Suggestions for Registration for 2009

[FanFicGuru]

Seeing as how Fanime 2008 is here, I figured I'd start a thread for people to offer feedback and suggestions for next year nice and early. After much consideration, etc. I think I'll be joining Registration staff for next year. We'll see what my college schedule allows for.

Anyways, for next year here's the first idea I've got:

1) PLEASE bring back group registration - This is a system of registration that a lot of people liked, and is perfect for Anime clubs and large groups of friends to get all of their badges together. Perks for group reg also should make a comeback. Either reduced prices, or a separate group registration line, or something like that.

I'm sure more will be added as the weekend goes on and in the coming weeks. Anyways, good luck with the convention Registration staff!

[Sen]

I highly suggest that you go to Fanime and see the new registration system before you make suggestions for 2009. It's very different from before and we would like as much feedback as possible on it.

[FanFicGuru]

I highly suggest that you go to Fanime and see the new registration system before you make suggestions for 2009. It's very different from before and we would like as much feedback as possible on it.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO....

Well alright. I'll keep this up as the general feedback thread though, and I still want group registration back anyways! lol

I"m excited now...hearing all this stuff about Registration.

[Sen]

I should clarify what I said. Pre-registration has some minor changes. The major changes are for on-site. As Tony said, "it is an an untamed beast."

A lot of work and planning went into this so this is why we had to do away with group reg this year. We simply did not have the time or manpower to do it and start a new system from the ground up.

Anyways, go check it out and give us some feedback!

[Kandybar]

As long as you guys give me licorice every year I will wait in line as long as I have to.  :P

[SOawesomeness]

LICORICE?! SINCE WHEN!?

(: Faaaaannnimmmee is today.

[milki]

well...there's a box in the pre-reg side :P

[GokuMew2]

I picked up my badge a little later on Thursday but from what I've seen as far as on-site reg and picking up pre/early reg, the lines were really short! Props to the Registration Staff! Love the lanyard, btw. A bit ehh on the huge plastic holder for it though. I know it's to "validate" the badge, but why does a badge need validation?? I'd rather just stick the lanyard onto the badge itself. Not a big deal though... The holder thingy is good for, well, holding things too. I think it should just be optional.

[M]

I picked up my badge a little later on Thursday but from what I've seen as far as on-site reg and picking up pre/early reg, the lines were really short! Props to the Registration Staff! Love the lanyard, btw. A bit ehh on the huge plastic holder for it though. I know it's to "validate" the badge, but why does a badge need validation?? I'd rather just stick the lanyard onto the badge itself. Not a big deal though... The holder thingy is good for, well, holding things too. I think it should just be optional.

Badges can be faked. This is just an extra step to prevent fakes from flooding the convention. (I don't think I can say anymore on this) :)

I actually like the plastic holder because it lets me hold things onto it (schedules, business cards, etc.).

[BrightHeart76]

First let me say I was completely impressed with how fast registration moved this year!  Way to go!

I think the badge holder and necklace are a nice touch.  I just wish we had an option other then keeping the badge around our necks. In my street clothes it's not an issue.   But when I'm cosplaying it kind of stinks to try to hide the badge, or take it off and keep it under my foot everytime someone wants a picture.  It was easier when I could clip it to my shirt. 

But that's just my two cents.  Honestly, I think this year has been great on all sides. You guys rock! 

[SOawesomeness]

Lol, we got a complaint that someone had to wait 1 and a half hours on a Saturday and said it was too long a wait...
Haha, if only they knew...

>.> I didn't know it was for validation, I just assumed it was optional... haha, oops.
I can't hang all my cool badges from last year on it unless I took the plastic thing off. D:

[Gwydion]

Anyone else have the plastic holder for their badge rip? Sometime during Masquerade, mine started ripping across the top. It ripped half way across, and I was afraid of losing not only my badge but my room key, that I just attached them to my collection of former badges and wore that instead. The badge holder was a nice idea, but maybe we can get one that is not so big and maybe made of a more flexible plastic so it doesn't try to fall apart? The badge holder I have from Otakon 2005 has been through alot of wear and tear and still hasn't fallen apart yet (it's the core piece that all my other Con badges are connected to). I can try to get a picture of it if anyone's interested in the style of the holder.

[SOawesomeness]

At reg, we got a few people who got theirs ripped. :0
My friends' plastic holder ripped, but that's cuz she totally stretched it out a lot from the inside. :00

[Kender]

Ripping across the top seemed to be the most common spot.  I put nothing in mine but my staff badge and it still ripped (and subsequently caused me to freak out because attached to it, no where near the ripped line, was my pin I was wearing to remember my dog; thankfully found it, but I moved the pin to my lanyard after that).

I talked to people about this when I had to do a run for lanyards for the panelist badges and from what I was told is it was just one of those "1 in X amount that are made improperly" and the rest are very durable (and to be fair my replacement holder held up perfectly okay).  Since they're mass produced you will have a few that just come out ill-made unfortunately.  I got into the habit of checking every minute or so to make sure I still had my badge attached after I got the holder replaced.

[Rei-Rei]

I was going to hook the badge to my dress so I wouldn't have to walk around with it around my neck...
Though, I wished the hooks on the badge holders were bigger. =\

[AldPixto]

[1] I pre-registered and while it was several months ago I think it was straightforward. I don't know what advantages the registration web site gave me.  I printed out the confirmation/receipt and left it in my car.

[2] I am upset that I didn't discover how to signup for the first day of music fest tickets when I pre-registered. I think that information was well hidden.

[3] In the days before Fanime I kept checking the web site for the live programming and video schedule - I was happy to see most of the info I wanted was available. I could not find online descriptions of the Asian Live Action films. It was only after I was at the con that I found the descriptions in the program guide. It wish I could have seen this before the con.

[4] I arrived at Fanime on Friday morning around 11am. The on-site registration line looked to have about 100 people, the pre-reg line had 10. I gave the reg person my confirmation/receipt printout and let them hold my CA drivers license for what seemed like an unnecessary 30 seconds or so. My badge pickup took about 2 minutes because my badge ... "should have been in one box but instead was in another." My registration packet was missing a schedule - it had just a program guide, a lanyard, and a few cards. Out of curiosity, why does my lanyard have Nvidia printed on it?

[5] The extra plastic badge holder isn't environmentally correct, but it was a handy place for me to store music fest tickets and business cards I accumulated during the con.

[6] I was afraid to try out the Twitter updates because I my Mobile has a 5-cent Pay-As-You-Go charge for SMS and I didn't know if I was going to get 10 or 10,000 texts from you guys. You didn't explain what sort of updates you'd send and how often.

[7] I wasn't at the con on Monday to see if pre-reg was available for 2009. The tradition, as I understand it, is to not officially confirm that there will be a pre-reg, then on Monday not be able to say when pre-reg will start. Is this still true?

[Sen]

[7] I wasn't at the con on Monday to see if pre-reg was available for 2009. The tradition, as I understand it, is to not officially confirm that there will be a pre-reg, then on Monday not be able to say when pre-reg will start. Is this still true?

Actually, to people who asked on Friday or Saturday we would tell them that pre-reg for 2009 was going to start on either Sunday or Monday depending on traffic. Once it was decided that we would start on Sunday afternoon we made announcements in the three exhibit halls. We had pre-reg available on Monday from 8-12.

[SOawesomeness]

AidPixto-
2. Oh, it was on the musicfest website as well as on the Live Programming boards, I'm sorry you didn't get the know-how before hand. ):
3. I think that's mostly just Live Programming's little mistake. I was trying to look for descriptions, too... but at least this year the schedule came out earlier rather than at con.
4. We have volunteers and staff stuff bags, it's not as fun as it may sound... so some things might go missing because of too much repetition, sorry... Oh, and nvidia was the one who sponsored the lanyards, etc., I believe.
:00

I got into the habit of checking every minute or so to make sure I still had my badge attached after I got the holder replaced.

Yeah, I didn't like the little hook thingies, I got paranoid that my badges (I had 4 other badges from previous years on it) would slip off through the hook's opening because it didn't look secure. It did a few times, but I kept checking.

[Kender]

AidPixto-
2. Oh, it was on the musicfest website as well as on the Live Programming boards, I'm sorry you didn't get the know-how before hand. ):
3. I think that's mostly just Live Programming's little mistake. I was trying to look for descriptions, too... but at least this year the schedule came out earlier rather than at con.
4. We have volunteers and staff stuff bags, it's not as fun as it may sound... so some things might go missing because of too much repetition, sorry... Oh, and nvidia was the one who sponsored the lanyards, etc., I believe.
:00

I got into the habit of checking every minute or so to make sure I still had my badge attached after I got the holder replaced.

Yeah, I didn't like the little hook thingies, I got paranoid that my badges (I had 4 other badges from previous years on it) would slip off through the hook's opening because it didn't look secure. It did a few times, but I kept checking.

Yeah, Nvidia sponsored lanyards, bags, and something else I'm blanking on.  I was quite pleased to have an Nvidia branded lanyard ^^;  My case for my desktop is an Nvidia branded coolermaster stacker 830 so I'm a bit of a fangirl for them.

And yar, I ended up moving my badge (with huge touchy badge holder) to a clip like we used to use in past years for badges and just kept the lanyard around my neck with my sharpies attached to it.  I was able to then clip my badge to my panda stuffy on my head and keep it in sight so I would notice immediately if something happened.

[Steve.Young]

The plastic holder was also for Security to check to make sure the badges were not fake. *Ahem* I dunno if you guys caught that or not.

Other staff probably didn't even know...sadly. Poor communication this year in terms of what the plastic was for. Read the BACK of your badges...your badge is not VALID until you have the plastic holder =P