Cranky Operator, reporting for duty! (con behavior feedback)

[ike]

For the most part, everyone behaved themselves, and most people were very civil about their reactions. So, pat yourselves on the back for that, congoers!

But notice how I said "for the most part." There WERE several moments I observed wherein congoers were a little too..."in the moment," I suppose, to realize what they were doing may have been less than reputable. Let me just ease into my rocking chair, undo some of this tactical gear, and try to list what I thought some congoers need to improve on.

Running
Yes, let's just start right there. Zenkaikon's floor space, I feel, is about the size of the entire gaming room at Otakon (and I only compare it to Otakon because that's all I've got to go on), so it's not like it takes more than 5 minutes to get anywhere. So, there's no need to run, at all.
If you see someone cosplaying as a character you adore/obsess over, don't run to them - that only sets off warning bells in their heads (think about what THEY see), and you scare 'em away, and you keep running to chase 'em, and basically in the end everyone is winded for no good reason.
Additionally, you could run into someone exiting a panel or knock something over (if you've got props of your own, for example).
Like I said, Zenkaikon's small enough to navigate in less than 5 minutes. If you see a cosplayer you want to approach, walk up to them. If they get away before you get to them, just wait for them to come around again. It's not like we DON'T want you to take pictures or comment on our cosplay, it's just that maybe we have matters to attend to.

Screaming
This, I suppose, goes hand in hand with the previous point. Please don't scream from across the con to catch our attention. Much like running, it sets off "uh-ohs" in people's heads. You also disturb people who are relaxing or trying to listen to a conversation/panel.
Instead, make sure you are within reasonable earshot of the person you want to talk to.


General physical behavior
I saw several things which just made me go "you can't be seriously doing that here." It seemed to be like it was always the same one or two groups doing it, but I won't name names, just examples.
Play-fighting is a big no-no. You shouldn't EVER suddenly have an impromptu sparring match or sword fight. Especially near the photography setup in the main hallway. You might think it's super-special-awesome to have a swordfight with bokken, the photographer on the other hand may just have a stroke when you start waving it around so close to their lights. It doesn't matter if it's a bunch of people you know, or it's someone who consented to it.
Never ever touch someone without their permission. Not worth the risk as you could either injure them or their property (clothes, props, etc.). On the other hand you might cause them to overreact (like, say, if you glomp/jump on them without warning/from behind) and end up hurting you.
This is especially true if you're a cosplayer and you see your character's rival/love interest(canon or otherwise). You might be "in character" and jump on Sasuke as Orochimaru, but that Sasuke you've got in your sights might not be in the mood for that.
Don't tug on parts of people's cosplay, either. They put a lot of work into putting these things together and know how to handle it best. Don't tug on Cloud's hair to see if it's real or not, just ask.
Obstructing traffic flow is another thing you shouldn't do. The Scanticon's hallways, as you've noticed, aren't the widest things in the universe, so every little piece of real estate that will let people move around you is worth ts weight in gold. If you're tired and want to sit down, find a chair, or some place where there's not a whole lot of people moving around. If you MUST sit somewhere where there is a lot of foot traffic (say, waiting in line), try to make yourself as small and unimpeding as possible.
If you're fooling around, again, do not do it somewhere where you'll block traffic. If you want to drag a friend around by their ankles, don't do it in a high traffic area. If you want to re-enact your character's death scene, or if you want to pretend to be dead DON'T DO IT IN A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA.
Watch where you point that thing!This wasn't as big a problem as the others I've mentioned, but if you have a prop or a cosplay that has things sticking out you need to be aware of where it's sticking out, exactly. If you don't, it could lead to anything from snagging on something (which could lead to destroying the prop/cosplay itself) to hitting someone unintentionally. Undersiable outcomes.

Panel Behavior
Okay, this is only really (in my experience anyway) in regards to the Whose Line panel. Now, on TV it definitely looks like you can just call out your suggestion, but in our situation it doesn't quite work. I think next time (hopefully there's a next time, that was fun and has potential) we should raise our hands; at least be considerate of other people - if someone beats you to calling something out, don't try to drown them out by raising your voice. Wait til they're done talking, at the very least.

...aaand I think that's it. Just some stuff to keep in mind, for next con. A lot of it's covered in the rules, but having examples might make it more clear to you.

Oh, and I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries a couple of times by yelling at other congoers for doing something that I didn't feel was safe. I know I'm not supposed to play supercop.

[Kimichou]

For the most part, everyone behaved themselves, and most people were very civil about their reactions. So, pat yourselves on the back for that, congoers!

But notice how I said "for the most part." There WERE several moments I observed wherein congoers were a little too..."in the moment," I suppose, to realize what they were doing may have been less than reputable. Let me just ease into my rocking chair, undo some of this tactical gear, and try to list what I thought some congoers need to improve on.

Running
Yes, let's just start right there. Zenkaikon's floor space, I feel, is about the size of the entire gaming room at Otakon (and I only compare it to Otakon because that's all I've got to go on), so it's not like it takes more than 5 minutes to get anywhere. So, there's no need to run, at all.
If you see someone cosplaying as a character you adore/obsess over, don't run to them - that only sets off warning bells in their heads (think about what THEY see), and you scare 'em away, and you keep running to chase 'em, and basically in the end everyone is winded for no good reason.
Additionally, you could run into someone exiting a panel or knock something over (if you've got props of your own, for example).
Like I said, Zenkaikon's small enough to navigate in less than 5 minutes. If you see a cosplayer you want to approach, walk up to them. If they get away before you get to them, just wait for them to come around again. It's not like we DON'T want you to take pictures or comment on our cosplay, it's just that maybe we have matters to attend to.

Screaming
This, I suppose, goes hand in hand with the previous point. Please don't scream from across the con to catch our attention. Much like running, it sets off "uh-ohs" in people's heads. You also disturb people who are relaxing or trying to listen to a conversation/panel.
Instead, make sure you are within reasonable earshot of the person you want to talk to.


General physical behavior
I saw several things which just made me go "you can't be seriously doing that here." It seemed to be like it was always the same one or two groups doing it, but I won't name names, just examples.
Play-fighting is a big no-no. You shouldn't EVER suddenly have an impromptu sparring match or sword fight. Especially near the photography setup in the main hallway. You might think it's super-special-awesome to have a swordfight with bokken, the photographer on the other hand may just have a stroke when you start waving it around so close to their lights. It doesn't matter if it's a bunch of people you know, or it's someone who consented to it.
Never ever touch someone without their permission. Not worth the risk as you could either injure them or their property (clothes, props, etc.). On the other hand you might cause them to overreact (like, say, if you glomp/jump on them without warning/from behind) and end up hurting you.
This is especially true if you're a cosplayer and you see your character's rival/love interest(canon or otherwise). You might be "in character" and jump on Sasuke as Orochimaru, but that Sasuke you've got in your sights might not be in the mood for that.
Don't tug on parts of people's cosplay, either. They put a lot of work into putting these things together and know how to handle it best. Don't tug on Cloud's hair to see if it's real or not, just ask.
Obstructing traffic flow is another thing you shouldn't do. The Scanticon's hallways, as you've noticed, aren't the widest things in the universe, so every little piece of real estate that will let people move around you is worth ts weight in gold. If you're tired and want to sit down, find a chair, or some place where there's not a whole lot of people moving around. If you MUST sit somewhere where there is a lot of foot traffic (say, waiting in line), try to make yourself as small and unimpeding as possible.
If you're fooling around, again, do not do it somewhere where you'll block traffic. If you want to drag a friend around by their ankles, don't do it in a high traffic area. If you want to re-enact your character's death scene, or if you want to pretend to be dead DON'T DO IT IN A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA.
Watch where you point that thing!This wasn't as big a problem as the others I've mentioned, but if you have a prop or a cosplay that has things sticking out you need to be aware of where it's sticking out, exactly. If you don't, it could lead to anything from snagging on something (which could lead to destroying the prop/cosplay itself) to hitting someone unintentionally. Undersiable outcomes.

I agree with alot of this. It kind of lowered my con experience b/c there were sometimes people screaming or running around or their props were pointing at me without their knowledge. And people wrote on my sign at my AA table but oh well.

It's a con folks, yes you can have fun but this isn't "ZOMG LET ME GO CRAZY!!" time. We understand you're excited but try to be a bit calmer XD. And blocking hallway=BAD!

[ike]

That reminds me, there was one girl walking around (all-black outfit, tanktop, bandage around nose, bokken on shoulder [which was kind of reckless, IMO])telling other cosplayers what they should be doing; it's not that it was bad, but she was certainly rather bossy. I remember her talking to an L cosplayer who'd kept his/her shoes on, "well I saw another L, and he had his shoes off, and you should do that, too. Do it, or you fail!" in a rather bossy tone.

[blackjack]

I tend to disagree. I was there with my niece and her friends, (it was her birthday, lucky girl), and they tend to be shy. But with all the spontaneous behavior, they came out of their shell. My sister was happy to see them be a part of the whole experience and she is a rather safety first type of person. Yet, she never got worried the whole day, even when the dating game treaded over the line a few times for kids, it was all in good fun. And they all loved that part of the con.

I do think some people are really serious about cons and have a 'been there done that' attitude and get picky & grumpy and compare everything to other cons. But others like to get caught up in the excitement that is anime and love to live it out at a con.

If everyone just walked around and chatted quietly, half the people wouldn't come back and the con would just die.

I thought it was great the way it was and will get bigger next year because of it.

[Seaofclouds]

While some enthusiasm is great, there is a line that has to be drawn. It's great to get excited and have a good time being a bit goofy, but everyone has to remember that there are a lot of people in a lot so large space. The running around is just bad because someone could get hurt. While it might not hurt so bad to be run into by someone the same size as you, we had people of all sizes (from little 2 year olds to guys 6 feet tall). So bad things could've happened. Luckily none did and that's great.

As far as the screaming...we all understand that people get excited over certain cosplayers, but there are events going on in the rooms and everyone should be considerate of that.

When all is said and done, we want everyone to have a good time, but we want everyone to be safe as well.

[ike]

I tend to disagree. I was there with my niece and her friends, (it was her birthday, lucky girl), and they tend to be shy. But with all the spontaneous behavior, they came out of their shell. My sister was happy to see them be a part of the whole experience and she is a rather safety first type of person. Yet, she never got worried the whole day, even when the dating game treaded over the line a few times for kids, it was all in good fun. And they all loved that part of the con.

I do think some people are really serious about cons and have a 'been there done that' attitude and get picky & grumpy and compare everything to other cons. But others like to get caught up in the excitement that is anime and love to live it out at a con.

If everyone just walked around and chatted quietly, half the people wouldn't come back and the con would just die.

I thought it was great the way it was and will get bigger next year because of it.

I apologize if it seemed like I wanted it to become a rather stiff formal affair, that wasn't my intention at all.

There are certainly ways to be spontaneous and have fun and all, but like I said there were things I personally saw that I felt were dangerous and could detract from the con experience not only for myself but everyone else.

[Ramothhe]

We were aware of the behavior issues. the girl with the sword we TOLD to put away but she ignored us and we were going to confiscate her weapons until con end but there seemed to be a problem locating her after that. we went after the yellers and screamers as much as we could but we could not catch everything. unfortunately it seems that many of those did not read or acknowledge the rules that we had in the program book, otherwise they would have known that its not ok to run totally wild. the other problem was that for all 570 or so of the attendees we only had 16 staff and a handful of gofers. we intend to bolster up our staff alot more in the 07/08 season.

[ike]

thanks ramonthe, I didn't mean it to be a criticism towards staff, you all were certainly on your toes the whole time (I know a staffer broke up the swordfight and the person-dragging), my intention was to bring it up in regards to the congoers.
I was certainly pleased with how you guys jumped right up when I told you about the kid running around with live steel; that encourages me to point out more stuff to staffers at other cons now, hoping they'll react similarly.

[Ramothhe]

thanks ramonthe, I didn't mean it to be a criticism towards staff, you all were certainly on your toes the whole time (I know a staffer broke up the swordfight and the person-dragging), my intention was to bring it up in regards to the congoers.
I was certainly pleased with how you guys jumped right up when I told you about the kid running around with live steel; that encourages me to point out more stuff to staffers at other cons now, hoping they'll react similarly.

Well ya, that is what staff are for, to make everything as safe and fun as possible. only with an open dialogue of feedback can we really improve, so thank you for talking to us and in a respectful manner, too.

[Omega the 5th]

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents...

One thing I've noticed about anime cons (of which I've been to 2) and comic book cons (of which I have been to more than I can count) is that anime cons are a much more social experience. You go to meet up with friends, cosplay and have a great time with other fans. From my table in Artist Alley it seemed like most of the attendees were well behaved and having a grand ole time. There were a few times I could of used some ear plugs because the volume in the room went up a bunch, but I say it's a con, if people want to be loud, let them. As far as the running, I did see a few times where I thought someone was going to get hurt and maybe that is something that needs to be looked at. But remember, you're dealing with kids in their teens and early twenties at the most. I used to run around a lot at that age too.

IMO, I think these are all minor, minor problems. The con is only two years old and there is a learning curve to understanding how much staff you will need to keep things in order yet make sure everyone has fun. These are things that can be solved with more staff and gophers. If you had a problem with these issues this year, be a gopher next year to help make the experience better for everybody.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

[Ramothhe]

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents...

One thing I've noticed about anime cons (of which I've been to 2) and comic book cons (of which I have been to more than I can count) is that anime cons are a much more social experience. You go to meet up with friends, cosplay and have a great time with other fans. From my table in Artist Alley it seemed like most of the attendees were well behaved and having a grand ole time. There were a few times I could of used some ear plugs because the volume in the room went up a bunch, but I say it's a con, if people want to be loud, let them. As far as the running, I did see a few times where I thought someone was going to get hurt and maybe that is something that needs to be looked at. But remember, you're dealing with kids in their teens and early twenties at the most. I used to run around a lot at that age too.

IMO, I think these are all minor, minor problems. The con is only two years old and there is a learning curve to understanding how much staff you will need to keep things in order yet make sure everyone has fun. These are things that can be solved with more staff and gophers. If you had a problem with these issues this year, be a gopher next year to help make the experience better for everybody.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Thank you Omega- to your post I will say EXACTLY.

[Technowraith]

I had a great time.

Thnks to hardwork of all the staff and the coordinators.

In general, I didn't have any major issues outside that 10-year old kid who yanked on my wig. But i did know that girl you guys mentioned earlier (the one carrying the black bokken.) I met her when i almost ran into her sword by accident when walking behind her and she stopped, and me not paying attention. I had my prop sword, but i carried it mostly in hand, not over shoulder for that very reason.

I did notice that at some points people were running around, somewhat recklessly i might add. Those halls are narrow, and god forbid someone actually make contact with someone else, especially someone in an elaborate costume. Crowding was only an issue once or twice, especially when overflow from popular panels spilled into the hallway. (Methinks bigger rooms might help that next year. I know the masquerade room was jam packed!)

Over all, it was a great event. I'm glad i chose Zenkaikon as my debut con. So now i look forward to next year's event very eagerly.

[Panda]

If you see someone cosplaying as a character you adore/obsess over, don't run to them - that only sets off warning bells in their heads (think about what THEY see), and you scare 'em away, and you keep running to chase 'em, and basically in the end everyone is winded for no good reason.

*remembers the first time he cosplayed as Eiri Yuki and shudders* Never again...


Anyway, the issues you brought up are common everywhere. In fact, I doubt very much that there are many conventions who could vouch for not having the problems.

What you have to acknowledge is that you cannot prevent these instances (and here's the part where I boast about my super special awesome security manual). You can only reduce the vulnerability and plan effective countermeasures. Anything beyond that is absurd for a convention. Don't stress about it, just have a plan to address the situation when it comes.

Yeah, 16 staffers seems a bit smal for a con the size of zenkaikon... Though the convention center's size and shape leaves leeway for having smaller numbers of staff. Offer perks, that always gets people to put their names forward.

[gamergirlx]

I think a lot of the behavior is just from unruly youngins, who, without their parents around, think they are free to do whatever they want. Unfortunately, the age of anime cons attendees has just been getting lower and parents are using it as a babysitting service. Just seems that seeing more and more immaturity is the norm at cons now-a-days.

[Omega the 5th]

I think a lot of the behavior is just from unruly youngins, who, without their parents around, think they are free to do whatever they want. Unfortunately, the age of anime cons attendees has just been getting lower and parents are using it as a babysitting service. Just seems that seeing more and more immaturity is the norm at cons now-a-days.

I tend to agree. That's why I was hoping for some more adultcentric panels for 2008. It may draw in an older crowd which would be nice to see at an anime con. I think the old foggies could coexist with the youngins with no problem.