Author Topic: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!  (Read 347816 times)

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Offline kiichain

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #50 on: September 05, 2012, 08:24:00 pm »
oyos

as part of maid squad this year, i was sad when i found out that both the signs like "start of line", "end of line", etc had gone MIA as well as some various other helpful items used by the maids. i also learned an interesting dilemma this year which was the trays from the hotel and restaurant also going MIA. i am going to make a big effort to make sure the signs are found or remade for next year because it does make things a little easier when managing the lines. i am also gonna procure some trays that will become the property of kumoricon just so i don't have the same issue of the hotel not being able to provide any because they couldn't locate theirs either. it was like twisting an arm just to get one tray from the hotel and i could have really used at least 3 for any of the main events lines to get water out to the thirsty attendees (especially given that we had the line outside), not to mention needing one or two over at the red lion to help with some water service for the lines that happened there. if some of you noticed on the last day, i finally had it with the lack of trays that i simply used the thick posterboards as a tray to do the water service.

as for locations of the various areas, i think the layout was much better than the previous year and in '07. while there is more room in the garage, it can easily get super muggy down there if 'walls' of vendors were to fill in the area, not to mention the 'body heat' from the mass of people in there.

on the topic of the repair station, instead of the info booth, how about situating that down in the garage as well? we already have the cat ear workshop down there and even with everything else that was down there this year, it won't impede on much space. personally i think it would help having 'more room' to do cosplay repair instead of becoming a 'fire hazard' by parking in front of the info booth desk just to finish repairing the cosplay. the only thing that we need to figure out is who will 'man' that station that has some knowledge of how to sew and making simple props to help out the attendees with the repair. i wouldn't mind doing a few hours here and there but i also have to be everywhere else for maid squad too.

Offline bunny_jean

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #51 on: September 05, 2012, 08:30:05 pm »
I just don't understand why dealers have such a problem with the "heat in the hilton garage" from '07, yet they had the console gaming down there this year, and those create a lot of heat by themselves. Doesn't make sense to me. :/

The difference is the pipe and drape.  Console gaming may produce more heat from the electronics, but there was nothing to block airflow, which pipe and drape does.  It was much more open than a crowded exhibitors hall would be, which is why we placed console and tabletop gaming down there.  Yes, the open space makes it feel like we are under-utilizing the space we have, but it comes down to comfort for our attendees and our vendors, who are stuck in the area for such a long time.

At this location, which is great in so many other ways, what to do with exhibitors hall is one issue we struggle with every year.

I accept that, but I still don't think that either space at the Red Lion were good. They were both extremely crowded and didn't have as many vendors as Kumoricon has had before. I thought Artist's Alley was in a great spot, and this suggestion would be odd for shoppers, but it might be interesting to see the dealer's hall in a panel space at the Hilton and move the panel space to the Red Lion? Logistics seem like they wouldn't work too well, but it might be something to think about.
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Offline EveofAbyss

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #52 on: September 05, 2012, 08:51:54 pm »
Here's a bit of a rant to throw in with talk on the Dealer Hall. Since 2007 I have come to Kumoricon looking for one thing: music. 2006 and 2007 were wonderful in that there was one massive, well-stocked music vendor. I realize the business has since dissolved, but dangit if I don't still hope for just one music vendor present in the DH every year. I feel like all the bases of the culture are covered except music. We have vendors with anime, manga, toys, accessories, food... all we're missing is music, and I would unload my wallet in a heartbeat if given just one jrock/visual kei vendor (not counting Kinokuniya, though, because their stock does seem rather sparse on the Jrock and visual kei fronts.).

So, a music vendor please?


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Offline Rathany

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #53 on: September 05, 2012, 09:50:56 pm »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :) 
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Offline superjaz

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #54 on: September 05, 2012, 10:01:49 pm »
Here's a bit of a rant to throw in with talk on the Dealer Hall. Since 2007 I have come to Kumoricon looking for one thing: music. 2006 and 2007 were wonderful in that there was one massive, well-stocked music vendor. I realize the business has since dissolved, but dangit if I don't still hope for just one music vendor present in the DH every year. I feel like all the bases of the culture are covered except music. We have vendors with anime, manga, toys, accessories, food... all we're missing is music, and I would unload my wallet in a heartbeat if given just one jrock/visual kei vendor (not counting Kinokuniya, though, because their stock does seem rather sparse on the Jrock and visual kei fronts.).
So, a music vendor please?

YES THIS!! I used to love picking up random anime sound tracks and other cgs and such but other then Kinokuniya not much.

Rant about the Yes Anime booth
Okay so my brother loves anime grab bags and we were looking at the grab bags at the different booths at dealer’s hall.  When we were looking at the grab bags at Yes Anime booth the male staffer working asked if I had any questions so I asked if they had anime related stuff in the bags them because last year we had been disappointed when a grab bag we had purchased had non anime items, heck stuff that has no place at a anime convention
 (last year's doris day doll comes to mind )

He assured us that while the things in the grab bags will not be the same as what’s on the shelves , they will be anime related.  We decided to purchase one since he (had) seemed honest.  We left the dealers hall and opened it and first thing was a “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” figure.
wtf?
  What that has to do with anime we had no idea.  So next time we were at the booth I asked the male worker there “what does ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ have to do with anime?” He seemed puzzled for a second, and then said “I didn’t say a 100% anime related,”again wft
 At this point I just walked away.

I should point out that the reason this mifs me is not because there was a non anime related item in my grab bag, I understand the whole point of a grab bag is, not knowing what you will get, and he could have just said "can't say" or "its a mystery bag ya find out when you open it"
but he didn't
but because he basically lied to my face when I called him on the merch content that he fibbed about which was really dumb because we were gonna find out once its opened.
I too am doing less shopping in the dealers hall but I think that is because after 10 years of con ya run out of stuff you "need"
rave about the AA I love looking thu and finding neat things, I got a cute coloring book for my wee one, new location was great!
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Offline acton

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #55 on: September 05, 2012, 10:04:06 pm »
Overall I had a great time.  
Raves for tech for saving my bacon with bringing a mike  to my Otaku over 25 panel.  The hotel did a good job this year. I also liked the new location of the artist alley and manga library.

Minor rants:  I think a few more waters stations are needed in the Hilton outside the panel rooms.  While the Anime selection was good in the viewing room, I think it could be freshen up with a few more new titles. Is there a chance to work with Funimation for a few new episodes viewing? I like to use the viewing room to find title I may watch later.  Finally the restaurant map needs to be checked out before the con, ether work with the Vancouver Liaison or take a drive before. Someplace were listed but closed for the holiday and Burgervile was no more.
The last  minor issue was the Amv Contest NOT What The Anime Is About category. It did not work for me in the audience because to know “not what the Anime is about”, one need to know what the anime was about; having no familiarity with the Animes, the entries went over my head.  
One major rat is how the main event lines were handled especially the opening ceremonies. I  bet some who were waiting at the end to only not to get in. The staffed needs to take a head count not just at the door to determine a cutoff point and have the maid squad stand there with a sign. If possible the staff may want to see about setting up a remove viewing overflow room during the opening ceremonies.

Ditto with the rest: The dealers room was disappointing, Only one booth that had a sizable stash of manga but noting I wanted to read.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2012, 10:51:57 pm by acton »

Offline Bresslol

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #56 on: September 05, 2012, 10:11:59 pm »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :) 

I am actually trying to figure out a way to have important info (consuite location, staff info, who their manager is, etc.) on the back of staff badges, and have a penny taped to the back side of the badges on the bottom to prevent flipping.


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Offline govi

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #57 on: September 05, 2012, 10:45:42 pm »
I thought that, overall, the con was a pretty good experience this year.  Everybody was nice (except for whomever it was who stole that suit of armor, which really miffs me), and on the whole, it was a pleasant experience.  I would like to see a bigger exhibitor's hall and more vendors, if that's possible in the future.  My roommate was sad to see that there wasn't a booth selling art supplies at all, and overall, we'd like to see more art books, more manga, and more music and CDs.  Also, would it be possible to have a mini-contest for cosplays and skits that aren't of Japanese origin?  Also, a panel/space for the occasional AMV that's not of Japanese origin would also be cool.
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Offline JeffT

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #58 on: September 05, 2012, 10:46:59 pm »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :) 

I am actually trying to figure out a way to have important info (consuite location, staff info, who their manager is, etc.) on the back of staff badges, and have a penny taped to the back side of the badges on the bottom to prevent flipping.

Or just clips instead of lanyards. I doubt a penny taped will do anything.
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Offline Rathany

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #59 on: September 05, 2012, 10:51:16 pm »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :) 

I am actually trying to figure out a way to have important info (consuite location, staff info, who their manager is, etc.) on the back of staff badges, and have a penny taped to the back side of the badges on the bottom to prevent flipping.

In previous years we've talked about sticky labels with office location info that we could slap on the back, but that never came together.
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Offline Phoenixewolf

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #60 on: September 05, 2012, 11:08:08 pm »
I have to say this year I have nothing really to rant about, I thought K*con was amazing, the group I was with had a newbie to con and I got to experience this one like it was the first time going to con all over again, which was amazing. Having been 5 years into attending now I have to say that this location is one of the best locations we have had. I love that we are going back and not moving again because each year you become more familiar with the setup. My biggest rave is to the staff you guys are AWESOME! Seriously each year you go above and beyond to make K*con a place of enjoyment and home. I know there is one staff member, I don't know his name we call him the autograph line guy, he is fantastic! I hope everyone can appreciate you staffers the way that I know my group does because you guys really are amazing! The other thing I have to rave about is the lines, I know some have said they had issues, but in my experience these lines were the fastest moving of con yet. I think that with each year K*con learns at little more and gets a little better. I can't wait until next year! Thanks you guys for making this one FANTASTIC year!
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Offline Kimiski

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #61 on: September 05, 2012, 11:17:37 pm »
I would leave an event and get there 30 mins before an event, and there would be a huge looping line already.
For some reason, people love standing in lines! In Main Events, even though we had dedicated seating times for the large events, people still would start lining up early. We chalked it up to people loving to stand in lines! :D

Yes, but if there is a rule, and people follow it, then find out it's not being enforced, it's not fair to those who actually followed it and counted on Kumoricon to uphold it's own rule- then get stuck at the back of a long line for following said rule. As a result- people who get screwed over by a rule will be less likely to care and follow them in the future. So the rule either needs to be enforced, enforced with a longer time allowed to stand in line, or demolished completely.

I was staff for the first time this year, and for the most part, it was a great experience.  Everyone was really friendly and helpful, and I enjoyed the little perks that came along with staffing.

A few things:
1. I would have liked to be informed of what exactly all the staff perks were.  I waited in a line for about an hour before someone told me I didn't need to.
2. Con Suite was a bit inaccessible in the Red Lion.  First, few people could accurately direct me to the third floor; most simply told me there was no third floor.  It usually took a lot of extra time to duck down there (when I was starving), and it was terribly frustrating to find nothing left but rice and cheese.  I understand we have many more staff this year than was budgeted for, so hopefully this will be less of an issue next year :D
3. I didn't really know when or where I needed to be for certain tasks; I would have liked a bit more direction from my managers.  Again, I understand staff is constantly growing, and many are probably learning right with me.

Aside from that, lots of fun, and I'll staff again! :)

P.S. I'm really bothered by the stolen armor.  I, too, have always felt conspace to be a safe and respectful environment.  I can only hope it turns up soon.

Yes, it was rather a bit annoying that to get staff rate we HAD to stay in the Hilton, but then to get fed we needed to go to Red Lion. I understand there was the Hilton one, but that was supposed to be a only if you really couldnt go to red lion option and an option for the disabled. I was also very dissapointed that ramen was my choice of lunch.... ramen I can get for .50 and did, I had a stash in my hotel room as a "just in case thing" but again I understand there was a huge surprise in staffing numbers this year which helped decline the types of food. And YES!! It took me asking many different staffers from many levels about what my staff perks actually were. >.>


Something else that I'd like to bring up is this: during the first rave, when the EMT's were called, there were a few staff members keeping a clear path for them.  Two things: one, I've had some people, both attendees and fellow staff, who felt that the manner in which these few folks addressed the crowd was unprofessional and disrespectful; two, there was me, Chan_Highwind, and (as I understand it) at least two other staff members there, that could have been asked to help maintain the crowd rather than being herded off to the side like we were merely in the way - that's not very good teamwork, guys.

This was one of my big rants, which I brought up to Beau directly. I was treated horribly by other staffers when all I was trying to do was help the situation as well, instead I got yelled at to get out of the way... hello, I'm staff too and trying to help. -__-
« Last Edit: September 05, 2012, 11:32:51 pm by Kimiski »


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Offline @random

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #62 on: September 06, 2012, 07:50:49 am »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :) 

I love this idea.
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Offline DSaturn

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #63 on: September 06, 2012, 10:47:31 am »
R.I.P. my armor.
The biggest rant and rave I could go into is that someone stole my armor as I went to grab a couple numbers and strike a pose. I won't bother going into it further as it was supposedly pretty big news day 3 already except that, of all places, I can't believe it was the safest place I thought I could be, Kumoricon, that someone would violate that kind of feeling and take my cosplay.

Someone overheard us talking about how awesome you were and they told us what happened... We couldn't believe it.

The Magic cards seemed like a random little bonus goodie. I thought it was pretty fun finding out which of us in my group got the cards (oddly enough, it ended up that all the males got Magic cards, and none of the females did...arbitrary sexism? lol). I can see how that could be upsetting to some, but I wasn't expecting it, so to find them in there was just a pleasant surprise. I gave mine away (since I don't play), so not getting them wouldn't have bothered me...but like I said, I can see how the inconsistency could have been upsetting.

I put my vote towards more random goodies though. Makes things fun in my opinion.

Everybody in my group got the same thing, and all got Magic Cards, just different packs.

The Maid Squad was a miracle sent to us by the anime gods, I swear. We were dying in the Main Events line because of the beautiful weather we had, and it was such a relief to have the Maids bringing water around to everyone. We needed it.
Of course, staff in general was amazing, like always.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #64 on: September 06, 2012, 11:16:31 am »
Most of the con was amazing, but one thing I was sorely upset by was the fact that con suite dropped the ball. When I head to con suite, I want a nutritious meal to keep me going, not ramen and hot water.

Offline Acheron

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #65 on: September 06, 2012, 11:21:46 am »
The staff this year felt a little less professional than usual. The rave EMT business springs to mind... I was looking for a way around the blockade and was about to go outside when a staffer said "Oh, just dart across! It's totally cool! A bunch of other people did it!". So I tried to do so, and got totally chewed out by the woman blocking people off. I'm not mad at her, I shouldn't have even tried to run across, but I'm really frustrated with the guy who told me it was okay.

Also, more than half of the people breaking the elevator rules that I saw were staff. There were a pair of registration staffers on the last day riding the elevators who were telling people to just ride all the way up to go back down because it was so much faster. :/ But it was also frustrating to run into people being super strict about the elevator rules; I was in a party of three most of the con, and there were more than a few times that we had to wait for the next elevator or walk up to the fifth floor because having nine people instead of eight was somehow unacceptable.

Guh, and while I'm whining about the elevator, there should have been signs up from floors 1-3 that it's faster to walk down one or two floors than use the elevator. I know that there are people who can't use the stairs easily, and that's totally understandable, but if you can, you should really walk. It was annoying getting on a full elevator at floor 1, only for everybody to pile out at 2 or 3, knowing that there were people waiting back on 1 who needed to go higher.

The dealers hall was also disappointing! It was small and cramped, and the selection was pretty poor. The manga selection in particular felt like it was from five years ago! I came in with a list of manga I wanted to get, and nobody had any of the series I was looking for, let alone the volumes I needed. And I was disappointed with the panel selection this year as well, but I know that's a community thing, not anything staff can change. But seriously, there were what, two Homestuck panels and two Hetalia panels, and then a Homestuck/Hetalia panel? And the OTP debate was actually "wait in line to tell people about your OTP"! It makes me want to run an actual debate next year...

-

But these are just my small complaints; the elevator situation actually was a lot better than in years before, and I liked the location of the AA/dealer's hall much better than last year (people have said why the dealers hall isn't in the parking garage, but dang, would it be nice if it could be in there). Tabletop gaming and the swap meet were PHENOMENAL as usual, and I'm so glad that Video Gaming had Persona 4 Arena, even if I didn't get to play it as much as I wanted.
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Offline Kimiski

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #66 on: September 06, 2012, 02:33:39 pm »
If we stay with the paper staff badges, can they be double sided next year?  Far more staff know me than I can ever remember and I'd love to be able to read the names, but they are flipped half the time.  Oh, yeah, and there are other reasons why readable staff badges are good :)  

I love this idea.

I third this idea! Mine would always swing around.

The staff this year felt a little less professional than usual. The rave EMT business springs to mind... I was looking for a way around the blockade and was about to go outside when a staffer said "Oh, just dart across! It's totally cool! A bunch of other people did it!". So I tried to do so, and got totally chewed out by the woman blocking people off. I'm not mad at her, I shouldn't have even tried to run across, but I'm really frustrated with the guy who told me it was okay.

Also, more than half of the people breaking the elevator rules that I saw were staff. There were a pair of registration staffers on the last day riding the elevators who were telling people to just ride all the way up to go back down because it was so much faster. :/ But it was also frustrating to run into people being super strict about the elevator rules; I was in a party of three most of the con, and there were more than a few times that we had to wait for the next elevator or walk up to the fifth floor because having nine people instead of eight was somehow unacceptable.

Guh, and while I'm whining about the elevator, there should have been signs up from floors 1-3 that it's faster to walk down one or two floors than use the elevator. I know that there are people who can't use the stairs easily, and that's totally understandable, but if you can, you should really walk. It was annoying getting on a full elevator at floor 1, only for everybody to pile out at 2 or 3, knowing that there were people waiting back on 1 who needed to go higher.

The dealers hall was also disappointing! It was small and cramped, and the selection was pretty poor. The manga selection in particular felt like it was from five years ago! I came in with a list of manga I wanted to get, and nobody had any of the series I was looking for, let alone the volumes I needed. And I was disappointed with the panel selection this year as well, but I know that's a community thing, not anything staff can change. But seriously, there were what, two Homestuck panels and two Hetalia panels, and then a Homestuck/Hetalia panel? And the OTP debate was actually "wait in line to tell people about your OTP"! It makes me want to run an actual debate next year...

-

But these are just my small complaints; the elevator situation actually was a lot better than in years before, and I liked the location of the AA/dealer's hall much better than last year (people have said why the dealers hall isn't in the parking garage, but dang, would it be nice if it could be in there). Tabletop gaming and the swap meet were PHENOMENAL as usual, and I'm so glad that Video Gaming had Persona 4 Arena, even if I didn't get to play it as much as I wanted.

I agree with a lot of things you are saying. The reason staff seemed, "less professional" this year is because we had a huge jump in new staff, and at the same time we had a huge jump in attendees, and a lot of things went down this year, like code adams and the EMT at the rave is an example. With staff increasing, me really do need to find a way to set a final word on what to do in situations, like the EMT rave event. It was a chaotic mess with lots of new staffers (much like my rant of the Kumoriball) and staffers were told different things to do by other staffers. We need more formal training, and the words needs to get out faster and to all of us staffers on how to handle things and what to do about things.

I know everyone is a volunteer, but that's no excuse for not doing your job right. I really do believe in it should be required all staff go through some formal training, and cannot staff unless they have checked in with their managers and received this training either sometime before the con during the last two general meetings, day 0, or very early day 1. This would also help resolve how people sign up for staff, then just dissapear on us.... -__- I can't believe people do that... especially something as important as being a yoji...

^ This would also mean that things need to be set in stone BEFORE the con starts! We've been to this location enough times now where before con all staff should be able to know- where will lines be- how will they curve- what time will lines be allowed to start- how willthe elevators run- etc etc so rules dont pop up in the middle of con and cause confusion among staff as far as "who has heard what and who has not"
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 02:36:25 pm by Kimiski »


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Offline PaperRoxas

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #67 on: September 06, 2012, 02:45:03 pm »
The one thing that I actually witnessed that was pretty messed up was with the dealer's hall line. We were asking a staff member what the line was for on Day 1 and he told us the dealers hall and that the end was on the other side of the hotel where Artist ally was. As he finishes telling us, a group of about 5 hop in line and we tell him. Apparently, a lot of people had been doing this from what we heard. We didn't bother to stand in line since it was way too hot and the line was too long for our tastes (mind you the hall hadn't been open for that long).

I didn't hear anything about it after that day, so I'm assuming they got things under control...

Inside, however, when we did get in on day 2, it was pretty crowded. One vendor (he was placed next to the slants and sakuracon and the exit) was overly crowded because he had the cheapest items when it came to plushies and whatnot. That was a bit annoying...

Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #68 on: September 06, 2012, 02:52:58 pm »
I would like to personally apologize for the exhibition hall line; I was overseeing it for most of the con, and I understand that it was confusing, but we did the best with what we had. People who would bypass the huge line and wonder what it was for without thinking about it got what was coming to them, as they sulk to the back of the line. The front valet area could only accommodate about 100 people waiting, and so after that there was a separate staging area out back behind the exhibition hall. I admit, that part is way too confusing. Plus, the exhibition hall could only accommodate 300 at a time, so we could only issue people entry when enough had left. I tried my best to be expedient about that, to allow staggered groups of ten or more in at a time, to get you guys in as quick as possible.

Us exhibition hall staff received a fair bit of abuse; I told a guy to wait in line for about 15 seconds while the previous group (some of whom were in his party, and I split them up because 15 seconds ain't no thing) got all huffy and eventually spat on me. So us staff understand how that goes, but we're doing our best for you for sure. (edit: not anymore. We're not even running the exhibition hall line anymore. Not for no one. We're at home now.)
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 02:53:39 pm by TanisNikana »

Offline PaperRoxas

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #69 on: September 06, 2012, 04:03:53 pm »
People throw hissy-fits over the stupidest things...

And legit question: does the 300 limit include the vendors themselves?

Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #70 on: September 06, 2012, 04:05:15 pm »
All bodies in the room, per the locally governing fire code.

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #71 on: September 06, 2012, 05:02:30 pm »
Rants:
People complaining about tiny things; if something so small ruins your con then you didn't want to come that much in the first place, or you're just ungrateful. I drive 300 miles for this. Not even not getting into the ball could ruin it for me.
Hilton room service missed us twice; no clean towels and our trash wasn't emptied after we asked them twice. Yes, they were busy but, still. : \

Also, jeebus this bugs me. I complimented a cosplayer while I was out of costume and she was a snob. Her friend smiled at me and nodded her head so that didn't bother me but the girl just scoffed and rolled her eyes. THEN later when I was with her friends and she found out whom I was cosplaying she hugn back like "oooooppssie I fluffed up"
Yeah, miss, you fluffed up big time.
just because you were in cosplay doesn't make you better than anyone. we're all here to have fun. thanks and nix the attitude

anyway now that thats out of my system, Gosh it was an amazing con. Lovely lovely time. The few things that bugged me passed within seconds and jeeze I had a great time.
can't wait for next year! Thank you staff!
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Offline Acheron

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #72 on: September 06, 2012, 05:19:36 pm »
told a guy to wait in line for about 15 seconds while the previous group (some of whom were in his party, and I split them up because 15 seconds ain't no thing) got all huffy and eventually spat on me.
Holy crap! Did you pull their badges for that!? That sort of behavior is completely unacceptable.

:/ It's not like the dealer's hall is going anywhere, just come back in half an hour or something and you'll get in without a wait! I don't think I had to wait more than five minutes or so to get in there.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #73 on: September 06, 2012, 05:47:00 pm »
Quote
Holy crap! Did you pull their badges for that!?

Nope, only nine people, the executives, can pull badges. Since he went into the exhibition hall and I never saw him again, I just changed and carried on with it.

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #74 on: September 06, 2012, 05:51:28 pm »
Quote
Holy crap! Did you pull their badges for that!?

Nope, only nine people, the executives, can pull badges. Since he went into the exhibition hall and I never saw him again, I just changed and carried on with it.

Staff are authorized to move and investigate in extraordinary situations like this, though, even though they cannot make the final decision to pull a badge. Your safety and the safety of attendees comes first.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #75 on: September 06, 2012, 05:59:00 pm »
Quote
Holy crap! Did you pull their badges for that!?

Nope, only nine people, the executives, can pull badges. Since he went into the exhibition hall and I never saw him again, I just changed and carried on with it.

Staff are authorized to move and investigate in extraordinary situations like this, though, even though they cannot make the final decision to pull a badge. Your safety and the safety of attendees comes first.

Well, in the end it was just some hurt feelings and a dirty staff shirt. I did pursue an incident against an attendee who victimized another attendee, as that one had substantially more threat to it, and if I recall correctly, a badge eventually got pulled in that incident.

In the end, it's a matter of making judgment calls and making sure the executives only get concerned with what truly involves them; it's why we have things like the chain of command, for example. I resolved my incident by myself, since I was the only one ultimately hurt, but when it's an attendee's experience or the attendee themselves on the line, that's when it gets truly important. Mine's a story, hers is a case.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 05:59:13 pm by TanisNikana »

Offline JeffT

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #76 on: September 06, 2012, 06:02:51 pm »
Understood for your specific case, but an attendee who spits on another individual is a threat to everyone there, and that is absolutely worthy of the executives' attention.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #77 on: September 06, 2012, 06:05:16 pm »
Also, I want to rave about all the attendees I didn't mention (you know who all 4,750 of you are), cause you're all super cool and stuff. Stay out of the hallways, keep moving, keep being cool, stuff like that!

Offline Dealrith

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #78 on: September 06, 2012, 06:24:09 pm »
Rants:
People complaining about tiny things; if something so small ruins your con then you didn't want to come that much in the first place, or you're just ungrateful. I drive 300 miles for this. Not even not getting into the ball could ruin it for me.

For some folks the little things are all they can complain about because that's the only thing they saw or were involved with.
We still welcome this though because we want to make this the best experience for everyone.

With that said we did have a SNAFU with some things this year.

Towards the EMTs. Most of the team knows how to react for a normal issue with someone injured but communication didn't make it's way around. The hotel ask for for a clear path once medical showed and we took first reaction to make that happen. A clear area for training now that we know about it.
As for fellow staffers caught in the mix. As one of the people managing the lobby during all of this I'm sorry to you guys. Except for those who came out to me saying they were staff I only pull those aside that I knew.


For next year though signage is definitely a point that I want to bring up. While I was organizing the locker before con I know I saw the maid squad signs but they totally flew the coup I the mix or loading the truck. I will be finding them though soon. Another key point that I will bring up again after elections and once start planning is line control for major events so we have a clear plan of where the line will start and having it marked as such.


Thanks for all of the great feedback though guys. Keep them coming so we know where we can go to prepare better for next year  :D
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Offline AllyKat

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #79 on: September 06, 2012, 06:44:14 pm »
Just as a quick mention RE: Maid squad signs -

They were all thrown away last year -  a few of them were found and pulled out of the trash by my staff, but were mostly unsalvageable (gross stuff on them, ripped or broken). We saved the image and wrote down what was on them. We recreated them from the design Jen Cox used to create them and have a stock of ready PDFs for making new signs.

We just used up our budget unexpectedly early with the plethora of signs needed this year.

But rest assured it is first and foremost for replacement this year, and we already have concepts for neat ways to make the signs easily visible and comfortable to carry! (I'm sure the maids will like to hear THAT!)
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Offline Tankou001

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #80 on: September 06, 2012, 06:57:36 pm »
I feel silly saying I only had one thing to rant about and now I'm back but I suppose it should be said. I think we should have a hospitality office or something, somewhere where broke otakus can get free food that will keep them coming back and staying well fed at the con. Over the course of the four days of con with the exception of my embarassing and shameful breakdown I lived on handfuls of this and that already taken and shared around with what could be and five hour energy shots, none of which I could pay for cause well, I'm broke.

That said I've been over 12 years of congoing at things like Orycon, which has a successful Hospitality office all con long full of simple, cheap stuff to feed people like meat platters and sandwich stuffs as well as water and all. Boxes are put out for donations and Orycon normally gets a pretty good hospitality haul to allow it the next year and so on. I think it adds a necessary sustaining factor to a con to have a place where people can come to relax, maybe watch some movies or anime and enjoy a psuedo-free meal with like minded exhausted otakus.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #81 on: September 06, 2012, 07:06:27 pm »
Orycon is substantially smaller than Kumoricon and food costs money. While it would be a nice idea in theory, it's not sustainable. Badge prices would have to increase $15 - $20 more, and ten to fifteen staff would have to be cooking for all these people. Plus, we'd run into the problem of impatient attendees, the question of hours for the room, location of the room, line control for the room, fire code for the room, a place for tables to eat the food...
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 07:07:39 pm by TanisNikana »

Offline Dealrith

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #82 on: September 06, 2012, 07:44:09 pm »
I feel silly saying I only had one thing to rant about and now I'm back but I suppose it should be said. I think we should have a hospitality office or something, somewhere where broke otakus can get free food that will keep them coming back and staying well fed at the con. Over the course of the four days of con with the exception of my embarassing and shameful breakdown I lived on handfuls of this and that already taken and shared around with what could be and five hour energy shots, none of which I could pay for cause well, I'm broke.

That said I've been over 12 years of congoing at things like Orycon, which has a successful Hospitality office all con long full of simple, cheap stuff to feed people like meat platters and sandwich stuffs as well as water and all. Boxes are put out for donations and Orycon normally gets a pretty good hospitality haul to allow it the next year and so on. I think it adds a necessary sustaining factor to a con to have a place where people can come to relax, maybe watch some movies or anime and enjoy a psuedo-free meal with like minded exhausted otakus.

I can't really speak towards cost being out weighed by donations but there is one thing I'm sure of. Hotel don't like when an event outwardly provides food to their attendees.
One of the ways a hotel makes its money is by the food they sell.
By opening up a hospitality that take away a good chunk of the exta they earn off the top.
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Offline LtCommanderRichie

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #83 on: September 06, 2012, 08:07:19 pm »
Just my ten cents, ALA down in Los Angeles does a con suite that's basically ten people in a poolside room manning a sparse buffet that's run on donations. They're about the same size as Kumoricon and it runs just fine, and their badges cost less than a Kumo badge. It probably saved my life at least once when I went down there for con because let me tell you what, if you don't want to walk ten blocks through downtown LA to a Denny's there is not much in the way of food at that con.

I'm not pushing for one at Kumo because there's the whole 'where the hell would we PUT IT' issue but I'm just pointing out that it can and has been done before without raising the badge price.

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #84 on: September 06, 2012, 08:14:05 pm »
Just my ten cents, ALA down in Los Angeles does a con suite that's basically ten people in a poolside room manning a sparse buffet that's run on donations. They're about the same size as Kumoricon and it runs just fine, and their badges cost less than a Kumo badge. It probably saved my life at least once when I went down there for con because let me tell you what, if you don't want to walk ten blocks through downtown LA to a Denny's there is not much in the way of food at that con.

I'm not pushing for one at Kumo because there's the whole 'where the hell would we PUT IT' issue but I'm just pointing out that it can and has been done before without raising the badge price.

Are you sure about them being cheaper?  Their current registration tier is 40 bucks and our last registration tier is 40 bucks.
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Offline LtCommanderRichie

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #85 on: September 06, 2012, 08:37:38 pm »
I was unaware it went any higher than that, and I get the Student rate anyway so that knocks it down to $35.

Offline AllyKat

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #86 on: September 06, 2012, 09:02:02 pm »
I feel silly saying I only had one thing to rant about and now I'm back but I suppose it should be said. I think we should have a hospitality office or something, somewhere where broke otakus can get free food that will keep them coming back and staying well fed at the con. Over the course of the four days of con with the exception of my embarassing and shameful breakdown I lived on handfuls of this and that already taken and shared around with what could be and five hour energy shots, none of which I could pay for cause well, I'm broke.

That said I've been over 12 years of congoing at things like Orycon, which has a successful Hospitality office all con long full of simple, cheap stuff to feed people like meat platters and sandwich stuffs as well as water and all. Boxes are put out for donations and Orycon normally gets a pretty good hospitality haul to allow it the next year and so on. I think it adds a necessary sustaining factor to a con to have a place where people can come to relax, maybe watch some movies or anime and enjoy a psuedo-free meal with like minded exhausted otakus.
Orycon is substantially smaller than Kumoricon and food costs money. While it would be a nice idea in theory, it's not sustainable. Badge prices would have to increase $15 - $20 more, and ten to fifteen staff would have to be cooking for all these people. Plus, we'd run into the problem of impatient attendees, the question of hours for the room, location of the room, line control for the room, fire code for the room, a place for tables to eat the food...

Tanis is absolutely right, but I'll do you one better and breakdown the numbers for you, because I don't want to tell you "no" and leave it at that, I want to tell you why we can't so maybe, one day, someone can look at this data, and see the way to combat it, and maybe one day we can offer something to all attendees. However, as most large conventions will tell you, once you get past 2k attendees, the thought of feeding them all becomes astronomically non-feasible.

So, lets imagine that each attendee of OryCon contributes ~$1 to the Hospitality Suite, some more, some less, and over the course of the 3 day event they would probably get about $2000 for the next year's Hospitality Suite - which is about $1.22 per person (as an estimate, based on their attendance of 1628 in 2001, which is the latest numbers I can get on the internet easily).

Feeding a little over 1.5k on $2000 doesn't seem particularly daunting, and a little bit of the cons budget probably supplements that. And you can estimate high that only 60% of attendees would use the hospitality suite. That brings the total needed to feed to ~960:

Average cost of
Meat platter: $12 (internet says it serves 6-8 so if we estimate high): $1440
Cheese Platter: $10 (internet says serves 10-12): $800
Fruit Platter: $14 (internet says serves 6-8): $1680
Taco Servings (2 tacos per person): $2400
Soda & Bottles of Water (~.25/per @ 6 per person): $1440

Now, that's just the basics, at cost, for 3 days -  with high estimates of portioning (if you think most people only grab 1 or 2 sodas a day, you are crazy) and the total comes out to $7760. That is for about 1000 people, 3 days, and that isn't including bagels or cream cheese or milk or cereal or doughnuts and goodness knows what else. They have quite a nice spread. I am sure they get some donations, but trust me when I say that it is EXPENSIVE to feed people.

So lets pretend we take that same number, and we multiply it by the amount of people Kumoricon, at current numbers would have to feed. We are at 4750, so 60% is 2850 which is almost 3x how many Orycon would be required to feed. Which means almost 3x the food (giving for variants, because food doesn't become exactly more expensive as you buy in bulk, there are discounts) near $18k just for food? That's the price of 400 at con registrations. It's a lot of money.

If there was an easier way to feed that many people the basics, hell even keep attendees in pocky and ramune... we'd probably want to hear about it, and think about the feasibility. But there are other factors too:

The convention provides a great benefit to the city - we have a surplus of youth with dispensable incomes - which means we benefit the city as a source of commerce. It would be a great disservice to the city to offer something that they provide at an income for their citizens. It's difficult, but we have to think about the economic impact on all ends. However, we do do our best to impress upon the city the necessity of providing cheap, easy and convenient food options as well as nicer places.

I hope that helps people see a small glimpse of what it is like budgeting and weighing different potential expenditures. It can get really really complicated really quick.

Similarly, if anyone else has any curiosities about why we do things the way we do, feel free to PM me, while we try our best not to disclose the exact amount of money we have or use on any given line item, we aren't secretive, and we are always willing to hear peoples thoughts and new ideas... heck, that's how I got where I am!

UPDATE: As I wrote this someone posted about ALA which has just under 4k in attendance, and does a Con Suite for their staff and attendees. I am currently asking on a forum in which i am in contact with the Programming Director of ALA how they work the cost of that to see what the differences are. I'll let you know what I find.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #87 on: September 06, 2012, 09:05:40 pm »
Why in the [REDACTED] is there no upvote button on this forum?

I am impressed, Ally!

(Hey, what if we were to sell a Food Badge, for $20 more?)
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 09:06:18 pm by TanisNikana »

Offline princess_of_zeal

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #88 on: September 06, 2012, 09:06:37 pm »
(Hey, what if we were to sell a Food Badge, for $20 more?)

I like this idea.

Offline AllyKat

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #89 on: September 06, 2012, 09:19:01 pm »
(Hey, what if we were to sell a Food Badge, for $20 more?)

I like this idea.

I can feel the Operations department just burning me to a cinder with their eyes. I mentioned the money and we mentioned the space, but one real hindrance is honestly staff. We have 3-4 really stellar con suite staff for our Staffers to get food, and that runs pretty well on a bare bones set up for 300 people... I'm not saying you need 37 staff to make our consuite run for the entire convention... but... even half of that wouldn't be out of the question... and we have Yojimbo who promise to be staff for 16 hours and then never show up... we have entry level staff who sign up and then never appear... leaving those who did commit and did agree to work filling more and more shifts... can you imagine the chaos it would cause if some of those staff set to be our Con Suite staff didn't show? How ragged those poor people would end up? I shudder the thought.

Until we have a consistent and reliable amount of staff for the current positions we desperately need staff in, I'm not banking on any new features that require a plethora of staff.

That's not saying no, it's just saying... that right now our infrastructure couldn't handle the pressure.
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #90 on: September 06, 2012, 09:23:18 pm »
One thing I noticed is that the longer a staffer is working a given year of the convention, the more the rewards seem to ramp up. A staffer who shows up and works his shift is treated to a nice meal at the end of con. A staffer who completes the unload on day 4 is treated to an amazingly incredible party at [DATA EXPUNGED]. If we were to publicize staff rewards a bit more, would this result in a higher staff retention rate?

Then again, I stuck it out for the sake of the con, and the rewards surprised me...

Offline Kimiski

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #91 on: September 06, 2012, 09:40:07 pm »
(Hey, what if we were to sell a Food Badge, for $20 more?)

I like this idea.

I can feel the Operations department just burning me to a cinder with their eyes.

You have NO IDEA how much that made me lol. xD


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Offline Bresslol

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #92 on: September 06, 2012, 09:44:00 pm »
(Hey, what if we were to sell a Food Badge, for $20 more?)

I like this idea.

I can feel the Operations department just burning me to a cinder with their eyes. I mentioned the money and we mentioned the space, but one real hindrance is honestly staff. We have 3-4 really stellar con suite staff for our Staffers to get food, and that runs pretty well on a bare bones set up for 300 people... I'm not saying you need 37 staff to make our consuite run for the entire convention... but... even half of that wouldn't be out of the question... and we have Yojimbo who promise to be staff for 16 hours and then never show up... we have entry level staff who sign up and then never appear... leaving those who did commit and did agree to work filling more and more shifts... can you imagine the chaos it would cause if some of those staff set to be our Con Suite staff didn't show? How ragged those poor people would end up? I shudder the thought.

Until we have a consistent and reliable amount of staff for the current positions we desperately need staff in, I'm not banking on any new features that require a plethora of staff.

That's not saying no, it's just saying... that right now our infrastructure couldn't handle the pressure.

I have no idea what you're talking about.




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Offline veraca

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #93 on: September 06, 2012, 11:25:24 pm »
Bringing back up the topic of badges being two sided, my group and I talked about this briefly for a while at con this year. And we came to the understanding that if a circle, square or triangle of the person's badge color could be used on the flip-side of the badge could be used?
I would like to further that thought to: the white back of the badge being a matching solid color of the front of the badge? A minor's back of their badge would be the same shade of yellow/green that what is on their front -without including the picture/information and such. That way if someone out of their badge tier saw it they'd know more readily if they could flirt with them or not or to stay away (you don't mess with reds if you're a blue under any circumstances, for example. but some yellows look older then me, and i'm well into blue)

I realize it's more use of ink for the badges, and we'd probably be asked to turn them over anyway to reveal names and the fancy stickers or whatnot, but just having that color present should make it easier for the badge-checkers and normal attendees to see?
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #94 on: September 06, 2012, 11:36:25 pm »
I think double-sided badges in general should be a thing. Both for staff (why is your badge white?) and for attendees (who the heck are you anyway, lemme see that so I know if I have to throw you out of this line)

(cute guys with blue badges = me buenö)

Offline Rathany

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #95 on: September 06, 2012, 11:55:02 pm »
One thing I noticed is that the longer a staffer is working a given year of the convention, the more the rewards seem to ramp up. A staffer who shows up and works his shift is treated to a nice meal at the end of con. A staffer who completes the unload on day 4 is treated to an amazingly incredible party at [DATA EXPUNGED]. If we were to publicize staff rewards a bit more, would this result in a higher staff retention rate?

Then again, I stuck it out for the sake of the con, and the rewards surprised me...

Food rewards are complicated.  As I stated in the elections thread I am one of 8 staffers that I know of who are on a special diet.  Even when I was a Director, the con was unable to accommodate me more often then not.  It kinda sucks when other staff are chilling/bonding over various meals I am off to scrounge by my lonesome.  

If I was the lone special snowflake I wouldn't give a plop.  But, it's far from just me now.  

... I could go on about this topic, but will spare you ^.^    

Though, on a total tangent, that multiple-allergy-friendly food cart right next to con this year?  That we SO good for me and some other staffers. 
« Last Edit: September 07, 2012, 12:41:57 am by Rathany »
2003 - 2006 Kumoricon Attendee
2007 - Assistant Registration Manager - PreReg Side
2008 - Vice Chair
2009/2010 - Director of Relations
2011 - Return to Vice
2012 - herp derp

Offline Kimiski

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #96 on: September 07, 2012, 01:09:52 am »
I think double-sided badges in general should be a thing. Both for staff (why is your badge white?) and for attendees (who the heck are you anyway, lemme see that so I know if I have to throw you out of this line)

(cute guys with blue badges = me buenö)

I'm sure Brian and Chris will LOVVEEEE this suggestion!!! xD
We're definitely going to need another badge printer if this is the case, meetings will be double long... @__@


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Offline Washougal_Otaku

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #97 on: September 07, 2012, 01:27:32 am »
It would've been nice if the at-door reg badges were more obvious on whether or not someone was a minor vs. an adult, at least making sure that ALL staff knows the difference, assuming that there is one.  I know that there's a letter that gets written on them, but can't there be different prints, or colors, or something?
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Offline That_Guy

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #98 on: September 07, 2012, 12:52:00 pm »
I think double-sided badges in general should be a thing. Both for staff (why is your badge white?) and for attendees (who the heck are you anyway, lemme see that so I know if I have to throw you out of this line)

(cute guys with blue badges = me buenö)

The reason we can't do it with the plastic attendee badges is because our printer can't print both sides at once so we would have to do a batch on one side (which in itself takes forever because these printers are SLOW AS HECK) and then place the cards individually in the hopper and reprint the opposite side. So if there is a mistake, we'd have to start the process all over again and just printing one side for 500-800 badges a meeting is a full day job.

Maybe we can do a color sticker or tape on the blank side instead? That could be something we can look into next year.

The staff badges are all logistics so I have no say in if they can or not.


It would've been nice if the at-door reg badges were more obvious on whether or not someone was a minor vs. an adult, at least making sure that ALL staff knows the difference, assuming that there is one.  I know that there's a letter that gets written on them, but can't there be different prints, or colors, or something?

I'm currently talking to some other reg managers about different age color paper badges like the Pre-Reg/Will Call plastic ones for at door with the check off boxes for days, for next year so we can get rid of the color coated sharpie system which failed on Saturday night this year and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Offline kalagei

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Re: Kumoricon 2012 Rants and Raves!
« Reply #99 on: September 07, 2012, 01:02:40 pm »
I personally like the idea of colored stickers for the age. The problem is that we're trying to not waste thousands of paper badges at the end of con, so we've always used a marking system for this.

Now that we've seen the boxes for weekend/sat/sun was successful, we'll be able to see if trying different colors for at the door can work again.
2004 - 2007 Kumoricon Attendee
2008 - Operations Office Staff
2009 - Assistant Ops Director
2010 - Director of Operations
2011 - Registration Manager
2012 - Vice Chair
2013 - I can safely say that I'm not running for a board position :D