Forum - View topicNEWS: Anime Boston Congoers Report 9-Hour Registration Waits
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britannicamoore
 Posts: 2618 Location: Out. |
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So around 4k new people just showed up? Wow. I was reading a few comments on a web artist blog, and he mentioned the lines as well. They should have had it like the airport. 20 lines with people taking attendence, 15 computer sign ins.
I wasn't there, but based on the description, i'm guessing it wasn' that way. How many staffers did they have last year? They needed about 50+ more it seems. |
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CTAnimegirl
Posts: 1 |
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Yeah, Their attendance would have been higher. With the amount of people who gave up and left.
I walked away after 3.5 hours of waiting (got in line at 12) when I realized that by the time I got to registration the dealers room would have closed and all the event I wanted to see I'd have missed too. I only had that day to go to the con. There really should be a poll on how many people just gave up. And I'm sorry but I don't think pre-registering would have helped at all. we would have just been in a different line. |
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Hon'ya-chan
 Posts: 973 |
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Why haven't they thought of the idea of mailing con badges and the like to pre-registered folks months in advance? Add a security measure (Barcodes, Unique ID numbers, etc) to thwart counterfeiting, and it's all golden.
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2231 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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It's too expensive. I can say that for a fact having been staff the previous two years, they've been debating and debating the registration process for the past 3-4 years. They know registration is broken but they don't have the budget to buy the fancy registration systems like anime expo does because Anime boston is still fan-run and doesn't get much corporate sponsership. If they spent the money on registration they'd have to cut back on events, e.g. the budget all went to the pillows this year, it's a fact. So they chose the pillows instead of revamped registration... |
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omnistry
 Posts: 1015 |
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I couldn't even get in on Friday, and I pre-registered!!!
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dannygirl720
Posts: 1 Location: Rhode Island |
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I have been going to anime boston for 5 years now, and this was the only time where i have seen people walk out due to the lines. I got myself up at 630 in the morning to get into the line for 7am and i still had a 1 1/2 hour wait which i should not be complaining about at all.
The fact that they can not mail out badges is not the problem here. They should open up the non registered line on thursday instead of friday,saturday,sunday. At least a hundred people i know went early on thursday (i.e myself) and could do nothing but sit around twittling our thumbs becuse we could not preregister then. The system that they tried was flawed yes, but they at least ventured to try something new to see if it would help. And I do belive that next year they will learn from this horrific mistake and make it work or open up the unregistered line earler. |
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Hon'ya-chan
Posts: 973 |
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Bullshit. You can't tell me that AB can't acquire a Bulk Mail permit for a cheaper price and stuff envelopes? By how this account is going in the article, simple pen and paper registration sound much faster. |
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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Even pre-registration with a PIN number sounds like a good option. You know, enter your details beforehand, then pull it all up with a pin number. It takes about 1.42 seconds, depending on the length of the number and your 10-key skills.
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bayoab
Posts: 831 |
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I was preregistered. I arrived just before 1 pm on Friday and had to wait just over 4 hours to get my badge. The obvious problems that I could identify with the line there were at least three fold.
Firstly, the room was simply not well equipped to handle the process. They could only let X people in at a time which mean the line sat there for large periods of time instead of moving at a decent rate. This also means there was added lag between the groups of people who they brought in. Secondly, they had too few people behind the computers (and too few computers). There were a total of 4 computers (of which 3 were manned) which said "pre-reg badge pickup". Just having one more computer/person/printer could have probably cut 30 minutes off the wait. Thirdly, the security between the lines was not great. There were times when the upper part of the line would move, but somehow the rear of the line didn't move as a result. When I originally got in line there was a group of three girls who became a group of twenty girls by the time we had reached the room. (This one really can't be fixed though). |
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nekedo
 Posts: 94 |
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But then there's the "Oops, I forgot it at home" factor. What people also need to realize is that the jump in attendance could be attributed to the pillows being a musical guest. A lot of people who normally wouldn't go to the convention may have gone just to see them. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Like I've said twice before: I don't see the reason issuing named badges instead of anonymous tickets. Nine to ten hours in the line is not only pathetic. It's disgusting.
I welcome opposite opinions backed by reasons other than "because it's an American anime con tradition" or "so other fans can address me in the way I want to be called." |
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dragonpup
Posts: 1 |
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Someone asked this at the Con Gripe Session yesterday. The answer they gave is is as follows. If something happens to a con goer in which they can't ID themselves(someone passes out, young lost child, etc), they need to be able to find out who that person is, so they use badge info. |
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Kuroki
 Posts: 34 Location: Portsmouth, NH |
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Bull [expletive] shit. AB might not have the money, which is something I highly doubt, but the NEAS DOES. Don't try to sugar coat the problem. NEAS knew that there was going to be an attendance surge, they also knew they would need more money for this event. But they still are trying to start another, they didn't have to pour money into PAC, it should have been spent on something more important, like preventing 11 hour waits. |
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Toshirodragon
 Posts: 166 |
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WOW! And I was having fits after waiting 2 hours and 45 minutes in Sakura Con's line last year.
10 hours is beyond pathetic, it's freakin ridiculous. Had I been pre registered, I'd have been SCREAMING top of my lungs for my money back. |
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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And people were complaining about the wait at AX! 10 hours. Everyone is correct. That's beyond ridiculous! What is this about pillows? They were handing out pillows? I'm not sure how you go about getting a bulk-mail permit but I have to agree with Hon'ya-chan, it can't be all that hard. |
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