Author Topic: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)  (Read 23744 times)

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Offline Neko_Chan

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Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« on: September 03, 2007, 10:52:37 pm »
I had to leave early but I think that it would be a good idea anyway for people who had to leave early or didnt attend the rant and rave to have their raves and rants heard on the fourms, yes?

I would first love to rave about all the lovely people that attended our lolita panels and events. Thank you so much! And for the people in programming and in helping set up all the media things for us and for making everything run smoothly in the panels (a special shoutout to Poncho, even though he wont read this, for being such an AMAZING hotel catering staff member).

Also a rave about the pre-registered attendees line. :D I think that mailing out the badges was the best idea EVER and it was so well organized and it was run really smoothly.

Thank you to Maid Squad. :) I was so busy that I didnt get to help but thank you to all the kind girls and boys who helped move the lines along.

And then a little rant, I remember that Panelists had discounts and differnet badges in years past and I think that would encourage more people to be involved and do panels aswell.

And than about lines in general at the con. Trying to get people to come into our lolita sewing panel while the masqurade, bakazoku reunion and voice acting panels were going on was the worst and the lines were horrible. People were blocking the signs that we had made and we couldnt find any one officail to help move the lines along. Later we were sitting on the very right hand of the staircase near where the Slants were signing autographs, etc, after dancing oin stage we were SOO whiped out and a staff member kindly asked us to move. We werent blocking anyone and I thought it funny that people just seem to sit down WHEVER THEY WANT (aka in elvators, infront of elevators, infront of doors, infront of stairs, in the middle of the hallways, ETC) and are never asked to move while we four girls were asked to move after five or so minutes from a so called "fire hazard". It was like "where the heck were you a few hours ago?" and he just said that he was busy. So line controll and that sort of management went on and off but was generall not in our favor.

Offline Rushifa

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2007, 11:03:51 pm »
On the rave side, I had a great time this year!  Everyone was really nice, especially the hotel staff, suprisingly, and there seemed to be a lot more to do this year than last.

On the rant side, I have a few more problems...sorry, as they say, the bad always stands out more than the good:

First, the layout was a little wierd.  It was nice to have a big area for the Excibition Hall, but it felt wierd having to go out and around to get to it.  Also, once you were inside, it felt really confusing.  The poor Artist's Alley was tucked in the veyr back, and I know a lot of people never made it back there.  Next time I think Artist's Alley should be in the front, so you can pass all the pretty artwork on your way to the general venders.  Maybe even outside, so you can puruse while in line, or something (not with the parking garage set up, but if it were indoors).  It also seemed that alot of booths all sold the same stuff, and were all lumped together.

The hotel also had some layout issues (I know we had no control over it, but still).  It was really annoying having to go into an entirely different area to get to the up elevators.  It was kind of dizzying to go from hotel room to exhibition hall, and then back.  Also, we couldn't have very many people in the elevators, but from the first floor there was no access to the stairs!  I thought that was just odd.

Ok, last complaint, I swear!  I wish the mascuarade had been, well...more what it had been promised to be.  None of the music was very ballroom-dancy-y, and there wasn't much room in the hall.  I was all ready to waltz, but even the slow songs weren't very appropriate.  I want to see it happen next year, but I want it to work better!   Also, it seems like it should have been on saturday night, instead of sunday.  I ended up not going to the cosplay event so I could go to the ballroom dancing lessons, and then never actually went to them because of the long line.  It was...kind of disapointing.

Ok, to leave on a happy note, the gaming room was really comfortable, and pre-reg seemed to work really well! go staff!

Offline maetel

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2007, 11:10:53 pm »
a million thanks to Rian who was SO helpful and great at communicating with me to get everything organized for the tea party (and to get things for the other panels). AHHH SERIOUSLY I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!! there aren't enough exclaimation points in the world
and thank you very much to the panel guy in the red jacket/costume, you were a great help too! (sorry i totally forgot your name ;___;)
thank you for all the great people who came to the Lolita panels
thank you to all the staff for treating The Slants so well. they had an awesome time!



THUMBS DOWN to:
- the guy doing the "guns in anime" panel right before the Lolita Sewing panel who was a jerk and would NOT wrap it up and leave until 15min after the Lolita Sewing panel was supposed to start. not cool.
- the very drunk guy in his underwear who pounded on our door at 2am Friday night and asked if it was his room. then asked if he could sleep on the floor and got mad when i said NO. i have no idea who you are, gtfo plz.


Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2007, 11:34:29 pm »

And than about lines in general at the con. Trying to get people to come into our lolita sewing panel while the masqurade, bakazoku reunion and voice acting panels were going on was the worst and the lines were horrible. People were blocking the signs that we had made and we couldnt find any one officail to help move the lines along. Later we were sitting on the very right hand of the staircase near where the Slants were signing autographs, etc, after dancing oin stage we were SOO whiped out and a staff member kindly asked us to move. We werent blocking anyone and I thought it funny that people just seem to sit down WHEVER THEY WANT (aka in elvators, infront of elevators, infront of doors, infront of stairs, in the middle of the hallways, ETC) and are never asked to move while we four girls were asked to move after five or so minutes from a so called "fire hazard". It was like "where the heck were you a few hours ago?" and he just said that he was busy. So line controll and that sort of management went on and off but was generall not in our favor.

I agree.

I think that, if there's going to be someone doing crowd-control and such, they need to be thurough--and there needs to be more individuals conducting that job.

You can't tell some people to move, and not others.

It seems like they only had one guy on crowd control, and obviously, he can't be everywhere at once.
There needs to be more people.


I can understand that *too* many people on a staircase could be a fire hazard, but there were only four of us.
Also, there were DOZENS of people blocking the exit doors TEN FEET away from us.


I don't think I'd be worried about the stairs.
Why do the stairs matter, if by the time the con-goers got down them they couldn't make it out the exit doors and burned to death anyway because fifty people were sitting there? :/

Offline Ryu-chan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2007, 11:39:08 pm »
Rant: yea the layout was so weird =X, the dating game was too short ;o; i...think thats all lol, everything else seemed to run by smoothly with a bit of normal technical errors.

Rave: the reg. line was long and hot but i loved how people would bring out water and such (actually i didnt have to be in the line cause i pre-reg, but i was in it anyways cause im an airhead LOL)
the peeps aka ones running the con were so helpful like when i lost my badge while dancing *yay!*

Offline Kimiski

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2007, 11:42:23 pm »
MY RANT:

See my post in the "I know I said this last year, but..." thread in the help, suggestions, complains forum.
Thank you!


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Offline melchizedek

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2007, 11:43:24 pm »
I should start with the positive.   I commuted so I never experienced the hotel the whole weekend thing.  I was glad about the parking.  I NEVER had to pay for parking and always parked within a mile of the hotel.   

The registration people were amazing.  I still had the miserable memories of waiting in the sakuracon line for 2 hours even though I was pre reg, it seemed like there wasn't ever much of a line to get in. 

There were quite a bit of panels and when people didn't show for their own panel, some awesome people stepped up and ran the panel for them.  I thought that was way cool.

I also liked that the hotel had really good AC!!!!

As far things that could be improved on:

It seemed like some of the rooms had very thin walls.  Putting workshops next to the main while loudness was going maybe that wasn't such a great idea.  I didn't really like the layout of the hotel.  It seemed like a long narrow strip on two floors with access on both ends.  It would be better to have a space that is more square with better accessibility between floors.  Also, in the public areas it would have been nice if there was more seating.  Sometime I was hanging out and just wanted to sit back against a wall and watch the cosplayers go by. 

Also, I didn't really like the main room at all.  The stage was too low, I think it could have been a foot or two higher so that people on stage had better stage presence.   The room also was too small for some events.  I sat at the info desk just hanging out and so many people were disappointed that they couldn't get into the cosplay contest.  If there isn't a bigger room next year this'll be even worse. 

There was some problems with the sound system setup in the main area.  I don't know what it was but the quality of sound seemed quite low for how much stuff they had set up.  Things didn't sound mixed well at all for either of the two shows I went to.  I think there maybe is some equipment that needs to be replaced.  Or some more time doing sound checks.

Also, speaking of concerts, 1pm on monday seems a weird time to have a show.  Maybe it would have been better to have bands play back to back.

The viewing rooms were too small.  Almost all the time I went into one people were standing.  I also wasn't too impressed with the selection in the viewing rooms, maybe I'm picky but nothing really kept me there for more than an episode or two.

I also think that there should be more time / space to dances.  The ballroom dance (which I didn't goto because I'm deathly afraid of long lines) could be in the biggest room and be 4 hours instead of 2. 

I'd rather that the yojimbos be a little less assertive sometimes.  It seemed like a few people that were harmless got dealt with rather harshly.
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Offline hikaru_maxwell

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2007, 11:44:27 pm »
Rave: Most of the convention was wonderful.  I was actually very happy with the room size compared to last year.  I mean, there was actually ROOM in many of the panels, and the really popular ones weren't overflowing with people who had to stand.

The hotel staff were polite, most of the con staff were wonderful also.  I absolutely loved that the J-rock room kept going to the very end when my friends and I went to go watch, even though they were empty and about to deconstruct. It really made the day for quite a few of us who were looking for something to do.

Rant: Inconsistency.  After being told by several staff members (quite nicely) that something we were doing was okay (with conditions like not overcrowding the elevators or doing things that were unsafe inside the hotel), it was quite a shock to have a particular staff member more than once (and quite rudely) inform people in our group that what we were doing was "not allowed" even though we had already been told it was alright, and there weren't any rules in the con handbook or the hotel rules that we could see that prevented it.  Even the hotel staff hadn't said it wasn't okay.

So my rant is basically that ALL the staff need to be clear on what it is and isnt okay for congoers to do (or where to sit), and that it would be lovely if they could be POLITE when asking for people to move out of the way or for them to stop something they're doing. Being treated badly by con staff makes for not as much of an enjoyable experience, and also might make it so fewer people want to repeat their con experience.

That is all.

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Offline Neko_Chan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2007, 11:50:41 pm »
Oh, and my friends and I pinned out badges to the waists on ours skirts/jumpers and we wore them like that for all of friday and saturday and it was only of late evening on sunday one staff member told us to wear them on our upper torso but we honestly didnt want to put holes in our blouses and the layards are too much of a hassle. And when put on with the lanyard, the badge is literally... one inch above where it would be where we pinned it. I understand the lanyard is given to us specifically but I just felt like it wasnt a big deal to pin in to ourselves.

Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2007, 11:56:14 pm »
I can understand the premise behind needing the red lanyards to recognize con-goers easily.

BUT.

Even people with red lanyards could easily fake being a con-goer. Most of the time (While I still had my red lanyard) the badge kept getting flipped around, so only the white back of the card was visible.

And if you need a rule for red lanyards, you might as well make a rule that every con goer has to look at their badge every fifteen seconds to make sure it's not flipped around.


I'm sure a lot of people got into Kumoricon events simply because they had a red lanyard, but no one bothered to check their actual card.

"Oh, they have a LANYARD. They must have paid for admission."


Personally I think if you want to check someone's badge, if it's really a big deal, you need to physically go up to them, look at it, and make an effort to see if they actually are con-goers are not.

Don't just stand by a door and try to pick out the red lanyards from amongst the crowd. :/

Offline Rushifa

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #10 on: September 04, 2007, 12:01:08 am »
Oh, I remembered another rant!  The AMV Contest was physically painful.  And I don't mean the selection of videos.  I mean, the bas was -way- too loud.  There were a few instances when I was bored out of my mind because I couldn't actually hear any of the lyrics/dialogue in  a video due to the bass overpowering it.  I left there very unhappy, with a horrible headache.

Still on the AMV contest, I think it went on way too long.  They annouced that they had included, what was it, twice as many videos as last year?  I don't view this as a good thing. Alot of the videos didn't make any sense if you hadn't seen the series to completion, and I think because they didn't weed out more before the contest, the audience got stuck seeing more so-so videos than was necessary.  I mean, there were still alot of good videos, but by the end I was too tired and headache-y to really appreciate them. 

Offline Flatline

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2007, 12:26:43 am »
Alright, as a Yojimbo I personally apologize for any inconveniences. I realize that the lines were long, and that it was difficult for a lot of people, and I wish there was a way to make things run faster, but there were definitely staff members that tried their hardest (Especially at the registration desks, they worked as fast as they could) to really get things done well for everybody. It's tough work manning a con of 3,000 people.

Onto my rant. This isn't directed at any one specific person or group, but just something I'd like to say.

Being staff, especially Yojimbo, is VERY difficult work. Yes, we have our communication problems, yes, we may have some stupid policies, and yes, some of us may not be nice. But really, some of us break our backs to keep things safe, orderly, and hopefully fun. This is especially true for Yojimbo. A lot of us work for pretty much the entire convention, often with few breaks and little (sometimes no) sleep at all. And all this is volunteer work. We volunteer our time for people, and I know that there are times when it may seem like we're only about rules and other things, but I'd just like to try to mention that we really do work hard. Sometimes I feel like it's a thankless job, honestly. I actually didn't do much at the convention at all because I was working quite frequently. Sometimes I'd get free time, then immediately get called up to do yet another shift with no relief for quite some time. This is something that I know most, if not all Yojimbo have to deal with. And it almost seems like some people have more to rant about than to rave about. I just hope we can do better for everyone next year, and I apologize for this year's problems.
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Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #12 on: September 04, 2007, 12:47:37 am »
This year, I took a step that I didn’t think I’d be taking until I had a good few years of K-con under my belt. But since my sister and friend pushed me into it, I had no choice. I was appoint the Signage King of this year’s Kumoricon. You’ll see my name in the Con book with the title Signage Coordinator. And, here’s my little tiny rant/rave on that:

1- I loved doing it. It was great helping out the convention and seeing the fruits of my work being printed out (Awesome job on the printing job, Meg. :3 ) And seeing them be used. I hoped they were helpful to the people. Next year, I’ll make more to allow for different uses for them.

2 – My only little gripe of it was that I was the only one doing it. Normally, I’m fine with being the sole person of doing something. I did it mostly in school anyway. But, I would have loved to have an assistant, or a Co-Signage Coordinator next to me to help me make the signs that the staff needed during the convention.

Okay, off of the signage stuff. And now onto the con-goer stuff. I didn’t have much stuff to argue about, mainly because I was running around doing staff things like making signs or helping with registration. I do agree with people that the layout was a little wonky this year, but it was easier to find my way around than it was at the Red Lion. And the late knowledge that we could use the stairs was a little annoying. But, I can look around that.

All in all, this con was the 2nd greatest one that I’ve been to. And I’m going to keep coming.

p.s. Dang my resolution for making my posts short! D:

Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #13 on: September 04, 2007, 12:52:09 am »
@Flatline:
Well, part of your post seems like it was obviously just directed at something I/ others said, so there's no point in saying it wasn't directed at any particular person/ group since it sort of was, so there's no point in saying it wasn't. XD
If it wasn't directed at us, they sorry. : P Otherwise, it must be a conicidence that you directly replied to something I was talking about just two posts before you~


Anyway, I think it's great that there's so many wonderful individuals willing to volunteer. Without them, the con wouldn't be possible!

However, if someone volunteered and then says "Aw, I didn't get to go to many events at the convention..."
Well, they did sign up to be a volunteer, so they should be expecting as much.
I don't think many people, including myself, are inclided to feel sorry for someone who didn't get to do many events when they signed up to be a helper of their own accord.

I'm very sure you were all doing hard work. I could tell by how exhaused so many volunteers looked, and you can bet every single con goer who had fun really respects that.
However, in the professional world, no one cares if "You didn't get a break." or "You were tired." Or "I couldn't do two things at once!!"
I have a job. And *I* don't get people feeling sorry for me.
I have to work really  hard and if it's not good enough, I'll get fired.
No one feels sorry for me if I don't get a break or if I've been on my feet for twelve hours.
A job is a job, and if the job is too much for someone, they shouldn't take it.


People are more likely to give out rants, though, because I think most people feel that the good things that went on are ovbious and unspoken.

Also, people that were just regular con-goers don't necessairly know what kind of work goes into making a convention like this, so they can't fesibly thank helpers and staff for something that ran flawlessly which they have no knowledge of. All they can point out is the things that went wrong since that's all they were able to notice.

The fact that there have been VERY few different rants so far indicates that all you helpers were doing a wonderdful job for the most part!

I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm just defending my point--the con went really well, simply not perfectly, considering nothing is perfect.

Some things could have gone a tad better, and there are ALWAYS things to be improved upon, in cons, in life--in anything.

« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 01:00:13 am by Irate Beldam »

Offline kylite

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #14 on: September 04, 2007, 12:57:34 am »
while i can understand your view bedlam, I must point one thing out.

Yes we DO volunteer and thus we don't get to see many events, but we DO get to be treated like trash by quite a few people who think that since we are staff, that they can just disregard what we say or yell at us on a regular basis for doing our jobs. 

I know you were not one of those who did BUT that is what happens.

so next time you see someone just doing their job at a convention to help clear a hall, or guard a door or seat people at an event, a simple thank you can make a world of difference. we are after all humans too.

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Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #15 on: September 04, 2007, 01:04:32 am »
while i can understand your view bedlam, I must point one thing out.

Yes we DO volunteer and thus we don't get to see many events, but we DO get to be treated like trash by quite a few people who think that since we are staff, that they can just disregard what we say or yell at us on a regular basis for doing our jobs. 

I know you were not one of those who did BUT that is what happens.

so next time you see someone just doing their job at a convention to help clear a hall, or guard a door or seat people at an event, a simple thank you can make a world of difference. we are after all humans too.



Well, it's not really a view, it's a  fact.

Some thirteen year old con goer who has no idea how things work behind the scenes at a con shouldn't be expected to thank someone for something they don't understand and couldn't *possibly* know.


I do understand what you're saying, though, it's a thankless job, but a lot of people work in thankless jobd in real life, including myself.


I don't know why anyone would treat a volunteer like trash, though, that's kind of rude.

It's not like I don't appriciate them of course, it's just that if someone says "PLEASE MOVE NOW, YOU'RE BLOCKING THE HALL" with a sarcastic voice and rolls their eyes, my saying "Thank you! n__n" at that point would seem a bit out of place, to say the least.


Maybe next year on the last day of the con there should be like...hmm, a "Volunteer Thank You!" panel or something?

I think that sounds kind of interesting!

Offline Teuvan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2007, 01:59:31 am »
Rave:
The "Anime That Scarred Me For Life" panel was amazing. Way better than I expected. I'll try to catch it every time the con has it from now on.
Over Nine Thousand was also very awesome. Panels driven by the audience's questions always seem to be the most entertaining, and Sean was an excellent speaker.
Anime Hunters was surprisingly funny. When I first heard about, I saw an FF7 reference and immediately ruled it out. But I ended up dropping by the panel anyway, and it turned out to be very funny.
This year's dance was actually the first dance of any kind I've ever attended. That said, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I almost feel bad for skipping it in favor of the Gankutsuou showing last year, but Gankutsuou is incredibly awesome, and that particular showing was lots of fun.
The Host Club Tea Party was lots of fun, even though I never actually got a cup of tea.
Both the Slants and A-Key Kyo concerts were great. I'd love to see them again, especially A-Key Kyo (just out of personal preference; both bands are great at their respective genres).
The charity auction was more fun than I'd expected. I bought the Pyramid Head costume piece and Vash's 100% aluminum foil gun, both of which I absolutely love.
The exhibitors hall was great. Much better than last year, which says quite a lot. I found out about several very talented artists and ended up spending a small fortune on artbooks and doujinshi. Although I spent enough on Type Moon fan material to feed a small country for a year, I HAVE NO REGRETS IN MY EXISTENCE!

Rant:
I'm pretty annoyed by the cosplay contest. I was told by a staffer that the line would be inside, but I eventually noticed the line was forming outside. At that point, the line was at a ridiculous length, and I'd have lined up earlier if I had known the line existed. After I finally got to the back of the line, we were informed of a ten minute delay. Apparently, the ten minute delay was for the announcement of another ten minute delay, which actually turned out to be a twenty minute delay. I can understand there being delays, but if you can't give an accurate estimate of how long a delay is going to be then don't give one at all. I'd rather be left in the dark entirely than hear "10 mins to go lol...until we tell you to wait 10 mins again that is lololol...and by that we mean 20 minutes LORFMA."

Finally, we were seated. I ended up in a seat sorta toward the middle of the room, which I was sorta surprised by since I was near the back of the line. Figured I'd be in the far back corner. Well, it turned out I might as well have been. I could hardly see anything, and it was also pretty difficult to make out what was being said over the speakers as well. The randomly inserted technical problems did not help the situation. The main problem, in any case, was not being able to see what's going on. I mean, what's the point of having a COSPLAY contest when a large portion of the audience can hardly see the performers? Correct me if I'm just sounding stupid, but couldn't there have been a view screen showing what's happening on-stage? I'm not an audio visual expert, but I can't imagine such a thing being hard to do. And it would have made a huge difference to the people in the back rows. Keep in mind that I'm not the only person who had trouble seeing things, and that I came across several others who shared my annoyance. In any case, I'll probably skip the contest next year unless I hear plans to make it more accessible.

Other than that, my only real problem was with the hotel layout. It wasn't absolutely horrible, but it wasn't properly set up for a convention like this. But since the con's being held at a different one next year, I guess there's no reason to complain.
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Offline Kyrraven

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #17 on: September 04, 2007, 02:06:36 am »
I've got to put in a rave for the anime piped into our hotel room! There were two channels showing anime throughout the con... very nice!

Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #18 on: September 04, 2007, 02:10:15 am »
I've got to put in a rave for the anime piped into our hotel room! There were two channels showing anime throughout the con... very nice!

I thought that was kinnda neat when I ran across it! At first I thought there were like, anime channels on cable in Washington or something. x3

Offline Shiv

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #19 on: September 04, 2007, 08:57:15 am »
This first part is actually a response, mostly to address Bedlam's points regarding yojimbo:
EXTRA IMPORTANT PRE-EMPTIVE EDIT: I'm not angry at Bedlam, or really anyone, at all! I want to clarify this ahead of time. I'm not even agitated. Please keep this in mind when figuring the tone of the post while reading it.

As a yojimbo, you get to know the inner workings of things, to a degree, and the safety and liability concerns that go along with a con. Most people don't think about these things, but if we were to ignore them entirely the con could not continue to exist. What most people also don't realize is that we're simply trying to keep you all safe and the con alive for years to come because we, too, enjoy having a con where everyone can geek out (and I use this term affectionately, because it also applies to me) over anime and have fun with other people who share their interests.

If you think it's annoying to be moved in the hallways, to have to move closer to the wall when in line, or to be relocated when sitting somewhere, try thinking about the other side of the coin: How annoying would it be to you if you couldn't get through the hallway because people were inconsiderately standing in the middle of it, completely oblivious to the fact that they were obstructing you from your destination, or forcing you to uncomfortably squeeze or muscle your way through? What if you were running late for the panel you wanted to see, all the way across the hotel, and all the hallways were haphazardly filled with people? Most importantly, what if there was an emergency, or better yet, what if you were the person having the emergency, and help was delayed because the hallways had to be cleared every single step of the way?

We're honestly not just bossing you around to be jerks, I can certainly vouch for the fact that the folks I worked closely with weren't. We care about your safety and convenience as a whole and the work we do is all for you.

I'd also like to add that inconsistency in enforcement of rules stems from a couple of causes. First off - we simply do not have enough people to enforce the rules at all times. The number one thing that would help this is if more people would volunteer for staffing, especially for yojimbo positions. One yojimbo simply can not possibly keep track of what everyone in a crowd around them is doing. Not even one really, really good yojimbo. One sleep-deprived-got-three-hours-of-sleep-been-walking-for-hours-on-end-and-had-one-break-for-food-all-day yojimbo, which is what we often get when we're short-staffed, is lucky to remember their room number by the end of the day, let alone attempt to keep track of what the hundred or so people around them are all doing. The final contributing factor, though, is the fact that many, many things are simply judgment calls on the part of the individual. A yojimbo walking by at one time may consider your current location or activity to be safe, another may not. The yojimbo in question may even be mistaken on their call in any given instance, but the fact is that people often see things very differently.

Another thing I'd like to add, and this is specifically regarding a parallel you've drawn, Bedlam, is that you can't really liken this to a job. None of us are paid. In fact, though many people are not aware of this, we actually still pay to be staff, it's not a free ticket. Additionally, we sink a lot of money into this between the hotel room itself (which is pretty much required if you want to have any hope of getting where you need to be on time, let alone stumbling back to your hotel bed/floor when the long day is done), feeding ourselves, and transportation - those on staff who travel from out of state or the further out cities spend a good chunk of money on gas alone.

Finally, it is not a fact that you should not expect to thank a person for helping you or other people, let alone for volunteering their time and energy in such copious amounts. If you would thank a person simply for holding a door or saying "bless you" when you sneeze (and I hope you would), why wouldn't you thank them for helping to staff an event that you look forward to for months, or even the entirety of the year?

To wrap this bit up, while it does sound like a rant, and actually largely is one, the real reason I've wrote it is I thought it would be fair to let everyone (this is not targeted solely at Bedlam, I really am sorry if it feels that way) know why things are the way they are and to better inform you so you may know what things are like on the other side of the fence. We often feel under-appreciated for the work we do, but anyone can help to fix that by at least understanding why it is we do what we do and helping us to help your fellow con-goers.

So, on a lighter note, do the right thing: Hug a yojimbo next con and tell them thank you. It would make their day!

My apologies for this issue hijacking the thread. We now return you to your regularly scheduled rants and raves:



I didn't miss the rant and rave, but here's a few points on the con (from a less-staff-ish viewpoint) I thought I'd share with those who did:

RANTS:
  • Volume level of The Slants concert
-The music was so loud you could hardly hear it, if that makes any sense. I'm not one for earplugs, but working the door at the far end of the event hall I finally gave in and used earplugs. I honestly couldn't tell you if the music was any good because it was nearly impossible to really listen to it. The sound check was sounding pretty good, but then they turned up the volume... This was pretty much already mentioned in the rant and rave, but I figure it's worth mentioning again.
  • Elevators
-It's pretty much pointless to complain about this, because they're a bottleneck in any hotel, but the elevators were a huge slowdown both for attendees and staff, and stairs are enough to make anyone curse their every step after so many hours on your feet. These elevators also felt disconcertingly underpowered for such a new location. This is beyond the power of the convention to fix, but not immune to my desire to complain about it.
  • Not enough yojimbo
-There were not enough yojimbo to keep things moving smoothly everywhere at all times. Things slipped under the radar that shouldn't have simply because there weren't enough people to address all issues at once.

RAVES (Yay):
  • Anime on the TVs
-That was a nice touch. Very awesome.
  • People in general
-You're a great group, honestly! Especially this year. I liked attending, but I like working on staff even more because it's really satisfying to volunteer for a convention with so many nice, friendly people. It's what keeps me coming back.
  • The people in lines
-Okay, so this is from a yojimbo point of view, but people in lines were amazingly patient, and for the most part, very understanding of the fact that the yojimbo had to keep the impact of the line minimized on traffic flow, with the exception of corners, but everyone knows its hard to keep the corners well organized, especially when you're with friends. Yes, yojimbo know that too, believe it or not  ;D. You guys were really awesome this year.
  • Nearby park
-Having a (clean, safe) park nearby to go have fun or relax outside in was nice. I didn't spend any time out there that wasn't en route to get food, find a roommate, or pick up trash, but the time spent out there was relaxing. Yay for having a reason to go outside.
  • Vendors' Area
-The space was laaaarge. Very nice. Lots of cool things to buy... unless you are poor like me and have no job ;_; Though I still bought a few toys because I have no willpower.. sigh
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 09:05:09 am by Shiv »

Offline SandPuppeteer

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #20 on: September 04, 2007, 09:46:09 am »
Rave: Dealer's room. Excellent choice, I think. No over-crowding due to limited space. The fans kept everything cool. And because it was in a place built to dampen the noise of cars, it didn't get mind-numbingly loud like dealers rooms can be.

Dance lessons. Although it was over crowded, it was an awesome idea and the instructors did far better than I expected when it came to handling the people.

Rant: Mask making was really poorly organized. All of the supplies were squished onto one table, with only one person running things back and forth.

Masquerade. What the hell was up with the music? Did someone just pull out their anime music collection and play it on random? I did have fun, but I expected something a little...fancier. If I'd wanted random music and goofing off I would have gone to one of the other two dances. I understand not making masks mandatory in the end, but completely trashing the whole masquerade concept? The conga line didn't help matters much.

Mixed feelings:
Staff. Most of the staff was amazingly helpful, and I know they were trying their best. But some people were just flat out rude. I was half an hour late to the masquerade and ran to the door, thinking people were lining up for other things. When I asked the guy at the door if I was in the right place, he just looked at me and said "uh...line!" and that was it.

Location. I was a little uncertain when I heard it was in Vancouver. The biggest draw back is getting there. Next year, there won't be any weekend service between Portland and Vancouver. But the hotel itself was great. Most people are saying that the layout was weird, but I liked it. Two decently open areas was nice. Plus the park was awesome for photoshoots. So in other words: building itself is a plus, physical location is a drawback.

Offline hitokiri

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #21 on: September 04, 2007, 09:49:56 am »
So, on a lighter note, do the right thing: Hug a yojimbo next con and tell them thank you. It would make their day!

I always smiled or waved or thanked the people running the gaming area, because the people at the entrance/exit seemed bored sitting in the chair. ^_^

Thaaank you yojimbo people!  ;D  This was my first year and I only made it to 2/3 days, but I'm for sure gonna pre-reg for next year as soon as I can, because I had a awesome time this year.

Offline melchizedek

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2007, 10:36:27 am »
I must admit, the gaming area was ran extremely smoothly.  Great job. :D
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Offline Irate Beldam

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #23 on: September 04, 2007, 11:49:44 am »
This first part is actually a response, mostly to address Bedlam's points regarding yojimbo:
EXTRA IMPORTANT PRE-EMPTIVE EDIT: I'm not angry at Bedlam, or really anyone, at all! I want to clarify this ahead of time. I'm not even agitated. Please keep this in mind when figuring the tone of the post while reading it.

As a yojimbo, you get to know the inner workings of things, to a degree, and the safety and liability concerns that go along with a con. Most people don't think about these things, but if we were to ignore them entirely the con could not continue to exist. What most people also don't realize is that we're simply trying to keep you all safe and the con alive for years to come because we, too, enjoy having a con where everyone can geek out (and I use this term affectionately, because it also applies to me) over anime and have fun with other people who share their interests.

If you think it's annoying to be moved in the hallways, to have to move closer to the wall when in line, or to be relocated when sitting somewhere, try thinking about the other side of the coin: How annoying would it be to you if you couldn't get through the hallway because people were inconsiderately standing in the middle of it, completely oblivious to the fact that they were obstructing you from your destination, or forcing you to uncomfortably squeeze or muscle your way through? What if you were running late for the panel you wanted to see, all the way across the hotel, and all the hallways were haphazardly filled with people? Most importantly, what if there was an emergency, or better yet, what if you were the person having the emergency, and help was delayed because the hallways had to be cleared every single step of the way?

We're honestly not just bossing you around to be jerks, I can certainly vouch for the fact that the folks I worked closely with weren't. We care about your safety and convenience as a whole and the work we do is all for you.

I'd also like to add that inconsistency in enforcement of rules stems from a couple of causes. First off - we simply do not have enough people to enforce the rules at all times. The number one thing that would help this is if more people would volunteer for staffing, especially for yojimbo positions. One yojimbo simply can not possibly keep track of what everyone in a crowd around them is doing. Not even one really, really good yojimbo. One sleep-deprived-got-three-hours-of-sleep-been-walking-for-hours-on-end-and-had-one-break-for-food-all-day yojimbo, which is what we often get when we're short-staffed, is lucky to remember their room number by the end of the day, let alone attempt to keep track of what the hundred or so people around them are all doing. The final contributing factor, though, is the fact that many, many things are simply judgment calls on the part of the individual. A yojimbo walking by at one time may consider your current location or activity to be safe, another may not. The yojimbo in question may even be mistaken on their call in any given instance, but the fact is that people often see things very differently.

Another thing I'd like to add, and this is specifically regarding a parallel you've drawn, Bedlam, is that you can't really liken this to a job. None of us are paid. In fact, though many people are not aware of this, we actually still pay to be staff, it's not a free ticket. Additionally, we sink a lot of money into this between the hotel room itself (which is pretty much required if you want to have any hope of getting where you need to be on time, let alone stumbling back to your hotel bed/floor when the long day is done), feeding ourselves, and transportation - those on staff who travel from out of state or the further out cities spend a good chunk of money on gas alone.

Finally, it is not a fact that you should not expect to thank a person for helping you or other people, let alone for volunteering their time and energy in such copious amounts. If you would thank a person simply for holding a door or saying "bless you" when you sneeze (and I hope you would), why wouldn't you thank them for helping to staff an event that you look forward to for months, or even the entirety of the year?

To wrap this bit up, while it does sound like a rant, and actually largely is one, the real reason I've wrote it is I thought it would be fair to let everyone (this is not targeted solely at Bedlam, I really am sorry if it feels that way) know why things are the way they are and to better inform you so you may know what things are like on the other side of the fence. We often feel under-appreciated for the work we do, but anyone can help to fix that by at least understanding why it is we do what we do and helping us to help your fellow con-goers.

So, on a lighter note, do the right thing: Hug a yojimbo next con and tell them thank you. It would make their day!

[/size]



It's pretty obvious you're trying to keep people safe, of course! It's just that, if a con goer who is simply walking around get yelled at by a volunteer everywhere they step to, that's not giving them a pleasent con experience.

The other side of the coin? Not being able to walk in the halls? That was actually already happening. During a panel my friends were running, both doors inside were completley blocked by a line to the masquerade ball. There was no one there then to move those people out of the way.
So we kindly asked the few people in the way if they could possibly step to the side for a few moments.
Now, take in to consideration that the panel we were running had just been taken over by the panel in front of it and had stolen a half an hour from our panel's time. Everything was very stressful, and no one was helping us.
And yet, we were still kind to the people who were standing in the way, and did not use harsh tones of voice to them when we requested that they give us a few feet of room.

I'm not saying all of the volunteers were mean, I'm simply trying to say a few of them were a bit snappy at times.
No matter the circumstance, do you think that's acceptable behavior for someone who is supposed to be acting in a professional manner at all times?


It's unfortunate that there's not enough volunteer members. However, if there aren't enough volunteers to run a convention this size, the convention needs to somehow aquire more volunteers OR have a cap on the con attendence to let less people in.


If there are only so many volunteers to account for so many individuals, the convention can't put too much on its plate.
One cannot simply blame lack of volunteers on things that go wrong. If there's not enough, get more, or make the con smaller.
It makes things seem really haphazard and unprofessional.



I actually considered the whole volunteer/ no pay thing right after I posted my last message.
But my parallel wasn't on the topic of money, more rather, on the *responsibility* of taking a job, paid, or *not*.
No matter what, if someone agrees to take a position, they need to realize they probably aren't going to be thanked.
It's sort of like the difference between an office worker and a house painter.
An office worker works behind the scenes, but all week painters have been re-doing our appartments paint, and I always feel the need to walk out and bring them lemonade because it's hot outside and they look tired and thirsty.
I thank the painters, but it's not like I thank the lady who sits in a desk out of the way at the bank when I deposit a check.

Some jobs are just more covienient to thank people in, and I think that's something people really need to understand.
It's really polite to thank people who make things work, but the thing is, you can't thank every single person you meet on the street, or your vocabularly 24/7/365 would just be one big "Thank you!"
It seems like you don't like the fact that people didn't give enough thanks, but just because someone didn't say thank you to you doesn't mean they didn't say thank you to someone else--it doesn't make them a bad person for not saying thank you right and left.

To me, though, seeing a bunch of kids have fun would be thanks enough for me, if I was a volunteer!

If, say, I was trapped in a crowded hallway and getting bumped around and a yojimbo came up and cleared the hall and made everything orderly, now that would be a cause for thanks.
It's just that if they specicfically tell someone to move when they don't want to or don't undertand why, saying thank you makes no sense.
That's like having someone do something negative to you and you replying with a positive.
You will meet VERY few people that will let you slap them and then reply with a "Thank you! n_n"
Of course I am saying it in no way directly corrilates with hitting someone, I'm simply trying to draw an intellectual parallel between using a positive to respond to a postitive, and a positive to repond to a negative.
I hope I wasn't too confusing there. x3


Honestly though it's not like I personally don't understand to a degree what dealing with a bunch of young kids as a volunteer is like--I've done in myself, and it's no picnic. I've been on "both sides of the fence," and I still feel the way that I do.

Well, I don't like people touching me so hugging is out, but if I see someone being helpful I will deffinitaly thank them. : )



I guess I'm just really really trying to put forth that with certian types of jobs on a certian basis, even if the working individuals deserve SO SO MUCH thanks, it's often not the place or time to give it.

I really think it would actually be nice to have a panel to thank the volunteers next year. Like, a special party or something with dinner and prizes that ONLY volunteers would be allowed to get.

If people know it's a volunteer basis but they have the possiblity of winning something at the end they'll be more likely to agree to volunteer.
I know it's mean to dangle a carrot in front of a horse but if you need more volunteers, give them the possiblity of getting something.
People naturally seem to want stuff, so that might work.


I hope that didn't come off as rude, because it certianly wasn't meant to. Just like you, I'm simply trying to indicate ways that might make the con work better. (Which is why I bolded a few things.)

I know everyone is working damn hard, it's just that working hard doesn't make everything flawless and perfect.
Just because I tried on my math test, my teacher isn't going to pass me for "good effort" if a few of the answers were incorrect.

That's the real world, and I think we should all try to live in it.


Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #24 on: September 04, 2007, 11:57:02 am »
I'm gonna put this big, bold and centered because I've said it every year and no one heard me at the actual event:

KUMORICON NEEDS TO BE A 24 HOUR CON
[/glow][/b]

That said, what are we supposed to do during 2-8 in the morning anyway? We are all wicked, none of us sleep.

Offline Daidouji

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #25 on: September 04, 2007, 12:10:00 pm »
Rant/Rave- I had problems with my pre-reg. It wasn't mailed to me so i went to the pre-reg desk and they sent me to will call. Then will call said they didn't print it off at all, so they sent me to registration, where they said they couldn't print any off at the moment so they gave me a day pass and told me to come back tomorrow. So, I did just that and was told that will call had some new prints. I headed over there and they said this was false and that I should go to registration. I got back to registration and they gave me a nameless badge that would still work and said I should come back later and they will print it off. So while it was pain to bounce back and forth from the same places, my rave for this was that most of the staff were very kind about it. ^-^

Rant- The music for the mascaraed ball didn't work out very well because they were mostly in 4/4 beat where as 3/3 is much better suited. Plus the room was way to small for all the people that were in there, my friends and I just left after about ten minutes because it was to crowded, and think that maybe they should pick a different time next year so it can be in the main/big room.

Rant-There was that guy at the FMA photo shoot that was rambling on about Ed being a shrimp, it was rather annoying and it was getting in the way of the phoyo shoot. haha

Rave- Amazing people! Everyone was so much fun and really nice! I had so much fun and didn't want it to end! ;_;/=D My friends are all saying the same thing and are really excited for next year haha. ^-^
Kumoricon 07- Rena *Higurashi no Naku Koro ni*
Sakuracon 07-Kaoru *Ouran High School Host Club*
Kumoricon 08-Sakura *Cardcaptor Sakura*
Sakuracon 08- Haruhi Suzumiya

Offline Saigin

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #26 on: September 04, 2007, 12:19:38 pm »
Rant- Friends and I went into the game room and we were told to check out anything it required ID, and the rules weren't clear enough so we went and asked a person at registration to learn that you DIDN'T need ID, so we went back in line, the front of the line and everyone cut us so we left came back an hour later and learned that you needed ID to check out stuff but one person could check out everything you need. So we finally got it all to work out.

Rant- The Super Smash Bros tournament was ridiculous, they asked for 10 minutes to figure out brackets only to wait half an hour to an hour for it to begin, then they tried having the same battles over and over again. It was awful.

Rave/Rant- We the Tetris pieces had so many pictures of us, we felt bad when people asked to have our picture in the middle of a hall stopping traffic flow. Also we kinda got tired  of getting pictures. But it was still alot of fun.

Rave-The Con was a blast, although confusing it was very enjoyable.
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Offline gemineye42

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #27 on: September 04, 2007, 12:29:30 pm »
On behalf of gaming, thanks to everyone who had good things to say.

I'd love for Kumoricon to be 24 hours, but somehow I have the feeling that if we can barely manage to get enough staff to be working during the CURRENT schedule, we'll never have enough staff to work it 24 hours, lol.

Check the gaming thread for some thoughts about next year.
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Offline COMaestro

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #28 on: September 04, 2007, 12:34:13 pm »
Okay, I was at rant and rave, but many people weren't and so I'm going to cover some things that were said there, so sorry if this is repeating for some:

RAVE:
   The hotel staff were SOOOO great and pleasant and wonderful. They are so sad that we're not going to be there next year.

   Prereg line moved SMOOTH. We started with three lines, and after just an hour or two had it down to one! I helped with giving the lanyards and swag bags and was having trouble keeping up with the people coming through the line. So the prereg line was handled perfectly and needs to be reimplemented next year.

   The lanyards were a good idea as a quick ID for if someone should be allowed in a con event. I noticed most of the smaller events didn't really get checked closely, but the larger ones like opening and closing ceremonies, AMV show, concerts, and the cosplay seemed to be checked very well. I think it kind of depended on yojimbo, some were more careful than others. And in the case of adult events, actual state issued ID was always checked, which is great.

   Vendors room was a great size and had a pretty good mix of products. There was plenty of room for everyone down there and most of the vendors were very friendly.

   Although I never got in there, gaming seemed to be running pretty smoothly, and having some actual arcade games was awesome.

RANT:
   First I want to make a clarification between staff, yojimbo, and volunteers. All the yojimbo are staff, and all the staff are volunteers in that they are not paid and they work hard to pull off this convention and see that all of us have a great time. They still pay for admission, at a greatly discounted rate, but they are expected to work at least a large number of hours, but ends up being for nearly all of the con. However, your average volunteer is someone who pays the full rate and is there mostly to enjoy the con, but also to help out the staff in whatever way they can. There were even planned perks this year to encourage people to be volunteers, but it kind of fell flat at the last minute due to an error in planning. I always intend to be a volunteer but never staff because there will be panels and such that I really want to go to, and as a volunteer, I have the right to just say, "I'm leaving to go here," and that's that. I did miss some panels and was late to others because I was helping, but that's fine.
   One perk that was not un- but under-implemented was the honorary staff perk. After a bunch of hours of volunteering, you'd be made honorary staff. This is all fine and dandy, unless most staffers don't know about it, or have any real outside way of recognizing it. It was a real pain to be told to go...say...grab something from the vendors hall before opening hours, and not have the yojimbo there recognize you and allow you in. Luckily this didn't happen to me because when I did have to do this the person there knew me and knew all the work I had put in to the con and let me through, but there were plenty of times I needed to go somewhere either because I was told to by a staffer or just because I was going to help out on my own accord, and was stopped until I could get someone who knew me to okay it. Honorary staff, and volunteers in general, need a very easy method of identification that the entire staff is aware of. Okay, sorry about the novel, moving on...

   The sound for most events in the main events hall was shoddy. I love the AMV show and always go, but if you were near one of the speakers, you couldn't understand anything that came out of it. The trailers portion of the show came up, and it SOUNDED like a movie trailer, but I couldn't understand one word that was said. Seemed the bass was cranked to 11 and the trebel wasn't on at all. I didn't go to any concerts so I can't comment on them, but judging from other posts, I'm willing to bet this was the case.

   The hotel was simply too small. There weren't enough areas in the hotel to just hang around sitting back and watching the people go by. There also weren't enough rooms for panels, which is why there were panels going on in rooms next to a concert, which would then drown out anything going on in the panel. Need more rooms so those adjoining the main events hall, which is where most concerts and the dances happen, can either be empty or used for random stuff when loud stuff is taking place. Next year will be a different location, I know, so this rant should be mostly addressed anyway...

   I think there needs to be a better set up chain of command for the staff. For instance, if a crisis is happening that is an ops problem, the people at the info booth need to know who to talk to instead of just heading for the ops director or con chair. A well established chain of command that all the staffers and the volunteers are aware of will help keep stress off the high muckety-mucks and let the people under them take care of the smaller crises, leaving them to deal with major issues. Truthfully, I think this year was better than most at this, but there were still various things that popped up.

   Speaking of staff, I think there needs to be a probationary period or something. There were some last minute staff sign ups this year, and probably are every year. People who had been volunteering and decided to just go ahead and be staff. The problem is, becoming staff is a huge responsibility, and the person is sometimes an unknown factor. Are they dependable? Do they follow instructions? Are they honest? Etc. I know there were some of these staffers that I saw all the time running back and forth, and others that I didn't see once at the con. It's possible they were doing some kind of behind the scenes work, and if so great, but if not, should they really have been staff at all?

Minor Rant regarding the $0.99 costume contest. My girlfriend went to this and was turned away saying she couldn't participate because she already had a costume. Um...how many people were at this con who DIDN'T have a costume?? Not too many, and I'm willing to bet they weren't all at this panel. It's not like she was going to tie a ribbon around her head and say she was the character she was cosplaying, she would have done something original, within the rules, and just happened to be wearing another costume underneath. What's the big deal?

RAVE w/RANT:
    I LOVED the fact we had two channels of anime playing! The only problem was the variety. I'd wander in my room from time to time, to almost always find the same episode of Gundam Wing or Fruits Basket playing. I know Ragnarok and Ah! My Goddess were also in the lineup somewhere, but a bit more variety would be appreciated.

   I Raved about the vendor's room, but I do agree more variety there would be good as well. You can only pass by so many of the same keychains, cell-phone charms, and plushies before getting a bit bored. Also how much manga do we really need? Admittedly, I can't think of what else we could put in there to add variety, but I'm sure other people might have ideas.

Okay, enough from me. I think as someone who sees things from both the attendee side and the staff side I kind of covered more than I needed to, but just wanted to throw all of this out. Sorry for ranting for so long!

EDIT: For those complaining about the masquerade ball, I heard at the rant and rave that the interest in the event was unexpected, which is why the room was so small and this should be rectified next year. Same for the Ouran Host Club Tea Party. And I think a more classical selection of music is on the agenda as well.  ^_^
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 12:39:41 pm by COMaestro »
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Offline laurifer

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #29 on: September 04, 2007, 12:39:04 pm »
Well this was my first con experience and I thought it was very good...I don't really have a lot of rants as opposed to raves but I'll just list some stuff I guess:

Lines: I didn't have to stay in lines very long. Closing ceremony was the only one we waited for an hour for but we wanted really good seats so we waited in line an hour before it started. Pre-reg went really fast and I'm glad I didn't have to wait 3 hours to get in like some people have in the past :D And yeah the lines can get long but we were only stuck in long lines cos we didn't really plan what we were doing. And some lines [like when the vendors were opening] weren't a problem since we didn't have to wait [we were running errands for Pocky Club so we also got to use the elevator BEFORE IT BROKE grrr].

Panels, etc: There weren't a lot of panels I was interested in...I'm not sure if it was just wasn't interesting for me or what but I wish there were more panels scheduled throughout the day. My friends and I literally spent hours wandering aimlessly cos we had nothing else better to do D: Well at least we got to talk to a lot of people lol

Exhibitor's Hall: I don't get why people complain so much about how hot the vendors area was...the fans that were running kept the hot air out of there and since it was underground it was a lot cooler. In fact, when my friend and I weren't doing stuff, we'd just hang out at the Pocky booth to cool off and rest [since it wasn't crowded like the hotel]. It's really nice to just sit and relax and cool off when there's too any people clogging up the hotel's hallways [which was also another problem]. And I know someone who works at the Uwajimaya booth and he didn't complain about the heat or anything when I talked to him. Maybe there's some spots that are hotter than others? I dunno. And yeah I was kinda mad the artist's alley was in the back...I didn't realize some of them were back there until Sunday, and by the time I got there the bookmark I wanted was all sold out.

Hmm I don't know what else to say...it's my first con so I don't know how everyone else feels about this so no hard feelings lol

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Offline reppy

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #30 on: September 04, 2007, 12:55:22 pm »
Rave: Loved the dance on Saturday. I really have not had that much fun in a long while. There was a great selection of music and the atmosphere was fun and silly. I was really apprehensive about going to the dance (my brother and friend kind of forced me) because my knees were kind of aching and well, I sometimes have panic attacks and such in environments where I'm getting all worked up (dancing), especially with loud music, lots of people and flashing lights. But I didn't, so I was really happy and enjoyed the hell out of the entire thing. I think I danced pretty much the entirety of the time. Ended up being extremely sore and tired, too. ^_^ Slept like a baby, though! :p

Rave: Pretty much every single person I had the pleasure of talking to was extremely friendly and all around awesome. Example: after helping clean up the park, we were told to go to con ops room.. which is the 3rd floor. So, you either go up the elevator or go up the stairs with a key. I'm extremely claustrophobic, so the elevator is NOT an option. Heck, even going up the stairs (it's cramped and entirely concrete) was extremely difficult. But the people I had just met said they'd go with me so I wouldn't have to go up the stairs alone. Maybe not the most epic thing in the world, but I thought it was a pretty damn cool gesture and it wasn't something they were obligated to do.

Rant: We waited about 15-20 minutes for the "History of RPGs" panel to begin because the room was missing its projector. It was an interesting panel, but people were starting to leave as it was taking more and more time to secure a projector. The presenter tried to keep us busy with some trivia and discussion, but us anime fans tend to have ADD and need to look at pretty things on a screen. :p

Rant: A lot of con goers didn't seem to clean up after themselves. I don't really know what the con itself can do about this (besides having a bunch of staff/volunteers that cleans up after slobs all day long). Perhaps they could make sure to remind people to clean up after themselves during opening ceremonies and perhaps even during the con itself? (Note: I don't blame the con goers for the mess in the park. I don't know how much of that was con goers and how much of it was a result of the 150th celebration of Vancouver that took place on Saturday. And I really do hope that none of those Steel Reserve cans in the black bags were from the con goers. ^_^)

I know some people complained about rude staff/volunteers. I personally didn't witness it. I generally understood that the person that was telling you something 1) probably had to say it about 300 times already 2) has to speak loudly enough to be heard over all the commotion 3) is not being paid and doesn't get much sleep. Also, I tended to be moving a lot or hidden away in a corner so I didn't block traffic much. Well, me and some friends did get told to be quiet once when we were outside of the manga reading room. I felt bad because I totally forgot people were reading manga, especially since it was kind of late at the time. ^_^;;;;

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Offline COMaestro

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #31 on: September 04, 2007, 12:57:45 pm »
Panels, etc: There weren't a lot of panels I was interested in...I'm not sure if it was just wasn't interesting for me or what but I wish there were more panels scheduled throughout the day. My friends and I literally spent hours wandering aimlessly cos we had nothing else better to do D: Well at least we got to talk to a lot of people lol

Exhibitor's Hall: I don't get why people complain so much about how hot the vendors area was...the fans that were running kept the hot air out of there and since it was underground it was a lot cooler. In fact, when my friend and I weren't doing stuff, we'd just hang out at the Pocky booth to cool off and rest [since it wasn't crowded like the hotel].

I have to agree with both of these points. Whenever I was downstairs in the vendors room, I thought it was much cooler than it was outside, even with the mob of humanity around. And the panels were a bit of a letdown this year. I really like the AMV's and the cosplay, and also seeing the voice actors, and there was some new, really innovative stuff, don't get me wrong, but those just didn't really interest me. I know we tried to get some more traditional Japanese panels, like Ikebana, Bonsai, calligraphy, tea ceremonies and such, but none of them happened, even though I know for a fact someone agreed to do calligraphy. I know someone will say, "if you're disappointed in the panel selection, run one yourself." That might be true, but that'd fill an hour or so and then what? And so many panels get cancelled or shuffled that I would fully expect any panel I ran to conflict with something I really did want to attend. I would like to see more of Japan in our con. Some Japanese seiyuu or manga-ka or J-rock bands. Maybe we're just not a big enough con to get them to come yet???

In fact, the schedule change thing is another rant. There seemed to be a lot this year. I believe it was someone setting up the masquerade ball or the dancing lessons complaining about the guy doing the firearms in anime panel. If you look at the printed schedule, that panel shouldn't have even been in the same ROOM as the ball. Admittedly, he should have wrapped up his panel faster, but sometimes it's hard to stop talking when you're really enthusiastic about something, and if it's the guy I'm thinking of, he's like that with guns. And it's just silly that his panel got moved to where it was anyway.

EDIT: Ooops, it was the Lolita sewing, not something for the ball that was the complaint, so they WERE in the same room. I do know that the times got moved though because I remember seeing them written on the board at info desk, so still, too many schedule changes.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 01:59:12 pm by COMaestro »
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Offline FizzTheCarbonated

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #32 on: September 04, 2007, 01:04:03 pm »
My review is here.  I thought that's what that sub-forum was for...  Maybe my post could be moved to this thread or something.
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Offline Wanganator

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #33 on: September 04, 2007, 01:17:04 pm »
Rant and rave? I got a few of my own:

Rant:
Why didn't you get a DDR machine? I mean the Cobalt Flux pads were sweet, only if the pads don't slip on that carpet!!! Somewhere down the line I heard someone mentioned that the president wanted DDR pads with bars or something like that, then the rest of the board said no, even if we have the money to get it. Don't quote me. but that's what I've heard, unless if you guys were short on money then it can be forgiven. Regardless, the DDR tournament was probably the worst, cause nobody could perform to their fullest abilities. I lost in the first round because the pads moved so much!

The saturday and sunday raves weren't that bad, except the fact that they played mediocre music. I personally though that it can do better. What was up with that 80's song anyways? I didn't recognize it at all, and then the constant chain of mosh and monobeat music. just so repetitive, what happened to trance and a rhythmic bass line? Then after the midnight purge of minors, all that's left was the drunk people and a few stragglers, including me who was the poi swinging guy only there to practice my moves a bit more, and the glow staffer by the name of chris (or so I think that's what his name is). Wish it was more lively after midnight. (Ok that Yatta Song was pretty fun.)

Dealer's room, a bit hot, I feel sorry for the Artist alley, poor location, and in the corner where it's the most unbearable. That air mover was working overtime.

And elevators, don't forget the elevators, I lived on the 7th floor, and to get there it would take that elevator to stop at every floor. What's worse is that I feel sorry for those on the floors in between 2nd and 7th, because it's always full and they cant get anywhere. But that's not something that can be fixed. Still it was bad.

Rave
The people! Met the coolest bunch there. I came into the convention by myself, and left knowing at least 10 people and known by even more. Lost all inhibition that I carried with me to the other cons. so that was why I had so much fun.

Artist alley despite the temperature, the artists were all awesome and cool, I was asked to help out at one of the tables. so I did on the last day, helped her pack and get her on her way. BTW what was all that "Matt Daemon" thing all about?

Rave. I got into that circle on sunday with Chris to and showed our stuff, and had photos taken and stuff it was cool. If you can weild anything with light at a rave you get a lot of attention. :D I wouldn't mind teaching it to people all you gotta do is ask and I'll be happy to teach. :D
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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #34 on: September 04, 2007, 01:52:53 pm »
 First of all I would extend my utmost gratitude to waffles, the Kumori con chair ( Im sorry, I dont know your name) and any of the other staff who helped me out Sunday night.

Id lost my badge. We went upto to ops and the guy tehyre seemed like he really didnt want to help anyone.
I told him " I Know my badge number, I have pictures of me with my badge from earlier, and look, my sword is peace bonded; by Waffles ask him. Infact, I just want into the dance. Cant you have someone escort me and Ill get a new badge tomaro?"
Nope, wouldnt hear any of it. He just told us there was nothing he could do and to 'get out if you dont any business."
I understand he was just trying to cover his own ass but he obviously did not try very hard to help me.

Finally Waffles heard about th issue. He said it was bull since hed talked to me both nights and yes, peace bonded my sword AT THE REG LINE.
He told me that he would take me to someone who could help.

I dont know who he was but he NO help. He simply said " So you lost your badge what do you want me to do about it?"
Then the con chair showed up and told me that this whole thing was rediculous as she had LEFT them with instructions on how to deal with this, (proving they hadnt tried very hard)
and that she would give me a new badge free of charge becuase of the crap I had to go through. Which was so very awesome of her.

Also, that night my friend said she had gone back upto the 3rd floor and walked in on the guy ranting about how some " Stupid b**ch was in here trying to get a new badge and wouldnt leave."
I asked one of the Yojimbos and ofcoarse he denied it saying " Oh no hed never say something like that hes too proffesional or maybe she misunderstood" but ofcoarse, not telling me what he HAD said sinee the Yojimbo was there at the time.

Whateer. At this point its pretty much my word vs his so Im sure arguing it is pointless. It doesnt matter, in the end theyre only hurting themselves by defending and keeping staff like that.

But wait! Theres more!

Theyre was the guy guarding the dance who refused to let in a girl who looked young but had a blue badge.

This absolute jerk who for some reason decided that although EVERYONE in the lobby had props he needed to harrass my friends, not asking, but yelling in a VERY rude manner " ARE YOUR WEAPONS PIECE BONDED!?" When I said it was he snapped " WELL I DONT SEE IT!"  So I put it rigth infornt of his face he comaplined that its " A blue tie and this years are orange and green  so it couldnt be official"
He piece bonded my friends sword that shed just baught and in a dirll sergant like tone went on about " Do you understand what it means to have this piece bonded" and then went on to 'read her rights' so to speack.

After the cosplay chess game we were TRYING to be helpful and move the chairs back to were they were. When this staffer came in barking " DONT MOVE THOSE CHAIRS! DONT MOVE THOSE CHAIRS!" Ofcoarse, it turned out his reasoning was that we werent staff.

After a while I began to wonder if staff actually help people, or just B**ch at them.

Yes, I know staff dont sleep woe is me and all that crap. You know what? I dont care.
A lot of people at conventions dont get sleep, and being on staff is a CHOICE.
 
While theyre are some staffers who are just wonderful and do not take theyre issues on the attendees and really want to help ( and I am VERY greatful for therye hard work. You guys rock XD) It seems that thayre are also quite a few who simply do it for the free registration and power. They really need to be dealt with.

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #35 on: September 04, 2007, 02:33:57 pm »
rave: yay prereg!!! smooth, and plentiful ice water everywhere! neat stuff in the delealers room and chease cake at host club tea party! and neko pan bakery!!

rant :
yup when i went to .99 cent costume contest I was kicked out because i already was wearing a costume and no i couldnt go change cuz my clothes were stored in a room i didnt have a key to, i went to the first costume contest and it wasnt a problem then.

re-rant:on the volunteers, with the exeption of the cat maids and a group that picked up trash in the park once, were frankly treated like crap by a lot of people. we still paid full admission to work our butts off.
this was mentioned breifly at rant and rave, and one of the directors thought this meant we wanted voteting rights but no this isn't about wanting staff rights or perks but the recognition for all the hard work we do before and during the con

we  put in in 8-12 hours a day during con, not to mention the 30-40 hours of volunteer work before con from all the things we do year round like stuffing envelopes with badges and assembling the swag bags and manning the k-con booth at other events, and street team stuff and going to shops to ask for donations for charity auction

only to get unintentionally snubed at closeing cerominies, wth the exeption of the group of volunteers I was sitting with, no one else noticed, and that really hurt, think about it, a group of people who picked up trash got rounds of aplause for working for a hour and prizes... and the peeps who were putting in long days at the info desk and registation totaly ignored, ouch so unloved

its like DO you want volunteers for next year? or not cuz the or not seems to be the case. i do have better things to do then spend my saterday coming to meetings and going to envelope stuffings, like watching anime or actualy finishing my cosplay before the convention

(ps not to skip the maid squad or the people who picked trash or anyoe else who put in hard work your great, i just would like every one to get the recogization they earned, i initially wanted to do maid squad but i was needed at the info desk)
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Offline totemo_oishii

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #36 on: September 04, 2007, 02:39:54 pm »
Out of all my past con experiences, this was the best.  ;D

Raves...
- I absolutely LOVED the spiffy new cards/badge and the fact that they were mailed out beforehand. Fabulous. Pre-reg ran by smoothly, it looked.
- Maids with signs? Awesome idea too!! [thumbs up] They were really nice too. One of them wore a really awesome black poofy skirt. XD
...and much more. It was just great.

Rants...?
- I was sitting near the middle at the cosplay competition, and since I'm vertically challenged, I could hardly see anything. That might be my fault though. >___<

Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #37 on: September 04, 2007, 02:52:07 pm »
Out of all my past con experiences, this was the best.  ;D

Raves...
- I absolutely LOVED the spiffy new cards/badge and the fact that they were mailed out beforehand. Fabulous. Pre-reg ran by smoothly, it looked.
- Maids with signs? Awesome idea too!! [thumbs up] They were really nice too. One of them wore a really awesome black poofy skirt. XD
...and much more. It was just great.

Rants...?
- I was sitting near the middle at the cosplay competition, and since I'm vertically challenged, I could hardly see anything. That might be my fault though. >___<

The maid thing really was quite awesome, as opposed to last year's angry yojimbo telling us to keep the registration line up against the wall...

Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #38 on: September 04, 2007, 02:59:36 pm »


its like DO you want volunteers for next year? or not cuz the or not seems to be the case. i do have better things to do then spend my saterday coming to meetings and going to envelope stuffings, like watching anime or actualy finishing my cosplay before the convention


Then dont do it. Ist that simple.

No, we dont want to do it. Thats why we dont. Rather than voulenteering and pulling the whole martyrdom thing, we just dont it.

I understand that the con needs volenteers. And I know not all of them have such a nasty additudes but the truth is; a lot of them do and its diffcult to sympathize or even appreciate what they do when they just ran around barking orders at attendies.

Becuase of this its truly unfortuante that the ones who are decent and helpful human beings end up getting crap as well. I do feel for them on that one.

Raves: This con was just awesome. I have never been so compeltley exauhsted and just messed up ( That means it was a con of epic perportion) I LOVED the area ie the park across the street. It was great for photo shoots. The dance on Saterday was amazing. The glomp circles were fun, all the peopel were very friendly..just awesome.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 03:07:59 pm by ThiefKingsHier »

Offline Valkie

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #39 on: September 04, 2007, 03:43:32 pm »
Rave:
-Pre-registration check-in was wonderfully easy! After the disastrous lines for pre-reg in 2006, this year was a super welcome change.

-Hotel layout. I know a lot of people here didn't like it, but I thought it was a lot better than the Red Lion was, at least. It was nice and open, and easy to learn the layout of. (although I wasn't staying in the hotel so I didn't have to deal with the annoying elevators, haha. ^^;)

-The dealer's room! It was really big which was great. Although I agree that artist's alley was in a bad spot, I know I barely got back there myself.

-Free coffee/tea/cake at the Host Club Tea Party was so so nice, and it was a great place to socialize and relax. Although the Host Club members needed to be doing more seducing. :O

-Hotel's AC! It was so nice not being way too hot during the con.

-Having the park for photoshoots.

Rant:
-The mask-making panel wasn't prepared for the number of people that wanted to attend it. Next year a bigger room/more supplies would be nice.

-The masquerade ball. It was way, way too crowded and the music was all wrong. It felt more like the regular dance than a ball. I also hope the mask rule is upheld next year (although I understand why it wasn't this year) hopefully the mask-making panel will be prepared enough next year that getting masks won't be a problem.

All in all the Con was AWESOME, probably my favorite Kumoricon thus far. Thank you to the staff and volunteers for all your hard work!

Offline totemo_oishii

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #40 on: September 04, 2007, 03:50:29 pm »

-Free coffee/tea/cake at the Host Club Tea Party was so so nice, and it was a great place to socialize and relax. Although the Host Club members needed to be doing more seducing. :O


lulz. XD

I promise we'll do better next year. A lot of us joined the Host Club last minute - even I had no idea what we were doing! Mr_Mustash has fabulous plans for next year.
Whoever had Tamaki as a host was lucky, he was totally in character. XD

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #41 on: September 04, 2007, 03:54:16 pm »
sorry for wanting to be treated human instead of less then a con goer?

when you say volunteers do you mean them and not yojimbo and other staffer cuz there is a differnce seems like every one says volunteer when  they mean staff

 thing is i dont want anyone treated poorly at con people should have equal treatment.
And no I wont do it again if it mean watching other people treated like crap, because unlike YOU it bothers me, and i hated seeing people volunteering and getting chewed out because of it, then again I CARE about people, I should just switch to being a regular congoer who take all the nice things forgranted

and no its not that simple i said i would help out during con especsuly since the volunteer manager and registraton manager were the same overworked person so i told her i would help her and I if i say i'm going to do somthing I do it, maybe other people can just walk away from responsibilities.
did you like having an info desk? did you like prereg going so smoothly? volunteers helped a lot with them.
i guess not
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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #42 on: September 04, 2007, 04:06:37 pm »
 Actually, I thought it was staff that was being dicks but everyone corrected me and said was voulentters. So your probabaly right. But I dont know the differance.

 If the staff really is bullying the volanteers as well as attendies then something seriously needs to be done but tah tgoes for anyone with tha tsort of behavior.

 And dont take it out on me, the insulting was compeltley unnessecery and really only further convicnes me that your perfectly capable of being the rude 'I got no sleep and am going to punish the attendies for it"-type volantter.

Well now you know your nto cut otu for volenteering. And wotn do it again. Seriosuly your being incredibly whiny about this. I may have some  sympathy if you could rant without playing poor little Cinderalla who is being taken for granted by all the cruel attendees.

Everyone at con can be incrdibly rude. I think the best way to solve this is for everyone on all sides to stop taking crap out on others...and seriosuly get rid of the ones who are just plain mean.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 05:23:43 pm by ThiefKingsHier »

Offline RoamingGnome

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #43 on: September 04, 2007, 04:19:40 pm »
Ok now lets not try to vilify anybody.  There can be examples everywhere of con goes, volunteers and staff members who may not been at there best.  Last years con I was just an attendee and felt there were things that could be improved so I helped out this year as a yojimbo and believe me my eyes were opened to all the work that went on in the background.  That includes both staff and all the wonderful people who volunteered before, during and after the con was over.  All of you are the reason the con functions.  Also would like to thank all those who went to the con sense without you there would be no reason for a con in the first place.  I would hope that we can keep this civil as a rant and rave.  No need to point fingers.  If you have suggestions on how they can be improved next year please tell us it really really helps us out a lot.  Also raves help to.  Its nice to know that all the late nights and early mornings brought about a smooth and wonderful time to others.

Now just as a suggestion from a staff member is that maybe next year we could have at the info booth a rant/rave card and box to collect them.  That way during the con if a con goer either sees something they really really like or something that could be improved or hurt their experience they can write it down and place it in the box for us staffers and volunteers to read and hopefully continue doing or improve upon next year.

I do hope all in all that everybody had a great time and hopefully we shall be seeing you all next year.

Offline SephiChan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #44 on: September 04, 2007, 05:28:35 pm »
I have a bit to say, but instead of being rants or raves, they're more like questions of "what happened here"?

-Photoshoots. At least the FF/KH photoshoot was very disorganized. Our Rude ended up taking control and moving people around for shots. I was under the impression that if you--con staff, volunteer, or even just an attendee, no matter who you are--schedule the photoshoot, YOU are responsible for coordinating it. That was a little sad.

-Smash Brothers Tournament. I promised I would not flame about this, because I understand that things happen. But I was towards the end of the brackets and it took (no exaggeration) -two and a half hours- past the scheduled 7 PM start time before I even played my first-round match. My friends and I had other things we wanted to do, and it just felt like squandered time, sitting around in the game room, afraid to leave for fear of being dropped from the tournament, but having nothing to do inside. What happened here...?

-Karaoke room. Okay, so I didn't go to the contests, but the karaoke lounge was tiny! Did it actually accomadate a reasonably-sized audience for the contests? I was honestly shocked that it was about the size of a panel room, and didn't really have a stage. I can understand if maybe the room's popularity has dropped and thus doesn't need larger accomadations. I'm just curious as to why it was in such a small room.

-The Sunday night dance. It wasn't a dance at all. It was a rave. Why wasn't it written on the schedule that way? I loved the dance on Saturday night; that's my kind of party. But if I'd known the one on Sunday was a rave, I probably wouldn't have gone. My issue isn't that I don't like raves, it's that I would have preferred it to be called what it actually was as to not mislead anyone.

Okay, so maybe those things are somewhat negative.
I do have to say, though, that I was thrilled with convention policies in general. You guys established rules that didn't completely get in the way of attendees having fun. It really had a small-convention feel (in a good way) like it should, and I had a blast because of it. Everyone on staff generally did a great job. Anytime I had a question, I was taken care of--even if the staff member didn't know the answer, they found it for me. THAT is something that has been lacking at other convetions: customer service skill. I really appreciate it.

Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #45 on: September 04, 2007, 05:30:27 pm »
Ok now lets not try to vilify anybody.  There can be examples everywhere of con goes, volunteers and staff members who may not been at there best.  Last years con I was just an attendee and felt there were things that could be improved so I helped out this year as a yojimbo and believe me my eyes were opened to all the work that went on in the background.  That includes both staff and all the wonderful people who volunteered before, during and after the con was over.  All of you are the reason the con functions.  Also would like to thank all those who went to the con sense without you there would be no reason for a con in the first place.  I would hope that we can keep this civil as a rant and rave.  No need to point fingers.  If you have suggestions on how they can be improved next year please tell us it really really helps us out a lot.  Also raves help to.  Its nice to know that all the late nights and early mornings brought about a smooth and wonderful time to others.

Now just as a suggestion from a staff member is that maybe next year we could have at the info booth a rant/rave card and box to collect them.  That way during the con if a con goer either sees something they really really like or something that could be improved or hurt their experience they can write it down and place it in the box for us staffers and volunteers to read and hopefully continue doing or improve upon next year.

I do hope all in all that everybody had a great time and hopefully we shall be seeing you all next year.

 Your right. Everyone is cpaable of being a complete jerk. Attendies, staff, and volaenteers. All I know is that the crap I recieved seemed to be for mthe same few people.

 But on the other hand you seem to have nothing but praise for the staff. I appreciate theyre hard work, I really do. Iv give nothing but praise to those who helped me out. However, it is easy to forget theyre hard work when you have one yelling at you in a very condescending tone, or who is compeltley unwilling to help.

Offline thestav

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #46 on: September 04, 2007, 05:34:21 pm »
FOR HTE LOVE OF GOD HERE IS MY O_o i guess my myspace.. myspace.com/crackipow

any way ye i was the konohamaru with the box and the beat from jet set radio ><

Offline FizzTheCarbonated

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #47 on: September 04, 2007, 05:38:07 pm »

-Karaoke room. Okay, so I didn't go to the contests, but the karaoke lounge was tiny! Did it actually accomadate a reasonably-sized audience for the contests? I was honestly shocked that it was about the size of a panel room, and didn't really have a stage. I can understand if maybe the room's popularity has dropped and thus doesn't need larger accomadations. I'm just curious as to why it was in such a small room.


The contests were actually held in a different room, the big one next to gaming.  Same room the Anime Dating Game and the Masquerade Ball were in.
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Offline Mr_Phelps

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #48 on: September 04, 2007, 05:42:35 pm »
Rant/Rave- I had problems with my pre-reg. It wasn't mailed to me so i went to the pre-reg desk and they sent me to will call. Then will call said they didn't print it off at all, so they sent me to registration, where they said they couldn't print any off at the moment so they gave me a day pass and told me to come back tomorrow. So, I did just that and was told that will call had some new prints. I headed over there and they said this was false and that I should go to registration. I got back to registration and they gave me a nameless badge that would still work and said I should come back later and they will print it off. So while it was pain to bounce back and forth from the same places, my rave for this was that most of the staff were very kind about it. 

I personally apologize for this one.  We did not communicate the process for lost badges between the different staff areas very well this year.  There were a few problems behind the scenes that caught us flatfooted and we could have handled them better.

What I can say is that next year we will have a well defined plan in place and plenty of time to get everyone on staff on the same page.

RAVE: 
The Reg Volunteers were awesome!!!  These people gave up tons of their own time at the con just to get the at door/pre-reg attendees into con space.  It went so much better than last year.
The Con Chair (Meg) is the one who is responsible for those spiffy new badges and now that “most” of the problems are ironed out we are in GREAT shape for next year!!  Thank you, Meg!
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Offline MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #49 on: September 04, 2007, 05:49:41 pm »
Improvements to make:
  • - Very Large Signs, posted well above head height, both labeling rooms and others showing you which rooms are down which direction of a hallway.  (The same for info desk/etc, since crowds blocked the signs)
  • - Signs in the registration area might also help.
  • - Mark out the direction and Open Time of lines for events near the walls near the rooms.  If possible marking the floor with masking tape or some other visual clue could also help.
  • - Vendor room times with the other rooms.
  • - Continue the process of re-sizing rooms to events.
  • - Anime that Scared me for Life, should probably, unfortunately, be an 18+ event, because of things the audience will bring up (Mostly descriptions of things they saw at too early an age that minors shouldn't hear about).  However, the time it was at Was very well planned, it should be before the very late stuff.
  • - Better Parking information (in the guides).
  • - Better ATM information, including informing banks with ATMs near the hotel about the massive use.  (I know we did this this year, but we should give them more lead time and reference the prior ATM wipe-outs.)
  • - Viewing room early time slots might be to have a room for something kid friendly, like the Hello Kitty / Hamtaro / etc genera.

Raves:
  • - The panels I could attend were awesome.  (Apocalypse in Anime, Anime that Scared me for Life)
  • - Staff (hotel and con) were in general awesome.

Unfixables?:
  • - Wireless internet was effectively free, you didn't even need to go through a captive web-page (AWESOME FOR Nintendo DS's !!!) ONLY on the ground floors.  Upstairs you had to be a guest of the hotel.  Free wifi (or at least hardlines) everywhere!!!
  • - Elevators were horribly mis-configured.  The doors remained open too long and there was no way of informing the elevator that it's maximum occupancy efficiency and to not stop until someone gets off.
  • - The way this hotel was laid out, the all floors elevators should NOT have gone to floor 2 at all.  The  2, 1, and garage elevator should have been used between 2 and 1 instead.
  • - The stairways were way out of the way, and there weren't wide details about how they could be used or where they were.  We didn't even see signs noting where they were.
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Offline ~boogiepop~

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #50 on: September 04, 2007, 05:52:28 pm »
Rant:

-Gotta agree with Wanganator on the DDR pads. It got a little crazy with those they moved around A LOT. And one of them always seemed to be tripping out and you had to stomp on the dang thing to get it to work. That and wasn't there suppose to be some other guy there for the contest? I was just curious about that because at the end Tofu seemed to be running the whole thing. It was still fun though

-I was a bit disappointed there was no ParaPara Paradise this year. Last time I went to Kumoricon ::{which was '05}:: they had a controller and such and it was hella fun. I really missed it this year D:

-The crowd was a bit hectic for me @.@ I kept getting bumped against walls and my props got all dinged up ;.;

-Uhh the vendors hall started to smell a lot the first day that was kinda bad.

Rave:

-The people here were so wonderful this year. I absolutely dreaded '05 because of rude people and wasn't going to go to Kumoricon again but I am defiantly glad I gave it another chance.

-Thank you to the Yojimbos and staffers! I had no problems with anyone helping me at anytime, I got clear answers from everyone and was able to get everything I was confused about straight.

-The park was friggin' awesome for photoshoots!

-The Registration line went fast~

I can't think of anything else right now since I didn't go to a lot of the panels and whatnot but I have a renewed outlook on Kumoricon :D I will most defiantly be going to the next one. It was soooooo much better then the '05 con I went to.
WHY DO THE FORUMS SUCK SO BAD?

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Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #51 on: September 04, 2007, 06:11:34 pm »
Improvements to make:
  • - Very Large Signs, posted well above head height, both labeling rooms and others showing you which rooms are down which direction of a hallway.  (The same for info desk/etc, since crowds blocked the signs)
  • - Signs in the registration area might also help.

As the Signage Coordinator, I was only told to make the signs that I had forms for pre-con. But, since I know what signs are going to be needed and the different types of them. I can make them rather easy now since I know what signs I had to make for them. So, it's partially...or more to the point, mostly my fault for that second thing on the list. But to answer the first thing; I think that 3' by 4' signs are big enough for someone to notice...
« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 06:18:55 pm by Kyuubi »

Offline reppy

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #52 on: September 04, 2007, 06:16:16 pm »
I really am honestly surprised at all the negativity that people received from staff/volunteers.

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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #53 on: September 04, 2007, 06:18:08 pm »
I really am honestly surprised at all the negativity that people received from staff/volunteers.

Actually, I was suprised too. Iv always had a problem with SC staff, and praised how much more awesome the KC staff are. Infact when one of the staff got on my case I said "  But I was asured this would not become Sakura con"

Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #54 on: September 04, 2007, 06:20:46 pm »
Since I've never been to Sakuracon...I can't really say anything. ^^; But, from what I've seen/heard. Most of the Kumoricon staff was nice to everyone. Unless all the bad things were happening on the opposite side of the hotel...I'm in the fog here... >.>; Heh.

Offline reppy

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #55 on: September 04, 2007, 06:22:59 pm »
I really am honestly surprised at all the negativity that people received from staff/volunteers.

Actually, I was suprised too. Iv always had a problem with SC staff, and praised how much more awesome the KC staff are. Infact when one of the staff got on my case I said "  But I was asured this would not become Sakura con"

Well, I've heard they were severely understaffed and had very little sleep. Not saying it's an excuse, but cause and effect. (I read your post and .. it seemed pretty awful. I really hate seeing people being treated badly, sometimes even when they deserve it!)

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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #56 on: September 04, 2007, 08:27:05 pm »
I really am honestly surprised at all the negativity that people received from staff/volunteers.

Actually, I was suprised too. Iv always had a problem with SC staff, and praised how much more awesome the KC staff are. Infact when one of the staff got on my case I said "  But I was asured this would not become Sakura con"

Well, I've heard they were severely understaffed and had very little sleep. Not saying it's an excuse, but cause and effect. (I read your post and .. it seemed pretty awful. I really hate seeing people being treated badly, sometimes even when they deserve it!)

Well Im not very good with faces but unless staff are like storm troopers, Im pretty sure that a lot of the harassing was actually done by the same one or two people.

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #57 on: September 04, 2007, 09:21:11 pm »
And dont take it out on me, the insulting was compeltley unnessecery and really only further convicnes me that your perfectly capable of being the rude 'I got no sleep and am going to punish the attendies for it"-type volantter.

Well now you know your nto cut otu for volenteering. And wotn do it again. Seriosuly your being incredibly whiny about this. I may have some  sympathy if you could rant without playing poor little Cinderalla who is being taken for granted by all the cruel attendees.
i didn't say anything about attendees, I took many complaints from them regarding yojimbo, and went to great lengths to see that a situation was resolved happily.
 This is solely on the staff (not all,) not necessarily the attendees.
and sorry if you thought i was whiny but i thought this was the rant and rave which is what i was doing.
I'm not just ranting for my self, but for all the other volunteers who felt hurt. We worked our butts off for a good portion of the year and then again at the con itself and we just want to feel some appreciation from the staff for our efforts. But apparently us wanting that makes us whiny Cinderellas who dont deserve to be treated better then a doormat
 so you think i shouldnt be a volunteer because i don't like being treated poorly?
You threw the first names calling me a maryter I'm just saying these issues weren't right and they need to be addressed for next year if we want to have a good volunteer staff

in all honestly if anyone else dosent want me to be a volunteer please feel free to speak up
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Offline RoamingGnome

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #58 on: September 04, 2007, 09:28:52 pm »
Ok ok.  We really really really need to stop pointing fingers.  I would be the first to admit when somebody complains about something I worked on I get somewhat defensive.  We just all need to look at mistakes being oportunities to improve and learn.  I would really really hope that more would join as staff.  More help means less work landing on any one persons shoulders.  I would also like to see more given to those who volunteer.  I don't know what can be done but I'm sure there are those who are fighting for more to be given to those who spend alot of time on what they love.  Anyways I would hope we can be a little more calm on these forums so that can improve.

Offline Trumby

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #59 on: September 04, 2007, 09:30:14 pm »
Thief, I remember your incident, though I didn't know that had happened up in ops. I remember waffles taking you up there personally and I'm glad to see it got resolved, but even though I wasn't the guy in ops who handled that very poorly I'd just like to apologize for that kind of behavior. I'm a yojimbo and personally I don't think there is any excuse for acting like that towards people, attendees or anyone else. Maybe I am just special in that lack of sleep doesn't really make me irritable or anything like that..but I went 40 hours with zero sleep (until about 2 am Sunday morning) and I don't think I came across as rude to anyone... at least I hope I never came across as rude to anyone I had interactions with <.<

From a staff point of view, I really didn't have any problems with attendees and I'm thankful everyone I talked seemed to be in good spirits and just being patient in general.

I am curious though, what was everyones thoughts on the info booth this year? I worked it for a few hours and it seemed like almost everyone I talked to I was personally able to help out without needing to find someone else.
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Offline kylite

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #60 on: September 04, 2007, 09:30:48 pm »
I think that anyone who has NOT been staff or volunteer can NOT say a staff or volunteer should not be one.  jazz you did so much work that I myself feel extremely lazy in comparison.  I hope you are there every year
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Offline MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #61 on: September 04, 2007, 09:42:20 pm »
Improvements to make:
  • - Very Large Signs, posted well above head height, both labeling rooms and others showing you which rooms are down which direction of a hallway.  (The same for info desk/etc, since crowds blocked the signs)
  • - Signs in the registration area might also help.

As the Signage Coordinator, I was only told to make the signs that I had forms for pre-con. But, since I know what signs are going to be needed and the different types of them. I can make them rather easy now since I know what signs I had to make for them. So, it's partially...or more to the point, mostly my fault for that second thing on the list. But to answer the first thing; I think that 3' by 4' signs are big enough for someone to notice...

3' x 4' signs Should be large enough.  However I didn't really notice the signs past all of the crowds.  The kind of signs I'm thinking of are more specific.  I actually covered them, but in a prominent location at the start of any hall from an entry way, and posted at every intersection, you note what is in which direction.  Then above each room you post another sign.  These work best if they're hanging above crowd level, but could also work with very noticeable signs posted on the walls in key locations.   They pretty much have to be as high as anyone could possibly notice them, and then you have to hope they see them above the crowds...  Which is why hanging signs work better.
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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #62 on: September 04, 2007, 09:49:17 pm »
I think that anyone who has NOT been staff or volunteer can NOT say a staff or volunteer should not be one.  jazz you did so much work that I myself feel extremely lazy in comparison.  I hope you are there every year

 Oi, I wanst saying she shoudlnt be, she seemed like she didnt like doing it. If she didnt like it, then shes not obligated to do so.
But if she wants to do it gain then by all means.

I know a lot of people  who do nothing but complain about "Having' to be staff and get really bitter and mean towards atendees ofte nusign the pharse " well why dotn YOU become a volanteer" yet just keep doing it seemingly because they love drama. I thought that was all this was but I it seems I was mistaken and pretty harsh. Gomen ne Jazz.

Trumby, thanks. im glad I didnt come off as a demanding b***ch to everyone. I know I was being kind of nasty but dammit I wanted into the dance. Were you one of the people sitting at the pre-reg desk?
Everyoen there was really friendly and obviously wanted to help. I really appreciated that.

I didnt have a need for the infodesk much, but from what I saw they were quite usefull as well. Pretty friendly too. There was a guy giving us crap about the peace bonding there, btu I think hes one of the same guys whom I regularly recieved crap from. So that doesnt count.



« Last Edit: September 04, 2007, 09:54:45 pm by ThiefKingsHier »

Offline stcrx

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #63 on: September 04, 2007, 10:19:27 pm »
;D ;D ;D On a happy note ;D ;D ;DOn a happy note,
  • This was my first con
  • I had a great time
  • I think 98% of the staff (including hotel) did a MARVELOUS job dealing with all those people
  • I loved that free water was constantly supplied!!!

----------
 :-\ on a bit sadder note  :-\

  • I wish I had the program and times before I arrived so I could plan out things
  • I was so busy having fun, I didn't have time to look at the book and see what other fun things there were till it was over
  • This may have been partially my fault
  • Why couldn't we use the elevators to get to the vendors?  :-\



Offline Trumby

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #64 on: September 04, 2007, 10:29:02 pm »
Trumby, thanks. im glad I didnt come off as a demanding b***ch to everyone. I know I was being kind of nasty but dammit I wanted into the dance. Were you one of the people sitting at the pre-reg desk?
Everyoen there was really friendly and obviously wanted to help. I really appreciated that.
You're welcome ^-^ And no, I was a yojimbo roaming with waffles at the time and was with him when you and Venton (I believe it was him?
) were talking to him.

stcrx: It was a security issue mainly. Having multiple entrances means having to have people watch said entrances, making sure only con people go in and all that. Plus it would have been a huge bottleneck and traffic jam with people waiting outside the elevators (both on the main floor and in the garage).
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Offline Riitsuke

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #65 on: September 04, 2007, 10:39:35 pm »
...I went to one of the raves, ANYONE WHO DANCED MUST TEACH ME :0 XD I can't dance

Offline stcrx

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #66 on: September 04, 2007, 10:49:48 pm »
 :-[ it was just very sad, because I was able to do it once, and then after i noticed a sign in there while going down and then there was a guy who said we had to go all the way back up and around, even though we were like 50 feet from where we wanted to go!

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #67 on: September 05, 2007, 12:09:23 am »
(ps it cool)

they try to get the program online as soon as possible but there are tons of last minit changes going on

i forgot one giant rave
charity auction ran by sarah of street team, was a big hit ending with the auction for #1 bagde for next year and it went for the jaw dropping amount of ...i sheet you not
$$$1000$$$$ bucks all going to charity can i hear a woot?!?!?!, that lady who bought it and the peeps who donated stuff to it totaly rock!!!
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Offline Jamiche

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #68 on: September 05, 2007, 12:42:24 am »
In reponse to some of the comments:

Mask making workshop and the Masquerade Ball/ballroom dancing lessons - as has been stated before, we had not anticipated the the interest in both these events, and we were not prepared.  The ballroom was crowded, we didn't have enough supplies for the masks, and although we did try to obtain more and allow time for people to decorate them, some were unable to - this is something we will rectify next year.

Guns in anime/Lolita sewing panel overlap - in order to allow more time for the mask making workshop, the guns in anime panel was moved to be between the religion in anime and Lolita sewing panels, but I had been looking at an old schedule, and I forgot that the Lolita sewing panel had been moved an hour earlier - it was not his fault (he thought he had an hour, not the half-hour that was available), it was mine.  I am very sorry for trouble it caused you, Maetel.

Anime in the hotel rooms - this was the first year we had it, I'm glad people enjoyed it :)  I do apologize for the lack of variety - the hotel had to approve the viewing for their channels, and so we could only submit a few shows for their review.  The plus side was they loved what we sent, and we had the channels, the down side was it was the same shows over and over.  I'm going with the "yay, we had anime in the hotel rooms :D" side, and hope that next year we can do it again, with a little more variety.

Rooms being too small for events - that was a common theme this year... we just had not anticipate the interest in some of these panels, especially panels/event that were new to Kumoricon this year.  We will take this into account next year, and try to accomadate everyone.  The one thing we ask that you keep in mind, tho, is that we are limited by the size of the rooms we have available.  We cannot schedule everything in Main Events - the techs need time between the events to change setups, sound, or even have chairs removed, and that is why we use other rooms like Live Events to run events.  The plus side - we can run events there while Main is being setup, the down side - it's a smaller room, so not everyone is going to be able to attend.  We would love for everyone to be able to attend all the events that they want to see.  Unfortunately, we are constrained by the space we have available.

Variety in panels/lack of panels - we try to provide panels/events that attendees have shown interest in (Suzumiya dance, Cosplay Chess) but are limited by staff available/knowledgeable to run them.  This is why you will often see the response "if you don't like things/think you can do better/(insert comment here), become staff"... please, this is not meant in a bad way, but an honest request for your help - sometimes you just need a different take on the situation.  You don't have to be staff or a volunteer to help out the convention, you can be a big help by being a panelist - even just a one hour panel can make a difference, and if you have a great idea you want to share with other congoers, it's a great opportunity.  We are always on the lookout for new ideas in programming.

All the volunteers and staff worked hard during the convention, and the long hours and lack of sleep are the price we pay for choosing to help put on this convention.  We choose to do this because we love this (or we're crazy ;D), but we're still like you - a bunch of fans - so please, have a little patience with us while we try to get things running as smoothly as we can.  This doesn't mean you have to take abuse/rudeness from a staff member/volunteer... it just means we're human, too.

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Offline Ryu-chan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #69 on: September 05, 2007, 12:51:14 am »
never underestimate the otaku's intrests in nerdy stuff! mwahahahahhaa!!!cant believe i missed the cosplay chess ;o; too much dancing lol overslept xD now my boss hates me because of this ;o; (that and i beat him in chess after telling him XD)

Offline Sakaki Onsei

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #70 on: September 05, 2007, 02:36:13 am »
In everything that I have seen here, I want to sincerely thank everyone for their responses here so far.

I have to give two responses for certain issues that were brought up that are very important:

Teuvan's rant about the cosplay line and other issues involving the cosplay competition are very much warranted. I was the one in charge of the House floor, which also includes crowd control, and while my explanation may not be of comfort, I hope that it at least gives the idea that any slight was unintentional.

Specifically, the issue of the line being moved from inside to outside was one that was made somewhat last minute. The reason for that was because there were going to be issues of clogging up the corridors, and I didn't want to see anyone inconvienienced either in line or those who may have been walking by. That's the primary reason why the line was moved outside.

As for the delays, the only explanation I can give is the true one. There were sound issues, and there was some safety issues with some pieces of lighting. And that is what delayed everyone for 20 minutes. Being the House manager, while they were out of my control, I do feel that there could have been a little bit better communication between myself, the sound technicians, as well as the spotlight staff.

The seating issue...all I can say is that if I am doing this next year, I will try to do my best. With about 600 people coming in, it was a bit hard, but I will try better to make certain we accomodate accordingly.
------

The second issue was brought up by Thief-san. That was the issue of the person who barked at them in regards to cosplay chess and the moving of chairs afterwards. That was me, and I solemnly apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience this caused you and those who were helping you. I have no excuse to give, because there was no excuse for barking. I only hope that this does not color your opinion of all staff. :)

-----------------

Needless to say, this first year of staffing was exciting and as harrowing as any experience I had before, and if I am still in the country as of next con...I only hope I could do much better as a member of the staff.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2007, 02:38:24 am by Sakaki Onsei »
Sakaki Onsei
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Offline Keroleen

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #71 on: September 05, 2007, 03:41:44 am »
Unfortunately, my family and I were too wiped to stay for the rant-n-rave, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to mention a couple things here.

Raves:

Pre-mailed badges - Worked fabulously, glad to hear it's being done again.

Pre-reg for next year on Monday afternoon - If you already know you're going to come back, it's a great timesaver.

Location of hotel - There were plenty of places to eat within walking distance, so we didn't have to worry about parking roulette.

Anime in the rooms - To me, it gave the sense of still being connected to the con goings-on even if I was in our room.

Adult content -  Always good to have adult material around, and the First Episode Hentai Theatre was hysterical. :) 

Pirates Vs. Ninjas - Please, do this again. We Pirates want a rematch. :)


Things that could be improved:

Dealer's room - It was a little hard to tell in some areas where one vendor stopped and another started. A couple times I needed to ask so I'd avoid crossing into another stall. Also, the sales tax issue was a little sticky. Some vendors were charging it, others weren't, still others were folding it into the listed price. (Since we're going back across the river it won't be an issue next year, but it was a bit annoying this one.) One more thing - it'd be nice if it were open later on Monday. I definitely would've spent more of my "waiting for closing" time shopping had the opportunity been available.

Adult content - I understand there were space issues, but it would be nice if the hentai viewing weren't in the smallest room. I was lucky enough to barely get in before people started being turned away.

Yaoi debate - As far as I can tell, to a large extent, yaoi is a teenage phenomena. It might have been better to have placed the actual debate during all-ages time, so those teens who participated in the prep panels had a chance to see how it turned out.

Curfew - speaking of teens, and as the parent of one, it would have been a good thing to note in the rules that this year it was an absolute curfew, particularly given that in prior years it was a must-be-with-an-adult curfew. I know it hadn't occurred to me that this had changed until I heard a staff member mention it in passing.

Anime in the rooms - I note from a prior post in this thread that this year's content had to be pre-approved by the hotel, so in retrospect, I can understand the limited amount of programming. It would be nice if the aux channels could have scheduled programming which is listed in the guide along with that in the viewing rooms. I realize this may not be feasible, but it's something to look at. (Incidentally, did the shonen channel show -anything- but Gundam? I'm not the big fan, so I never left it on that channel, but that's what was on every time I checked. Just curious.)

Signage - I'd like to suggest a "Line Starts Here" sign for next year. I know we were far from the only ones confused about which line went where, where the beginning was and which direction it was supposed to be going in.



I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but if it's anything important, I'll just post again. Overall, we had a great time and have already bought our memberships for next year. Thanks for all the hard work you guys put in - I did a lot of con work in my younger days, so I know how difficult it can all be. Maybe I'll see if I can slide in some volunteer time in the coming year.


Offline rictheron

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #72 on: September 05, 2007, 03:46:25 am »
Hello Everyone.

  I was the Assistant Operations Manager and Head of the Yojimbo during this, the 2007 Kumoricon.  I'm here to help explain a few points and answer a few questions to hopefully help everyone with this past convention.  First let me say that I am happy to read all of this, not just the raves but the rants as well.  Everything that gets written here helps us understand what fell short this year so that we can improve it over the coming year.  We need to know what works and what doesn't so if you are upset about something then telling us helps us confront it.  This convention is for you and we always want it improving to be the best it can be for all of you.  Let me quickly add here that despite my position I could certainly not claim to know everything about this convention so if anyone else on staff would like to correct any mistakes I make then please feel free.

  First I would like to ask that, while this is a Rant & Rave and pointing out a problem one has had with a person or group, pointing fingers and arguing over fault will not help anyone.  No one can ever know the sub experiences of another or the whole truth of a situation.  If there was a problem, knowing about it can help us prevent it from happening again but putting the blame to others will only increase the feelings of resentment and/or anger about such situations and will thus damage your over all experience both now and in the future.  Fault can fall on one person, on many people, or simply on a misheard word.  Attendees, please try to be understanding of what staff have to deal with.  Staff please try to be understanding of what attendees see.  Volunteers please be understanding  of both.  And everyone should hopefully understand that just because we might have a bad experience with one or two people, that we might get snubbed, put down, disrespected, or simply ignored by a few, the vast majority of us realize what you have dealt with, what you have enjoyed and we appreciate every minute that you spent at the convention.  Without Staff, without volunteers, without guests and attendees there would be no convention.  

  The Vancouver Hilton is a relatively new hotel and we were their first convention of this size and did a phenomenol job of dealing with our tremendous turn out this year.  They were incrediably understanding and supported us to an unprecidented degree.  If anyone passing the gaming room this convention noticed the Kumoricon Kafe, this was in no way organized by the convention, it was entirely done by the hotel in an effort to keep our attendees happy.

   Our staff count this year was at it's highest yet, 120 staffers between our various departments.  This is, however, our signup number, not accounting for those that did not show up, which in the Yojimbo accounted for 1/3 of our total number.  

  Our attendence was also at it's highest level so far and was 3000 as of Saturday.

  Kumoricon tried to do a number of new things this year including but not limited to:
        Plastic print ID badges
        Mail out pre-reg badges
        the CCTV channels of anime
        The Masquarade ball
        The color coded lanyard system
        Signage director
        Maid Squad and Pocky Club assistance
  Being new to Kumoricon, we were still working out the kinks as the convention opened.  What we learned at this convention will help us improve for the next year, so please forgive us and understand that any inconvenience or problems with these are more related to their newness then to a lack or effort or lack of care.  For next year it is hoped to have distinct ways of identifying volunteers so they can be recognized as such.  The badge system will hopefully be running much more smoothly this coming year because of what we have learned about how far we can push it.  No one expected the popularity of the Masquarade ball (which to our count exceeded 250!!!).  It was not placed in the main events hall because of the constant setup going on in that room as it was transitioned from cosplay to concert and the Live events room was the next largest available.  Our signage director did an AMAZING job for joining us so late!  If anyone remembers from previous years, the extent of our signage was limited to markers and computer print outs.  The work we recieved from this new member of staff was exquisite and a great help all around.

  I want to thank every staff member, Yojimbo, Maid Squad, Pocky Club, volunteer and attendee who gave even a single hour to help us out.  If you picked up a piece of trash, gave someone else a cup of water, gave a bit of information, watched a room, handed out a flyer or gave anyone a helping hand at any time then you have my profound thanks.  This convention simply wouldn't work without you and I am sorry that you did not recieve the recognition you so rightly deserved.  Please see the thread I will be adding to the general discussion later.

   The rules for the convention and how it was planned to handle some things at this convention were in a constant state of flux.  Often times a change could not make the full rounds or was misinterpretted somewhere along the line.  Thief's problem with getting a replacement staff badge was a good example.  The information about replacement badges was transmitted by the conchair but during the course of making it's way down the lines of communication it was reduced to a sticky note on the side of a laptop next to a half dozen others with only a name and number.  The Yojimbo in question did not know there was any way to get a replacement badge at that late hour.
  
     Another example would be in regards to the point about line delays or miscommunication about how to get into events.  Often times there would be unexpected delays and people tried to hold things together as best they could.  Sometimes these were because something changed mid convention, such as the entrance door to Main events (which was changed at the request of the Hotel to reduce noise travelling into the lobby), and other times was done because of more immediate changes such as needing to find a key piece of equipment which had gone missing before an event could begin.

     The problem with badges at times was due to the newness of this new system, many problems were simply not predicted and no plan was setup ahead of time to deal with them simply because no one had thought they could happen.

    Sometimes problems would crop up which we had to deal with by changing the rules mid convention.  Such as the person limit on elevators came about after one was overloaded.  A projector vanished despite our efforts to keep track of all equipment and delayed a panel.  The noise problems from one event spilling into another.  The broken down elevator.  All of these were unexpected problems which, once aware of them, we strove to solve as best we could.  We can only apologize for the inconvenience and try to account for them ahead of time next year.

    I would love to see volunteers recieve additional acknowledgement.  I am hoping to push for either a reduced registration fee or a post convention refund for volunteers based upon the number of hours given by volunteers.  Volunteers who work like staff should be treated like staff (I mean in the good way, not the bad way).  And staff should be treated by staff.

   If anyone has any ideas on how to improve something which they saw a problem with then please post about them in the help and suggestions section so we can work to make them a reality.  If you have a complaint about something you saw or a staff member you dealt with then please let us know that as well.  I would like everyone to feel comfortable knowing that then can send me a message anytime about anything they feel the need to share.  Always remember that we are here to help you, to keep you safe, and to provide the best experience that we can.

  
Jess Shelton
2008 Operations Director
2007 Assist. Operations Manager/Yojimbo Manager
2006 Assist. Yojimbo Manager
2005 Yojimbo Manager
2003-2004 Security
Credentials: senior Physics Major at PSU,Edu minor, Store Manager, Instructor, Security

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #73 on: September 05, 2007, 08:13:31 am »
it apreshated and i'm not just saying things are bad it was a great con, just that with a few small changes it could go better, i mean its crazey for the yojimbo to be expected to know who the volunteers are if they've never met and the volunteers arn't marked visualy

I am thinking of somthing way that this can be helped for the next year, my fiance had a really good idea that we want to hammer out before mentioning it at the next meetings
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Offline XxthepinkpiratexX

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #74 on: September 05, 2007, 09:20:04 am »
i too, missed this session at the con.

  Rave:
*Majority of people were in costume. yeah!
*the people of Vancouver being so cool about us crashing the 150th birthday in the park thingy. they were so nice and polite and into it.
* Most of the con staff was very friendley and polite ( one girl was very rude)
* the hotel staff was very nice too
 
   Rant:
*the cosplay contest. One of the major reasons we went. one of three event we were looking forward too. couldnt get in. too many people. i understand they couldt let everyone in, but maybe next year they should set up an overflow room and have a live feed and project the action an a big screen. Then at least you could see what was going on.
* the badges...we wore then clipped to our belts the whole weekend and it wasnt until  monday morning we were told to put them around our necks
*Sumo wrestling. never happend. that just sucked

Offline kylite

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #75 on: September 05, 2007, 09:23:57 am »
actually sumo was canceled due to staff testing the equipment and discovering that he can get a concussion in under 10 seconds.  we replaced the sumo panel with a boffer combat panel
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Offline gemineye42

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #76 on: September 05, 2007, 10:01:32 am »
Gaming replies:

In regards to the DDR machine - we had one lined up from Ground Kontrol, but sadly it was broken right before the con and could not come. Next year we are going to try for more arcade machines and DDR will surely be one of them.

The Smash Bros. Tournament - I'll say now, this one always gives us a hard time. The number of entrants was over a hundred this year, and getting brackets started for that amount of players does take some time. Next year we may close sign-ups a couple hours before the scheduled start time to avoid this issue, but we will likely get complaints from late-comers about signing up too late. Anyone who has played in the tournament for the last 2 years knows that it has taken between 4-5 hours to run every time. Something to keep in mind when signing up next year.

Para Para - Our donator for this game forgot to bring it this year. It's on our list of arcade games we're trying to get for next year.

Overall I'd just like to say that all the staff did a wonderful job, and I personally didn't meet any attendees I didn't like. You guys are the heart of this con! It may not be glamorous and is definitely hard work, but I recommend everyone try out being on staff. Some of the issues mentioned with the staff are so VERy easily fixed - with more staff! This year we had bigger numbers than EVER, with a ratio of 30 attendees to every ONE staffer. If more people volunteer to be staff, everyone gets a little relief, a little more sleep, and has a little more fun. Also, staff and volunteers are essentially the same, just usually volunteers help more AT con rather than before con (but not always that way). I'm 100% sure that any staff who snapped at anyone for any reason didn't mean to impart anger or frustration at the attendee - there are a number of factors which wear a person thin and I am sure if you ran into them again they would apologize sincerely.

We have big plans for Gaming next year and I would LOVE to see more suggestions! We're definitely interested to know what people would like to see in the room, tournaments, activities, etc.

Thanks for the input everyone, and we'll see you next year!
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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #77 on: September 05, 2007, 03:14:41 pm »

Yaoi debate - As far as I can tell, to a large extent, yaoi is a teenage phenomena. It might have been better to have placed the actual debate during all-ages time, so those teens who participated in the prep panels had a chance to see how it turned out.


 *Eyetwitch*  No. Never. Absolutely not. It would be an incredible insult to the adult fans.

 It is NOT a 'teenage phenomina'. It just so happens to be mainly the little teenage girls who are the most squeally and obnoxious about it.

Us adults can keep it to ourselves and be mature about it without having to shove it everyone elses faces to prove how 'crazy we are'.

Im personally REALLY irirtated by the image those little fangirls give the rest of us yaoi fans.
Making it 'all ages' will only perpetuates this idea.
That is THE last thing the 'yaoi fandom' (or whatever you want to call it) needs.

If anything, we need to make it MORE adult to send a message that it is NOT for irriattaing little children who are jsut going for shock value orto 'rebel' and keep them OUT.

*End rant*

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #78 on: September 05, 2007, 03:51:47 pm »
actually sumo was canceled due to staff testing the equipment and discovering that he can get a concussion in under 10 seconds.  we replaced the sumo panel with a boffer combat panel


people hurtin themselfs testing sumo? never....
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Offline TanisNikana

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #79 on: September 05, 2007, 04:01:57 pm »
I'm sure all of us here experienced the Shinra Tower in Final Fantasy 7, right? 60 floors of stair, stair, stair, stair, stair, GODDAMMIT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

After about 4 hours on the first day, I was fed up with the elevators, so I used the stairs almost exclusively. And when my party (whoever happened to be with me at the time) went up the stairs, I was humming the Shinra theme the whole way.

This is epic win. It is also rant.

Offline Teuvan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #80 on: September 05, 2007, 04:23:09 pm »
I'm sure all of us here experienced the Shinra Tower in Final Fantasy 7, right? 60 floors of stair, stair, stair, stair, stair, GODDAMMIT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

After about 4 hours on the first day, I was fed up with the elevators, so I used the stairs almost exclusively. And when my party (whoever happened to be with me at the time) went up the stairs, I was humming the Shinra theme the whole way.

This is epic win. It is also rant.

I'm not even an FF7 fan, but I got a flashback to that scene when I used the stairs.
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Offline Rathany

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #81 on: September 05, 2007, 05:15:06 pm »

Yaoi debate - As far as I can tell, to a large extent, yaoi is a teenage phenomena. It might have been better to have placed the actual debate during all-ages time, so those teens who participated in the prep panels had a chance to see how it turned out.


 *Eyetwitch*  No. Never. Absolutely not. It would be an incredible insult to the adult fans.

 It is NOT a 'teenage phenomina'. It just so happens to be mainly the little teenage girls who are the most squeally and obnoxious about it.

Us adults can keep it to ourselves and be mature about it without having to shove it everyone elses faces to prove how 'crazy we are'.

Im personally REALLY irirtated by the image those little fangirls give the rest of us yaoi fans.
Making it 'all ages' will only perpetuates this idea.
That is THE last thing the 'yaoi fandom' (or whatever you want to call it) needs.

If anything, we need to make it MORE adult to send a message that it is NOT for irriattaing little children who are jsut going for shock value orto 'rebel' and keep them OUT.

*End rant*

I agree with you 100%.  I have a *very* large yaoi manga collection and most of it is 18+ and cannot be legally sold to kids.  (And let's not even discuss my doujinshi.)  Just because teenagers tend to be more visible does not mean they are the majority. 

There is a Yaoi Con and it is strictly 18+.  That alone should show that this is not a 'tweeny' genre. 
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 MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #82 on: September 05, 2007, 05:16:13 pm »
Actually, that is one other thing we could improve next year...

Elevator suggestions
  • Disable elevators for all but one con event floor and the guest floors.
  • Stairwell doors unlocked on all con event floors (for egress).  It would be down only from what I hear of the next hotel, but very helpful.
  • Priority elevator access for other hotel guests, the disabled, VIPs, etc.

However having never been to the Portland Doubletree I am unsure if these are possible or advisable.

One other thing, if the Operations room is in a hotel suite again, maybe it could be across from one stairwell and thus we could have that door open as well.
---
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2010-2008: Website Development (So very very much in the last month before the convention at last; Good thing I'm looking for work x.x and have the spare time ~.~)
2007: Website Administration (Mascot Voting Input, Live Schedule)

Offline rictheron

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #83 on: September 05, 2007, 07:15:47 pm »
  Two points, as much as i am against saying that a panel is for one group and not another because one is more true then another, I feel I must agree that the Yaoi panel should be 18+ unless certain measures are taken.  This is mainly for the same reason as the scared panel in that it would be very easy for the topic to shift into areas which should not be accessable to minors very quickly.  Attempting to keep it from there would also feel restrictive to those adults who prefer to examine it from a more adult perspective. 

  As to Elevators in the Doubletree, no, you do not want to disable the Elevators to the various floors, mainly because the Doubletree is 11 floors and the Elevator is the primary means of getting up and down.  However, the Guestrooms and the actual convention space, while in the same building, are detached from eachother.  This means that the Elevators from guest rooms goes to the lobby, on the other side of which is the Convention area.  There is a second floor section to the convention area but it has indepenent access to that used when getting to and from guest rooms.  However there will most definately have to be controlled access to the elevators so they do not get overloaded.
Jess Shelton
2008 Operations Director
2007 Assist. Operations Manager/Yojimbo Manager
2006 Assist. Yojimbo Manager
2005 Yojimbo Manager
2003-2004 Security
Credentials: senior Physics Major at PSU,Edu minor, Store Manager, Instructor, Security

Offline TomtheFanboy

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #84 on: September 05, 2007, 07:35:30 pm »
Valid complaints:

First of all, thank you for not complaining about Pocky Deliveries, it was not the fault of the con staff after all. I think we missed about half of them this year since I was so distracted with the Hall Cosplay Contest (which went well, luckily). Next year I’ll be doing any work for the convention beforehand and my only focus during the convention will be running Pocky Club. Now that the frustration and sleep dep is gone I’m feeling much better about how my part of the convantion went.

Yojimbo claiming that only certain colors of peace bond ties were for this year. There was no special color of peace bonds, I heard about that happening and was quite embarrassed. Blue were probably completely used up on Friday night before he got there. How silly.

Indoor lines blocking the doors to other events. There was little planning done for how to handle internal lines and I apologize for that as I had something to do with layout. The Hotel may have switched entrances on us but I know that the workshop and Live Events hallways were left alone the whole convention. Maybe we can get some protocol for the yojimbo and Maid Squads next year.

DDR Machines instead of pads that slip. A very popular request and I don't really know what the story is behind this (we now know that it was broken before con). I think that this year they budgeted for Wiis and a PS3. Next year we’ll definitely be able to rent one and at some point we may buy one, but that’s just speculation.

Not having enough staff. Yes we know, we try and get as many as possible. Compared to how many we had regged and signed up, only about %60 of the yojimbo showed up (this number is from memory and I was glad to see rictheron back it up). I know of about a half dozen other staff in other departments who didn't show up (some of whom were panelists, causing even more issues)! We can't just make more people staff and volunteer. We will always be trying to get more staff and volunteers. If it was a big enough issue for you to complain go ahead, just know that we've known about it for 4 years.

Various specific panels. There were such a wide variety of panel issues with so many different people involved that I can't really comment on it much (especially since I am not supposed to go into some of the details in public). Suffice it to say that while some of the issues will likely happen again we are taking steps to fix many of them.

Height of the stage in main events. We did not find out that the stage was so short until very late in the game, too late for the budget to rent one from an outside source. We are aware of this issue and will try and bring it back up to the usual 4 ft tall stage next year. For those of you who helped Friday morning, you'll know how much worse it could have been.

Hotel Layout is what it is. Kumoricon will always have to conform to the space we are in unless a millionaire runs for Chair and builds us a hotel. Complaints about the rooms and passages are always valid and us staff need that information so that we can plan our layout better at each new location. Just make sure to word your complaints correctly and try not to blame the staff.
--Next year we'll be at the Doubletree, those of us who were there in '05 will be able to navigate it but I admit it will be even more of a challenge for people who have never been there before. If you live in the Portland area (that is, you have a Tri-Met stop nearby) I suggest heading out to Lloyd Center sometime and walking around inside the hotel to get a feel for the place. It isn't as high tech as the Hilton but I think you'll like it. There are three levatos that are glass (scaring the acrophobes more than the claustrophobes) and a back elevator for the 2 convention floors. A set of side meeting rooms that are separated from the rest (where creation station was in '05) making them quieter if a bit hard to see. Going by the numbers, the Main Events hall should be bigger than this year's ;) and there's DEFINITELY more guest rooms. The park may not be very good but there is one there, and you can always hop on the MAX and zoom around fareless square if the shopping in the vendor area or LLOYD CENTER isn't enough!


Host Club not seductive. From what I saw when I made my Pocky Delivery there you are absolutely right. If I shape up and lose this belly I promise to get a blue blazer and help Mustash out. ;D (I haven’t watched the videos yet so hopefully I am wrong)

Bullies on staff and in Volunteers. Yeah, some people let power go to their heads. Some people feel that they are entitled to everything and should never be inconvenienced. We have jerks on staff because we need all the staff we can get. We don't like it when they are jerks and we tell them to be more polite but we need as many people as possible working behind the scenes and we have to balance the complaints of rude staff against the complaints about not enough staff. All I can do is apologize to the people who were treated rudely by our staff (both attendees, volunteers, and fellow staff members).


---Corrections:

*Moving Chairs was allowed. STACKING chairs was not, this was policy from the hotel and some staff were more interested in enforcing it than others.

*The Hotel declared the elevator off limits rather than locking certain floors. This was an issue we pushed them on and they seemed to lack the confidence in their technology. We may have been able to do a bit better if we had a relations person working with them for the whole year and not just for 4 months. >_>

*Con as a job. Can we just drop that debate or start a new thread? It's far too complicated to get into attendee rights vs volunteer rights vs staff rights vs other job rights.

*Staff don't get paid. Nope, we don't. We do save about 20 bucks on registration and maybe a 100 on the hotel. That's a lot to someone poor like me! The Executive level of staff gets free hotel rooms (usually) as well as free food most of the time, however they are the ones ultimately responsible for EVERYTHING. I can trace half the issues in this thread to one person or another who might've been able to fix that issue. I'll defer to my original point of this issue being best discussed elsewhere, but I wish to clarify that for people who are lumping staff together with volunteers.

*Photoshoots being poorly organized. These were all fan run events unless they coincided with something on the schedule, like the TMHS dance party or the Host Club Tea Party. If there is a demand for it then we might set up a little protocol for making the photoshoots more official, but it is likely that it will just be up to the cosplayers to organize themselves. To those of you who set up and did organize photoshoots (like the Silent Hill guy who came and told me about the one he planned and Rude from Turk Coffee), thank you on behalf of the cosplayers.
---Also, I did have a print out of the photoshoot list posted at the info booth Friday afternoon before the con even started pre-reg. it seems that most of the people at the desk missed it despite it being present all the way until the last day of the convention. *sigh*

*The Karaoke Lounge was designed as a more intimate location for people to come in and relax with a drink and some karaoke. It didn't quite meet the vision of what was planned (dimmed lights for instance). The size of the room however was exactly what was planned for, though at times it was crowded the lounge in general was not meant to be a main activity and thus it did not get a larger room. If layout allows in the future there may be one dedicated Karaoke Hall for the entire convention, then there will be no confusion when it comes to the contests and the general open to the public karaoke. Time will tell.

*Dances/Raves/Masquerade, all the complaints I've seen can be attributed to the people running them at the time. Sometimes there was more people interested than expected, or a miscommunication between sound technicians. Calling something a Rave implies a more illicit event that the convention doesn't really want to suggest. Yes, it was more like a rave.

*We will try and make sure the convention documentation includes both the con-name for a room and the hotel-name. Also, since there is enough demand for the locations of the fire stairs I will make sure they are included on the maps as well. This year only the East stair was accessible from the con space.

*The first day in the vendors hall was cool and pleasant. There had not been a crowd in there all day and the fans were moved to the entrance late at night too blow cool air inside. After the crowds the fans were not moved back to the entrance on the first and second night which left us with a much worse situation on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunate how that went, but we won't be in a basement car park next year so we'll see how that goes.

*Sakuracon vs Kumoricon. A ton of our staff are also Sakurcon staff. A good number of our staff are trying to get out from under "big sister's shadow" and try and be as different as possible. Staff members respond to comparisons (both good and bad) with varying degrees of seriousness.
Tom the Fanboy
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Offline risotto

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #85 on: September 05, 2007, 08:11:07 pm »
Raves:
  • Dealer's Room: I had no problems with crowds and it was very spacey. The temperature was fine and the location was perfect! Though, as I'm hoping I'll be able to open a table next year, the Artist Alley could've been placed in a better, more traffic-flowed area so they could get more business.
  • Gaming Room: There was a lot to choose from and it was overall enjoyable. The bag checking was quick and efficient so props to the staff/volunteers on that.
Rants:
  • Cosplay Contest: From the performer aspect I won't name names, but the skit I was in didn't have the correct lighting. We gave them specific directions and adjusted to accommodate what they could do, but none of it was followed. In fact, the music started before we even got on stage! The other skits were given PLENTY of time to prepare on stage. I-- I dunno, I just feel cheated :/ I probably won't be in a skit again in the next couple cons until the technical aspect is improved.
  • Programming Pamphlet: It was sort of confusing to figure out which day the events/panels were on since it was written vertically.


There's always going to be complaints with staff/volunteers, so I won't list any.

I have mixed feelings on whether this year was good or not. I didn't go to too many of the panels and activities. But, there's always room for improvement and next year to sort them out :) Please be at the Doubletree next year!!

Offline rictheron

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #86 on: September 05, 2007, 08:41:48 pm »
  Oh yes, Tom, thank you for reminding me.  The peace bonding thing.  This was confusing because one plan was started with then a second was adopted followed by a third.  Each was a valid one and the change mainly came about because of the need to get things done quickly and effectively without enough people to do everything we needed done.  In the end the plans were abandoned completely.  However sometimes the information about the change over did not reach everyone at the same time which led to confusion.  We apologize for this inconvenience and now have an idea of which plan will work best next year.
Jess Shelton
2008 Operations Director
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2006 Assist. Yojimbo Manager
2005 Yojimbo Manager
2003-2004 Security
Credentials: senior Physics Major at PSU,Edu minor, Store Manager, Instructor, Security

Offline MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #87 on: September 05, 2007, 09:14:41 pm »
One more plan (maybe) for Peace Bonding next year:  Pre-bonding while in line.  It might even be possible for any line patrol yojimbo to also do this task.
---
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2010-2008: Website Development (So very very much in the last month before the convention at last; Good thing I'm looking for work x.x and have the spare time ~.~)
2007: Website Administration (Mascot Voting Input, Live Schedule)

Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #88 on: September 05, 2007, 09:25:44 pm »
One more plan (maybe) for Peace Bonding next year:  Pre-bonding while in line.  It might even be possible for any line patrol yojimbo to also do this task.

That is exactly when my sword was peace bound..and I still got crap from staff.

Offline Sakaki Onsei

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #89 on: September 05, 2007, 09:43:08 pm »

Rant:
*the cosplay contest. One of the major reasons we went. one of three event we were looking forward too. couldnt get in. too many people. i understand they couldt let everyone in, but maybe next year they should set up an overflow room and have a live feed and project the action an a big screen. Then at least you could see what was going on.

Hmmmmmm...I like this idea. I have a feeling this next year, the stage will be much higher than it was this past year, which will help in regards to the seating aspect of everything...at least, I would be hoping so. But, still, an overflow room for the main events stuff would probably help things out greatly, and I think Pink Pirate has a very good point to look at there.

Woo for ideas!
Sakaki Onsei
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Offline Keroleen

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #90 on: September 06, 2007, 01:41:41 am »

Yaoi debate - As far as I can tell, to a large extent, yaoi is a teenage phenomena. It might have been better to have placed the actual debate during all-ages time, so those teens who participated in the prep panels had a chance to see how it turned out.


 *Eyetwitch*  No. Never. Absolutely not. It would be an incredible insult to the adult fans.

 It is NOT a 'teenage phenomina'. It just so happens to be mainly the little teenage girls who are the most squeally and obnoxious about it.

Us adults can keep it to ourselves and be mature about it without having to shove it everyone elses faces to prove how 'crazy we are'.

Im personally REALLY irirtated by the image those little fangirls give the rest of us yaoi fans.
Making it 'all ages' will only perpetuates this idea.
That is THE last thing the 'yaoi fandom' (or whatever you want to call it) needs.

If anything, we need to make it MORE adult to send a message that it is NOT for irriattaing little children who are jsut going for shock value orto 'rebel' and keep them OUT.

*End rant*

I agree with you 100%.  I have a *very* large yaoi manga collection and most of it is 18+ and cannot be legally sold to kids.  (And let's not even discuss my doujinshi.)  Just because teenagers tend to be more visible does not mean they are the majority. 

There is a Yaoi Con and it is strictly 18+.  That alone should show that this is not a 'tweeny' genre. 


That's a fair cop - I was expecting to get called on this if my perceptions were incorrect, and I understand the sentiment, as I also have interests where I wish certain segments were less into the squeeing rebelliousness of it all. Although to be fair, some of those teeners do have a legitimate interest, they just don't know how to be less vocal in their enthusiasm yet.

At the heart of it, it was the partial access aspect that was bothering me, so let's modify the original suggestion.

If people want the yaoi debate to be a mature event and not have to worry about someone's parents getting offended or other hazards of dealing with the underage, then place the prep panels in Adults Only time as well. Say, prep for each side from 12-1ish, a short recess for stretching and bio breaks, and the actual debate from shortly after 1 until 2 (or whenever panel curfew is). Alternatively, have the prep panel one night and the debate the next. That way, people can be as explicit as they feel they need to be in getting their point across from start to finish.


Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #91 on: September 06, 2007, 02:12:01 am »
Improvements to make:
  • - Very Large Signs, posted well above head height, both labeling rooms and others showing you which rooms are down which direction of a hallway.  (The same for info desk/etc, since crowds blocked the signs)
  • - Signs in the registration area might also help.

As the Signage Coordinator, I was only told to make the signs that I had forms for pre-con. But, since I know what signs are going to be needed and the different types of them. I can make them rather easy now since I know what signs I had to make for them. So, it's partially...or more to the point, mostly my fault for that second thing on the list. But to answer the first thing; I think that 3' by 4' signs are big enough for someone to notice...

3' x 4' signs Should be large enough.  However I didn't really notice the signs past all of the crowds.  The kind of signs I'm thinking of are more specific.  I actually covered them, but in a prominent location at the start of any hall from an entry way, and posted at every intersection, you note what is in which direction.  Then above each room you post another sign.  These work best if they're hanging above crowd level, but could also work with very noticeable signs posted on the walls in key locations.   They pretty much have to be as high as anyone could possibly notice them, and then you have to hope they see them above the crowds...  Which is why hanging signs work better.
If I could figure out a way to hang them up from doorways without being in the way, I would. ^^; I'm tall, but I'm not that tall. But, I think I know a way to do it. And it'd probably work for next year's con. If I have advance knowledge of what rooms will be where, I can probably do something like what would be at the Zoo and stuff.
Such and such -> This way
<- Such and such that way

Things like that.

Offline MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #92 on: September 06, 2007, 02:31:09 am »
Improvements to make:
  • - Very Large Signs, posted well above head height, both labeling rooms and others showing you which rooms are down which direction of a hallway.  (The same for info desk/etc, since crowds blocked the signs)
  • - Signs in the registration area might also help.

As the Signage Coordinator, I was only told to make the signs that I had forms for pre-con. But, since I know what signs are going to be needed and the different types of them. I can make them rather easy now since I know what signs I had to make for them. So, it's partially...or more to the point, mostly my fault for that second thing on the list. But to answer the first thing; I think that 3' by 4' signs are big enough for someone to notice...

3' x 4' signs Should be large enough.  However I didn't really notice the signs past all of the crowds.  The kind of signs I'm thinking of are more specific.  I actually covered them, but in a prominent location at the start of any hall from an entry way, and posted at every intersection, you note what is in which direction.  Then above each room you post another sign.  These work best if they're hanging above crowd level, but could also work with very noticeable signs posted on the walls in key locations.   They pretty much have to be as high as anyone could possibly notice them, and then you have to hope they see them above the crowds...  Which is why hanging signs work better.
If I could figure out a way to hang them up from doorways without being in the way, I would. ^^; I'm tall, but I'm not that tall. But, I think I know a way to do it. And it'd probably work for next year's con. If I have advance knowledge of what rooms will be where, I can probably do something like what would be at the Zoo and stuff.
Such and such -> This way
<- Such and such that way

Things like that.

Yes, that's almost exactly what I'm thinking of: mostly because the place I happen to work at is so huge, and has so many different people going new places every day, that they need Really good signs.  I was pointed towards the online version of the 2005 (large) program guide, however the layout is only good enough to aid in the construction of a mental map, and remind someone of what's where, but I can't figure out which floor is which or how they overlay without having been there.  On one of my next days off, or hopefully sometime around the next meeting, I'll be able to see it in person and figure out what methods might be best to suggest.
---
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2010-2008: Website Development (So very very much in the last month before the convention at last; Good thing I'm looking for work x.x and have the spare time ~.~)
2007: Website Administration (Mascot Voting Input, Live Schedule)

Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #93 on: September 06, 2007, 02:34:43 am »
*stops the quote towers!* Yay.

@Michael - Yeah, that's what I'm going to do if we get to have a meeting at the hotel itself. Before or after it, I'm gonna walk around it and see what I have to hang signs off of, because I know that I'm going to be able to use blue painter's tape; the best tape in the world for conventions! And, I think that the signs this year were plenty big; especially the ones for Ops, and the Fan Fiction room both had rather large size signs. I think they were 11" by 18" if I remember the numbers right.

In the worse case scenario that I can't find places to hang signs from; I'll just stick them up on the wall as high as I can reach them. And that's plenty ways above the heads of the crowd as I'm 6'4" with a pretty decent arm reach...I think. O.o Or I can get my friend who's a bit taller than me to do it.

Offline MichaelEvans

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #94 on: September 06, 2007, 02:43:04 am »
In the worse case scenario that I can't find places to hang signs from; I'll just stick them up on the wall as high as I can reach them. And that's plenty ways above the heads of the crowd as I'm 6'4" with a pretty decent arm reach...I think. O.o Or I can get my friend who's a bit taller than me to do it.

Good initial idea.  If possible though, I'd like to see them actually out over the hallways.  For setup it would probably be best to bring a small step-ladder.  It's amazing what a difference a few feet can make for visual aids.
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2007: Website Administration (Mascot Voting Input, Live Schedule)

Offline Kyuubi

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #95 on: September 06, 2007, 02:56:05 am »
In the worse case scenario that I can't find places to hang signs from; I'll just stick them up on the wall as high as I can reach them. And that's plenty ways above the heads of the crowd as I'm 6'4" with a pretty decent arm reach...I think. O.o Or I can get my friend who's a bit taller than me to do it.

Good initial idea.  If possible though, I'd like to see them actually out over the hallways.  For setup it would probably be best to bring a small step-ladder.  It's amazing what a difference a few feet can make for visual aids.
*nods* I'm sure that someone will be able to bring a step ladder for the day before the con so we can hang these signs up well above the crowd head level. But, I don't think that the hotel will let us hang signs from things. Unless we become really creative with how we use tape.

Offline Waffles

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #96 on: September 06, 2007, 04:50:06 am »
Rant: that I have to wait another year to see all your faces and to make sure your con rocks!

Rave: Special Yojimbo badge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, whoever thought that up and put it into action is my personal hero!

Also, ThiefKingsHier thanks so much for mentioning me and I am truly sorry that even that incident happened I am happy that I was able to assist you because i knew you were a con member we hung out Friday night and I am the one to peace badge your sword!
Good, Bad,  i'm the guy with the gun.

Offline FizzTheCarbonated

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #97 on: September 06, 2007, 09:10:20 am »
Good initial idea.  If possible though, I'd like to see them actually out over the hallways.  For setup it would probably be best to bring a small step-ladder.  It's amazing what a difference a few feet can make for visual aids.

You don't need a stepladder!  You just need that guy who cosplayed Jack Skellington this year.  He could probably reach the ceilings.
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Offline EmAino

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #98 on: September 06, 2007, 10:44:17 am »
All in all, I thought that the con was amazing as always, but I do have one little complaint...for the main events, can we get a little bit more spacing in between the chairs next year for us bigger people? I felt so sorry to those on either side of me during the cosplay contest because I literally felt like I was jammed up against them.

Other than that, awesome con as always...I especially like the mailed badges...made the pre-reg line quick and painless.
Sakuracon 2014
Kyoko Sakura - Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Yugito Nii - Naruto Shippuden
Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon

Kumoricon
God Tier Jane Crocker - Homestuck
Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon
Kyoko Sakura - Puella Magi Madoka Magica
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Offline Reave_Vanshar

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #99 on: September 06, 2007, 12:14:22 pm »
I'd just like to add my voice to the many staff here, expressing my appreciation for all of the feedback we're receiving! Regardless of the issues we had, this was the smoothest year yet that I've worked at K-con and despite the exhausting hours I had a grand time. Also, as a Yojimbo I want to apologize for any of our people who were rude or short with our attendees. We do our best to stress politeness and calm in our staff, but first time Yojimbo can especially have issues, as many people can't know how they will react under the sort of strain and lack of sleep we deal with, and some just don't handle it well. This is not an excuse, it is an explanation, and most who have that problem do not return the following year. We do watch our staffers' behavior, and we do keep track of those that cause problems with attendees, when we can find out which staffer specifically caused an issue. Personally, I'd love it if we could vet each and every yojimbo extensively in the run up to the con, but we are chronically, often critically understaffed and when someone signs up, unless we KNOW from previous experience that they can't hack it we have little choice but to give them a shot and hope for the best. It's hard to find people willing to do this for FREE, and when you add in the fact that we do pay for the privilege of being worked like slaves it's no surprise we don't see a lot of hands. :D Now for my personal rant (which does not reflect the opinions of the Convention staff in any way, this is just me):

My pet peeve every year is to come onto these forums and find people telling us that we were not professional enough, that since we chose to become staff we have no one to blame for our exhaustion but ourselves and we have no right to be tired, snarky, or confused sometimes. There are lots of people in the world who CHOOSE to do tiring and nasty work: police, soldiers, firefighters, emergency room doctors...fortunately as staffers we never have anyone's life in our hands and we (rarely) face real physical danger, but would you walk up to a firefighter and tell him or her to buck up and be polite, since they after all CHOSE to be a firefighter and it's their own fault that they are dirty, burned, and tired? I think not. Just because you volunteer for a job doesn't mean that you lose any right to be tired and stressed in the line of duty. Overt rudeness is never excusable, but if our people get a little frayed around the edges a day or two in, that's the price we all pay for a volunteer force. We could have a professional security team, and charge well over a hundred bucks a ticket. I don't think any of us want that, so please cut us some slack. Tired people make mistakes, we don't do it to be spiteful.
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Offline rictheron

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #100 on: September 06, 2007, 02:42:37 pm »
Very well put Reave.  I, speaking as an individual and not as an associate of the convention, could not have worded it better myself.  Thank you. :)
« Last Edit: September 06, 2007, 03:03:20 pm by rictheron »
Jess Shelton
2008 Operations Director
2007 Assist. Operations Manager/Yojimbo Manager
2006 Assist. Yojimbo Manager
2005 Yojimbo Manager
2003-2004 Security
Credentials: senior Physics Major at PSU,Edu minor, Store Manager, Instructor, Security

Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #101 on: September 06, 2007, 03:28:00 pm »
yes very nicely put!
while ranting dosen't seem to do much besides let off steam it does lead up to improvments and learning from our mistakes.

looking back tho i really didn't take out my stress on anyone, even the guy who wouldnt let me enter the 99 cent costume contest cuz i had a costume. 
Its really hard not to some times ,
by the end at the staff party big guy (aka Bo) came by and i gave him some of my birthday brownie and he was like "aww your so nice,  giving candy to every one and now some of your brownie"
i was like "yeah yeah dont spread it around"
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Offline ThiefKingsHier

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #102 on: September 06, 2007, 03:35:40 pm »

My pet peeve every year is to come onto these forums and find people telling us that we were not professional enough, that since we chose to become staff we have no one to blame for our exhaustion but ourselves and we have no right to be tired, snarky, or confused sometimes. There are lots of people in the world who CHOOSE to do tiring and nasty work: police, soldiers, firefighters, emergency room doctors...fortunately as staffers we never have anyone's life in our hands and we (rarely) face real physical danger, but would you walk up to a firefighter and tell him or her to buck up and be polite, since they after all CHOSE to be a firefighter and it's their own fault that they are dirty, burned, and tired? I think not. Just because you volunteer for a job doesn't mean that you lose any right to be tired and stressed in the line of duty. Overt rudeness is never excusable, but if our people get a little frayed around the edges a day or two in, that's the price we all pay for a volunteer force. We could have a professional security team, and charge well over a hundred bucks a ticket. I don't think any of us want that, so please cut us some slack. Tired people make mistakes, we don't do it to be spiteful.

Thats cool and all. I appreciate the hard work. I really do. It must be exauhsting, and you miss out on a lot of the con. Thats one hell of a sacrifice.

I ran into quite a few helpful staff and I cant thank them enough.

However there are a few who make me wonder if they truly want to help, or just want  power or maybe just have martyr issues ( hey, a lot of people do)

 With all do respect; everyone at a con is tired.

 I believe in the idea that 'with power comes responsibilty' and all that.
 
 People who are in charge need to set and example. If the staffers/voulanteers dont have to be polite, why should anyone else?

I understand the exauhstion and stress and a slip up or two is understandable. But to cosnstantly take it out on attendees and say that were unnapreciative and all is a little much.

But then Im mainly reffering to SC people.

I remember a thread once asking about 'when and if SC would expand' and the mods/staff  went ballistic and yelled at us inisisting that we werent considering that they would have to 'take extra days off work" uum hello, EVERYONE who works will have to miss extra days.

Its also difficult to be greatful to someone who keeps yelling at/trying to guilt trip you. treating you like you some 'dumb b**ch' cuz you asked them for help.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2007, 03:42:13 pm by ThiefKingsHier »

Offline RobinSena

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #103 on: September 06, 2007, 08:51:37 pm »
I have to say that as the first real con I've gone to, it was a ton of fun and overall very well done.   ;D

I agree with the earlier rants about the lines-something as simple as a sign taped to the wall with an arrow pointing the direction the line forms saying: "Line Starts Here" would have been very useful. 

A very big suggestion for the ballroom lesson: start off the lesson by asking who already has experience with the dance being taught, Myself and my boyfriend were there with our friend we dragged along to teach him how to dance but both of us already knew the basics.  Being able to dance with someone who knows what they're doing can make a huge difference vs. two complete 'newbies' to a dance.  Also the songs that were in the lesson were not beginners songs...half of them were a Viennese Waltz which is very very hard to regular waltz to lol unless you're very good and speedy  (song list for the actual dance as well...but that's been said - and I'd be happy to create a playlist for the lesson or the dance just let me know)

And a response about the people on the stairs, yes the staff reply or response and asking for you to move may not have been the nicest one, but everytime I took the stairs up or down and had to dodge the people sitting there (half the time there was only room for one person to go down or up at a time) it was extreemly annoying especially since when I'm going to climb stairs in 3inch heels I'd really really like to be able to use the hand rail so I don't create a string of dominos as I fall down the stairs onto people.  Sitting in the middle of the floor would have been easier to get around than on the stairs...especially when your costume has a good radius that hits the people sitting on the stairs since there's hardly any room (and I hate it when I whack people with my outfit). ^_^
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Offline superjaz

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #104 on: September 06, 2007, 10:59:26 pm »
I agree with the earlier rants about the lines-something as simple as a sign taped to the wall with an arrow pointing the direction the line forms saying: "Line Starts Here" would have been very useful. 
 
yeah i noticed this the first day when i saw a ot of people milling around in random spots waiting for openng cermonies  because there was no spot for the line to start, so i grabed a sign that said "please form a line" gave it to my younger brother knighted him cat maid and we went through the lobbys saying "opening ceromines please form a line for opening ceromines this way follow the guy with the sign this way single file line"
fastest way to make a line apear

whats this about not being able to blame the bad things on stuff?!? i hereby blame all the little problems that popped up during con from lack of sleep to rude peeps entirely on a bad piece of GUM i had on the first day of con, it was too hard and made me bite my tongue, thus causeing all the problems of the convention including the unplanned scedual changes and the blisters on kendo boyfriends feet!

curse you dubble bubble curse you!!!!!
superjaz, that is jaz with one z count'um ONE z!
Proud mom of 2 awesome kids

Offline Nami-Swan

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #105 on: September 06, 2007, 11:11:18 pm »
First off I would like to apologize to anyone that I offended. I was a little rude on the second and third day. Anyways back on topic:

Rave- I throughly enjoyed the staff badges and having different lanyards than the regular attendees. For me it made it a lot easier to pick out my fellow staff members. I also enjoyed the new badges, once we got the computers to work that is. It made pre-reg go faster, which meant I had more time to take pictures and get some rest. I enjoyed the dealer's room, because it was so spacious, it made it easy to get around.

Rant- The dealer's was really muggy on the first day. But that's something that not controlled by us...so oh well. I know this was addressed earlier, but attendee's not wearing their badges where they should have them. I mean, I found a few that didn't even have them on at all! I'm really OCD about that and I apologize if I gave anyone a real hard time about it.

Other than that, I hope everyone had a good Con and I can't wait to see everyone next year!

Offline snakeling

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #106 on: October 04, 2007, 08:02:32 am »

Height of the stage in main events. We did not find out that the stage was so short until very late in the game, too late for the budget to rent one from an outside source. We are aware of this issue and will try and bring it back up to the usual 4 ft tall stage next year. For those of you who helped Friday morning, you'll know how much worse it could have been.


4' tall stage usual?  I don't think we've ever had one that tall.  I think 30" is the highest we've ever had.

Offline TomtheFanboy

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Re: Rant & Rave (for those who missed it)
« Reply #107 on: October 04, 2007, 03:10:59 pm »
4' tall stage usual?  I don't think we've ever had one that tall.  I think 30" is the highest we've ever had.

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