printed out schedule?

Loktera^2 · May 31, 2011, 12:23:02 PM

this was a major disappointment. I agree that the pocket guides were one of the best things to happen to Fanime scheduling for a long time. While I knew which panels were going on, I didn't know when or where. I also remember in past years, they were printed in the con-book, or available on the website to download and print... Usually about a week in advance.

Seeing the schedule come out at 2pm... On day 1 of the convention? lame.

otaku_duckie · May 31, 2011, 12:36:27 PM

i agree the pocket planner last year was awesome =_= im quite annoyed that i kept having to go to the info desk for the schedule

wintersweet · June 01, 2011, 12:08:13 AM

Yeah, a better solution needs to be worked out. In my group, we had two people with no smartphone or wifi device and one person with an iPod Touch, which meant running out into certain areas and fussing with it to check the schedule repeatedly--there was no wifi in the dealers' room, AA, or many other areas. That was incredibly irritating. And not everyone is well-off enough to have one of those devices, anyway. I'm in favor of not killing trees willy-nilly, but there are probably other points where more paper is wasted at the con (example: the flyer tables--maybe getting people to just tape down one or two, or put them in the bags, would be better), and if you want to target the schedules, there needs to be an accessible replacement. Printing up a few large, visible ones and posting them in lots of places would have been a good start, or streaming a schedule on monitors in various places, or ... This way just Did Not Work.

Junon · June 01, 2011, 03:41:18 PM

Was there a valid reason for the lack of printed schedules?

Persona · June 01, 2011, 04:01:52 PM

Quote from: Junon on June 01, 2011, 03:41:18 PM
Was there a valid reason for the lack of printed schedules?

I want to know the answer to this, too. Not to rag on anyone or any dept., but so I know who to talk to to staff next year ;)
I've experience with printing places and folding schedules and making packets and I actually like that type of work.

Mango Bunny · June 01, 2011, 04:12:47 PM

I would love an official answer as to why this happened.

It sucked, I'm over it. I think the feedback they're getting will push them back to the schedules again next year.

I just am curious as to why this went down how it did.

My assumption is there was some sort of problem, seeing as they did bring some schedules on Saturday. We love you anyway, FanimeCon. We're just curious.

kohana ichibana · June 01, 2011, 04:15:35 PM

Personally, I didn't have a smart phone or any device that could carry internet on it other than a laptop which couldn't connect at Fanime D: so I missed all the panels. Since I had a table at AA I figured might as well stay there the whole con otherwise I'd be randomly walking around (which I did for a good hour before I just gave up on it) Sad.

Kyra_Maverick · June 01, 2011, 05:24:01 PM

I was told that the company contracted to print the schedules dropped the ball, or that the information wasn't sent over in time to get printed, but I didn't get this through an official source. I doubt Fanime planned to have 15,000 - 20,000 attendees roaming lost in the convention center.

I recall something similar happening back in 2006 (?). No schedules for the first day or so, but I think by Saturday night I had one.

Tony · June 01, 2011, 07:43:17 PM

Quote from: Kyra_Maverick on June 01, 2011, 05:24:01 PM
I was told that the company...

Sorry, that's incorrect. Just want to jump in and stop that rumor there. :)

We should get a clearer picture of everything by next week. We are very sorry for the situation and are working to fix it for next year and beyond!

Kyra_Maverick · June 01, 2011, 08:11:08 PM

Quote from: Tony on June 01, 2011, 07:43:17 PM
Quote from: Kyra_Maverick on June 01, 2011, 05:24:01 PM
I was told that the company...
Sorry, that's incorrect. Just want to jump in and stop that rumor there. :)

We should get a clearer picture of everything by next week. We are very sorry for the situation and are working to fix it for next year and beyond!

Understood. It was something I had heard through 'a friend of a friend' so most likely someone was creating their own conclusions.

Kertus · June 01, 2011, 11:33:03 PM

Really the lack of schedule wasn't TOO bad, but if we had been informed ahead of time that there would be no schedules that would have helped.

Fanime should have made a post on the front page that there would be no printed schedules provided, then we would have known to print them out ahead of time or write down what we wanted to attend, would have defused some of the frustration at least and people would be more understanding.

Persona · June 02, 2011, 08:45:58 AM

Piggybacking on Kertus, I just want to jump in and say that, from personal experience as a 3rd party observer, it's always better for staff/volunteers to say "We don't know" in regards to things they, well, don't know, rather than "It's coming soon," or other such faulty information. Not only does it it lessen the frustration people feel when they are invariably disappointed, but it lets them prepare accordingly rather than anticipating something that's not coming.

Tony · June 02, 2011, 10:26:56 AM

Just to give you guys a tidbit, we did know that the pocket schedule was unlikely to happen. A very talented staffer had managed that from end-to-end in previous years, but he could not join staff this year. We had a strategy to mitigate this, but due to some miscommunication, that strategy wasn't followed.

We should have more information later. Unfortunately I can't turn back the clock and fix the major pain in the ass we gave to our attendees, but we'll certainly address it for next year.

Jelly Soup · June 02, 2011, 10:53:45 AM

Quote from: Tony on June 02, 2011, 10:26:56 AM
Just to give you guys a tidbit, we did know that the pocket schedule was unlikely to happen. A very talented staffer had managed that from end-to-end in previous years, but he could not join staff this year. We had a strategy to mitigate this, but due to some miscommunication, that strategy wasn't followed.

We should have more information later. Unfortunately I can't turn back the clock and fix the major pain in the ass we gave to our attendees, but we'll certainly address it for next year.

Just a thought, but would it be a plausible idea to find a guy who would be willing to pull this off like the last person?

Tony · June 02, 2011, 01:52:20 PM

Quote from: Jelly Soup on June 02, 2011, 10:53:45 AM
Just a thought, but would it be a plausible idea to find a guy who would be willing to pull this off like the last person?

Yes, definitely, now that we have time. I might do it, if no one else will. It was difficult given the timeline we had to replace him, though. He was truly a rockstar with the pocket guide, and it's not easy to fill those shoes in a few weeks time.

Persona · June 02, 2011, 01:54:54 PM

Quote from: Tony on June 02, 2011, 01:52:20 PM
Quote from: Jelly Soup on June 02, 2011, 10:53:45 AM
Just a thought, but would it be a plausible idea to find a guy who would be willing to pull this off like the last person?
Yes, definitely, now that we have time. I might do it, if no one else will. It was difficult given the timeline we had to replace him, though. He was truly a rockstar with the pocket guide, and it's not easy to fill those shoes in a few weeks time.

As I said above, I would love to help out with this. =)

Jelly Soup · June 02, 2011, 05:06:34 PM

I might be interested in helping as well.

kookiekween99 · June 02, 2011, 07:36:32 PM

Quote from: Jelly Soup on June 02, 2011, 10:53:45 AM
Quote from: Tony on June 02, 2011, 10:26:56 AM
Just to give you guys a tidbit, we did know that the pocket schedule was unlikely to happen. A very talented staffer had managed that from end-to-end in previous years, but he could not join staff this year. We had a strategy to mitigate this, but due to some miscommunication, that strategy wasn't followed.

We should have more information later. Unfortunately I can't turn back the clock and fix the major pain in the ass we gave to our attendees, but we'll certainly address it for next year.

Just a thought, but would it be a plausible idea to find a guy who would be willing to pull this off like the last person?

Who said it had to be a guy?

I would offer to do it, but I promised myself I'd only do pre-con work for one con per year, and I'm already committed to ASAHiCon until I graduate next summer.