Dragon*Con 2012 Kilt-blowing feedback

[greyloch]

Hey everyone. It's been about a month which I think is plenty of time for things to settle, ideas/opinions to form, and feedback offered.

Here's what I've got so far:

Need a bigger room
Fire exits and walkways need to stay cleared
Administrative issues

I think the first two point can be rectified by getting us a bigger room that can hold more than 300 people. I know Jennie and Happy Goth want to get us moved to a bigger site but that's with D*C management.

Administrative issues:

Okay this is a big one. I fully understand things were SNAFU'ed because Jennie didn't get paperwork in time to the D*C folks (eloping does that to folks) and that's why we only had the room for one night. Hopefully this can be rectified. Does Jennie need any helpful little elves to assist her with this in some way?

Security was... I'm trying to be nice here.. annoying. The little girl Chief sent us rubbed a lot of us the wrong way. She was too pushy, didn't listen to the hierarchy (i.e., Happy Goth and Chicken Chick) when they were assigning numbers to the guys, and tried to sell her booze to the guys waiting to be blown. And it was a quasi-hard sell which is a big turn off, IMHO. Selling good booze is cool (Tom's great at how he markets his honeyed rum) but how and when she went about this was very inappropriate. Speaking of security, shouldn't we have been some kind of back-up plan (e.g., who gets to do what if X person doesn't show)?

And moving on... one of the D*C virgins I brought to the con said that it would have been nice if the audience could hear what we (the blowees) were saying to Jennie to crack her up with laughter.

Any other things to bring up?

[otakumick]

There is the fact that some of us regulars weren't able to get in... Tom, myself(Captain Jack Sparrow), Indy and Shortround...
It was quite shocking missing the kilt blowing for the first time since I started coming to dragoncon.

[Chiefenstien]

As far as Security goes, I fully apologize for the disorganization that happened. I did not have a full backup plan prepared as I was fully commited to going all the way to the last possible second, and then had to do a mad dash to try and get everything together. I'll take any feedback you guys have to offer, and impliment it into next year's blowing. I would like to thank everyone who did help out with security this year, a lot of people did go above and beyond to pick up the slack, and I appreciate everything they did.

Next year, however, should see the return of a certain Razory person who may be persuaded to assist with doormonster duties. I'll be returning as well to get things organized better, so we should see a return to the well oiled machine we had in previous years.

and yes, I'll make sure to have contingency plans incase I can't make it.

[Crazeyal]

One of the things that NEEDS to happen, is a mass mailing to the DC office. Having hundreds of people chiming in that they enjoy the Kilt blowing, but it's outgrown it's housing is something that might tip the scales.

[Crazeyal]

As far as feedback goes...

I have apologized to the people kept out, but it was about controlling the situation. We were beyond capacity about 90% of the time. Getting to the Kilt bowing early is a necessity. If a VIP list is created, and we do NOT move... I suggest creating standby seating. At capacity and want to come in? There are X number of VIP guests enroute. You can watch until they get here, but you have to leave when they show up.

That or we have empty seats.

[Sehson]

If I may make a suggestion.

Via the various forms of interporny communications, Well before D*C get a head count of Victimsparticipants, VIP guests (non-victim) and general guests. inflate by the number by 50% at least and give that number to D*C and tell them We will need a space to hold a MINIMUM of this many bodies (fuck the fire marshal seating) is not planned.

Keep in contact with D*C as time progresses and make sure the space and event are kept on the schedule and in D*C's collective minds.

Being that this is an event that has been growing and is well received, pre-planning will make every thing go soo much smoother. Which is what people are trying to make happen.

[Silverharp]

I would listen to this man, he makes sense.
The VIP list would be fantastic, just let anyone on the list know that they have until Getyourasshere O'clock to show up or their space will be going away.

As far as feedback goes...

I have apologized to the people kept out, but it was about controlling the situation. We were beyond capacity about 90% of the time. Getting to the Kilt bowing early is a necessity. If a VIP list is created, and we do NOT move... I suggest creating standby seating. At capacity and want to come in? There are X number of VIP guests enroute. You can watch until they get here, but you have to leave when they show up.

That or we have empty seats.

[Crazeyal]

We don't have to inflate anything. We had a 300 person capacity and had a line out the door and down the hall from start to finish. Real contact with Jennie about artists and celebrities who want entrance is essential. *deep breath* Sorry if I offend anyone, but no-one else really rates as a VIP. Being a longtime fan or a member of the comic appearence club doesn't get you a thing unless Jennie says so. Yes, that SO VERY much includes me. I hope to see all my friends, but it's a Dragoncon event, open to the public. Brutal fact is, get there early or be shut out.

NOW....

We can change that. Ms. Breeden told me herself, she just shows up and points a leafblower. She said that WE really run the event now. If that is true, we can change things to make sure any and all of ours get in. The quesations are how, why and how much effort are we willing to put forth? -to be continued

[Crazeyal]

The reasons why NOT to do such a thing as a "Fan VIP" system are: (off the top of my head)

1. Crowd reaction when they see people getting in and it's not them.
2. Abuse of said VIP system by people who don't rate, or want to bring "just a few friends"
3. Administration of said system will be tedious and prone to favoritism/abuse
4. The national nature of the con attracts attendees worldwide. The Internet based crowd may know and like each other, but what about those who lack or dislike the Internet?

The reasons WHY to create a "Fan VIP" system might be:

1. Giving Jennie a chance to see long time attendees guaranteed.
2. Making sure the FB and Forum people are allowed to attend.
3. Better tracking of who attended as a guest, rather than a badge owner.

My personal thoughts are that the VIP system should be left up to Jennie, and kept to a list of twenty max (first two rows?) She should have pre-printed tickets and a submission list. The list should be finalized by the morning of the Kilt-blowing (Ms B has indicated that she is VERY happy with the current schedule of one night only.) Leave it up to Jenny on if there is a cut-off time to release the seats to the general public.

Now, could Jennie give some of those seats to a forum or FB fan? Why not? Can she call "Bullshit, let my friend IN!!" Yes, but if we are dealing with the small room next year, we would likely have to eject some folk to accommodate that.

This all being said, I think we ought to take this discussion to FB, if it is a public one. The forums are simply not used as much as they were in former years. Google+ or a separate neutral area, just to get the maximum amount of input. If this conversation is a private one, we should start inviting specific people and getting feedback.

Also, are there other events she does the Kilt blowing at? Will we have to make up separate teams? Discussion please.

[Crazeyal]

Also, I think we need to get a petition page going, and start gathering signatures. I think Jennie has the chops to simply ask for a larger room and get it. As someone who missed out on the kilt blowing because the place was over run with folk... I think we, as a community, need to stress the need for one of the ballrooms. Not the Atrium or Grand.. but possibly the Towers?

[greyloch]

Chief - I'm *NOT* laying blame on you. I heard a bit of what happened and know that this was a FUBAR situation but having some contingency plan may not be a bad idea.

Ray - VIP seating sounds like a good idea, especially limiting it to 20 or so people so that some of the forum/FB people have a hope of getting a seat. I feel bad that Tom, Mary, and Kat didn't get in but Tom has a point of "Getyourasshere O'clock" (BTW, I'm stealing this phrase!) or the VIP chairs go bye-bye. And I know a lot of people who live on fannish/pagan standard time of two-minutes early or two-hours late. "Getyourasshere O'clock." Damn, I like the sound of that. Getyourasshere O'clock, Getyourasshere O'clock, Getyourasshere O'clock, Getyourasshere O'clock ....

Should we organize a letter/e-mail/petition list to let D*C know we want a larger location? I'm of the opinion if we have the kilt-blowing on two nights, that will help alleviate the over-crowding but we can't plan on this happening. Ms. Jennie is now a married woman and I'm sure Obby can keep her quite busy at D*C so a one-night event might be all we can get in the future. But I haven't gotten my crystal ball (the type you scry with, not a testicle replacement ) back from the shop so I can't predict what's needed or what will happen.

[Chiefenstien]

Grey: I know you're not, but I was supposed to be running security. However, my lack of proper preparation and backup plans lead to chaos for the blowing, hence it is actually my fault. All we can do from this point is learn from it and move on.

As for guest lists/guests of honor, not a bad idea if we can get a larger area. If we are somehow stuck with the current room, then we'll probably need to hold a few folding chairs by the Men's entrance so we can set them up as the guests show up.

The bigger room is the main issue we should be focusing on here. It's going to be the Make or Break point for 2013, and it's going to be difficult to get the ball rolling. I've started a group on facebook to get things going, http://www.facebook.com/groups/537736802919039/ . If you haven't been added to the group, please feel free to add yourself and make sure to spread the word. There IS a time limit on this, as we'll need a significant amount of signatures by January/Feburary when the D*C heads start getting events figured out for the con; and the sooner we bring this to their attention, the better the chances Jennie gets a bigger stage to play with.

By far the most important part to all of this is getting Jennie to put in the paperwork in on time, because like the comic, this is her baby: we're just the kilted nannies.

[Daven]

*waves at the people*

Chief has started a FB group about this topic: https://www.facebook.com/groups/537736802919039/

Brief notes:
1. there WILL be a larger room this year
2. we will have Con security for the line
3. Costumed guys will have a much higher chance of getting in if we wind up needing to cap the number of participants (so work on your outfits!)
4. There are other changes which I will announce closer to Con, when we have worked out the details

I will be running the Kilt Blowing this year, so please send any desires/suggestions/hate mail/etc to me rather than to Jennie or Happy Goth. Admin issues will not be a problem, as I am much more organized/anal than Jennie is (engineer vs. artist).

It is much more likely for me to see something if it on the FB feed, as I do not check the forums all that often. If you have a long post, I would suggest putting it here and then linking it on the FB page.

[Crazeyal]

One thing I think might help is a full sized sign, stating the obvious:
Adult event.
Keep it PG-13.
ID is required (ZERO EXCEPTIONS!)
Event is capped at XXx attendees.

[HappyGoth]

Clarification

Hey, guys -

I know I post, like, every two years at most, but I wanted to chime in on one point here:

About the bigger room, Jennie did call on time this past year about the room. She was told that we had three options: Sat @1:30am, Sun @1:30am, and then Sun @11:30 pm. We decided that given how exhausted we usually are from doing things at midnight, the first two options weren't really options, and that we'd have to do just one night this year (which was actually really nice from a running-things perspective).

So that taught us a lesson, which was that one night is very different from two nights, and that if we keep on doing this we need a larger room. We also learned that we really rely on some of our "regulars" and we need a plan for what happens if those folks can't make it out. Namely, that we need DragonCon Security to do what they've got the experience to do, and free up our kilt guys to enjoy themselves.

I really hate that we had to keep people out. Like, I think about it and it makes me super-sad. You guys are friggin' awesome. All of you. So, yeah. VIP list is an awesome idea. We've got all your emails on file, and can probably figure out some sort of advance signup that takes care of a lot of that kerfuffle.

We also didn't realize that one day meant that we had to tack an extra two hours onto the time we needed to set up. Lesson learned.

Now, please keep in mind that event room reservations are not available until April. So before then, nobody can give us a room, even if we call and ask (we've tried to call and ask). If we call and ask then and don't get the room we need, then we work on petitioning the convention, etc, etc. Jennie has been in communication with the DragonCon staff, and she's got a couple of reminder-people to help make sure we all remember to reserve on time. Before then, though, please continue to make suggestions and let us know what you felt worked/didn't work so well. Please keep it constructive, and let Daven be your filter.

Everybody has a dud year. We'll make the next one make up for the dud, like whoa.

-Happygoth