos taken either by photography staff, press, or anyone else.
- Portland Ballroom: 35,000 square feet/divisible into eight sections with a 16,000-square-foot lobby
- Oregon Ballroom: 25,000 square feet/divisible into four sections that are perfect for large breakouts
- 255,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space with drive-in access from three street-level entries
- 50 meeting rooms with 18-foot ceilings and individualized lighting sets
- Lobbies and public spaces adorned with $2 million in artwork
- Two VIP Suites overlooking their respective exhibit halls
- U.S. Green Building Council LEED-EB Silver certified
- High-speed Internet and Wi-Fi connections throughout
- Concessions that serve both the exhibit halls and lobbies
- Two Starbucks on-site
- Award-winning customer service
- Competitive prices
(and prolly also twice the price.... :( )
~Allykat
@ Rathany:
Good point. I wish we could find out just how Sak gets such good deals on their rooms from competing hotels...
In a perfect world I'd imagine the conversation to go like this;
"Hello (insert hotel name here) manager! My name is (insert conrep name here) and I am calling to inform you
and discuss with you our organizations up-coming event for the 2010 convention year. We are a large fan-based
convention in need of rooms to accomodate our projected 10,000+ attendants. We are looking to all the hotel's
in the area to find out what kind of rate promotions we can offer to our guests to encourage them to stay at
your location, which is conveniently placed near the convention space. How competitive a rate can you provide us
with in order to get you sold out for that weekend?"
Hotel's love not having to worry about vacant rooms, and recognize competition. If we can get them to compete with
eachothers rates maybe we can get similar rates. Just because we aren't using there meeting space may not always
play against our favor.
~Allykat
At this point I am half tempted to schedule a special Kcon meeting called "Dawn explains hotels, room blocks and park access"If I didn't live 8,000 miles away from Portland, I would very much like to go to something like that.
At this point I am half tempted to schedule a special Kcon meeting called "Dawn explains hotels, room blocks and park access"
Has anyone thought of perhaps some kind of online stream? I'm just throwing this out there because I'm going to be straight up honest...the "con meetings" are terrible. The fact that a 20 minute youtube video can be uploaded and basically explains the ENTIRE meeting really does not make me want to spend the money and gas to go to such meetings that are outside of my city.
But online streaming can be a viable option with things like ustream and what not
I can't handle being relied on by a lot of people, I get panic attacks and asthma when I feel pressured and I start going into coughing fits. I had a panic attack nearly from just the crowding on the first day, for crying out loud >__>;I know I'm posting a lot but I find it kind of sad that some people say the only way to help is to stay for the Rant and Rave or Join the K-con Staff...
And that's not fair or right. I think everyone involved in K-con, attending, volunteering, selling, whatever, has every right to share their opinons and should be regarded and thought about as legitimate suggestions. Not everyone coudl attend the rant and rave, like me. I was feeling sick and my costume was making me overheat so I had to go home early on monday. And I can't join the staff, as much as I'd like to help, I can't handle stress well like some people and I had other plans for things I want to do at the con because I love workshops, panels, and events and I love to perform in skits. (sadly this year I wasn't able to because our group wound up losing a lot of people.. Next year will hopefully go better)
So not everyone has the option to join or desire to join the staff, and not everyone could make it to rant and rave, but that doesn't mean they don't want to help.
Sorry for the little rant, but I really wanted to make that point to those who keep saying to join, go to the rant, or shut up.
If I am thinking properly, its not that the board is against people sharing their ideas and stuff like that, but its that everyone wants all of these changes, but the staff that is on hand makes it hard for them to actually come to fruition.
Now you say you can't be staff, I'm curious why you can't be, unless its the thing about stress, and really, depending on where you're working, there isn't so much stress as there is just being tired. I worked nearly 60 hours during the 2 and a half days of con, and I really didn't get stressed, but I did get a bit tired, then staff pres saved me several times ^_^
Has anyone thought of perhaps some kind of online stream? I'm just throwing this out there because I'm going to be straight up honest...the "con meetings" are terrible. The fact that a 20 minute youtube video can be uploaded and basically explains the ENTIRE meeting really does not make me want to spend the money and gas to go to such meetings that are outside of my city.
But online streaming can be a viable option with things like ustream and what not
We tried Skype last year. We often had techinical problems with it and only ONE person ever tried to Skype into our meetings. Detailed minutes are posted by our handsome Secretary.
Since they are missing the point of the room block=money for con.At least North America has hotel based venues that are able to host medium-large scale conventions.
Has anyone thought of perhaps some kind of online stream? I'm just throwing this out there because I'm going to be straight up honest...the "con meetings" are terrible. The fact that a 20 minute youtube video can be uploaded and basically explains the ENTIRE meeting really does not make me want to spend the money and gas to go to such meetings that are outside of my city.
But online streaming can be a viable option with things like ustream and what not
We tried Skype last year. We often had techinical problems with it and only ONE person ever tried to Skype into our meetings. Detailed minutes are posted by our handsome Secretary.
Not Skype. Ustream. Just so that people can actually see it and watch it.
Has anyone thought of perhaps some kind of online stream? I'm just throwing this out there because I'm going to be straight up honest...the "con meetings" are terrible. The fact that a 20 minute youtube video can be uploaded and basically explains the ENTIRE meeting really does not make me want to spend the money and gas to go to such meetings that are outside of my city.
But online streaming can be a viable option with things like ustream and what not
We tried Skype last year. We often had techinical problems with it and only ONE person ever tried to Skype into our meetings. Detailed minutes are posted by our handsome Secretary.
Not Skype. Ustream. Just so that people can actually see it and watch it.
Ok - What equipment, subscription costs and tech expertise would be needed for this? It would have to be run by people who commit to coming to every single meeting early and having it set up on time.
We tried to find people to be General Meeting Tech Staff last year and never found a single willing person. What tech there is is done by the execs.
There should have been more signs. WAY more signs. And the hotel layout map should have been part of the schedule book.
Has anyone thought of perhaps some kind of online stream? I'm just throwing this out there because I'm going to be straight up honest...the "con meetings" are terrible. The fact that a 20 minute youtube video can be uploaded and basically explains the ENTIRE meeting really does not make me want to spend the money and gas to go to such meetings that are outside of my city.
But online streaming can be a viable option with things like ustream and what not
We tried Skype last year. We often had techinical problems with it and only ONE person ever tried to Skype into our meetings. Detailed minutes are posted by our handsome Secretary.
Not Skype. Ustream. Just so that people can actually see it and watch it.
Ok - What equipment, subscription costs and tech expertise would be needed for this? It would have to be run by people who commit to coming to every single meeting early and having it set up on time.
We tried to find people to be General Meeting Tech Staff last year and never found a single willing person. What tech there is is done by the execs.
Webcam. Thats it lol. Well..sound is usually nice too :-p
But ustream tv is pretty much the big name in things now, that and justin tv
I got a great response about why the convention can't split into two for next year for age group centric things, but how about this:I can think of so many reasons why that wouldn't work. Adding another day without the staff to support it is just one of them.
Given that the con is stuck at the Hilton, and the lack of space for everyone is non existant, what about stretching the days the con runs out a bit further and then weigh out age-group oriented content for crowd control. So, for the sake of argument, say Day 1 starts on Saturday. Saturday is all emphasized for the really young group. All of the viewing rooms, panels and such are targeted at this group. Sunday is setup to be about 50% kiddie, and then the other is the teen group. Monday becomes 1/2 early teen content and 1/2 mature teen (hahahahah) content, finally Tuesday would be 1/2 mature teen and then adult/18+ content.
Sell two flavors of badges. The K badge would be valid for Sat/Sun, the G(eneral) badge would be valid Sun/Mon and the last badge would be S(uper/whatever) Monday/tuesday.
1. Keeps it in a single weekend.
2. Manages crowd & flow control
3. Keeps scheduling more relaxed
4. Makes the Yojimbo's job easier since the badge criteria is far more simple.
5. Deals with being at the same hotel again.
I got a great response about why the convention can't split into two for next year for age group centric things, but how about this:
Given that the con is stuck at the Hilton, and the lack of space for everyone is non existant, what about stretching the days the con runs out a bit further and then weigh out age-group oriented content for crowd control. So, for the sake of argument, say Day 1 starts on Saturday. Saturday is all emphasized for the really young group. All of the viewing rooms, panels and such are targeted at this group. Sunday is setup to be about 50% kiddie, and then the other is the teen group. Monday becomes 1/2 early teen content and 1/2 mature teen (hahahahah) content, finally Tuesday would be 1/2 mature teen and then adult/18+ content.
Sell two flavors of badges. The K badge would be valid for Sat/Sun, the G(eneral) badge would be valid Sun/Mon and the last badge would be S(uper/whatever) Monday/tuesday.
1. Keeps it in a single weekend.
2. Manages crowd & flow control
3. Keeps scheduling more relaxed
4. Makes the Yojimbo's job easier since the badge criteria is far more simple.
5. Deals with being at the same hotel again.
The park blocks; 5 full city blocks of lush, green parks, were a block and a half south and west, in that order. Lowns Dale Square was 2 block east and 1 block south. Neighboring that, Chapman Square. 6 blocks east, the expansive and Beautiful Portland Waterfront Park. The area you're referring to is Pioneer Courthouse square, which is a fantastic location to hang out, relax, and socialize.
- Unlike in some recent years, there was no nearby park (that concrete/brick open area does not classify as a park!) within convenient distance. Due to this, most of the con-goers were loitering on the sidewalks and blocking entrances, which the hotel staff voiced their problems with often.
The biggest problem is that many people don't want to buy multiple badges. Everyone I know buys the full badge, so they can attend all three days. Only being able to attend 2 would mean buying 2 badges (one for Sat/Sun, and one for Mon/Tues) and that would get costly.
In support of keeping it in one weekend, many people can only go because it's Labor Day weekend and a national holiday. People have jobs, especially people in my age group, and we can't miss work for a convention.
I don't really know if this is the place to post this, but I'm more than willing to throw my hat into the ring for director of photography for next years K-con. It A) guarantees me returning, as I'm sure many people are happy that I would be, and B) I do this at school. I run the layout, design and pretty much the photography aspect for my paper so I know what I'm doing.
- Navigation was more challenging than in recent years. Myself and several people I spoke to were having a hard time locating events, panels, and rooms. Between the ballroom level, 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor, kareoke floor, and the executive tower, it was difficult to find anything!
- One or two events got moved without the pocket guides being updated! I tried to find something in the creation station and even the staff member I talked to didn't know that it had been moved from the 3rd floor to the executive tower! So I missed the event... I understand the website had updates, but that didn't help me when I was walking around K-con and there was no signage.
Ticketed Events:
- Yes, this cuts down wait time and line congestion
- I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone on where to get tickets!
- By the time I did get to the booth for tickets, they were out of the ones I wanted!
- I feel bad for people who don't attend the first day and/or don't attend early mornings, because they probably didn't get any tickets either
- I overheard many people talking about similar problems that I had!
- Although the concept is cool, it severaly limits fun activities when you don't have the ability to get the tickets ahead of time.
- I don't know what was going on with the photobooth, but my group waited in line around 60 minutes and still didn't make it to the front of the line! The hallway was hot from lack of AC, narrow, and there were some people in front of us saying they'd been waiting quite a bit longer than us. We got so frustrated, we left and never did get a photo.
- Events (that weren't ticketed) were badly scheduled and lacking in variety. Several times, my group could either not find the event we wanted to attend or there were no events that weren't full. Most of the time, we ended up just sitting around and waiting for an event.
The intent is that the purchaser of one particular badge won't get anything out of buying another badge. They buy the one badge that covers the days of relevant content. Would you rather have one-and-a-half days of full content that you're interested in, or would you instead have that same content spread out over 3 days? You're getting the same core content in either case. Maybe break it out into two badge classes and weigh it appropriately.
The intent is that the purchaser of one particular badge won't get anything out of buying another badge. They buy the one badge that covers the days of relevant content. Would you rather have one-and-a-half days of full content that you're interested in, or would you instead have that same content spread out over 3 days? You're getting the same core content in either case. Maybe break it out into two badge classes and weigh it appropriately.
Honestly, I thought this idea would be immediately rejected so I'm just now weighing in on it. I personally would be very very displeased if I were paying the same price (or more, considering badge price usually increases each year) for literally half the convention. In fact, for people like me who will have to commute from somewhere else to go to Kurmoricon, I'm positive I wouldn't think 1.5 days were worth the trouble.
But those are both personal problems. The big one I see is how do you decide what is/isn't content for a specific age group. I bet if you did careful statistical analysis you'd find that things like the Cosplay, AMV, and Cosplay Chess Contests were all pretty split amongst demographics. If you decide that they're only open to one than people who are suddenly not able to go to their favorite event are going to be very angry.
Also, do we really have enough young children to warrant even a partial day solely devoted to them? And who would watch after them if not their parents? Would parents have to buy two badges or would they effectively get two (or three if they also have a young teenager) for free?
It's a cute idea on the surface but I think it's entirely logistically impossible.
The worst thing that did happen was the rave. I had several girls who were minors that were really excited about going, but it seemed like the staff extended the time for the rave to start so they can avoid minors going. I have my girls go up to the room alone and unhappy for waiting a few hours in the rain.
The biggest problem is that many people don't want to buy multiple badges. Everyone I know buys the full badge, so they can attend all three days. Only being able to attend 2 would mean buying 2 badges (one for Sat/Sun, and one for Mon/Tues) and that would get costly.
In support of keeping it in one weekend, many people can only go because it's Labor Day weekend and a national holiday. People have jobs, especially people in my age group, and we can't miss work for a convention.
The intent is that the purchaser of one particular badge won't get anything out of buying another badge. They buy the one badge that covers the days of relevant content. Would you rather have one-and-a-half days of full content that you're interested in, or would you instead have that same content spread out over 3 days? You're getting the same core content in either case. Maybe break it out into two badge classes and weigh it appropriately.
So let's express the problem in terms of constraints.
1. The current hotel cannot handle the capacity.
2. The convention is suck at this hotel for next year.
The staff have zero control about #2, so the only parameter they can play with is part #1. Controlling con-goer flow is going to be one of the best options. It's a simple example of fluid dynamics. If you stuff more of the control fluid (attendees) into a fixed volume (hotel) you get a compressed fluid (unhappy con people getting squished.)
So what would your solution be?
Even though Yoji's are just normal people with no authority once they step off con grounds, I'm sure a lot of people would feel better about having an adult with them when they go outside. Especially if they're adults who have some training in nonconfrontational ways to defuse nasty situations, and are able to liaise with the Portland Police if things really go south.
I know it's easier to say than do something like this, especially with staff being short as it is. But the payoff from getting large crowds out of the hotel and into the local parks for photos / hanging out would be big.
Alternate proposal: Designate certain spots as meetup locations for people to form groups to go out, and you'd only need Yojis at the locations. Troublemakers tend to leave mobile groups alone.
I don't really know if this is the place to post this, but I'm more than willing to throw my hat into the ring for director of photography for next years K-con. It A) guarantees me returning, as I'm sure many people are happy that I would be, and B) I do this at school. I run the layout, design and pretty much the photography aspect for my paper so I know what I'm doing.
Photography is not a director level position. All photography positions are lower than coordinator.
If what you're saying is true, it still wouldn't rule out establishing designated meeting spots for groups to gather before heading out.Even though Yoji's are just normal people with no authority once they step off con grounds, I'm sure a lot of people would feel better about having an adult with them when they go outside. Especially if they're adults who have some training in nonconfrontational ways to defuse nasty situations, and are able to liaise with the Portland Police if things really go south.
I know it's easier to say than do something like this, especially with staff being short as it is. But the payoff from getting large crowds out of the hotel and into the local parks for photos / hanging out would be big.
Alternate proposal: Designate certain spots as meetup locations for people to form groups to go out, and you'd only need Yojis at the locations. Troublemakers tend to leave mobile groups alone.
I think your running into a huge liability if "con-staff" is "escorting" attendees outside of the hotels. If something was to happen to the attendees (think of the worst), the convention would be held liable in court.
If a group, wholly independent of Kumoricon, wants to work out a program to escort people in Portland, I would hope the first thing they do is research the insurance and liability requirements of security guards in the City of Portland. It's a nice idea, but I wouldn't be willing to risk the future of Kumoricon on it.
If what you're saying is true, it still wouldn't rule out establishing designated meeting spots for groups to gather before heading out.Even though Yoji's are just normal people with no authority once they step off con grounds, I'm sure a lot of people would feel better about having an adult with them when they go outside. Especially if they're adults who have some training in nonconfrontational ways to defuse nasty situations, and are able to liaise with the Portland Police if things really go south.
I know it's easier to say than do something like this, especially with staff being short as it is. But the payoff from getting large crowds out of the hotel and into the local parks for photos / hanging out would be big.
Alternate proposal: Designate certain spots as meetup locations for people to form groups to go out, and you'd only need Yojis at the locations. Troublemakers tend to leave mobile groups alone.
I think your running into a huge liability if "con-staff" is "escorting" attendees outside of the hotels. If something was to happen to the attendees (think of the worst), the convention would be held liable in court.
If a group, wholly independent of Kumoricon, wants to work out a program to escort people in Portland, I would hope the first thing they do is research the insurance and liability requirements of security guards in the City of Portland. It's a nice idea, but I wouldn't be willing to risk the future of Kumoricon on it.
I'd be interested to hear what someone familiar with liability law has to say, though - it would seem that a standard disclaimer that the con cannot be held liable for what happens outside conspace, prominently posted next to the established spots, would suffice. Heck, we already have such a disclaimer (http://www.kumoricon.org/?page_id=44) for conspace itself.
No matter how many waivers you sign; someone is always going to find a way to sue
you if they really want to. Even if there is a warning posted saying a company is
not responsible for lost or damaged goods, in the event they did not do "enough" to
prevent the crime or event, a company can be held liable.
No matter how many waivers you sign; someone is always going to find a way to sue
you if they really want to. Even if there is a warning posted saying a company is
not responsible for lost or damaged goods, in the event they did not do "enough" to
prevent the crime or event, a company can be held liable.
That's a really cynical and incorrect description of liability law. The fact of the matter is that, whether or not you claim you aren't liable for something with a giant flashing neon sign, that doesn't excuse you from legal obligation. In the situation you just cited businesses /are/ liable for lost and damaged goods, so said sign doesn't excuse them from that.
The park blocks; 5 full city blocks of lush, green parks, were a block and a half south and west, in that order. Lowns Dale Square was 2 block east and 1 block south. Neighboring that, Chapman Square. 6 blocks east, the expansive and Beautiful Portland Waterfront Park. The area you're referring to is Pioneer Courthouse square, which is a fantastic location to hang out, relax, and socialize.
- Unlike in some recent years, there was no nearby park (that concrete/brick open area does not classify as a park!) within convenient distance. Due to this, most of the con-goers were loitering on the sidewalks and blocking entrances, which the hotel staff voiced their problems with often.
Could you at least peek at google maps before making claims like this? Just because nobody told you about them doesn't mean they don't exist. You could have asked around. No PSU student could possible not be able to tell you about the Park Blocks at the very least, and PSU students are definitely not difficult to find at Kumoricon. Portland is one of the most heavily forested major metropolitan areas in the world. Being more than a few blocks from a park is nearly impossible. I live in inner Portland and there are EIGHT parks within twenty minutes walking distance from my house, and these are just the ones that I happen to be aware of.
The biggest problem is that many people don't want to buy multiple badges. Everyone I know buys the full badge, so they can attend all three days. Only being able to attend 2 would mean buying 2 badges (one for Sat/Sun, and one for Mon/Tues) and that would get costly.
In support of keeping it in one weekend, many people can only go because it's Labor Day weekend and a national holiday. People have jobs, especially people in my age group, and we can't miss work for a convention.
The intent is that the purchaser of one particular badge won't get anything out of buying another badge. They buy the one badge that covers the days of relevant content. Would you rather have one-and-a-half days of full content that you're interested in, or would you instead have that same content spread out over 3 days? You're getting the same core content in either case. Maybe break it out into two badge classes and weigh it appropriately.
So let's express the problem in terms of constraints.
1. The current hotel cannot handle the capacity.
2. The convention is suck at this hotel for next year.
The staff have zero control about #2, so the only parameter they can play with is part #1. Controlling con-goer flow is going to be one of the best options. It's a simple example of fluid dynamics. If you stuff more of the control fluid (attendees) into a fixed volume (hotel) you get a compressed fluid (unhappy con people getting squished.)
So what would your solution be?
Source?
Source?
Unfortunately you are asking me to cite a /lack/ of law. I could cite the lawyer-person I heard this from (if I could locate that video) but that would be another logic argument. The point being made is that specifically a /statement/ of non-liability is completely separate from an actual lack of liability, which is why people are sued despite them.
I too am disappointed in my inability to cite anything and would gladly concede if someone could present a factual source. If I manage to remember my source and find it again, I will of course post it. Unfortunately, it could have also been a live panel (which I tend to confuse with videos of live panels, which I watch often) so this might be impossible. :-\
The original claim is that no amount of measure could absolve a party of liability. It would normally then break out into either case law or legislative. The legislative would explicitly state limitations of liability while the sticky one is case law. It is in case law where the problems emerge, from the hot coffee being hot to the ridiculous Chewbacca defense. Exceptions, exemptions and bears, oh my. The whole legal (not justice) system is wrought with loop holes that are waiting exploitation; unless you have law to explicitly stating your limitations, I think it's a very fine short-form expression of the liability issue. - Defaulting to the worst case is the best method of covering your backside.
Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, but I'd only buy a badge if it meant I could go to the entire con. Every day of it. Otherwise, I would have just bought a 1-day pass. If it came down to the point that I could buy a pass, but it was only good for maybe 50-75% of the convention, I don't really know if I would be too happy about buying a badge at all. There are fun events throughout the entire convention and I'd be a bit disappointed knowing I'd have to miss an entire day.
As for the hotel, I understand that the con staff doesn't really have much say over where it will be held next year. I know they're going to do their best to make next year even better. I just think, for future reference if nothing else, that the heart of a major downtown area like that is a bit too crowded for a convention like that. Everything is compact and cramped.
The original claim is that no amount of measure could absolve a party of liability. It would normally then break out into either case law or legislative. The legislative would explicitly state limitations of liability while the sticky one is case law. It is in case law where the problems emerge, from the hot coffee being hot to the ridiculous Chewbacca defense. Exceptions, exemptions and bears, oh my. The whole legal (not justice) system is wrought with loop holes that are waiting exploitation; unless you have law to explicitly stating your limitations, I think it's a very fine short-form expression of the liability issue. - Defaulting to the worst case is the best method of covering your backside.
Three major problems:Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, but I'd only buy a badge if it meant I could go to the entire con. Every day of it. Otherwise, I would have just bought a 1-day pass. If it came down to the point that I could buy a pass, but it was only good for maybe 50-75% of the convention, I don't really know if I would be too happy about buying a badge at all. There are fun events throughout the entire convention and I'd be a bit disappointed knowing I'd have to miss an entire day.
As for the hotel, I understand that the con staff doesn't really have much say over where it will be held next year. I know they're going to do their best to make next year even better. I just think, for future reference if nothing else, that the heart of a major downtown area like that is a bit too crowded for a convention like that. Everything is compact and cramped.
Not exactly. Let's go for really really extreme examples into 3 day segments. For numbers, lets say there are 9000 attendees.
Content per day of con:
Day 1: 12 hours of My little Pony, hello kitty, and Mr. Rogers.
Day 2: One piece, slayers, Ouran, DBZ, etc similar
Day 3: Jojo's Bizzare adventures, various over-the-top nuts Hentai etc.
Small kids have no place for day 3. They are also not really of age for the day 2 stuff. The kids (plus parents) make up 3000 members and are there for day 1. 10% of them stick around for day 2.
The teens come in for day 2. They come in 3000 members. - 3300 members at the con on day 2. 15% of the teens stick around for day 3.
Day 3: The mature group, 3000 strong. Add in the overflow of teens - 3450 attendees.
Net flow of attendees: 9000
Average daily membercount: 3250
It's sort of the RMS of the membership. I can sympathize with the con staff to a point, but with the core issue (space) being the scarce resource a consession will have to be made somewhere. Keep everything status quo, lose more people who are unhappy with being exceptionally packed into con congestion. Spread out the content and make it attendee-age-group specific, upset people who have all 3 kinds of attendees in their group; they won't bother. The base problem is that no one can keep filling the bucket with more water once it's full. You're going to have runoff.
Three major problems:
1) Who decides where to draw the lines on content? That would not be a fun job.
2) Would more than a tiny handful of staffers be willing to work during the kid-preteens day? They'd be dealing with a more unruly and obnoxious group, and without the reward of being able to meet old friends. Remember, staff are unpaid volunteers - try to force them into it, and you lose them.
3) As was stated earlier in the thread, this option isn't even on the table with the board. That kinda moots the point, I think.
Three major problems:
1) Who decides where to draw the lines on content? That would not be a fun job.
2) Would more than a tiny handful of staffers be willing to work during the kid-preteens day? They'd be dealing with a more unruly and obnoxious group, and without the reward of being able to meet old friends. Remember, staff are unpaid volunteers - try to force them into it, and you lose them.
3) As was stated earlier in the thread, this option isn't even on the table with the board. That kinda moots the point, I think.
1. Usually released stuff has an age rating. Most parents are too lazy to check it, but it's there. That makes that easy.
2. The con has made its bed with the given hotel. Now it has to sleep in it. There won't be a make-everyone-happy solution to the issue. Status quo will be a repeat of this year. Maybe interleave the staffers so their exposure to brats is limited (2 hour shifts for baby sitting while the rest of their time is spent on the rest of the con's setup)
3. Someone asked for clarification. Clarification given. If you don't like the idea, kill it in one go with an answer to this: how you make 6000 people happy who are unhappy right now, by repeating the same action? (Catch: drugs aren't allowed. :P )
2. That's rather callous, considering that when it comes down to it very few staffers are directly involved in location decisions. I even personally know a few who were really unhappy about the location back when the decision was made, because they could foresee the problems that arose. You're proposing to force those people to work a babysitting-job-from-Hades because "the con made its bed"? Even if you assume the false premise that all the staff are personally responsible for the location, the fact remains that staffing is volunteer. People aren't doing this because they're paid, they're doing it as a labor of love for their fellow attendees. You can't force volunteers to do something because you think it's right.Three major problems:
1) Who decides where to draw the lines on content? That would not be a fun job.
2) Would more than a tiny handful of staffers be willing to work during the kid-preteens day? They'd be dealing with a more unruly and obnoxious group, and without the reward of being able to meet old friends. Remember, staff are unpaid volunteers - try to force them into it, and you lose them.
3) As was stated earlier in the thread, this option isn't even on the table with the board. That kinda moots the point, I think.
1. Usually released stuff has an age rating. Most parents are too lazy to check it, but it's there. That makes that easy.
2. The con has made its bed with the given hotel. Now it has to sleep in it. There won't be a make-everyone-happy solution to the issue. Status quo will be a repeat of this year. Maybe interleave the staffers so their exposure to brats is limited (2 hour shifts for baby sitting while the rest of their time is spent on the rest of the con's setup)
3. Someone asked for clarification. Clarification given. If you don't like the idea, kill it in one go with an answer to this: how you make 6000 people happy who are unhappy right now, by repeating the same action? (Catch: drugs aren't allowed. :P )
(https://www.kumoricon.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.somethingawful.com%2Fforumsystem%2Femoticons%2Femot-words.gif&hash=0b20e01a28250f69e3daec8daf754a1f0c4c3d3d)
Sure. I didn't have the best experience @ con this year, but I'm not going to abandon K-con. I share similar experiences with other complaints... Anyways, I love it! I can see that staff are listening (well, reading) many comments, ideas, and ways to improve the next con. I APPRECIATE THAT! THANK YOU! Not everyone can/will be happy about everything, but ya'll are making an effort....and you're not even getting paid :3
I just had a question. I thought I read somewhere in one of these threads that K-con is supported by previous year's revenue. Is that correct? So, K-con 2010 is support by this year K-con 2009 revenue? And if I attend (I will attend ^_^) K-con 2010, I am helping support K-con 2011?
thx.
...
I.e. a minor in heat...
...
I.e. a minor in heat...
Wut?
http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11250.msg467875#msg467875 (http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11250.msg467875#msg467875)
A short hop skip and a jump away (on the other side of the Pioneer Square) there is the Nines...
Room Name Area Height Banq. Thtr. Conf. Rec. Class U-Shp
The Nines Ballroom 7,176sq. ft. 18.0' 540 900 800 450
Studio 1,440sq. ft. 8.0' 100 180 30 125 72 32
Gallery 2,268sq. ft. 8.0' 150 250 54 200 120 50
Meier Boardroom 528sq. ft. 9.0' - - 16 - - -
Frank Boardroom 616sq. ft. 9.0' - - 18 - - -
Georgian Room 1,450sq. ft. 9.0' 80 140 30 70 48 20
You are right, I am sorry, I didn't examine that quite as thoroughly as I thought...
heh! Guess I wasn't paying attention! Regardless... that is still (if split up)
About 10 more meeting rooms available to us... if that is what we need. I don't
know if it is... but it's an option!
~Allykat
This year it would have been 30 at main tower, 30 at exec tower. Adding a third building into the mix would now become 20 at Main, 20 at Exec, 20 at new.
Next thing you need to factor in is weather. If its raining, how many people would want to walk that distance for a panel or viewing room, especially those in cosplay.
And then the next factor is time. We all know DT-Ptown is full of creepers, so would K-con be using this building with the 24 hour time frame, or would it be different.
Its a good idea to try and get a third building, but IMO, the second building thing isn't fun either.
This is all I can really
think of as, having lived in Gresham and S.E. portland, the people of Downtown really seem rather friendly to me!
^_^
Your idea is sound, the only problem is staff.
There is far too much here to respond to every subject but one did stand out- 'age' and 'content'
For the love of God please, PLEASE leave it alone!
This is what has killed Sakura-con. Basically, giving its loyal, adult attendees the finger in favor of pleasing the easily offended and parents of minors.
This is an ANIME convention. There is going to be offensive (to the easily offended) and pg-adult material. If you can't handle it than DON'T GO.
There is far too much here to respond to every subject but one did stand out- 'age' and 'content'
For the love of God please, PLEASE leave it alone!
This is what has killed Sakura-con. Basically, giving its loyal, adult attendees the finger in favor of pleasing the easily offended and parents of minors.
This is an ANIME convention. There is going to be offensive (to the easily offended) and pg-adult material. If you can't handle it than DON'T GO.
There have been a few threads in the past about this. This is a lost cause. :(
There is far too much here to respond to every subject but one did stand out- 'age' and 'content'
For the love of God please, PLEASE leave it alone!
This is what has killed Sakura-con. Basically, giving its loyal, adult attendees the finger in favor of pleasing the easily offended and parents of minors.
This is an ANIME convention. There is going to be offensive (to the easily offended) and pg-adult material. If you can't handle it than DON'T GO.
There have been a few threads in the past about this. This is a lost cause. :(
I know that on the SC forum there is a guy there with multiple accounts who will gang-flame anyone who so much as mentions it so that no one even dares to do so. It's OBVIOUS he's doing this and the mods do nothing. I'm almost convinced he's a plant.
But...I was hoping Kumoricon was better than that
"There have been a few threads in the past about this. This is a lost cause. Sad"
That's where the confusion is coming from. It sounds like we're axing adult panels. I suspect it might have been referring to Sakura Con.
Ah, ok, in any case, we like our yaoi, yuri, hentai and other panels. Jason Thompson and Carl Horn doing late night yaoi reading FTW.
Also, we <3 our non-ecchi programming that is aimed at older fans.
Jason Thompson and Carl Horn doing late night yaoi reading FTW.
"There have been a few threads in the past about this. This is a lost cause. Sad"
That's where the confusion is coming from. It sounds like we're axing adult panels. I suspect it might have been referring to Sakura Con.
Jason Thompson and Carl Horn doing late night yaoi reading FTW.
What what? How did I miss this?!? ::sadface:: What'd they read?
Suggestion #1 for ADULT content next year... BIGGER ROOMS. I think we more or less have a good set of events, we just need the space to fit everyone in who wants to go.The Hotel only has rooms so big, Jaki works really hard on the schedule to fit in as much stuff as she can. There are already panels and events that can easily fill live1+live2 so making some events bigger would put the others into smaller rooms.
Suggestion #1 for ADULT content next year... BIGGER ROOMS. I think we more or less have a good set of events, we just need the space to fit everyone in who wants to go.The Hotel only has rooms so big, Jaki works really hard on the schedule to fit in as much stuff as she can. There are already panels and events that can easily fill live1+live2 so making some events bigger would put the others into smaller rooms.
:( Yeah, but I know of at least a few events which should have taken over the next-door rooms even if that meant we'd have to cut some programming.
Anime that Scared me for Life (Live Total)
Hentai (Should have taken over both of those rooms that were right next to each other across the street)
The Yaoi and Yuri panels each should have had similar space; if not Live Total
AMV Overflow and Off Hours AMV (adult AMV) should have had two viewing rooms combined.
:( Yeah, but I know of at least a few events which should have taken over the next-door rooms even if that meant we'd have to cut some programming.
Anime that Scared me for Life (Live Total)
Hentai (Should have taken over both of those rooms that were right next to each other across the street)
The Yaoi and Yuri panels each should have had similar space; if not Live Total
AMV Overflow and Off Hours AMV (adult AMV) should have had two viewing rooms combined.
Programming's panelist staff make notes on each panel, including attendance, so they know what is popular and what needs what space. There are also other considerations, like, combing rooms costs time and money. The hotel does not do that labor for free, and, IIRC, the labor costs go up after a certain time of night. Also, what tech setups each room has. For the adult panels, doubling the entrances means doubling the staff to check age.
I am not saying that they should get more space, I am saying that there is more to this than you are aware of.
"There have been a few threads in the past about this. This is a lost cause. Sad"
That's where the confusion is coming from. It sounds like we're axing adult panels. I suspect it might have been referring to Sakura Con.
No, not at all. If source gets called, I can start digging for the thread tomorrow. My #1 complaint is the hypersensitivity that exists in standards to appeal to the general goon-off-the-street parent. The most recent instance was a discussion about a Hellsing cosplay, an in particular a cosplayer who would be dressing up in Nazi garb for a particular villain. The thread derailed to a degree about what is and isn't acceptable in terms of what. After some banter and wanting a cemented answer the final judgement by a mod was, "okay fine you want an absolute answer? It's FINE, unless we change our minds." The meaning of absolute was lost, proving the whole intent on getting a solid rule moot. If someone were to get offended, they'd have to change out of their cosplay. Extend to any number of other things and the rest can get diluted to mediocrity.
In rereading, if the poster I quoted was referring to adult-specific panels, then my response is irrelevant. As I read it now, though, it seems pretty general to a con and not panel or show-room specific.
Panels were moved/cancelled without warning,...
Panels were moved/canceled without warning,...
Okay, I have seen this posted a couple of different times. Can someone clarify this for me? To my knowledge, there were only a couple of panels that were canceled (due to no-show panelists), and no panels were moved. I know that some started late (unfortunately, that is not uncommon), but I am unaware of any major changes. If someone could enlighten me, I would very much appreciate it :)
http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs47/i/2009/251/7/3/Summary_of_KumoriCon_2009_by_JailBreakDesigns.jpg
But there really should've not been that much confusion as maps were made >> I'm just saying.
It's kind of sad that it will still be at the Hilton next year, however, I think they will get a better handle on things.
Hopefully a meeting can be arranged between the new board, the hotel, and the fire marshals; even more hopefully it will have the desired results.
Maybe I'll finally get funding from the evil leauge of evil for my shrink ray! And I'll do a test run on
the convention goers of Kumori-Con! Thus decreasing there size allowing more of them to fit into a
space!
*laughs evilly*
~Allykat
May I suggest making designated line-up areas by cordoning off specific areas into a queue? That way there would no longer be problems with lines going everywhere. And I don't just mean the first ten feet of a line, I mean at least along two walls before doubling back.
Of course if this creates Fire Marshall problems, then I understand why it wasn't implemented this year.
This up coming year for the con can there be a place where con goers can go to report abusive hotel staff or con staff?
Suggestion #1 for ADULT content next year... BIGGER ROOMS. I think we more or less have a good set of events, we just need the space to fit everyone in who wants to go.The Hotel only has rooms so big, Jaki works really hard on the schedule to fit in as much stuff as she can. There are already panels and events that can easily fill live1+live2 so making some events bigger would put the others into smaller rooms.
:( Yeah, but I know of at least a few events which should have taken over the next-door rooms even if that meant we'd have to cut some programming.
Anime that Scared me for Life (Live Total)
Hentai (Should have taken over both of those rooms that were right next to each other across the street)
The Yaoi and Yuri panels each should have had similar space; if not Live Total
AMV Overflow and Off Hours AMV (adult AMV) should have had two viewing rooms combined.
Is there any reason that the meet the VA's and Autograph sessions couldn't have been combined? I never actually saw Cynthia and Kirk together during the entire con, nor did I get a chance to see how they might have interacted with each other........She ended up repeating stuff she had already stated in the earlier panel, and was asked to perform the same things for the audience in both.... one coincided with Kirks autograph session, so everyone was down there in line instead of in her panel. I really think that a Q&A with each VA, a Meet the VA's with both VA's, and a combined autograph session.
Is there any reason that the meet the VA's and Autograph sessions couldn't have been combined? I never actually saw Cynthia and Kirk together during the entire con, nor did I get a chance to see how they might have interacted with each other........She ended up repeating stuff she had already stated in the earlier panel, and was asked to perform the same things for the audience in both.... one coincided with Kirks autograph session, so everyone was down there in line instead of in her panel. I really think that a Q&A with each VA, a Meet the VA's with both VA's, and a combined autograph session.
This is an excellent proposal that should be brought up at the meeting on October 25th, or perhaps more
poiniently to the new (or re-curring depending) head of Relations. This all depends on the VA's willingness to
work together on a panel and share their time. I do agree that one long "What's Up Seiyu/VA!?" Would benefit
the overall attendance and entertainment level of the VA's appearance, as long as it does not coincide with
some event equally as big. Perhaps that could be an option we present to the new Relations Coordinator:
1) 2-3 hour panel with BOTH or ALL (depending on what we get this year) VA's on Saturday...
and
1) 2 hour panel of Signing and Q & A with the VA's together again.
These'd have to be Looong panels due to the volume of content, but in the end I think people might go
for that and feel like they are getting more out of it.
Is this what you were proposing?
~Allykat
This is an excellent proposal that should be brought up at the meeting on October 25th, or perhaps more
poiniently to the new (or re-curring depending) head of Relations. This all depends on the VA's willingness to
work together on a panel and share their time. I do agree that one long "What's Up Seiyu/VA!?" Would benefit
the overall attendance and entertainment level of the VA's appearance, as long as it does not coincide with
some event equally as big. Perhaps that could be an option we present to the new Relations Coordinator:
1) 2-3 hour panel with BOTH or ALL (depending on what we get this year) VA's on Saturday...
and
1) 2 hour panel of Signing and Q & A with the VA's together again.
These'd have to be Looong panels due to the volume of content, but in the end I think people might go
for that and feel like they are getting more out of it.
Is this what you were proposing?
~Allykat
My idea was that there would be a Q&A with each VA like there was this year, but there would then be a combined Meet the VA's Panel were the two (or more) VA's would be together and could compare how their training and experiences were different. Actually it would probably work out better to have the Meet the VA's panel first and the Q&A panels later. During the Meet the VA's panel audience participation would be lower, and the VA's would work off of each other. During the Q&A panels the audience would be able to ask questions of their favorite VA about roles they portrayed, in a one on one style setting. Then there could be an autograph session for all guests. I am sure that you may have more items you want signed by one person than another, but still it makes more sense to hold them all together. They can share special pens, you can get the con book signed by everyone at once, and you only have to stand in line for autographs one time! When I went to the Star Trek convention with the Fab Four (Scottie, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu) they had the signing together as a group. They all appeared together in the same show, but still it worked well having the signing that way, instead of seperate signings for each of them. They also had other actors from DS9 and Generations who were at the table as well. Anyone see any reason you couldn't have Svetlana sign your manga, Kirk sign a DVD, and Cynthia sign a poster instead of having three seperate autograph sessions with each?