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[InsaneChan]

I find it crazy that the website was supposedly ready a month ago, but technical/compatibility issues could not have been solved now four weeks later? We don't want a fancy website, we want a functioning site with information. If it's basic as basic gets, we don't care, we just want something. Heck, there are tumblr themes that could have done the trick.

In terms of information that I'm interested in, I am also anxious to hear who the "confirmed" guests are so far. But if that is out of the question, then I am equally anxious to know if music fest is happening?

[Angelx624]

I agree. My only questions are basically what guests will we be having and which ones have been booked, and which are still not booked yet? And as far as events go, are there any special events planned, with it being the 20th anniversary?

Also I agree, I don't really care how the website looks, as long as it has the information that we need about the con. Heck, I kinda prefer basic-looking websites over overly fancy ones, but that's just me.

[cutiebunny]

My only questions are basically what guests will we be having and which ones have been booked, and which are still not booked yet?

No one but higher up staffers will ever know which guests have yet to be booked.  That's not something that Fanime, or any con, will ever publically reveal.  This is done to keep Fanime's connections in good shape as well as preventing any guest from experiencing negative feedback due to their non-appearance. 

Assuming the ink is dry on contracts, it would be nice to know who is planning to show up.  Usually, though, Fanime does not make announcements until mid April-late May, with Yoshiki in 2011(?) being the final announcement at less than 2 days before the con began.

[InsaneChan]

I agree. My only questions are basically what guests will we be having and which ones have been booked, and which are still not booked yet? And as far as events go, are there any special events planned, with it being the 20th anniversary?

Also I agree, I don't really care how the website looks, as long as it has the information that we need about the con. Heck, I kinda prefer basic-looking websites over overly fancy ones, but that's just me.

Fanime can't give information on guests who have not been officially booked, but knowing which guests have already been confirmed (aka, contracts and agreements all completed) would be nice at this point.

But yeah, I'm curious if there will be anything special for the anniversary as well. Not anxious about it, but certainly curious.

[DrScorpio]

Above posters: thank you for your comments. We understand your frustrations. I'm not too sure what I can do to appease you, but we hear you.

Im pretty sure you guys hear us. The problem is we dont hear you guys. I would love to hear why things were allowed to go so wrong in 2013 and know how things would be different from 2014. I want to know why after all this time the website is a shell of a website.

You guys need to understand that we have been waiting for quite some time and have gotten nothing other then a working Clockwork Alchemy site. The frustration has built up over time and now I want to know who I should be directing my anger at.

Before this thread becomes an venue exclusively used for venting frustrations, please let me know what questions you have that I can realistically answer and information that I can reasonably get for you.

This thread is pretty much for venting frustration. It is the only expected outcome when you have people asking for information, getting none, and only getting vague assurances things are being worked on. Normally I would agree that we should be in the "be patient and let the staff do their jobs" phase. That ship sailed like a month ago.

From what I can put together from the posts, you are looking for more information through other means of dissemination. I will pass that point on. Unfortunately, they are not optimized for our current model, but we will look into posting them there.

Its simpler then that. We simply want INFORMATION. Because there is an opinion that maybe the lack of information is because the website is not working, that information should then be shared with the fans via alternative means. Since the website development is in such a incomplete unusable state, it only makes sense to not be held back by the website and share the information via facebook, twitter, etc. I simply believe that there is no information and that is why everyone is silent.

[thepsynergist]

Are you guys planning anything special for the 20th anniversary of the con?

[melancholyfox]

Above posters: thank you for your comments. We understand your frustrations. I'm not too sure what I can do to appease you, but we hear you.

Im pretty sure you guys hear us. The problem is we dont hear you guys. I would love to hear why things were allowed to go so wrong in 2013 and know how things would be different from 2014. I want to know why after all this time the website is a shell of a website.

You guys need to understand that we have been waiting for quite some time and have gotten nothing other then a working Clockwork Alchemy site. The frustration has built up over time and now I want to know who I should be directing my anger at.

Before this thread becomes an venue exclusively used for venting frustrations, please let me know what questions you have that I can realistically answer and information that I can reasonably get for you.

This thread is pretty much for venting frustration. It is the only expected outcome when you have people asking for information, getting none, and only getting vague assurances things are being worked on. Normally I would agree that we should be in the "be patient and let the staff do their jobs" phase. That ship sailed like a month ago.

From what I can put together from the posts, you are looking for more information through other means of dissemination. I will pass that point on. Unfortunately, they are not optimized for our current model, but we will look into posting them there.

Its simpler then that. We simply want INFORMATION. Because there is an opinion that maybe the lack of information is because the website is not working, that information should then be shared with the fans via alternative means. Since the website development is in such a incomplete unusable state, it only makes sense to not be held back by the website and share the information via facebook, twitter, etc. I simply believe that there is no information and that is why everyone is silent.

100%TRUTH!!
When I attended my first year of Fanime in 2012, the website was already up by September. LATE registration was considered to be February. And registration was reasonably priced and the convention itself was definitely worth the money. 2013 and now 2014 have both been horrifyingly disorganized it seems, and my only conclusion to the reasons behind the delayed website is an inability to get things together in a timely manner. Like EVERY OTHER CONVENTION IN THE WORLD, you should have been working on the following year's convention the MOMENT the last convention ended. This fiasco is causing me to rethink my yearly vacation plans and start attending other conventions in order to simply avoid the hassle of Fanime. Without prompt information I can't know if the guests/events are going to be worth my time and money, and therefore I can't decide ahead of time whether I should attend, say, SacAnime or Anime Expo instead. With as much money as you want for registration I expect fantastic guests but they've been about as good as StocktonCon, which JUST started up two years ago.

[melancholyfox]

I bet half of Fanime attendees could have put together a functioning website within an hour.
I mean, if the website isn't working then throw together a blog. Tumblr, Wordpress, Blogger...even if not a blog, you have both a Twitter and a Facebook account. Guests could have been listed on FB easily. I have some HTML themes for Tumblr with drop down lists and such that would be perfect for listing panels and guests. I can't imagine these routes weren't thought of, or weren't they?
Even just a list of information using Times New Roman on a blank white page is fine. As long as the information is there.

[keitoghostie]

As far as information goes (aside from guests) I'd really like to know what different venues will be used for (Former panel rooms, South Hall, Hall 1, etc.)

[Angelx624]

Ah, I guess I should've been more specific. What I was meaning was, which kind of guests have been booked and have yet to be booked. Such as music fest guests, industry guests, etc. I wasn't asking for the specifics. I know Fanime can't tell us anything until they've been officially booked. I've been going since 2010, actually.

[InsaneChan]

Ah, I guess I should've been more specific. What I was meaning was, which kind of guests have been booked and have yet to be booked. Such as music fest guests, industry guests, etc. I wasn't asking for the specifics. I know Fanime can't tell us anything until they've been officially booked. I've been going since 2010, actually.

That would still be out of the question. Bottom line, until the contracts have been completed, we don't get to learn anything, which is completely understandable. But since the mod has stated guests "are being booked," we're curious who those guests are who have been officially booked. Or, knowing what kind of guests have been booked would be nice too at this point.

[Angelx624]

I'm just asking for any information they can give us, not for every single bit of info whether or not they can tell it to us.

[Firemage1000]

At this point in time, I know more about Anime Expo which is happening in 4 months than I do about Fanime which is in half that time. This is frankly unacceptable. It isn’t like you don’t know the dates ahead of time, since Fanime has been held Memorial Day weekend since 2004. Hell, Fanime’s dates in 2015 will be the 22nd – 25th.

Since the fiasco of 2013, I’ve seriously considered abandoning Fanime for conventions that are more organized like SacAnime,  and Japan Expo USA. At this point I'm only going for my friends and cosplay gatherings, since the masquerade was a joke, there were massive issues regulating the black and white ball, and I've had several bad experiences with rovers (I can't report a badge number if they wont show or tell me...).   Problems from 2011 and 2012 (I’ve been in 2 of the 7 hour lines) were not fixed in 2013, and with the current track record my expectations haven’t raised one iota. 

Consider this your last chance Fanime Con. There are less than 60 days until the con. Your Move. 

[CatToy]

Fanime draws over 20,000 attendees, most of whom are paying well over $50.00 to attend. Add in the money paid by dealers for their space, artists in the artists alley and the flea marketeers and Fanime has to be drawing well in excess of a million dollars a year.

So, where is it going? It certainly isn't buying us professional grade website development and support. Hasn't been showing up at the registration side of things, either. Guests? NOPE. Where does the money go?

Sure, the facilities aren't free. Still, it seems to me that Fanime would benefit greatly from letting a professional event management team run the show. Either that or a comprehensive audit. Maybe both.

SELL FANIME TO A COMPANY THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO RUN IT PROPERLY.

[Admiral Donuts]

And of course, we are always looking for staff:) so please apply if your IRL job or IRLL has some practical aspect you think we can find helpful!

The staff application didn't go up on the website until, what, late Feburary, early March? Kind of a catch 22.

[Angelx624]

Well, I'm not even sure if I still want to enter the Masquerade this year. On one hand I really want to do the skit I have planned, but on the other hand we don't have everyone that we need for it, plus who knows if the Masquerade will be any better this year...

I might just save the skit for SacAnime if possible. Or maybe PMC, if they have a masquerade there..........

[sjamison1427]

Fanime draws over 20,000 attendees, most of whom are paying well over $50.00 to attend. Add in the money paid by dealers for their space, artists in the artists alley and the flea marketeers and Fanime has to be drawing well in excess of a million dollars a year.

So, where is it going? It certainly isn't buying us professional grade website development and support. Hasn't been showing up at the registration side of things, either. Guests? NOPE. Where does the money go?

Sure, the facilities aren't free. Still, it seems to me that Fanime would benefit greatly from letting a professional event management team run the show. Either that or a comprehensive audit. Maybe both.

I have always wondered this myself. If Fanime draws in 20,000 attendees, and if those attendees pay $50 per ticket, that means that the convention is pulling in 1 million dollars each and every year. In addition to that they also receive money from Dealer's Hall dealers, Artist Alley vendors, etc.

I understand that they pay facility fees, staffing fees (even though a large majority of their staff are volunteer based), guest fees, etc. But that is only a small amount compared to the amount of money the convention is pulling in each and every year.

I've always wondered where exactly the rest of that money goes, or to whom? If the con pulls in that much each year surely they can afford simple web design for their website. There are even attendees who would be more than happy to volunteer to web design for the con, it would look great on job applications.

There simply is no excuse for the website to be up so late. Is anyone else curious where all Fanime's monetary earnings are going??? 

[megamanjoe415]

I second the notion of someone quickly make a website already!!!

[InsaneChan]

To make a point, I made a dummy site for a made-up convention:

http://fanmade-anime-con.tumblr.com/



A theme, links, and posts all on one page, and I did it in under 30 minutes. Now, I'd like to point out that this is by no means the most optimal theme type for a convention page, and obviously a much more professional page could be made. My point was to create a page to display how necessary and important information could be easily added to a simple layout in an extremely minimal amount of time. Now, how Fanime can't manage the same thing is beyond me.

[Angelx624]

Well, hate to admit it, but that looks better than Fanime's current "site". *sigh*

Not trying to give the staff a bad time, but we're getting into April here, and still no full site. I know you guys explained why there isn't a site yet, but at least getting the information you can give us up SOMEWHERE shouldn't be too hard. I mean, unless there's something holding you guys back from telling us anything......