[Bloo09]

Hello panelists! I know you've eagerly been waiting so here it is! Panel Programming is opening our application in about half an hour, 12:00pm central time. Make sure you look at our policy page, many have been updated, and some added for this coming year. http://www.ACen.org/...panelist-policy As always, if you have any questions please feel free to email us at PanelProgramming@ACen.org

For your application here are some reminders and tips

- The badge policy has remained the same as last year. 1 panel hosted = 50% off the current badge tier price, 2 panels hosted = 100% off a Full Weekend Badge. The discount is only applied to a maximum of 3 members of the panel but more attendees may host a panel, they just won't receive the discount. And just like last year panelist badges are not mailed out, they will be available for pickup in the Gatwick room of the Hyatt which will remain Panel Programming's Office.

- All applications must have a file attached with their outline. This is not the entire panel word for word but a general outline of what you will cover, how you'll entertain the audience, and how you will fill the time that you are requesting.

- Panel names have a limit of 50 characters this year, so think of something catchy that will make someone want to read your panels description. Some names may still be shortened such as "The Sailor Moon Fan Panel About Luna" It is redundant naming a panel a panel so we always remove that, and About luna belongs in the description.

- Descriptions are extremely important. This is how you get your audience, draw in their interest, and is part of what we look at when we have more than one app for a topic. In the past when outlines were practically the same we then looked to the description to see which panel seemed more enthusiastic and able to draw in a crowd. For example Anime Jeopardy - "come play jeopardy with your fellow fans" or.. "Do you know your anime? Are you the best Otaku? Come play Jeopardy and win some awesome prizes with your fellow otaku!". So work hard at your description, it is important. We also require proper grammar. We do not allow all CAPS or random ^.^ faces.

- Your available time is now asked for in the form. We will only slot you during the hours that you select. But remember, if we run out of times in those slots we won't be able to slot you. We'll contact you and ask for any other times that you can host. Times are given based on your type of panel like Game shows we tend to keep in the afternoon and evening while educational panels tend to be mid day, along with our first come first serve basis. It helps you to apply early!

- And a friendly reminder - In both the Hyatt and Double Tree hotels you cannot hand out candy, food, tea, anything edible at all during your panels, even packaged as a prize. (that includes pocky). This is in our contract with the hotels so there is no way around this rule.

- And Finally.. We do not accept American Cartoon panels. As we like to say, ACen is an Anime, Manga, and Japanese Culture convention, not Pop Culture convention. We will allow a small amount of video game and web comic panels, but that is a very small number. Also SOME non Anime cartoons can be allowed if they have strong ties to the Asian culture or are based on an anime styling such as Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Comparison panels are also allowed if you can find a way to tie in an American Cartoon into the Japanese culture or another Anime. We'd love to see panelists be creative.

Good luck and we're looking forward to reading your applications!

[magishine]

Maybe I'm missing it. Where's the link for it?

[nyanderful]

magishine, on 07 September 2012 - 01:25 PM, said:

Maybe I'm missing it. Where's the link for it?

I'm not seeing it as well

[Bloo09]

http://www.ACen.org/panels/new It's under the register drop down section of our website navigation bar. You need to be logged into your ACen registration account to apply.

[Dark Spellmaster]

Are coupons good for prizes?

[Bloo09]

As long as the coupon's print doesn't say distributing it would void it. I know it sounds weird but I've seen that on a coupon before. Otherwise I don't see an issue with it.

[Dark Spellmaster]

Thanks I'll keep that in mind.

[Sayuri-chan]

About how long can we expect to wait until we hear any sort of confirmation/deny of panels once we submit them?

[Bloo09]

Atm we plan to start reviewing the first group on the 20th of Sept. We are doing panel approvals in groupings, matching our tiers for badges. So group one applied and will be completed by the end of Tier 1 which is Oct 1st, etc. This also ties into our first come first serve basis of approvals and slotting. Tier 1 has priority over tier 3 panelists because they applied earlier. We will still consider the type of panel and it's popularity when slotting such as Educational panels tend to be mid day, while Game shows do better in the evening. This is both to reward those who apply earlier, and to help make our work easier along with getting out schedules in a timely manner. Last year so many waited until the very last minute to apply it made our schedule late getting out.

[Sayuri-chan]

Thanks for the information I'll look for something in my email box around then.

[Wolfpost]

question...again...if we have numerous people going to participate in the panel, in the registration, will i need to post everyone's information too or just mine, that is if i am running the panel?

[Bloo09]

There is a section of the application that lets you enter in their Registration System user names. That's what you will need for each person who will be hosting the panel, even if they aren't receiving the badge discount which is a limit of 3. The first three people listed receive the discount, those being the head panelist and first 2 co panelists listed. It's clearly marked in the form so you won't get lost while doing it

[AriannaSterling]

For some reason on all of my panels, the system refuses to accept that my co-panelist's username is accurate (even when they're logged into it, so we know it's right). So I just left him off of the forms, so I could get my panels in. Should I just send an email after I find out if they've been accepted?

[magishine]

I'm sure this has been asked somewhere else but when can we expect approvals/denials to start going out?

[Bloo09]

Arianna you can send us an email now and we can add your co-panelist to the application on our side of the system and possibly see why it's not accepting their username.

Approvals are currently "done". When we went to update the panels in the system it's email function broke so it currently can't inform panelists if they're approved or denied via email. (perfect timing) So once that is fixed we'll be sending out denials and approvals for the current batch of panels. Some denials have already been sent so search your email for ACen.org in case you missed it.

We currently have 112 panel applications. If you haven't applied yet don't worry we have space! We had over 250 panels last year. But we may have less this year since we are looking at putting a 15 minute break between panels.

[Dark Spellmaster]

How will we know when we are approved? Will it come via email to us?

[Bard-kun]

I misunderstood the purpose of the "available times" portion of the application; I want our panel to be a late-night affair Friday or Saturday. Should I send in an email? Or, since it's a Hentai/Yaoi/Yuri panel, can I safely assume we'll be scheduled late at night?

[Bloo09]

Please send us an email with your panel name, user name, and what the times should be changed to. Just because it's 18+ doesn't mean it will be at night. It depends on how many 18+ panels we wind up with for how early in the evening they begin.

[NiqueyDomii]

Dark Spellmaster, on 19 October 2012 - 04:32 PM, said:

How will we know when we are approved? Will it come via email to us?

I was wondering the same thing.

[magishine]

NiqueyDomii, on 23 October 2012 - 06:35 PM, said:

I was wondering the same thing.

Same here. I know that it was said there was a malfunction with the email system? I was wonder if there was an ETA on when people can expect approval/denial emails

[Bloo09]

Yes, an Email will be sent from an @ACen.org address. We should be sending them very soon, hopefully within the week. We still have room left though for more panels, this is just the first batch of approvals and denials. Anyone who is denied is welcome to reapply with changes or a new panel.

Reminder - We do not approve American cartoons, BBC shows, American comics, American live action shows, or completely unrelated panels. We do approve a handful of webcomic and video game panels. And we do approve American cartoons that are heavily based on Anime or Japanese Culture.

[Bloo09]

A new round of Denials have gone out. Check your emails for an @ACen.org email. Make sure you check your spam folder or search your email using @ACen.org. This means we're almost done with this first batch of panelists, we just needed to narrow it down. A few more will be denied since so many have applied with the same topic (and title). Those who are denied for having practically the same panel will be emailed and suggested they change the format of their panel so we don't have 10 doing the same thing. Panels that are included in this issue would be Ask A Nation, Name That Tunes, and Homestuck. While we love Hetalia, not every panel on it can be Ask A Nation, we would love to see someone try something different to show their love for this awesome anime!

As always you're all welcome to email us if you have questions or would even like suggestions for your panels. We're here to help!


Reminders since we have denied a lot of panels so far for the following reasons -

- Our Panelist Policy states you cannot give out edibles (food, tea, pocky, candy, etc) of any kind. This is a contractual agreement with our hotels. Listing that you will be holding a contest involving eating food, having a "catered" table of snacks, etc. shows us clearly that you haven't read the policy that you checked off to agreeing to follow. These panels have been denied.
- We don't allow panels to charge money, or handle money in any way. This means workshops cannot charge for their classes or supplies, items cannot be sold etc. This is clearly in the policy as well. If money was mentioned, the panel was denied. Anime Central will not become one of those conventions where there is an additional cost to attend our panels. Compensation is given for panels to the panelists, an additional charge will not happen.
- Anime Central is an Anime, Manga and Japanese Culture convention. We only approve related panels. We are not a pop culture convention and will never approve a pop culture panel no matter how large it's fandom is. There are other conventions for it's fans to show their appreciation. We do reserve a very small number of panel slots for video game and web comic panels. We will only approve an American cartoon if it is anime inspired, or shows a decent amount of Japanese culture. Doctor Who, My Little Pony, Adventure Time, American Comic Heroes are among the topics that will not be approved at our convention.

Panels that were denied for the above reasons are welcome to re-apply if they alter their structure to follow our rules. We want you to host your panels with us, and understand the hard work put into them but we need those panels to follow our rules.

Thank you and we're looking forward to seeing new applications. This is the first time we've had so many this early in the year so get your applications in fast before we fill up!

[magishine]

When can we expect the final batch of denials to go out for this first batch? I know me and a friend of mine are both biting our nails waiting to know if we've been approved or not

[Bloo09]

I apologize for the wait, I was at Youmacon working the ACen roadshow there. I'm working on things right now and those should be out soon Mostly we're debating panels that had a lot of applications for the same thing like Ask A Nation and Homestuck. Panels that we outright won't approve have already been denied, now it's narrowing down the duplicates.

[magishine]

Thank you for all your hard work on this Bloo. I know a lot of people must be antsy about their panels so I appreciate you taking time help ease that apprehension. One last question, will there be a list available to show which panels have been approved and denied? I know that would help me out to find my panel on a list and not have check every folder in my email every time there is a round of approval/denials has gone out

[Bloo09]

Yes, we will be posting a list this year. Since so many had email issues last year we've decided to also post it via our panelist mailing list, webpage, and the forums.

[magishine]

Cool. Will that list be made available after each stage of approvals/denials or will it be made available after all the approval/denials have gone out?

[Bloo09]

We can do it with each batch of panelists. Atm timeline wise it looks like we'll have 3 batches. The first being the largest, we got the most amount of applications this early out of any year.

[magishine]

I think doing it with batch makes the most sense. that way people can keep up to date on their panels and know if they can go ahead and get their badges or if they need to resubmit. thank you for keeping us up to date. I hope to see if my panel submissions have been approved or if I need to rework them

[Bloo09]

Yep, that's part of the reasoning for it. We do encourage panelists who have denied panels to adjust and reapply. Especially if only one of the two were approved and they need one more for their free badge.