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Post by Zayane on Mar 30, 2009 14:41:17 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]~*~EDIT WE'VE COVERED THAT PRE-REG LINE WAS JUST UN-FABULOUS~. Don't be redundant-I's trying to fix. Promise[/shadow]
~*~ This thread is deticated to: COMPLANTS/FEEDBACK
A lot of people can't think of suggestions off the top of their head, but EVERYONE has a complaint. From a complaint, pratical suggestions, and improvments can be made
--afforable improvements D: as much as I want things to go high-tech--affordable improvements.
THIS IS NOT A PLACE TO POST-WHOAR. IF YOU HAVE NOT A COMPLAINT DO NOT POST THAT YOU "DO NOT HAVE A COMPLAINT THINGS WERE IN FACT WINSAUCE" THERE IS ALREADY A THREAD FOR APPRECIATION PLEASE GO THERE FIRST, THEN COME BACK TO RAGE.
~*~
tl;dr: Complain
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Post by amarathine on Mar 30, 2009 15:29:57 GMT -5
The only complaint I had was that I wished that the schedule that was posted online was put into the program. Having to flip between pages in order to figure out a plan was kind of a pain in the patoot.
Other than that, no complaints. Great job staff!
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Post by Britain~ on Mar 30, 2009 15:44:53 GMT -5
I actually have quite a few complaints. This con was horrible. I have been to all past ASTL cons and this one disapointed me so much that I doubt I will go next year.
First off, Where the heck were the guests? The only person I saw was Steve Bennet and only because he is known for wandering around the halls. Why wasn't there an autograph session with each guest?
Second. There were not enough panels going on and there were too many guest panels. Not everyone cares about the guests, and I only went to one panel, because there werent any others to go to. All I did was wander the dealers room and artist alley. I know that this con should have been great. there were a ton of panel rooms available, but why two and three hour gaps in each room? Every other con I have been to has maybe 15 minutes between panels. Also, there was not enough selection of panels to choose from. what happened to fan favorites? What happened to a huge selection, like we had last year?
third. the music at the rave was horrible. It was too loud and even though I didn't go, my room mates all went and came back within a half hour complaining that they couldnt hear because of the loud music.
fourth. The pre registration line took far too long to get through. On Friday i was in line for over an hour, while my friend who did not pre register got through in maybe 10 minutes. People pre register for a reason and that reason is lower prices and to avoid the long line. This was the longest I have EVER waited in line. I have been to huge conventions and gotten through much faster than that. Pre registration at this con was a huge joke.
fifth. Horrible costomer service. I emailed the convention staff two times about very important issues and was never replied to. I got a panel comfirmation email EVEN THOUGH MY PANEL WAS NOT ACCEPTED! I know one other person did as well. This is bad costomer service, since we did not know if we got the message by mistake or if there was a mistake in the panel list.
sixth. It seemed to me that most of the staff I talked to had no idea what they were doing, and they were still trying to run a great con. Also, I saw more than 10 people in the dealers room without badges. I also know, since I talked to many of these people, that they were not there for ASTL. They were not paying con members. I also know that many minors got into an 18+ panel. CHECK BADGES! IT'S YOUR JOB!
seventh. The map of the convention center was difficult to read and understand. The dealer's room was in a bad spot, tucked in a tiny corner hard to find.
All in all, I give this con a D. Last year, it was a B+. It pretty much sucked all over. Nothing to do at all. I feel bad that some people experienced their first con here. The staff needs to take KawaKon's example and make a con for the con goers and not themselves. Have more panels, lower the volume a bit, Don't advertise greatness when you dont know what you're doing. This con was a huge let down.
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Zetsu
Technically a Mole Person
just lost The Game. :D
Posts: 1,261
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Post by Zetsu on Mar 30, 2009 15:51:51 GMT -5
I had fun at the con. ^_^
My only complaint was the lack of panels at some points. ...Sometimes there were gaps of not much going on...but cons are mostly about hanging out with fellow otaku and that's what I did so it was still a fun con.
All around: B+
^_^
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bholiday
Hardcore Otaku
Try not to hurt yourself... I'd like to do that for you!
Posts: 122
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Post by bholiday on Mar 30, 2009 16:36:54 GMT -5
One: I had no idea where the con maps and panels were. Two: Took me and hour to find the dealers room. Three: The annocment dude at the mascerade seemed like he had no idea what he was doing. Annoyd Four: Didnt like the masc, it sucked. Boring. Five: I had know idea where the restration desk was. Six: The rave was ok. Could of been way better. Wheres the anime music? Seven: Alot of immature, loud people that only knew one anime(naruto fans)
I have been to way better anime cons. I give it a D.
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Post by doublej on Mar 30, 2009 16:53:41 GMT -5
@ Pom Poko: Sorry to hear this was a let down for you. You do have some valid points, and we do like to get feedback on things we need to improve on. However, I would like to address your final comment. I find it more bashing than anything. To accuse the staff of having "no idea" and that we do this "for ourselves" I find to be quite hurtful, and the other staff would agree. We love hearing people say they enjoy this convention. We do nothing but smile when people are able to get together to socialize, have fun, and even meet their idols. The last thing we do this for is for ourselves. This con was founded to bring a convention to the St. Louis area, one to call our own. So thank you for the critique, we do listen to our attendees in order to improve. However, next time, leave the bashing at home.
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Rika
The Sun... It Burns!
Are you ready?
Posts: 778
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Post by Rika on Mar 30, 2009 17:16:39 GMT -5
I only have a couple small gripes... 1. The registration line was a hot mess. 2. Too few panels Other than that and me throwing up and having to go home, I had a great time!
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Post by saraht3hpixie on Mar 30, 2009 17:17:56 GMT -5
@ Pom Poko: I was working registration on Friday. It was packed and we where going as fast as we could. All I can say is if you decide to get in the line at "rush hour" you'll have to wait awhile.
My only complaint was the dealer's room, I only had a chance to go in there on Sunday. It was packed, like a sardine can. My suggestion is to have less dealers or more room.
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Post by Hime-sama on Mar 30, 2009 17:22:39 GMT -5
It must have been hard to manage the pre-registration, because that line definitely was long. That's my one main complaint. I mean, I'm not going to like, super blame anything on the registration staff, but waiting in line after pre-registering months in advance, and in the end there were some who did not even receive their badges, was a bit of a disappointment to me. >~< Well, it was only the beginning section. Thank you for still working so hard to get the people out of line fast, though! ^^ Half an hour wasn't that bad of a wait~
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Rakuen
Hardcore Otaku
I survived ASTL '10!
Posts: 245
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Post by Rakuen on Mar 30, 2009 17:31:10 GMT -5
This was actually a pretty good convention, all things considered. I definitely plan to bring my entire crew next year if possible. But, here's some points to think about.
1) Registration - It needs to be streamlined. A team of four people should be able to demolish the lines you had in 15-20 minutes. As it stands, the lines were definitely okay, despite what others might think, but it could stand for improvement.
2) Panels - I don't know where the problem was, but there shouldn't be so much white space on the schedule. There was at least something going on at all times, and things were scheduled against the Masquerade (thank you!), but it just felt empty. With that much space available, it's no longer a question of whether the panel is going to be great or not (unless it's really stupid), but a question of when that person can present. Even if they only get 5~10 people in the room, that's 5~10 less people that are cramping up the hallways for an hour.
3. Badges - Color coding badges is silly. If you're going to check my ID at the door anyway, there's no reason for it. What was given at Travis' panel Saturday night, is that someone might have lent their badge out or something to allow an underaged person into the room. If that's the concern, obviously it's pointless. Either do away with ID checking at the door or at the badge pickup, having both is a waste of time and resources.
4. Whose Line - I'm not going to call the show horrible, because it wasn't. There's a lot of good ideas in there, just very poor execution. I suspect the reason is because this is the only show a lot of the members do in a year (or at least together). So pass this on. A few weeks before the con, they need to get together and do a practice show. Take all the games they're going to do, and run through them with a randomly thrown together scenario. That way, they should be able to figure out who works best for what games, what's funny and not funny, and be ready to put on an even better show at the convention. My group's been doing it for five years now, and this is exactly how we started out, it's the best way to improve.
5. Space - I can already tell right now it's going to become a problem in short order. I think the Masquerade was pretty close to capped out, and I know that several of the panels I went to were packed. Throw another 300~400 growth in for next year, and you're just going to hit a wall.
If I come up with any other valid concerns, I'll post again.
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Post by ThePockyNinja on Mar 30, 2009 17:41:43 GMT -5
-A few signs to point the way the the events/panels/rooms would have been nice. -I kind of felt a little weird with the gun show being there during the con, but I'm sure that was really the only free spot to put the con so I can understand that.
-The Pre-Reg line was perfectly fine for me and Sabi, if people want to get there early and get they're badge then that's they're choice.
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Post by biodomino on Mar 30, 2009 18:22:12 GMT -5
I already voiced most of my thoughts at the Q&A panel after closing ceremonies, which I think is one mistake that shouldn't be overlooked-- even though it was on the schedule, people didn't know about it. The con was declared "over" without mention of it, and then of all things, the doors were shut and locked. I actually ran into a few people downstairs after the Q&A was already over (and it lasted roughly an hour) who had been trying to figure out where it was going on. I mean no offense, but the closing ceremonies were nothing very entertaining, so if people were willing to sit through that, I'm sure many of them would have stayed for the Q&A had there been a straightforward segue, rather than the less than 10 of us who hung around.
This was my first con, and I can't say that I had a very good time, mostly by virtue of being alone essentially the entire time, which really highlighted the gaps in the panels. I was wondering myself why there weren't more fan panels. Obviously me being alone isn't the con's fault, so I won't dwell on that, but it might have been helpful to have greater emphasis on welcoming new people. I know there was a My First Con panel which may have done some of that, but I missed it because of the lines, and I met a few people who had been to many cons who were there alone. As someone who is not by any means a mingler, I think more could have been done to promote social interactions.
Unfortunately the most fun I had was the night I ate at the Waffle House. The people were friendlier and the drama that did occur was more memorable. If it hadn't been for the inclement weather, I probably would have bailed on the con and visited the botanical gardens instead.
So with that in mind, some comments (some of which I'm just fleshing out a bit more).
Dealer's room-- it was really crowded and hard to move around. You could barely stop and look around without being in the way. Also, I understand that it's normal to need a badge to enter, but I don't see why it should be. The answer I was given at the panel was that it was part of what you paid for at the con. That just seems silly to me, because all the vendors will happily sell to someone who isn't there for the con. The shows, panels, game room and screenings are why people buy a badge. They can buy the same stuff in the dealers room online, and probably for cheaper. Requiring a badge is a waste of a staffer/volunteer, and not good business for the vendors. The only reason this even came to my attention was because I wanted to poke around the dealers room while I waited for the long preregistration line to die down, and couldn't.
The masquerade was pretty yawn. I'm not sure what can be done to spice it up being that it's up to the attendees, but maybe some better incentives for the skits as far as participation and competition would help.
I really think that if you're going to do something like Whose Line, you need at least a couple of microphones. Everyone trying to share one mic was a mess. I think sound equipment needs to be looked at in general, as I said before. In some cases the sound equipment muffled the speakers' words so much that the increase in volume wasn't enough to be much of an improvement. Budget for some headsets if you think it's at all possible.
Panels were too crowded in general. In some panel rooms there were tables set up when it would have been far better to have more chairs. Half the panels I walked in to people were standing all around the walls. Sometimes you could barely get in the door. Managing sound and space are huge priorities for planning a multi-activity event, and I think that's something that needs work. I know you're working with limited resources, but this is important enough that you might consider a minor increase in badge price.
Oh, and also, maybe I'm just that thickskinned, but it didn't seem to me that there was much reason for any of the panels to be 16/18+ (excepting maybe the yuri/yaoi panels, for which I plead ignorance). Some were clearly PG-13, but I didn't hear anything in them that I don't hear in your average high schools, or for that matter, that you can't hear on cable TV after 10PM. I'm assuming you're just covering yourself for liability, but if that's the case, checking IDs at the door is going a little beyond.
I'm certainly not trying to dump on the con, but whether or not I can muster the optimism to attend in 2010 will depend on whether there seem to have been improvements made (or if I meet some cool people to go with), so I hope this was helpful.
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Post by Britain~ on Mar 30, 2009 18:31:00 GMT -5
@ Pom Poko: Sorry to hear this was a let down for you. You do have some valid points, and we do like to get feedback on things we need to improve on. However, I would like to address your final comment. I find it more bashing than anything. To accuse the staff of having "no idea" and that we do this "for ourselves" I find to be quite hurtful, and the other staff would agree. We love hearing people say they enjoy this convention. We do nothing but smile when people are able to get together to socialize, have fun, and even meet their idols. The last thing we do this for is for ourselves. This con was founded to bring a convention to the St. Louis area, one to call our own. So thank you for the critique, we do listen to our attendees in order to improve. However, next time, leave the bashing at home. I wasn't intending to bash anyone, sorry if it sounded that way. It was an honest critique in my opinion. I really think that some staff members needed to be more educated on what was happening at the convention. Again, sorry if it sounded like a bash.If I REALLY wanted to bash this con, I could have, and I know a lot of people who are bashing it already. Again, sorry for sounding bashy. was not my intent.
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Post by SapphireChaos on Mar 30, 2009 18:36:55 GMT -5
Well, this was my first con and while it was pretty awesome, I do have some complaints
1. The pre-reg line was screwed up and unorganized... BIG TIME 2. Too few panels 3. The masquerade could have used more skits 4. It just didn't seem how people descibed how the con would be. I've watched videos on youtube and talked with other people about previous cons, and this year was very "Eh..." in comparison =/
The con was pretty great, but not really how I wished my first con would be. All in all, just fix up a few things and everything will be perfecto!!!!
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Rakuen
Hardcore Otaku
I survived ASTL '10!
Posts: 245
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Post by Rakuen on Mar 30, 2009 18:42:58 GMT -5
The problem with expectations is that you always set them higher than the real thing. As a bit of a veteran, I can say this convention was ran pretty well and it is no where near the worst on my list (that spot is buried in the ground by Ikasucon). I'd place this at 3rd or 4th out of 12 that I've hit so far.
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