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[Yuu- pon]

I Im not trying to kiss-ass or anything ( believe me, I do not think the mods are always right) I understand frustration in having all the feedback threads locked.

But threatening and making demands of the mods is not only a piss-poor way to show your frustration, but is just a bad idea that isn't going to get you anywhere.

Perhaps you could try something a bit more diplomatic

[Alejandro Cuba]

I can't say that I would call anything either of the first two said a threat.  Venting or rant perhaps: yes.  However, many have made similar points in other places on the forums about this and other things.  Sure it may not be the best way to express something, but when one is truly mad it can be hard to make everything politically correct.

Besides, is not one of the points of the forums (and in fact this thread) that we should be able to say what we like or do not like and why and have others respond so that the point can be discussed?

For myself, I did only have fun because I found some friends.  Otherwise, I was tied in the South Hall to my table not making anywhere near the sales of the previous year.  When I was able to get away it usually wasn't for long and I was entirely unable to enjoy many of the parts of con that I have in the past.  The only large event I was able to attend was the Spectacular and for several reasons that I have stated both on the forum and on the feedback form, I was utterly disappointed.  Between that and a few other things I actually left con feeling rather depressed and certainly not for the normal "post-con blues".  This was legitimate sadness for the con not being up to what it had been and hearing so many people whom I respect and admire say they won't come back to Fanime because of it.  I love Fanime.  I was proud of it.  So why should it not be allowed for myself or other to state, rant or put out there what has made us so sad or angry?  Civil discussion can always follow an unhappy beginning!   

[meowrei]

We must of been in a bubble or something for the whole con(s).  We had a blast at both cons attending panels and what not. No complaints here (well, maybe 1). We definitely plan on returning in 2014.    And I hope Fanime is able to work out some their growing pains by 2014.  Like having  water or drinks, food and/or entertainment available to all that are waiting in the varies long lines.

I must admit, I had zero complaints about picking up our badges. First, I learned awhile back that assigning a group leader is the way to go for badge pick ups.  And since I was the group leader, I opted to pick up the badges for my group at the Doubltree on Thursday evening (I didn't want a repeat of last year ).  Sure our badges said Clockwork Alchemy on it and not Fanime but hey, that didn't bother us. 

The only complaint we have is with the shuttle company Fanime hired.   It seemed like the drivers didn't bother to learn the route(s) ahead of time.  To me that is not a very competent company.  The company should of required their drivers to learn the route(s) ahead of time.  One driver arrived at the Doubletree, let folks on the shuttle then called in for directions to the convention center. WTH! All the way to the convention center she seemed lost even with her GPS on. My friends that are bus drivers (most works for a school district & the one is a driver for Gray Line Tours in SF) all say they are required to map out and learn turn by turn each routine they are assigned to for the day, weekend or week. Using a GPS is not an option. Oh... and there was no rovers monitoring the line at the Hilton. 

[Yuu- pon]

Eh, the last bit aboutreplying to  feedback through E-mail seemed like they were trying to boss the stuff around. Maybe it wasn't, I don'tknow, I was reaally tired when I read it. Though now that I'm wide awake I mantain that it's a pointless attempt.

In this situation, I can see both sides PoV. Having feedback shut down does seem like kind of a..Fascist move.( It maybe because I'm usd to the Sakura com forums. The mods on the Scs delete whatever they don't like and do not povide a feedback form and the response has always been " Then join staff" They even do some really shifty things.)

 Of coarse no one likes to be silenced BUT I can understand why they did it.

Before they were shut down there were...3 or 4 threads abut the reg problem and I've heard about the Masquarade issue several times.

Even I find it annoying reading multiple threads with the very same complaint and I'm sure that the staff is does not want to give out the same answers to everyone who complains.
And keep in mind that they also locked threads focusing on the positives of the con. So it isn't as if they are keeping you from speaking out.
That said, I had few problems at the con but those were all because of other con-goers. The convention itself was a lot of fun.

[aetherltd]

Come over and visit Clockwork Alchemy, the steampunk side of Fanime. Almost everyone is in costume there. All the vendors are crafters, not commercial sellers. There are workshops for everything from martial arts to costume to brass engraving. You can meet big-name authors and talk to them, not just look at them from a distance.  There are LARPs and a game room.

Fanime and Clockwork Alchemy badges are valid in both places. The lines at Clockwork Alchemy registration are short.  You can pick up a Fanime badge at Clockwork Alchemy even if you pre-registered for Fanime.

The tea room has free tea and cookies.

[djmonolith]

My prediction for future years is that some people will continue to attend Fanime, but no one will even bother to buy a badge. Why pay to wait in line, or be turned away when the most fun people have at this con is being outside the con itself and do what we do best. BE FANS WITH THE FANS.

I hope this isn't the case.  And just to clarify... we arrived at 7 AM on Friday morning and waited about 3 hours in the pre-reg line.  Our friend arrived at the same time and waited 6 hours in the non pre reg line.

So, even though pre-reg is bad... it could be worse.

[Hakaru_chan]

Totally agree with you. I too have a locked thread regarding the Cosplay Spectacular and all the issues there, and was super disappointed no one bothered to respond to any of it.

You know what? I also realized that the only fun I had was because of the people I was with and the people I met. And you don't need to attend a kluge like this to do that....

Thread locked in 3...2...

Hey, the thread we were on got locked and I wanted to write back to you so I'm hoping it's ok here for now. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding concerning that skit in particular. Since's everyones POV is different, interpretation of performance can also range and is really on the subjective level. The way I saw the skit was totally different than how you interpreted it and how others see it so,

with that being said..

I know the CS staff try their best to filter performances as much as possible before CS starts and they try their best without having to scrutinize performances beforehand or without prejudice. It get's difficult however, when lets say, a group comes over and states they are going to perform A, B and C, then on stage improv and add Z to their performance out of the blue or in the heat of moment. Was there a room open for performers to be used as a practice room adjacent to the check in room? I remember using a room like that to go over the skit in front of some staffers before but i dont think staffers intentionally used that room for us to perform a "run through" in front of them or anyone. the staff just have to trust the performers and take the information we've given them into account, hoping that the skit is acceptable.

I can think of some suggestions tho. If a group performs and during the masquerade, it was deemed inappropriate, perhaps that group or certain members can be disqualified from further fanime masquerade participation for a certain amount of time etc.

[Yuu- pon]

Come over and visit Clockwork Alchemy, the steampunk side of Fanime. Almost everyone is in costume there. All the vendors are crafters, not commercial sellers. There are workshops for everything from martial arts to costume to brass engraving. You can meet big-name authors and talk to them, not just look at them from a distance.  There are LARPs and a game room.

Fanime and Clockwork Alchemy badges are valid in both places. The lines at Clockwork Alchemy registration are short.  You can pick up a Fanime badge at Clockwork Alchemy even if you pre-registered for Fanime.

The tea room has free tea and cookies.

 That does sound like fun. I've always wanted to at least try out a Steam Punk con but one, I do not know the first thing about it. Two, you had to mention LARPing. Nothing has scared me quit like LARPers.

[PinkHairSasuke]

Locking threads when people are sharing their experiences with fellow con-goers and getting their take on it is no bueno. I understand that they want our feedback on the feedback forms but why block us from constructively expressing frustrations and concerns with fellow con-goers? Are we not allowed to make them public? Are they afraid that someone's negative outlook will harm them? A forum about something that caused you gripe at con allows others to agree or disagree on if they experienced the same thing, it helps get ratios of who experienced or felt each thing.

[Alejandro Cuba]

@ Yuu-pon

All that was stated was that staff could reply to the feedback form if the wanted.  There was no saying they had to respond to it.  The way the whole post sounded to me was that here she just wanted to hear from other con-goers, preferably without the discussion being locked like others.  That she'd give staff feedback in the form they requested and they were free to respond to that if they wished to discuss a point.  The last line of the first post is also the only place that staff is specifically mentioned. 

I too read through all of the threads of feedback.  I didn't find it annoying because some had different opinions or attitudes and suggestions about how to fix what they didn't like.  In some ways I found it cathartic.   And yes, there was a good feedback thread that was closed.  It doesn't help soothe anyone's ruffled feathers and may just cause more.  I've also seen the staff post about why.  But if even half the people who attend fill out the form, is that not the same as reading the (potentially) same complaint ten thousand times?  I assume they are asking for the forms because someone is going to sit down and read through all of them so that staff can make one large post in response to them all (and make sure feedback goes to the right department), which could have also been an option for the multitude of threads with similar complaints. 

I'm glad that you, like many others, had a good time at this convention.  That is great.  The people posting feedback and suggestions, for the most part, wanted to have a similar good con experience and didn't for reasons relating to the convention itself.  Many who have made post genuinely want next year to improve and plan to attend to see if it will, my self included.

@aetherltd

I cannot tell you how much I wanted to go check out Clock Work!  I've been wanting to for two years, but I never have a chance to get over there.  Not to mention that I didn't know where it was both years.  Sometimes working an Artist table makes it hard for me to get away, especially if the thing I want to do is further then the convention center and surrounding hotels.  I loved seeing the few steampunk outfits I did and they were lovely!  Hopefully I'll be able to see it next year especially if there's free tea and cookies involved!

[crystalsoul]

i was very let down this year. while i understand circumstances related to construction:

1. Lines sucked this year
2. everything seemed less organized
3. i felt exhibit 1 was a complete waste of space. i mean come on, bring in more vendors or something.
4. sucked that the artist alley was not in the convention center. because of that i found myself going only twice where as i usually go visit it everyday. i felt as though the swap meet should have been in that building instead (swap meet is my favorite thing at con)
5.there seemed to be less games in the gaming room this year, not sure if its true or just me.

overall is seemed less organized and lower budget despite the increase in attendees

[Lucifargundam]

1. Lines sucked this year

Prereg::: construction/Fairmont staff

2. everything seemed less organized

Con staff needed help

3. i felt exhibit 1 was a complete waste of space. i mean come on, bring in more vendors or something.

"Panic and the disco"

4. sucked that the artist alley was not in the convention center. because of that i found myself going only twice where as i usually go visit it everyday. i felt as though the swap meet should have been in that building instead (swap meet is my favorite thing at con)

there has been talk of moving registration to that area instead.

5.there seemed to be less games in the gaming room this year, not sure if its true or just me.

seemed just as much to me.

overall is seemed less organized and lower budget despite the increase in attendees

Construction threw alot of things off.... more volunteers are needed. Feel free to help out next year

[Nina Star 9]

So glad everything was consolidated into a single thread! It's a bit of a jumbled mess right now, because of how many threads there were, but now we can get on with post-con discussion.

I'm just going to copy/paste what I put in the official form:

I had a great time at the con, but I felt like a lot of it was despite the con itself, not because of it. Most of the activities I did that really stood out as amazing experiences weren't con-specific, and were more private and social.

Though, a few highlights:
- Cosplay gatherings seemed to be run really well this year, all around. I went to three (Cowboy Bebop, Final Fantasy, and Homestuck), and all three seemed to go very smoothly
- Karaoke is one of my main draws, and it was fantastic, as usual. Never get rid of the KKD as your karaoke staff, as they really make the experience. One highlight of karaoke was on Saturday night, when the members of ROOKIE'Z IS PUNKED came into the karaoke room and performed one of their own songs. I'm not a fan of theirs, but it was an amazing performance, and a really nice touch for their fans. They seemed to enjoy themselves, as well.
- THE COSPLAYER HANGOUT. This seriously saved my entire con. Everyone in there was really super nice and polite and HELPFUL. I had cosplay emergencies two days in a row (both with rather large horns not wanting to stay on my head), and the wonderful, wonderful people in there were able to get my horns stable on my head with all of the materials there. They really helped me out a lot, and I love having a photo-free room with a repair station and seating areas to rest in, especially in some of those rather large cosplays of mine with limited mobility.
- Not something the con can really do anything about, but everyone I met was amazing.
- The open hallway at the front of the gaming room. Genius. Really helped with the flow of traffic in that area, especially for people like me who walk rather quickly and thus have a difficult time in crowds sometimes. the taped walkways throughout the convention center were also great, but no one seemed to really follow them.
- The 24-hour food vendor. While I didn't go there late at night for snacks, it is a really nice touch, and if that kind of thing is there at future cons, I might have to go pick up some snacks for late-night karaoke sessions.



While I had a great time at the con this year, the con itself was a disaster. Here are all the comments I can think of, and if I can get discussion on other channels (since it is being shut down on the forums) that produces further feedback, I will submit that further feedback.
- Lack of transparency/staff making excuses or giving no explanations/giving non-answers/generally being unprofessional/etc. This was my biggest issue with this year's con and how it was run.
Both before the con and after, staff have been silent about many issues, or, if someone has a legitimate complaint or question about how things are being run, they are shut down (the staff give a "that's how it has to be because of reasons" type answer and lock the thread without actually explaining what the "reasons" are, the person is told to go volunteer, the thread is simply locked, staff ignore the question or answer it in a way that isn't actually answering the question, etc.).

There are many major examples that I'm sure you guys can find and already know about, but to show how pervasive this is, I'll use a rather minor example from, of all things, the Black and White Ball music request thread. I posted a waltz, was told that it was a Viennese Waltz, which is not done at this event (understandably), so I looked up what the difference is, and found that a Viennese waltz is faster, so I found a slower version of the song, posted that, and asked if it would be okay, and then asked where exactly the cutoff is between a traditional waltz and a Viennese waltz. The staff in the thread pretty much just told me that Viennese waltz will never be done at this event. Alright, perfectly understandable, and I get why, I just don't know exactly what makes it a Viennese waltz vs. a traditional one, so I was asking, and trying to find a solution. I never actually replied to the thread, but I had -two or three staff members- come in and rudely tell me that Viennese waltzes are not done, and why they aren't done, without ever addressing my actual question. (Someone else asked the exact same question later in the thread, and they got a prompt and helpful reply) Maybe my own question was somewhat unclear, but I thought I asked it in a clear enough way, and felt that the responses I got were rather unprofessional and unhelpful, even if not -overly- rude.

This is just a very minor incident of this happening. I've seen this happen with much more powerful staff in much more important areas (Artist's Alley, Registration, etc.), giving non-answers, rude answers, and locking threads when people ask important questions about how things are being run and why.

Then there is the issue with the feedback for this year. Instead of allowing even one thread on the forums to allow for open discussion, which would not be difficult to manage at all (I have forum moderation experience, on a somewhat large fan forum, and know that it is not entirely difficult to keep everything that belongs in one thread in a single thread) and would not be difficult at all to read, as all the information would be in that one thread, Fanime has opted for a private feedback system. Yes, there are assurances that all of the feedback will be posted, but that isn't the same. It feels like Fanime is trying to hide something, and trying to stifle discussion of their con and how to improve it.

Besides, if Fanime doesn't know what is wrong with their con, there are more serious issues going on than anything a fan could give feedback on in a comment form. It seems obvious.

I feel like this year, Fanime has been really behind in many ways (getting EVERYTHING up late, the registration disaster, etc.), and that the con really needs to find out how other large cons run themselves as smoothly as they do and get their own act together. I understand that there will always be hiccups with running a large event, but this year was more than a hiccup, it was a huge, poorly-run, mess. I thought that last year was bad, but it has only gotten worse. Staff's response to feedback has been extremely unsatisfactory.

(The most helpful, polite, and nice staff that I dealt with all con, both on the forums beforehand and at the con? Karaoke staff, by far. It helps that I know them all, I'm sure, but one of the staff went out of his way to help me with a question about one of their songs, and I'm thankful for that. Why can't any other department seem to be that helpful?)


- Lines. Enough said. I waited well over four hours for prereg on Friday. As I had to drive down from Sacramento in the morning, I missed almost the entire day, and by the time I got my badge, it was night and almost everything was closed. I was going to enter the karaoke contest, and couldn't (good thing I was only trying for at-con signups and wasn't already signed up, as I would have missed my spot by a few hours). I missed a cosplay gathering I really wanted to go to. I worked hard on a cosplay for a cosplay group that my friends and I were going to do but couldn't because half of us were stuck in line for over four hours. I feel like I missed an entire day of the con because of this. I was one of the lucky ones, too, as many people waited twice as long as I did for Friday prereg pickup. The system needs to be improved, simple as that.


- Drunk people. Fanime is a dry con, yes? I have no problem with people drinking in private room parties, or in bars, or otherwise not -wandering around the con totally sloshed and carrying open containers of alcohol-. It isn't just an annoyance issue, it's a safety issue. Last year, the drunk people at the con were worse than I had ever seen it. This year, it was twice as bad. I had a rather inebriated gentleman harass me in the karaoke room. Thankfully, he left before he got too bad, but then he came back (again thankfully, it was right before my last song of the night, so I was able to abscond after I sang and hide in the restroom with my sister because he was following me). Why hasn't more been done about this kind of thing? I saw MANY, MANY PEOPLE walking around the con, obviously drunk out of their minds, carrying open containers of either thinly disguised or not at all disguised alcohol. Paper and styrofoam cups that obviously smelled of booze. Flasks. Actual bottles. People who smell so strongly of alcohol that you can tell from halfway across the hall. People so drunk that they can't stand upright by themselves. Are the staff not seeing this, or do they simply not care?  In past years, there have been drunk people, but most of them were kicked out right away. Please enforce your own policies better as to ensure the safety of everyone involved, both the people trying to enjoy the con sober and the drunks.

(For the record, I am of legal age, but choose not to partake in alcohol myself, and get extremely uncomfortable around random drunk men constantly hitting on me, following me around the con, etc., for obvious reasons, as I am a rather petite woman and would not be able to easily defend myself if something happened. Also for the record, though it is totally irrelevant, when I had the drunk gentleman follow me, I was dress as Mom Lalonde from Homestuck, which is not a skimpy outfit at all, so don't anyone dare think that it was because of my choice of costume.)



Please get your act together. Please be more transparent about why things are done the way they are. Please enforce your own policies. Please don't shut down open discussion. Please. I love this con, and I have been going for more years than I can count on my fingers, and would hate to see anything happen to it because of PR issues and because of how poorly run it has been the past couple of years. I'm hoping that next year is better.

One last thing, feedback on this form itself -- I personally put down my full name and the ability for staff to contact me because I have nothing to hide. I will be posting all of my comments publicly. I do ask that any comments of mine that get published are done anonymously, as I do not want my real name tied with any of my online accounts. I am putting way more trust in Fanime by putting down my real name, knowing that it may be published, than I maybe should. I am also not a fan of the idea of bribing people to contribute with their real names and contact info by allowing them to win a badge, so I have opted out of the raffle, though winning a badge might be the only way that I am getting one for next year, if things don't approve.

I will continue to attend, and hope that once the construction is done and once all of this feedback is processed, that next year will be a satisfactory convention, because it was not this year.


Some of this maybe shouldn't be posted publicly on the forums. I don't particularly care at this point, since everything needs to get out there.

I have since thought of a couple more points:
- While I liked the 24-hour food vendor booths, I didn't like that archery room. It's cool to have, but every time I went or looked in there, nothing was going on. It seemed like a huge waste of space. I'm sure it was cool when it was happening, but that seemed to be rarely, and there was no schedule anywhere for it.
- I didn't post my feelings on AA because they are mixed. I haven't talked to any artists to know how sales were compared to previous years, but I do know that I gave a LOT of people directions there. I only went there once myself because of the distance. While it isn't exceptionally far from the con, it is a bit of a trek when you have to navigate crowds, cars, cosplays, high heels, etc. It also seemed extremely dark in there, even though I went in the middle of a sunny day. I did like the sheer amount of space, though.


Also, now that there is a place to discuss:
What can I, personally, do about drunks bothering me? This fellow wasn't harassing me to a large degree, but he was hanging around where he clearly wasn't wanted, followed me, and kept leaning in closer to me. I'm always afraid to say anything directly to someone like that because he was obviously not getting a hint and since I am a fairly small female, I'm always afraid of some type of retaliation. Could I have told a staff member and they could have done something? He wasn't overly bothersome, just...very uncomfortably close. Could he have been kicked out simply for being drunk in the halls? Does staff even care about that these days? The drunkenness in the halls seemed WAY out of hand this year. I'm hoping to get some staff input on this one. I don't have much faith in the staff helping me out much with something like this, since while he made me quite uncomfortable (and followed me out of the room), but wasn't harassing me in the traditional sense, and I've heard plenty of horror stories of Fanime staff not properly addressing this kind of issue, and seeing as no one seemed to care that the boozing seemed 10x worse than ever before, I honestly don't know if staff would even -care- if I brought it up. This is becoming a huge problem, and I might not stay out late at the con in future years if there is this much rampant drunkenness, simply for my own safety and comfort, since things could have been a -lot- worse. (It isn't like this was my first year at the con or staying up late, so I've seen the levels of drinking before and how it was handled before, and there is a marked difference between the past two cons and my ~10 Fanimes before that.)

[Sunara Ishi]

4. sucked that the artist alley was not in the convention center. because of that i found myself going only twice where as i usually go visit it everyday. i felt as though the swap meet should have been in that building instead (swap meet is my favorite thing at con)

there has been talk of moving registration to that area instead.

I thought about that also but a friend brought up a good point:
Where would they line up the excess line when it overflowed from that building?

I am unfamiliar with the area south of Con. I had no clue that building was even there. -.-;

Having swap meet there might work better as it would mean they only would need to rent the building for 2 days. 3 or more if they decided to hold something like the dance, dance practice, or masquerade practice there.

But keeping artist alley there and moving more (all food vendors) into Hall 1 would work also as it would clear hallway space.

But either way, that building needs better access to water, signs to bathrooms, and lighting.

BTW, what was up with the blocked off section in back of artist alley? Where there was a wall of black fabric? Anyone know? o.O?

[ewu]

So glad everything was consolidated into a single thread! It's a bit of a jumbled mess right now, because of how many threads there were, but now we can get on with post-con discussion.

I'm just going to copy/paste what I put in the official form:

*sigh* thanks for posting to the form too. Staff will read the forums, but likely sometime in June and July. We will be having intensive meetings these next few weeks to post-mortem the con. That is why the form is important. It will be directed to the appropriate persons in the short timeline that we have to make decisions that will critically affect 2014.

Thanks!

[otakuya]

The idea had been thrown out there to get sponsorships and professional help to continue to make Fanimecon successful. Get sponsors willing to give advertising space in the programs and naming rights to events, maybe even a presenting sponsor.  With an event that attracts more than 20,000  people, I bet there are some companies willing to listen,  even if that company has nothing to do with anime.

 Sure it may sound annoying,  like how we are with watching commercials on tv,  but the reason why there are commercials is to help pay for programming.  Fanimecon needs help funding and simply raising registration process isn't going to help.

[Sunara Ishi]

I hate to say it but maybe all those threads should have been moved to a sub-forum, locked, and then create this generic thread? Because now we have a bunch of crazy fans talking to themselves... >.>;

I sent some feedback via the official link. Forgot to include some stuff though but I am unsure whether multiple feedbacks are allowed.

First off, I think the fact that fanime didn't erupt into flames means that staff did some things right. And as I know a lot of staff, I hope none of you take my comments personally. D: Unfortunately when a con starts badly, negative feelings take awhile to wear off and that will end up overshadowing even the great things. But I know for fact how much work so many of you put in (through facebook and other ways. XP ) so please take this as the suggestions it is.

1)REG- aka linecon. Like more people said: more computers and go back to pre-printed badges for pre-reg. Stickers damage too easily and pre-printing will save on time if you organize right. Organize by last name (no silly first name -.-; ), have separate rolls for each letter of the alphabet. And have separate rolls for groups. And label, label, label. Over-label; you'll be glad you did. If a section if too big, divide it up.

Maybe bring back the extra goodies for pre-reg people. Make fans feel that being in was worth it. You guys had VIZ totebags back in 2003 and there were little things other years. Maybe allow dealers to offer fanime goodies for a reduced cost for space in dealer's hall or first pick of spot. Have a contest to get the best offer?

2) Artist alley- better signs & maps to show where it is. (If you keep it at this year's location). That hall needs better access to water, better signs directing to bathrooms (hello random construction & blocked doors... -.-; ), and do something about the lighting. The light was poor for people with vision problems. I think the artists were also having a problem with it.

3) Video rooms- The rooms always had decent selection but I feel like the last few years there hasn't been enough comedies and other episodic series. Things that don't require constant watching are better; more OVAs, movies, and stand-alone shows. Also increase the numbers of viewing rooms. The con needs to move away from "Buy buy buy" and back to "Omg. Look at all this awesome anime!".

4) Panels- Same thing; less "Buy buy buy!" and more "This panel looks fun", "This sounds like something I'd like to learn", etc. Add a couple more rooms and create categories w/ limits of panels. Some of us want panels that focus on things we want to learn like say "Making figurines", casting, and other cosplay activities. Maybe categorize rooms like you do with the viewing rooms. I always find that the things I want end up scheduled at bad times because of a million of "Hey, I think this meme is funny so let's have a panel on it". Have industry rooms/career rooms that let fans know what is out there. What programs they might want or what game/anime job fields are available.

5) Food Vender Hall - (aka the almost empty abyss) If you utilize a separate area for food venders, please move all food venders into it. The Grab'n'Go by Marriott was blocking traffic and making things more congested than they needed to be. I do like the idea of a separate room for food & tables and I am aware that it probably wasn't fully packed because of swap meet. Which brings me to:

6) Swap Meet- I had no problem with swap meet itself but it should be held in a hall strictly for temporary events. Use a temp hall for swap meet, dance practice, masquerade practice, and other things that only utilize an area for a short amount of time. That will save on space and (perhaps) money and you can use any left-over rooms for growing other events.

7) Dealer's hall is always good. XD But eventually something will have to be done to divide professional artists and official merchandise. I don't really see any major problems here as the staff has things down. And I don't really have a problem. I just worry that there might be complaints in the future.

Musicfest - Was good like always.

9) Masquerade - please announce the time (aka have it written like everything else). Many were thrown off my the 5:15pm time when masquerade was 7pm previous years.

10) If funds are really an issue, things like sponsors & advertising should be utilized. Maybe get sponsored by Adobe and have a panel on photoshop? Get paid to advertise their product and have something many fans might like to learn. Have an industry panel room where groups can advertise their product. Maybe have schools come in and advertise in a career panel room that will let fans know what anime & game careers are available. You could probably pick and choose what goes into there and have non-relevant things as ads.

Things fanime has little control over:

1) Shuttle - better posted times & pickup locations. Shuttle was iffy on Monday and didn't pickup at the Fairmont.

2) Perhaps suggestion for ride pickups (those of us that get rides home, etc.) seeing as past pickup location seems like it'd no longer exist after construction is done.

No control over and because everyone comments on it anyway:

1) I wish there was as much cosplay variety and insane cosplays as there were in previous years. 'nuff said.

[avatarkayla]

I hate to say it but maybe all those threads should have been moved to a sub-forum, locked, and then create this generic thread? Because now we have a bunch of crazy fans talking to themselves... >.>;

I completely agree. This constant cluster-fuck of forums being locked, unlocked, moved, deleted, moved again then combined and finally unlocked has created a mess. Much like how the con itself felt.

[renalcul]

I hate to say it but maybe all those threads should have been moved to a sub-forum, locked, and then create this generic thread? Because now we have a bunch of crazy fans talking to themselves... >.>;

I completely agree. This constant cluster-fuck of forums being locked, unlocked, moved, deleted, moved again then combined and finally unlocked has created a mess. Much like how the con itself felt.

Zing

[eHash]

I hope people realize that FanimeCon is a Con staffed by volunteers.  In order for the feedback to be best utilized, a centralized feedback form is best.  Critics are always more vocal and I have to remind my staff that may get discouraged and some downright quit based on the negative feedback in the forums.  It's hard to get staff willing to put in the time, money, and effort just to get picked apart or trolled here.  I can't speak for the con, but I will say, asking people to commit to going to staff meetings and put in the work hours for zero compensation is extremely difficult.  Before you just say "something sucks", give a good explanation of why...and perhaps think about why you aren't staffing...?

As for sponsorships, I hope you think it through...people are less inclined to reduce prices or volunteer if they know there is sponsor money coming in....getting more sponsors, raises the minimum run rate price of things and every year you will have to hustle more and more to get additional sponsors while the corporate sponsors give less and less as their ROI decreases.  Do you really want a highly commercialized event like some of the other Southern California Conventions which charge additional money for special events? 

I'm surprised nobody has made the comment in support of the move of AA to south hall which is that there was more space ...