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[Bromopar]

My wife and I were discussing this today and thought it would be much more inviting for Fanime to offer a lower price badge for certain areas.  We feel that the Artist's and Dealer's areas should not be the same price as the rest of the con because that's where we go to spend money.  With a low price badge for only those areas you can encourage more customers to visit those areas and the artists can get more exposure.  It also gives anyone new to Fanime a chance to sample the con atmosphere and see if they want to come back for the panels/rave/masquerade/gameroom/viewing rooms which would still require the full price badge to get into.  Perhaps you could even make Monday or Thursday a free day to get into those areas since there really isn't much else going on those days anyway.

[Rhornez]

I left today with a sore throat and so many personal things that happened to me that i felt discouraged and left the con.
also Linecon2013

[Yuu- pon]

Firstly, pleade excuse my typos. My ipad seems to be possesed by the devil.

For two reasons
- a complete lack of courtesy from those taking photos.

During our official photoshoot there a couple of practally naked cosplayers behind us(  which was also in the middle of a walkway) of coarse it drew a crowd of creeps.

I told everyone " were having a photoshoot move this way. ". I didnt say you cant take photos I just wanted them to move to one side.  And the response was basically fuck you, tits!"
Some Picard....player even yelled at me.
This is an ANIME convention I should not have to take any shit from someone who should not even be here.

That brings to point two.

The amount of entirely unrelated cosplay is out of hand. It was neat and creative at first but now the majority of cosplayers are from BBC  DC Marvel, homestuck and MLP. I understand we cant kick them out but allowing them to have the prime spots for cosplay/ panels is making ithe con less enjoyable for anime cosplayers. It almost isnt worth atending anymore.

[Rhornez]

THANK YOU i was getting so pissed off at that too like seriously i see too many homestuck and other type of cosplays, this isnt homestuck con or comic con i have no idea why theres so many of them. every 3 anime cosplayers i saw 10 homestucks. it isnt even an anime just a shitty "webcomic" that isnt good at all. i would rather see less homestuck/people in favor of actual anime cosplayers with low numbers. what im trying to say is:
Less people = less homestuck
more anime but less homestuck. idk lol going to Kintoki con, sac anime, and kin yoobi con to fill the void of this crap

[MinamotoSanji]

As far as shoes go for Fanime, if you are going to turn people away who are wearing official dancing shoes you should hire people who know dancing heels from regular heels. People who bought official dancing were turned away for not buying brand name dancing shoes.

Both of the cosplayers were wearing beautiful Clamp gowns, bought their badges specifically for this event and bought their shoes JUST for this dance.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/11857293058916000991?q=salsa%20dancing%20shoes&sa=X&ei=cgOjUcnMKMGligKh1YCoDA&ved=0CN0BEMATMBE4FA These are the same shoes they were wearing for the event, same brand, same color and they were turned away for not having professional dancing shoes that fit the criteria for admittance.

EXCUSE ME?

What kind of people were watching the doors? Do they know ANYTHING about dancing shoes? The sharp point is for quick turns while the flat toes are for keeping ones balance on those turns as you move your feet across the floor in a quick, slow or average pace. This is not the only instance this occurred tonight. Many people bought tickets JUST to attend the Black and White Ball, to dance and have a good time in a way they can't do outside of conventions.

The Black and White Ball is like the Ball from Cinderella to most cosplayers, who go in expecting their dreams to unfold. To be told at the door that the shoes you spent 50 bucks on and spent weeks looking for in your size aren't good enough when they are ACTUAL dancing shoes? That's not fair and it's not right.

They bought their tickets, as I'm sure everyone else did. If you allow some heel's in, let them all in because you can't tell the difference between Waltz, Salsa or Tango shoes, that much is obvious. Train your people to see dancing shoes or next year, say flats all around. Nitpicking through shoes you don't know the brands for is not going to protect the floors.

[Bsan89]

Eh, I had a great time.
Some of the problem is possibly due to construction.
The room where the swap meet was empty when its not in session (O_o)
Artist alley was in another building. Everybody was spread out.

I know whats the problem though.
Fanime, has for some time grown out of it league.
It has too much attendee than it can possible handle with just volunteer staff.
I thought things would change after the old founder left.
But its using the same formula as before when it has much less attendee.
(We have ppl like Acksonl who rather come to Fanime than AX)
 

The line for pre/reg is about 4-7 hours. I rather volunteer the whole day doing something useful than to wait in line.

I don't have any problem with Cosplayer from "other" (homestuck, star wars, video game, comic etc) 
I do admit though, I didnt know about Homestuck until I search my phone after running into so many of them. lol.
Beside that, Any kind of geek culture con, (anime, PAX, comic on) ppl will dress up as what ever.

[spycker]

1. homestuck cosplayers should get their own con
2. homestuck sucks
3. lines!
4. i pre-reg and  i didnt went into the booth untill 9:30 to register and pick up the badge since i was in line around 7am
5. people stink! please carry a deodorant or some sort of spray because that smell is horrid!
6. organize your staff since some staff were making lines and other staff members were asking why?
7. artist alley shouldve been closer :/
8. need more room to manuver around! place was packed
9. more bands
10. this year i hardly saw anything gothic fairy!

[Yuu- pon]

I agree whole-heartedly about the first point. 500 people is more than enough to have their own con( not that it will stop them from coming here, even though it has nothing to do with anime/manga/video game or japanese culture.

But then the majority of cosplayers dont. I wouldnt have such a problem with it, if it weren't for the fact that there are in fact more sci-fi, comic, and TV conventions and dont even try brining your anime cosplay there.

I am very titled of this idea " we should accept everyone" crap. If were going to do that we may as well just call ourselves " general media con"

[Yuu- pon]

So my first thought when reading this was " there is always two sides to a story. They must have had a reason" .

Then I remembered the stormtrooper who was in the ball, that, in my opinion negates e ery argument that staff could have possibly made.

Yes, he was black and white- a condition which doesnt actually seem to matter, not that Im complaining it would be ridiculous to turn away amazing ballroom attire because it has some color- and yes his shoes were okay. But are we not forgetting the most important part of the dance? It is a black and white BALL for which you are supposed to DRESS UP.

Im very disappointed that the staff would let in someone who could not even bother to change his highly  costume, and turn down those who planned far in advance. I take that back, Im disappointed that staff would turn down ANYONE after letting that storm trooper in.

[spycker]

cant really judge about the whole anime community but its what i saw mostly, for ever 1 attendee there was like 5 homestuck " cosplayers "

[otakuya]

It felt more like Fun-in-MayCon rather than FanimeCon.

From what I've seen, a LOT of people are refusing to attend next year because of their experiences this year, from lines to Homestuck to lack of 'anime' to cosplay etiquette to crowds to 'staff' and everything in between. Something huge and drastic has to be done.

[znarx]

First off, let me thank the staff and volunteers for their time and hard work. Without you, there would be no Fanime.

Second, please keep the conversation civil and productive.

That said, I think Fanime needs major improvements in the way pre-registration badges are distributed. It took me nearly 6 hours to get my badge on Thursday night. I have some suggestions for improvements.

1. Optionally allow people to have their badges sent via mail, UPS, or FedEx, for an extra fee.

2. More people processing the people in line. I counted 10 people Thursday night. For the amount of people in line, you probably needed around 50 people doing the processing. Have multiple different pickup locations available if you can't fit all of the processors in one location. For example, maybe the South Hall, Civic Auditorium, or space at the Doubletree could have been used as additional processing locations Thursday night.

3. Spread the pre-registration pickup out over more time. If Thursday pickup were open 9 AM to 9 PM, wait time would be shorter because people would be more spread out over the day. Consider having pre-convention badge pickup over several days, such as Wednesday-Thursday, or even Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.

4. If getting enough volunteers to hand out badges is a problem, consider hiring professional staff to handle badge distribution, at least for Thursday night.

5. Learn how other large conventions and trade shows handle badge distribution. Cons like Anime Expo and trade shows like Oracle World handle much bigger crowds than Fanime. They may have better ways of handling getting this many people registered.

6. The way the individual processing stations were working wasted a lot of time. Once someone was finished, the staff member would wave their sign and the person at the head of the line would walk over. Sometimes it took a while to notice that there was an empty station. If it takes 30 seconds to process someone and 10 seconds for the person at the line to walk over, you're wasting a quarter of your time doing nothing. This is the difference between a 4.5 hour line and a 6 hour line. This could have been vastly improved by having people waiting 2-3 deep in front of each processing station once they got to the head of the line. You would save all of the wasted time waiting for people to walk from the head of the line to the individual processing booth.

[spycker]

I agree, I arrived 6:30am and got in line about 7am (pre-registered) and was finished by 10am!

[chifunii]

Points 1-2: I don't really give two cents about who people come cosplaying as, though I guess I could say I've seen some people unhappy with the large influx of Homestuck cosplayers over the last two years or so. I don't really think this is something the staff, or anyone, really, has control over? Though Yuu-pon makes a point that perhaps the Homestuckers would like to consider starting their own con, if they so choose. To me, FanimeCon is a chance for people with the similar (not same!) interests to get together and have fun. Basically what I want to say is, what does other people wanting to cosplay Homestuck have anything to do with me? Or you? Nothing, really. They do their cosplay, you do yours.

3-4: I don't really see you offering any clear ideas or suggestions (as this thread pertains specifically feedback of this sort), and your feedback about the lines isn't very clear. I waited in line for pre-reg pickup on Thursday night from 7:30PM to 2AM, so I do believe Registration has room for improvement. I'm very appreciative that they tried to do something new this year. Though it may not have worked as efficiently as we all had hoped, knowing this they'll be able to come up with something more efficient for next year.

5. Yes, please. Staff already do their best to tell people to shower, eat, sleep (but not in public), and otherwise keep themselves presentable, but there are--of course--people who don't do these things. Body odor was particularly bad at the swap meet.

6. Is it wrong to ask why? I'm just going to skip this.

7. Half the convention center was under construction, artists' alley had to be moved, as did many other things. I don't think half a block is too far, it's just a pain that it's not as close as we're used to. Most (or all?) construction should be done by next year, so Fanime will have bigger and better space to work with.

8. Where, exactly? The con is always packed! Lots of people come! If you mean in the walkways, there were some people who would linger in the middle and block traffic, true.

9. Two is their standard (as the past ~3 years indicate), so sorry they don't have an unlimited budget to bring moar bands.

10. I was hoping to see people play up the theme! Not just attendees, but con too. Last year (sports festival? I think?) they had athletic-related events, like relays/scavenger hunts and whatnot, and I really liked that attendees had to chance to interact with the theme. Otherwise it's just a theme that dictates the art on the pamphlets and displays, and not for the con as a whole.

[chifunii]

I'd just like to point out that badge-pickup was also available at Clockwork Alchemy. A friend of mine went Friday morning and she basically said that it took two seconds to get it. I guess not many people knew about it.

I don't think badge pickup could span over more days than there are, since renting the con center itself is very high cost, and the people giving out badges have work/school during the week. They're short on manpower, it's true, though as a fan-run con, Fanime works very differently from other cons. There might be a thing or two we can learn from other cons though, yes.

The waving-the-sign-yoohoo-I'm-open thing has been done for a long time, though I think you make a good point that we should keep each booth 2-3 people deep, to keep up efficiency. Reminds me of going to the airport.

[spycker]

Yes, people were blocking traffic. I used my voice in loud mode just for the person to move out the way. I think some staff werent in the same page as others. One example was the screening of EVagelion 3, one staff member said to form a line, there was a line, after the doors open there were already people inside and the other staff member yelled at him " YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO MAKE A LINE AND THERE WAS NEVER ONE NEEDED " In my last point, I dont judge, its just crazy to see multiple homestuckers...

[spycker]

really? i was curious as to why there was an " at con/pre reg " booths >__<!

[Tiffytan]

I love going to fanime con. But hate that you can only register online ahead of time for the whole weekend. I have school and work I can only do one day. I also do not understand why we cannot pay online for our badges. This would eliminate so many problems. I waited for 5 hours to get my badge on Saturday so I missed about half of the con. Everyone else in line was furious. I think it's time that Fanime grew up and adopted some of the registration systems of the other cons. AnimeExpo, comic con, ect. They allow you to register for one day. I paid online a head of time and there was one line for me to stand in to get my badge.
Fanime has 5 lines you stand in. The outside line, the inside line, the registration line, the payment line and the badge pick up line.
So While I was waiting in line for 5 hours I made a petition.
https://www.change.org/petitions/fanimecon-san-jose-improve-logistics-of-registration-and-allow-for-single-day-purchase-online

[MinamotoSanji]

Very true. I saw many people in much less formal wear than the two friends I mentioned were wearing absolutely stunning ballgowns. One was wearing this: http://www.cosplayfantasy.com/images/sakuraflamekimono.jpg and the other was wearing another beautiful dress that I do not know the style of.

The only reason they came here was to enjoy the Black and White Ball, and they were turned away while a Storm trooper was let in? One of them spent hours upon hours painting the dress for this event alone, and she's been really upset ever since. We all have those 'big cosplay' events we go to, hers was Black and White Ball. I really can't believe they let a Stormtrooper, along with many others in, while turning away some people. Pick and choose much?

[davidcrandall99]

Hi!  I have to say, I did have a blast at Fanime, however, I have a few suggestions that may help improve the overall experience - from registration to the actual attendance of the con.

1.  Registration.  I know, we've heard a lot of complaints about it, but it's true.  My wife and I preregistered, and attempted the 7PM early badge pickup on Thursday...we were there for 4 hours, and had to leave; we never got our badge.  The following day, we waited in line for over 6 hours before we got our badge.  One staff member even told us the room we were waiting in was the last one, however, every 1-2 hours, we were transfered to at least 3 more rooms.  So, it's safe to say the registration process needs improvement.  I think a good solution is to either mail badges for preregistered attendees - even if that means registering by an earlier deadline, or adding a shipping cost.  I know some cons even require to attend you must preregister, and there are no walk-in registrations.  As large of an attendee list FanimeCon had this year, it could be a viable solution.  It doesn't seem fair to pay for a 3-4 day con, and lose a day because of a line.

1a.  For walk-in registrations (or for re-reg pickup), there really needs to be a larger staff.  With thousands of people registering, 4-8 people handling registration and badges simply isn't enough

2.  News updates on social media NEEDS improvement.  The website itself didn't have very many updates available to the public.  On top of that, Facebook users were told that all updates were being made solely on Twitter - this I do NOT understand.  It is very easy to sync twitter, facebook, and any other social network, so you can make one update and ALL followers on ALL networks receive it.  As big as Fanime is now, it's important to be present on all social networks, and treat them equally.

3.  To go along with the last point, I find the website to be a bit disorganized as far as finding information about the con and its events, specifically prior to the event.  During the event, several changes and updates were made, but were ONLY POSTED ON TWITTER; even the fanimecon website didn't have such news.  As attendees, if something is changing, we all need to know.

I know the construction played a big roll in the organization of the event, so having various booths/events at different locations isn't worth discussing; the con is not at fault.