[The Fujoshi]

Kokoro, on 27 May 2011 - 03:53 PM, said:

I should also mention that I wish there was a rule about gift-giving during panels. I know people want to give guests stuff, but it's kind of tiring for those who want to ask actual questions/hear the guest talk. It really sucks away valuable time. If you raise your hand to ask a QUESTION, it should be to ask a QUESTION, not to run up to give them a card saying how much you love them...

Edit: Also, I meant to ask, aren't costumes involving some sort of hate speech not allowed? I gotta say, I saw two Nazis, and I find this incredibly inappropriate. I don't care if it's from UR FAVE ANIMAY or not. It's a frigging Nazi, you guys. End of story. I really wish cons would turn these people away due to what their outfits represent and tell them to go put something appropriate on.

The swastika isn't a hate symbol in general. It is actually a symbol of luck but the problem was that Germany kinda messed it up over for everyone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Also depending on how you look at it could change the meaning of it.

Was the 'Nazi' in general the Major from Hellsing or just a Nazi? I seen Schrodinger who had the symbol but I didn't bat an eye.

The problem with this is free speech. This is America so it would be kinda bogus to say that a person who has an offensive outfit with a swastika couldn't wear it but another person who has an offensive outfit, like a black Nozomu who has the rope, which could offend a black person and has, could?

It has been under debate on both sides. I thought about doing Schrodinger myself and have been paying attention to this. Some people wear the kitty symbol so they don't offend people like yourself but some people are hardcore otaku who just wear the original swastika. It's like Miku without her leek kinda thing with cosplayers.

[TheRabbi]

Actually, hate speech is forbidden under ACen costuming rules, and a swastika worn as part of a Nazi outfit (or something that is not technically a Nazi outfit but is clearly designed to ape one) counts as hate speech.

But this is a costuming question and belongs in a different thread and I belong back on vacation...

[Kokoro]

The Fujoshi, on 28 May 2011 - 10:17 AM, said:

The swastika isn't a hate symbol in general. It is actually a symbol of luck but the problem was that Germany kinda messed it up over for everyone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Also depending on how you look at it could change the meaning of it.

Was the 'Nazi' in general the Major from Hellsing or just a Nazi? I seen Schrodinger who had the symbol but I didn't bat an eye.

The problem with this is free speech. This is America so it would be kinda bogus to say that a person who has an offensive outfit with a swastika couldn't wear it but another person who has an offensive outfit, like a black Nozomu who has the rope, which could offend a black person and has, could?

It has been under debate on both sides. I thought about doing Schrodinger myself and have been paying attention to this. Some people wear the kitty symbol so they don't offend people like yourself but some people are hardcore otaku who just wear the original swastika. It's like Miku without her leek kinda thing with cosplayers.

I'm well aware of the original meaning of the swastika. But that doesn't negate the fact that it was tainted by the Nazis, nor does it change the fact that the swastika on the NAZI COSTUME was not a harmless religious symbol.

I don't know. It just looked like a Nazi to me. I think there was another cosplayer tagging along with the Nazi who looked like someone from Hetalia. Personally, I'm not some special snowflake who's offended by everything under the sun. However, I draw the line at frigging Nazis. That's just awful.

Free speech does not extend to hate speech. A Nazi costume is essentially hate speech, regardless of whether or not the person wearing it personally shares the same beliefs that the Nazis did.

Guess I'll bring this up in another thread, then.

[MsLovelyCookie]

Programing Book- I liked that the schedule was in the book, but the panels should of had some shading to indicate where each panel was located in what hotel for a quicker finding and the maps could have more detail in the other hotels.

IRT- Will be in the IRT section.

Soap Bubble- Will be in the Soap Bubble section.

Other Complaints:

Hotel- My group noticed while going back to our hotel room to dry off from the rain that caught us while coming back from breakfast, lucky I had umbrella, that someone was smoking weed and the smell lingered in the hall way.

Soap Bubble Line- I noticed that there some people had some type of alcohol in their hand. Really!? Take that to your hotel room.

Mother Nature- Thanks for the low temperatures early in the week causing me to get sick over Acen weekend, the coughing was really helpful at night. Then the sunburn that caused me to be red and itchy but end it up with a slight tan.

[mindue]

My main problems were:

1. Something needs to be done about obnoxious people in lines. The line is horrible enough without having to hear "pikachu" every 5 minutes or hearing disney songs out of tune.

2. Maybe there can be "you are now here" signs or something so people can find their photoshoots. I asked 8 people before I was told where the Dome was.

3. This year I don't know what happened but the photoshoots and panel programming were really messed up. To the point where me and my boyfriend kept showing up either late or really early to panels. Also I had to google where our photoshoots were because nobody had a photoshoot schedule and it wasn't in the programming book.

4. Can people who are military/government order their badge online and receive the discount? I hated having to stand in line with my boyfriend for 3 and 1/2 hours on Thursday so he could get his badge when he wanted to order it online. Or maybe a line for military/government discounts can be established. So people can order their badge online, show their government or military id and pick up their badge.

5. Can there be a rule about how many questions someone can ask in a Q and A. One person shouldn't be allowed to ask 3 or more questions in a row while others don't get the opportunity to ask one. Also if it's a short Q and A, frivolous questions shouldn't be asked like "do you wear boxers or briefs"

6. My last problem is mainly with staff in general at this years con. This only directed towards a few staff members, and I'm not bashing all the staff because I understand the hard work and effort they put in and very much so appreciate it. A lot of staff just seemed like they didn't know what was going on. The best example of this was the Saturday Q and A panel with Yoshiki, the staff member's questions were horrible, she didn't know the order in which things were supposed to happen, and she cut the Q and A short when Yoshiki had no problem answering more questions. Other staff problems were just plain rudeness.

[jsieczkar]

mindue, on 06 June 2011 - 12:23 AM, said:

5. Can there be a rule about how many questions someone can ask in a Q and A. One person shouldn't be allowed to ask 3 or more questions in a row while others don't get the opportunity to ask one. Also if it's a short Q and A, frivolous questions shouldn't be asked like "do you wear boxers or briefs"

We try and make sure that questions are limited and spread around, but at the end of the day it is up to the moderator. With many of the panels being moderated by the guests themselves results can very. Staff are a bit more willing to be “mean” and stop questions or say that a question has been asked before.

[mindue]

jsieczkar, on 06 June 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

We try and make sure that questions are limited and spread around, but at the end of the day it is up to the moderator. With many of the panels being moderated by the guests themselves results can very. Staff are a bit more willing to be “mean” and stop questions or say that a question has been asked before.

Okay, I wasn't too sure about what the policy with questions was. In that case could there maybe like a sign in each panel room regarding panel etiquette? Or someone read the rules briefly at the begin of each panel?

[Kokoro]

mindue, on 07 June 2011 - 08:20 PM, said:

Okay, I wasn't too sure about what the policy with questions was. In that case could there maybe like a sign in each panel room regarding panel etiquette? Or someone read the rules briefly at the begin of each panel?

I think this would be a good idea. I made a comment awhile ago (possibly in this thread - don't remember) about how annoying it is when very few people ask actual questions at the Q&A's (which stands for QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, people) - they just raise their hands to say "OMGAWD I <3 U 4EVA" or to give the VA a gift. That sucks away so much valuable time. And to be honest, sometimes it comes across as a little selfish. There are people in the audience who want to hear the VA talk, not see you run on-stage to give them your handmade card. Give the gifts before/after the panel or during the autograph session(s).

[The Fujoshi]

Kokoro, on 10 June 2011 - 01:46 PM, said:

I think this would be a good idea. I made a comment awhile ago (possibly in this thread - don't remember) about how annoying it is when very few people ask actual questions at the Q&A's (which stands for QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, people) - they just raise their hands to say "OMGAWD I <3 U 4EVA" or to give the VA a gift. That sucks away so much valuable time. And to be honest, sometimes it comes across as a little selfish. There are people in the audience who want to hear the VA talk, not see you run on-stage to give them your handmade card. Give the gifts before/after the panel or during the autograph session(s).

Lol I never seen this happen before with the gift giving~!

But I do agree! I remember the Hetalia Q and A had two different ones: The Autograph session as well as how do they make anime session. I ended up asking a good lot of questions for the anime session because nobody could come up with any! After I did some it got the ball rolling and people started asking more.

Hoping that there is some kind of 'how to do Q and A' in the program book next year.

[jsieczkar]

The Fujoshi, on 10 June 2011 - 04:48 PM, said:

Lol I never seen this happen before with the gift giving~!

But I do agree! I remember the Hetalia Q and A had two different ones: The Autograph session as well as how do they make anime session. I ended up asking a good lot of questions for the anime session because nobody could come up with any! After I did some it got the ball rolling and people started asking more.

Hoping that there is some kind of 'how to do Q and A' in the program book next year.

Which one where you at the 2nd panel, I was the moderator for both of those panels?

[Kokoro]

The Fujoshi, on 10 June 2011 - 04:48 PM, said:

Lol I never seen this happen before with the gift giving~!

But I do agree! I remember the Hetalia Q and A had two different ones: The Autograph session as well as how do they make anime session. I ended up asking a good lot of questions for the anime session because nobody could come up with any! After I did some it got the ball rolling and people started asking more.

Hoping that there is some kind of 'how to do Q and A' in the program book next year.

Seriously? Gift giving by multiple people happens at just about every panel I go to for a famous male VA: Vic Mignogna, Tatum... Drives me nuts. Especially when the gift-giver insists on dragging it out for as long as possible.

[QuitetheHotmess]

I had a wonderful time, except that I got terribly sick from hugging a man that smelled of pork products because people insisted I do it. Please people, no more free hugs.

[mindue]

Kokoro, on 10 June 2011 - 05:43 PM, said:

Seriously? Gift giving by multiple people happens at just about every panel I go to for a famous male VA: Vic Mignogna, Tatum... Drives me nuts. Especially when the gift-giver insists on dragging it out for as long as possible.

Yeah I've come across that problem as well. I also think there needs to be a rule about what questions should be asked, like I'm tired of going to panels and hearing questions like "What toppings do you put on your pizza" or "What's your favorite color". Questions like these just waste everyone's time and something needs to be done about them.

[Keans]

mindue, on 06 June 2011 - 12:23 AM, said:

4. Can people who are military/government order their badge online and receive the discount? I hated having to stand in line with my boyfriend for 3 and 1/2 hours on Thursday so he could get his badge when he wanted to order it online. Or maybe a line for military/government discounts can be established. So people can order their badge online, show their government or military id and pick up their badge.

Im also curius about this since I also get military discount. When the next year comes around I will probably be contacting who ever is in charge of Reg so I can get my discount and still have it sent in the them mail.

[The Fujoshi]

jsieczkar, on 10 June 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:

Which one where you at the 2nd panel, I was the moderator for both of those panels?

Sorry about the late reply! I was actually at both of them. I remember the awkward looking around at the Hetalia: How to make animation panel. I thought about asking a question until another brave soul beat me to it. I was the America who asked about WCDC

Kokoro: You know what? I never met Vic. I didn't know what he looked like until I was on /cgl/ and they made a thread about him....

[NinjaJedi007]

ACen Twitter has an Attendee Feedback survey! Give your feedback so the next ACen can be extra awesome.

[ldychaos]

mindue, on 06 June 2011 - 12:23 AM, said:

My main problems were:

4. Can people who are military/government order their badge online and receive the discount? I hated having to stand in line with my boyfriend for 3 and 1/2 hours on Thursday so he could get his badge when he wanted to order it online. Or maybe a line for military/government discounts can be established. So people can order their badge online, show their government or military id and pick up their badge.

Keans, on 17 June 2011 - 09:42 PM, said:

Im also curius about this since I also get military discount. When the next year comes around I will probably be contacting who ever is in charge of Reg so I can get my discount and still have it sent in the them mail.

Sorry about the delay in response to this topic, I just found it as I was scrolling through. At this point in time the only way to receive the service discount is at the on site convention registration booths. We do not offer the service discount through early registration nor do we offer to mail them. Mindue I will mention your suggestion to the Department Head, Melinda Hayden.

Charlene Vazquez
Assistant Department Head of Registration

[Princess_Rebellion83]

Hello. I been attending ACen for 3 years now. <3 And I never fail to have a good time. I do understand that perfect don't exist but I fell that some of these concerns can be fixed. Now for my gripes.

1. I personally liked how the Video gaming room was set up. Come on in, give us your badge, you get this controller and you get to game out. Although talked about alot and a topic is made for this subject but I will add my two cents here anyways. BAG CHECK. Now, I don't think I would complain much about it if I A: had a car, B: stayed in a hotel room or C: lived next door to the con. But no, I had to commute to Acen from the South Side of Chicago, everyday. So when I was told you have to take your bag to your room or take it home, I was pissed. And I know I'm not the only one who had to do some long commuting. I didnt' attend the rave either due to the bag check.

2. Meet up space. I mostly attend BJD meet ups. For the couple of years I went, the meet ups was always in the dome. And it was a nice space when the tables was assembled. We had a place to put our dolls and take photos. But this year the tables was gone. Just one long table. Now don't get me wrong, I had fun exhanging tips on the floor but there are some rowdy congoers in that area too. I know you can't control them but please a warning or something. These dolls are not cheap and my doll foot was steped on by a con goer who just went completely through our circle Sunday Morning. And every time the group got comfortable, there was a long lines going through our meet up and we had to end early. I am unsure what a solution to this would be but.....

3. Registration lines. I know that ACen is getting popular so I know you can't do much about the wait. But I pre-ordered. And it still took my BF and I longer than a friend who was just registering that day. #nuffsaid

4. Directions. I'm good at getting lost. It's a bad habit I need to break. >_> So that's why I ask for help. And I see if a Con goer didn't know where to go but the staff? I know that different staffs have different departments but I would like to suggest that there is a 'Find it Crew/Lost Crew' or every staff memeber has a general idea of where things are located.

I had such an awesome time this year. And I can't wait for next year.

[TheRabbi]

I cannot address all of these, but we do have Customer Service booths set out around the convention, and they should be able to help you find things. We are also actively working on making sure IRT ops know where all the rooms are and such.

[Princess_Rebellion83]

TheRabbi, on 17 October 2011 - 12:38 PM, said:

I cannot address all of these, but we do have Customer Service booths set out around the convention, and they should be able to help you find things. We are also actively working on making sure IRT ops know where all the rooms are and such.

I should've also metioned that I went to customer service and the Hyatt.

[Bloo09]

We've made the panels office a public place this year so if attendees are looking for a panel they can stop in and ask for directions.

[Se Ga Hikui]

I know that this is something that cannot really be fixed and it might sound really silly to a lot of people. I just wish there weren't so many drunk people. Why would you want to get drunk at Acen? It's already awesome. It also results in a lot of really awkward situations...

This post has been edited by Se Ga Hikui: 01 December 2011 - 03:57 AM

[YoungBirdcall]

You're right, it does sound silly.

[Dark Stranger]

Ok now that we actually have a guest annouced I can ask/gripe about this. Something NEEDS to be done about 1. Getting a bigger area for the guests so more then a handful of us attendees can see them. And 2. Where or if we should even have a line for the concerts. Last year was....well horriable. I know why they made people wait outside the building for the concert because they didn't want the whole hallway inside to be packed sholder to sholder before the concert started. However that made it very diffecult for other con goers to get to wherever they wanted. Every year IRT has to make sure we arnt walking in the street (for traffic concerns and back up i know) but we couldn't go anywhere else when hundreds of people are blocking the whole sidewalk for hours waiting for the concert. Also I'm hoping LMC acutally plays more then one night this time around. I was quite ticked when I couldn't make it in last year and thought I could go tommorrow and see them and found out that Friday (or was it saturday? Can't remember exactly) was the ONLY night they were playing. ACEN gets close to or over 20,000 people each year. Yet the place where the concert is only allows about 1,000 I think. How in the world are we suppose to see these guests unless we literally sleep outside the dang door for like 8 hours before hand.

I know this might be odd since I'm not going this year, but I'm hoping this will change so other people don't have to share in my frustration.

[Darkspawn]

Dark Stranger, on 10 February 2012 - 01:12 AM, said:

Ok now that we actually have a guest annouced I can ask/gripe about this. Something NEEDS to be done about 1. Getting a bigger area for the guests so more then a handful of us attendees can see them. And 2. Where or if we should even have a line for the concerts. Last year was....well horriable. I know why they made people wait outside the building for the concert because they didn't want the whole hallway inside to be packed sholder to sholder before the concert started. However that made it very diffecult for other con goers to get to wherever they wanted. Every year IRT has to make sure we arnt walking in the street (for traffic concerns and back up i know) but we couldn't go anywhere else when hundreds of people are blocking the whole sidewalk for hours waiting for the concert. Also I'm hoping LMC acutally plays more then one night this time around. I was quite ticked when I couldn't make it in last year and thought I could go tommorrow and see them and found out that Friday (or was it saturday? Can't remember exactly) was the ONLY night they were playing. ACEN gets close to or over 20,000 people each year. Yet the place where the concert is only allows about 1,000 I think. How in the world are we suppose to see these guests unless we literally sleep outside the dang door for like 8 hours before hand.

I know this might be odd since I'm not going this year, but I'm hoping this will change so other people don't have to share in my frustration.

LOL. There were two lines for the concert last year. One inside, one outside. Both started forming around the same time, as far as I know, and IRT told the people inside that that's where they were supposed to line up. But almost an hour later they suddenly decided to combine the lines, and everyone in the inside line had to go to the very back of the huuuuuuuge line outside. One girl started crying.

[Dark Spellmaster]

I honestly think that maybe for the concerts they should have a roped off section that goes outside and has a sign that says: Wait here for Concert.

[Darkspawn]

Dark Spellmaster, on 23 February 2012 - 01:17 AM, said:

I honestly think that maybe for the concerts they should have a roped off section that goes outside and has a sign that says: Wait here for Concert.

They should definitely have a roped off section and sign for every event that's expected to draw a huge crowd.

[PansyChubb]

Preemptive Gripe: According to the thread over in the video programming forum, there will be no official AMV Contest this year, and apparently the entire AMV department almost got liquidated. This is a very bad thing in my opinion, as the AMVs are, hands down, my favorite part of any con - and from the full rooms I sat in, very popular in general, too. Please, please, PLEASE keep this department going strong. Thank you!

[Dark Spellmaster]

PansyChubb, on 27 February 2012 - 11:47 AM, said:

Preemptive Gripe: According to the thread over in the video programming forum, there will be no official AMV Contest this year, and apparently the entire AMV department almost got liquidated. This is a very bad thing in my opinion, as the AMVs are, hands down, my favorite part of any con - and from the full rooms I sat in, very popular in general, too. Please, please, PLEASE keep this department going strong. Thank you!

For whatever reason they left, however the AMV was apparently put into the Video Programing department. Josh, the head, is working dilligently on getting a contest going, and apparently Iron Editor will be happening. He's looking for suggestions right now in his thread and is looking for submissions. Whatever the reasons, give Josh a hug for taking the risk of taking over after the group left. He's trying to keep it going seeing as people love the group and support AMVs. Hopefully in time to come there could be a sub group again that could report to him and make things easier. See link in Offical Form section.

[Unka Josh]

Yep. To clarify:

The AMV staff quit.

The Powers That Be struggled to find replacements. This was difficult.

At the 11th hour, I said "Well, my department is doing pretty well, I guess I'll try to help out and take over AMVs."

Unfortunately, this didn't happen until late in the game, and I've never run an AMV department before, so I'm scrambling to do what I can. I'm sorry that it won't be what it could be this year, but I'm doing everything in my power to make AMVs awesome.