Paid For Pre Reg, But Forced To Accept Early Reg

[Dany]

Is lowering the font size of the legal name not good enough for a compromise? There's only so much we can do, but we're open to listening to ideas.

This is fine, as it's a fairly common fan convention standard to put the legal name smaller if it is going to show at all.  In fact, my badge for last year (the yellow paper one) was perfect, just do a switcheroo on the names.

But if you're feeling adventurous, as someone else suggested, having it on the backside of the badge is not a bad idea either. I can see where it could be a logistical issue for that, but if you're looking for other ideas that still keep identification in play, that's something else to play with.

[M]

Is lowering the font size of the legal name not good enough for a compromise? There's only so much we can do, but we're open to listening to ideas.

This is fine, as it's a fairly common fan convention standard to put the legal name smaller if it is going to show at all.  In fact, my badge for last year (the yellow paper one) was perfect, just do a switcheroo on the names.

But if you're feeling adventurous, as someone else suggested, having it on the backside of the badge is not a bad idea either. I can see where it could be a logistical issue for that, but if you're looking for other ideas that still keep identification in play, that's something else to play with.

Lowered font size is probably what we'll go with (as of right now).

We have text on the back of the badge that would need to be moved around if we were putting legal names on the back. It doesn't mean that this is out the realm of possibility, but would mean that we'd have to revisit printing and whatnot.

[nurikowindchaser]

Is lowering the font size of the legal name not good enough for a compromise? There's only so much we can do, but we're open to listening to ideas.

This is fine, as it's a fairly common fan convention standard to put the legal name smaller if it is going to show at all.  In fact, my badge for last year (the yellow paper one) was perfect, just do a switcheroo on the names.

But if you're feeling adventurous, as someone else suggested, having it on the backside of the badge is not a bad idea either. I can see where it could be a logistical issue for that, but if you're looking for other ideas that still keep identification in play, that's something else to play with.

Yes, lowering the font size is a compromise... but only if it's made small enough so that random passers by couldn't see it.  Making it an inch high instead of an inch and a half isn't going to do any good at all.  Putting it in 10 or 12 pt font in a corner or something would be just fine... easy enough to read if someone needs to check an ID, but not readable when standing at conversation-distance.

I'm sorry if I got upset, but I've been fighting this for the last couple of years, since I started going to Fanime... and it has always surprised me that more people aren't as upset about this as I am.  Being told that I have to sacrifice my right to privacy just because of "security and safety reactions for staff" (quoted from an email I received last year) and to keep kids from sharing badges doesn't sit right with me.  That being said, I don't object to Fanime staff being able to read my name if they need to... I just don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry who happens to be wandering around the convention center to be able to see it.  Small font is fine, putting the names on the back is better.  You're happy because you can keep kids from sharing badges, I and everyone like me are happy because we don't have to walk around in fear that someone unsavory might take it into their heads to make victims of us.  It's a win-win situation and all you'd have to do is redesign the the back of the badges a tiny bit.  -.-

I actually really hope that something like this is done, I'd hate to miss out on the new Steampunk sub-con.

[SpiritOfKairi]

Yes, lowering the font size is a compromise... but only if it's made small enough so that random passers by couldn't see it.  Making it an inch high instead of an inch and a half isn't going to do any good at all.  Putting it in 10 or 12 pt font in a corner or something would be just fine... easy enough to read if someone needs to check an ID, but not readable when standing at conversation-distance.

I'm sorry if I got upset, but I've been fighting this for the last couple of years, since I started going to Fanime... and it has always surprised me that more people aren't as upset about this as I am.  Being told that I have to sacrifice my right to privacy just because of "security and safety reactions for staff" (quoted from an email I received last year) and to keep kids from sharing badges doesn't sit right with me.  That being said, I don't object to Fanime staff being able to read my name if they need to... I just don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry who happens to be wandering around the convention center to be able to see it.  Small font is fine, putting the names on the back is better.  You're happy because you can keep kids from sharing badges, I and everyone like me are happy because we don't have to walk around in fear that someone unsavory might take it into their heads to make victims of us.  It's a win-win situation and all you'd have to do is redesign the the back of the badges a tiny bit.  -.-

I actually really hope that something like this is done, I'd hate to miss out on the new Steampunk sub-con.

Okay, I'm sorry if saying this causes a backlash, but after reading multiple posts about the presence of our real names on the badges, I can't help but find myself baffled.  What exactly are you (or anyone else who thinks having a visible real name is evil), afraid of?  The astronomically low chance that someone at the con might see your name and try to steal your personal information?  That you'll be photographed, it will be uploaded online without your permission, and the picture will actually be clear enough that someone can see your real name and prey on you?  Yes, there will always be unscrupulous people in the world, but I really doubt you'll find anyone at Fanime who wants to screw you over.  Have you ever heard of this happening to anyone you know?  Otherwise, these fears simply sound paranoid.

Call me too trusting if you want, but I've been going to Fanime for years (as have my friends), and none of us have ever had any issues with people trying to get good looks at our badges for that information.  If anything, just about everyone (save the staff and people you're meeting for the first time at the con) hardly pays attention to anyone else's badge.  You're almost making it sound like badge-creeping is a pastime at Fanime, which simply is not true.

Besides, I can see good reasons why the badges do have our real names.  Take picking up badges that were bought during pre/early registration.  How can you properly identify someone as "hotpotato123"?  You have to take their word for it.  You can't use any concrete form of identification to verify someone's ID like you can with a driver's license or passport.  The staff could end up in a situation where people can't get their memberships because others gave them a false fan name that happened to be registered, and then people who did pay are complaining that their memberships are lost because of this.

Another point pertains to lost and found.  Say someone loses their badge and needs to recover it.  Again, how can the staff be sure they are giving the badge to the right person?  Using member names just presents too many security/organization/theft issues to warrant giving a few people peace of mind so they can have a metaphorical mask on at the con.

Finally, there's the issue of if someone misbehaves badly enough that it warrants taking their membership away, perhaps for multiple years.  You can't properly enforce this with using false names as the perpetrator could easily come up with a new fan name, buy a badge with it, and go through picking it up with no one being the wiser.  With legal names, though, Fanime could tell quite easily that the person in question was not allowed and deny them the badge, keeping the rest of their behaved attendees safe.

And no, I'm not staff.  I'm simply a regular attendee.  It just seems extremely odd to me that people are complaining about this small detail when far as I can tell, none of you have had any issues with it before.  And before anyone jumps me on my seemingly contradictory statements of people taking a badge vs stealing your name, let me ask you this: what are the chances anyone could steal much of anything from you just going off your name (which likely isn't even full on the membership)?  Now what are the chances someone might try to get something for nothing and grab a membership for the weekend using a fan name they pulled out of thin air?

[eHash]

once again i am inclined to respond against cautioning from others..

Name on the back of badges? Do you realize this will more than double the cost of the badge, not just the 2 sided printing, but also the time and cost of flipping each one over to print it in the plastic badge printer?

Also, as someone who wears a badge on a lanyard everyday for my day job I can tell you more often than not, that badge is going to flip to the wrong side anyways.

[Gigantor]

Just to be fair to both sides of this equation without taking into consideration logistics since I don't know the printing methods used for Fanime badges; I can understand why people do not want their legal names displayed on a badge because the risk of having someone unscrupulous research into your name and etc is quite unnerving. It is also extremely simple to find out stuff on the internet nowadays with just a name, and with the fan name you can narrow it down to a pretty accurate result of finding the right person. And my primary concern would be if someone from the protesters took efforts to write down as many names as possible and upload it as a list. Cause such things have been done in the past although I do not believe that it has occurred at Fanime ever.

On the other side I have also been in attendance at Fanime for several years now and I have never had a problem. In the past I have just looped the lanyard around my belt and tucked it into my pocket when I did not need it. I have never been stopped for doing this and have never had a problem with anyone. It's nice and secure and I can control to a fair extent what degree it is seen by people.

I agree with making the font size smaller around 10pt or 12pt as previously mentioned because at that point you can really only read it if you are holding it in your hand. It seems like a fairly excellent compromise as far as I can see with absolutely no additional cost to printing badges.

[M]

As a forewarning: I'm keeping this topic open (I generally hate locking threads unless they *have* to be locked), but please keep the discussion rational and do not flame or flamebait.

nurikowindchaser: We have your feedback (along with others that share your viewpoint).

Gigantor / SpiritOfKairi: All I can say is that there are different views to this topic.

I have said numerous times that we are looking into this, but keep in mind that there is only so much we can do. As much as I want to please everyone, there are numerous things where we will fail to do so.

[Gigantor]

As a forewarning: I'm keeping this topic open (I generally hate locking threads unless they *have* to be locked), but please keep the discussion rational and do not flame or flamebait.

nurikowindchaser: We have your feedback (along with others that share your viewpoint).

Gigantor / SpiritOfKairi: All I can say is that there are different views to this topic.

I have said numerous times that we are looking into this, but keep in mind that there is only so much we can do. As much as I want to please everyone, there are numerous things where we will fail to do so.

Well thank you very much for listening to all the different views and I understand some compromises can be made and some can't; but thank you for listening to the issues and making what concessions you are able to while still running a quality convention. :)

[Ami noMiko]

This seems to be mostly resolved, but I thought I'd chime in, as I've recently had an experience that is germane to this issue about what harm could come from someone knowing your real name.

A couple of weeks ago, my man was bored and so googled his own name.  On the first page of results was one of those people-finder sites.  This one listed his name, his birthplace, his address, his email address, his various IM names and his phone number, along with the names of his parents, sibling and even my name (despite the fact that we are not legally linked in any way).  These sites crawl through the many public archives available, so he has no control whatsoever over what info they display.  All of this information is available to anyone.  For free.  And all you need to know is his real name.  He was so freaked out by this, we changed our phone numbers and would probably have moved, except that we just bought this house and moving is not an easy prospect anymore.

Now, it's definitely true that most of the people at Fanime don't care about any of this and aren't paying the slightest bit of attention to anyone's badges.  However, it's possible that there may be someone of less-than-honorable intent amongst the other hundreds of people.  Badges are not required to enter the building or hang out in the halls, so you can't be certain that everyone is actually a paid attendee.  And while the chances are low that someone would be harvesting names, it's not impossible.

I'm definitely on the side of "it's better to be safe than sorry".  If real names must be on the badges, making them much smaller does minimize the risk.  I'd personally feel more comfortable with them placed on the back.  Yaoi-con puts stickers with the attendee's real name on the back of the badge, so they don't have to print them two-sided.