shame on you, fanimecon, shame on you

[ip136]

i am not a staff member, but i understand how things work and maybe the process of accepting GOOD staff members should be a little more watched over instead of just accepting anyone that wants to be staff.
perhaps maybe an interview with higher standards?  i see a lot of people become staff for events like these..yes they are fans but as a person, do they really have the ability to respectfully represent FanimeCon as a business and not just a bunch of fan people working together.

Uhm, I thought Staff people *DO* go through a process where they are reviewed for their qualifications as someone who is on staff. Volunteers on the other hand, are just 'you wanna volunteer? Ok, Here you go!"
But now that I think of it, I didn't really see people with a volunteer badge this year, just staff.
I do know from the past when I was thinking about helping out with staff I was asked to actually submit a resume that showed my qualifications...

[yOna]

since the matter has been discussed as seen above
i think we should think about how things like this can be prevented in the future.

i personally believe and think fanimecon should be a closed event. you pay to get in and you pay to enjoy all the festivites.

most of you probably noticed, but you could enjoy practically the ENTIRE con, except for the major events, dealers room, game room and artist room.  most if not all viewing rooms and panels were un guarded by staff. except for hentai nights.  everything else was accessable to the PUBLIC.  i had people who weren't registered at the con in a viewing room asking me, what type of convention this was. O_O

The video rooms cannot check for badges because then it would be as if we we are charging people to be able to watch anime/movies. Video Programming is a free event. It is especially good because parents and grandparents go to Fanime with their children/grandchildren. Not all of them want to pay for a badge when they won't be using it, so they hang around the video rooms. I saw quite a few grandparents browsing through the Asian Film rooms and having a good time.


Even though the video rooms don't check for badges, Fanime is still worth it for its events. Dealer's room, MusicFest, Masquerade, Gaming Room, etc. So for those who got their badges, I hope you enjoyed your time at Fanime, and I hope to see you again next year!  :D

[Ayanami Rei First Child]

I think it's stupid to say "to represent Fanime as a business" which is EXACTLY why that girl was made to cry!! Fanime is NOT a business...it is a CONVENTION. It's there to provide fun and service to the Fans. It should be done by those who hold a deep love not only for Anime.....but for the things that come with....such as us acting stupid....or giving people glomps. I heard from one staff member that certain other staff members "Hate people acting stupid/silly and rough housing". By rough housing I mean glomps. :evil:

[milkmandan]

The video rooms cannot check for badges because then it would be as if we we are charging people to be able to watch anime/movies. Video Programming is a free event. It is especially good because parents and grandparents go to Fanime with their children/grandchildren. Not all of them want to pay for a badge when they won't be using it, so they hang around the video rooms. I saw quite a few grandparents browsing through the Asian Film rooms and having a good time.

Even though the video rooms don't check for badges, Fanime is still worth it for its events. Dealer's room, MusicFest, Masquerade, Gaming Room, etc. So for those who got their badges, I hope you enjoyed your time at Fanime, and I hope to see you again next year!  :D

yeah you hold a good point..
a place for the older folk and other people to enjoy festivities for free while they bring their little kids to the con.

this is good, i didn't see this point, but as a member, it would be nice if certain panels and special viewing rooms were available to us.

like maybe a special viewing rooms dedicated to non-licensed anime. or specific panels.  i dont know.  i loved Fanime Con and it was worth the $45 dollars, but i felt that if i didn't spent $45 and just came here, i could've almost had the same amount of fun.

Uhm, I thought Staff people *DO* go through a process where they are reviewed for their qualifications as someone who is on staff. Volunteers on the other hand, are just 'you wanna volunteer? Ok, Here you go!"
But now that I think of it, I didn't really see people with a volunteer badge this year, just staff.
I do know from the past when I was thinking about helping out with staff I was asked to actually submit a resume that showed my qualifications...

yeah i'd like to see all staff one time too, but its impossible. voluteers are always needed..
well obviously this event happened cuz one staff was being a little harsh.. its only one case.  But i am sure if some other staff was the one to talk to the little girl, the result would've been different. srsly.

I think it's stupid to say "to represent Fanime as a business" which is EXACTLY why that girl was made to cry!! Fanime is NOT a business...it is a CONVENTION. It's there to provide fun and service to the Fans. It should be done by those who hold a deep love not only for Anime.....but for the things that come with....such as us acting stupid....or giving people glomps. I heard from one staff member that certain other staff members "Hate people acting stupid/silly and rough housing". By rough housing I mean glomps. :evil:

eh..yes that is the intention...a convention is for fun...but seriously.  Tell me Fanime Con is a non profit organization that makes absoulety NO revenue what so ever.  They live by the skin of their teeth and cut it close to a few dollars every year just to get a convention center for 4 days and invite a whole mess of people and events to go on??  I dont think so.  Maybe a business is a bad word, but organization is a proper word.

as quoted

The reality is that FanimeCon is made up of more than 1 person. In fact, it is not just fans (both staff and attendees). It is also made up by staff of the hotels, of the convention center, of the city and state, and by the law enforcement officials that get called out to be on site for certain instances.

agreeing with Ayapon...is hilton and marriot NOT a business?  Please...

the fandom is there, i agree with you when you say, it is done by people who hold a deep love for anime and other things.  But these people enjoy it, but they dont pay for the entire con just by their wallet.  Why do you think there is a registration fee?  Why do you think they charge vendors to come set up a booth?  If it were purely a fan based convention there would be no costs in anything, except for goods.

[yOna]

I think it's stupid to say "to represent Fanime as a business" which is EXACTLY why that girl was made to cry!! Fanime is NOT a business...it is a CONVENTION. It's there to provide fun and service to the Fans. It should be done by those who hold a deep love not only for Anime.....but for the things that come with....such as us acting stupid....or giving people glomps. I heard from one staff member that certain other staff members "Hate people acting stupid/silly and rough housing". By rough housing I mean glomps. :evil:

You're right, Fanime isn't a business...it is a convention. But in order to run, it has to follow the rules. Those girls meant no harm when selling the bread...but they must understand that they cannot go around selling without permission or withour the right certificate.  My mom and myself used to have a stand at the Farmer's Market...and boy it' was some work getting the permit. They have laws for that because...example scenario: Let's say that people were selling muffins and baked goods. What if somehow it spoiled on the way? What if they made it in unsanitary conditions? What if someone ate it and claimed it made them sick? It would be that seller and Fanime getting into trouble...because their product was sold on Fanime's property. In order to avoid that ugly scene...Fanime does need to be strict. Not as far to make someone cry...but selling food without a permit is a BIG nono.

Fanime also provided a "Food Map" so fellow con-goers can enjoy some yummy food while having plenty of money for the Dealer's Room and etc. I had some awesome Indian food just a couple of blocks away...and a yummy burrito place not to far either. If you don't want to spend the money for convention food...I'd say do a little walking and get your money's worth. ^__________^ v

[AbsolutelyCursed]

Or if possible, bring your own food

[yuuki_chan]

I'm one of the CosMaid bread girls and helped organize/put together the event (or stunt, if you prefer) at Fanime.  I take full responsibility for what happened at the convention being the oldest member of the club and a long time Fanime supporter.  Thank you to everyone who helped our club members by donating and sticking up for us, on this board even!!  We are so grateful for all of you.

We are a small club of around 35 members with a lot young junior high & high school kids and families.  Many of our members have been saving up $$$ for Fanime, but this year Fanime raised its admission prices, so many of the kids fell short and some simply could not afford it no matter what the price.  We thought it would be a great idea to help the kids and Fanime by getting some donations to help pay for their registration fee and reimburse some of the lower income family's travel / food expenses.  Our club has no fees is completely non-profit and hopes to teach members more about anime/manga, Japanese culture and we're VERY big on cosplay!!!

Of course, what we did was ill-conceived and planned, so for that  I would like to publically apologize to the Fanime Convention and staff if we have caused any problems or offend anyone.  That was really not our club's intention as many of you know.  I've been attending Fanime for the last 10 years and know how difficult it is to have cheap foods readily available for the fans during all hours of the day or night.  We merely thought it would be a great service to the fans, artists, dealers and staff alike.

I have actually attempted to contact Fanime Con staff prior to the convention regarding selling food, but was referred to the Convention Center management and told thay they have the final word on such matters.  The Convention Center Management were evasive about whether we could sell the food through them as an outside vendor (they had a sushi seller at the convention and we were hoping to obtain the same permission)  and basically gave me the run around.  In the end, the Convention Center Managerment said that they would let us know their decision, but I followed up many times, with no answer forthcoming.  I decided with Fanime so close that we would just take the initiative and try it out for this year.

In regards to one of the younger girls crying, it was inevitable I suppose.  She was really frighten when we got "pulled over" by the staff and given several  stern warnings.  I have to defend the staff at this point, they were very professional towards us.  (We even gave them some bread at this point to try out which they enjoyed as well)  The young girl with me had spent considerable time before the con helping with the bread making and packaging and was really looking forward to helping out.  It just made her feel like all her hard work was for nothing.  She was crying because she thought she was doing a good thing, but instead got "yelled" at for it.  

After the discussions, we decided to stop because we didn't want to cause any trouble for Fanime.  Our club supports and honors what Fanime stands for so we wanted to do as much as we can to comply by their rules and regulations.

For all these things it is mainly my fault for poor planning and not getting things cleared away before hand.  Next year, if we still decide to do more bake goods, I will definitely have permits squared away beforehand as well as notifying Fanime Board and staff of our intentions and obtaining permission.

Thanks again for all your support and understanding.  Please e-mail me personally if you have ANY questions or comments.  I am open to any critism / advice regarding this matter.

-Yuuki ([email protected])

[Stormfalcon]

Thanks for posting that, Yuuki.  It certainly helps clear a lot of things up and puts things in perspective.  Fanime did what they had to do, but at least it's more clear that they weren't as big as ogres about it as some have made it out to be earlier in the thread.

Kudos for how you're handling the issue, Yuuki.  It takes a lot to accept responsibility for what's happened and to see that things are handled better in the future, and that's to be admired.

[Ayapon]

Yes, thank you for posting to clear up any misunderstandings, Yuuki.

Just remember folks...

FanimeCon staffers: We're really not...(wait, wait, wait :oops:)...They're really not that mean!

:twisted:

[milkmandan]

That was an awesome response Yuuki.

You have gained exceptional respect for that.  Down flat for clearing things up.

I will definately support you when you come around again next year!

[Devi 1313]

Yay! I hope you get to have your own booth as I will DEFINATELY be a supporter! There were quite a few things I really wanted to try!

[Rufus Shinra]

I'm of two minds. They definitely should not have been doing that, and they definitely needed to be stopped. But they shouldn't have been made to cry, either.

It's not just the money; there's real liability issues. We can ease up (and I think we should), but turning a blind eye is a huge no-no, and offering them a booth is a near impossibility. When we can't get starbucks to stay open a little longer so that they can get stinking rich off of our members, there's little hope for reason...

I know this is a bit of a change of subject, but what's with Starbucks anyway? They weren't open at the times they posted the entire time I stayed there! I did walk to McDonalds but it wasn't very good fare either and I couldn't find anything else affordable within a reasonable walking distance. ~`~

[Tony]

I dunno about starbucks, exactly. As a business owner, I would milk the opportunity--why not?--and stay open 24 hours for major events, fanime included.

But speaking as a waiter, hell if I'm going to serve coffee all day. No extra hours coming from me!

Whatever the case, they have a reason, and I'm sure it's a good one. Let's just keep reminding them, and perhaps they will extend their hours.

[Rufus Shinra]

I dunno about starbucks, exactly. As a business owner, I would milk the opportunity--why not?--and stay open 24 hours for major events, fanime included.

But speaking as a waiter, hell if I'm going to serve coffee all day. No extra hours coming from me!

Whatever the case, they have a reason, and I'm sure it's a good one. Let's just keep reminding them, and perhaps they will extend their hours.

True about being a business owner and I understand a waiter not waiting any longer than necessary, but what I don't understand is why Starbucks would post times to be open and as a business not be able to keep those hours as any true business should? Maybe employees were sick??? Don't know, just know that it was irksome.

If their hours were changed for the Fanime, I would hope, as professionals, that they would post the new hours so there wouldn't be lines of impatient customers waiting outside. Sorry about griping. I'm actually not even a coffee drinker. I just got tired of burgers and wanted muffins or breakfast scones for a change. ^-^