BronyCon Reflections

[Agent Scrubs 80]

First, let me welcome you to the forum, Feulner. I apologize for perhaps the unwanted attention you have received thus far, though I assure you that our members are generally even keel and unlikely to make a major issue of your position on the BronyCon staff.

 

I appreciate your joining the forum and willingness to publically address concerns regarding BronyCon. I have already submitted my survey, and it eases my apprehension to know that the BronyCon staff is actively involved in the community. I would not go as far as to say your serendipitous appearance is a godsend, but it is most certainly welcome. To have the opportunity to converse with someone intimately involved with the operations of the con is not an opportunity I want to pass up.

 

Thank you for lending me your time and your ear, Feulner, even if I did proverbially bend it quite a bit.

 

]

 

One of my friends kept bugging me to join, and I am just like everyone else in the fandom. I just want to pony pony pony! I have always felt that just because I work for BronyCon makes me no different than anyone else. Just lucky. Also I greatly appreciate you providing the feedback, because sure we made mistakes, but that is how we improve for next time. By learning and listening!

 

Let me begin by making this inquiry: Did the BronyCon staff raise the cap on attendees? I have the vague recollection of the cap initially sitting at 2,000 or so attendees, not 4,000. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Originally when we had the first venue, the cap was at 1,500. When Tinker switched to the new venue. Meadowlands Expo Center, the Fire Marshall at the event said that 4000 is a safe cap.

 

As a more general inquiry, how did you folks plan crowd logistics? I am not probing for detailed figures or procedures which otherwise may not be available to the rest of the public, yet I would like to have a better sense of why the congestion worsened as it did. From my experience, the sheer volume of attendees in addition to limited space led to a number of the problems encountered at BronyCon. By having most of the con condensed into one space, the ability to maneuver decreased. I can understand, however, that BronyCon may not be in a position to simply throw money at the problem, e.g. rent more convention space, so I do not want to sound as if I am either ungrateful for your efforts or completely ignorant to the difficulty of general logistics.

Honestly, we expected there to be a ton more space for maneuvering, and I thought that planning the Vendors hall right at the entrance was a huge problem. Mainly because people flock through an artists alley because swag. A the Vice chair and I went to a convention for convention organizers two weeks before the con. We learned a ton of information, and after discussing our venue and even the layout to the other goers of the con, we saw the error in our ways. Zephyr and I learned a TON of information that we wished went into this con, because frankly it would have helped.

 

 

Nevertheless, the Meadowlands Expo Center seemed to be ill-suited for so many people and events packed into one area. As I said in my initial post, I am accustomed to larger conventions which accommodate independent panel rooms and an artist alley. One of the great unavoidable problems was having the autograph lines spill over into crowds waiting for an event in the Mane Hall. After the fire, an event which was well out of your hands, the autograph line was unwieldy to the point where it snaked through Vendor Hall. Not only is such a situation inconvenient, it is downright hazardous. Therefore, one of my primary suggestions is to find a way to separate at least the section for autographs from central convention hub. Actually, finding separate space for the vendors and artists may be one of the central tasks. Some artists, such as John Joseco, could probably command their own rooms if permitted, so finding enough space to accommodate all of the vendors in one location is paramount.

We never planned for such a demand, and I should have seen that coming a mile away. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated, and you are more then welcome to send a ton of information to info@bronycon.org Myself and the other staff read it all the time, so it does not go in vain. Though I do wish the staff would respond a little quicker, alas I tend to be a picky person when it comes to answering emails.

 

 

Addressing the con store congestion is already on your list, and I am glad to see it is. To be frank, the lack of staff and working equipment would not have been suitable for even a convention half the size of BronyCon. And while I once more reitorate that I do not pretend to have a working knowledge of convention logistics, it seems to me that staff stationed at the registration desk could have been reassigned to the con store for peak hours. There were periods where four or five staff members were sitting at the registration desk, with little to no demand on their time, while the con store struggled to keep its head above water. Once the initial rush of registrations eases, it seems to be quite reasonable to shift resources and manpower where they are most needed.

 

Therefore, it will not matter too terribly much where you attempt to corral the con store line if the number of people present dictates by either increasing the space for the line or cutting the line off at a certain point. Attendees, should they be determined enough, will find ways to effectively circumvent the system. The result is then robbing Peter to pay Paul: you attempt to continually accommodate at the cost of another convention operation. It has to be a combined effort of faster, more efficient service and sufficient room for the line of people in order to lessen the confusion and crowding which was seen at this most recent BronyCon.

Those running the special reg booth were supposed to be helping the con store, but they never assisted where they should have. It was either a fault on miscommunication or laziness. I never ran that department, but those were just my two cents on that matter. Most of the staff you saw in yellow shirts were mostly volunteer staff, and those with the orange badges are mostly the council, or heads of the departments that through everything together.

 

I recognize that you are not personally in charge of the whole of the BronyCon staff, so I apologize if I seem to be dumping a lot of complaints/suggestions onto your lap with the implicit understanding that you can snap your fingers a la Discord and rectify the most pervasive problems. I do want to say, Feulner, that the members of the staff I did encounter were generally patient and helpful, even if it was clear that they were a bit disorganized by the improvised plans and alteration of previously established strategies. And I must furthermore admit that I have never beheld such a well-coordinated security staff---at least, the earpieces and professional atmosphere made it seem that way. So I do not contend that the baby needs to be thrown out with the bathwater; rather, identifying the greatest possible demands of the attendees present in the amount of space provided is where some of the potential fixes need to begin.

The suggestions are always welcome, and I will pass on the kind sentiments to our chief of security. He is probably one of the most experienced members of the team, seeing as he has run security for 27+ cons. He is also helping us plan ways to help improve the errors from this con, to help next year.

 

Also I just got off of a 12 hour shift at the IT consulting place I work at, so I apologize for grammatical errors. I have the dumb and I can't brain.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Feulner

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

Thank you once again for your taking the time to explain matters, Feulner. Tell me this: if I send an e-mail to the address you provided (info@bronycon.org), does anyone tend to reply directly to those e-mails? I trust that you do indeed read the e-mails you receive; I just like to have a better idea of how the process works.

[Agent Scrubs 80]

Thank you once again for your taking the time to explain matters, Feulner. Tell me this: if I send an e-mail to the address you provided (info@bronycon.org), does anyone tend to reply directly to those e-mails? I trust that you do indeed read the e-mails you receive; I just like to have a better idea of how the process works.

 

What happens is that the email is sent to our Head of PR, Vice-Chair and another staff member. Alternatively you can email a member directly by using their nickname and adding bronycon.org

 

so in the this case, the con chair is zebranky[at]bronycon[dot]org, and mine is Feulner[at]bronycon[dot]org.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Feulner

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

Anyone know details on when the next bronycon is, I live in Idaho but can't afford traveling...

Let me know location?

Edited August 4, 2012 by Rainow Dashie

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

Anyone know details on when the next bronycon is, I live in Idaho but can't afford traveling...

Let me know location?

 

It will likely be in the New York City area. Whether or not it will be in the Meadowlands Expo Center again is unclear. My understanding is that they're considering a smaller winter convention, should the logistics fall into line and enough people show interest in attending.

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

It will likely be in the New York City area. Whether or not it will be in the Meadowlands Expo Center again is unclear. My understanding is that they're considering a smaller winter convention, should the logistics fall into line and enough people show interest in attending.

 

Thanks I'll keep this in mind, I hope i can make this time...

Though not setting sights too high........ .

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Anyone know details on when the next bronycon is, I live in Idaho but can't afford traveling...

Let me know location?

 

I know what you mean. It was practically a miracle that I was able to go this year. I wasn't even planning on attending until 2 weeks before it actually happened because I never set my sights on traveling all the way to NJ (I live in Michigan, I know it's not as far as Idaho but you still have to buy a plane ticket). I had just HAPPENED to be going out east with a friend that weekend anyways and asked her if I could go.