Before I get into it, let me note that I'm sending this (verbatim) to the feedback form so that Fanime's staff can see it. That being said, I just wanted to give other congoers a chance to pitch in.
Since the convention here on the forums I've seen the volunteer/by fans for fans mentality listed as an obstacle to extreme change at the convention. Congoers ask for badges to be mailed out, Fanime folk tell us that they don't have enough volunteers to do the envelope stuffing. People ask for logistics folk to be hired for registration to flow more slowly, we're told that no one is paid on the Fanime staff so that's an impossibility. I've seen posts with regards to the masquerade requesting that someone with experience be brought on as staff, whether to run it or to help train the volunteers- and again, it's shot down under the notion of everyone being volunteers.
I love the fact that Fanime comes from a fan mentality and that it's run by people who are fans of anime. But I am genuinely concerned that Fanime will become strangled by this ideal- maybe not next year, maybe not the year after, but possibly in the future. Even beyond registration, there were apparently many problems (not all of them, mind you) at the con this year that often came back to not enough people or people who didn't have enough training. I'm not doubting the dedication or effort of the volunteers and staff AT ALL, but Fanime is only going to get bigger and bigger. What if more people step down (like with the cosplay spectacular department) and Fanime's left scrambling to find volunteers/staff to fill in that may or may not have the proper experience? The FMV directors stepped down this year. Will there be someone who's qualified to fill that space?
I think most people would agree with me that if Fanime had a handful of people on PAID staff, that it wouldn't ruin the ideals of fanime. Would badge prices have to be raised? Possibly, but even a few dollars per badge with 20,000+ attendees would create quite a budget for such a thing. I'm not going to claim to have any ideas as to raise revenue or how much additional revenue would need to be raised, but I think Fanime needs to open itself to the idea. At this point in time Fanime can't afford to not be a professional-level convention, volunteer-run or not.
I hope this doesn't come off as inflammatory. I want Fanime to thrive. I've been going to Fanime for ages and it worries me to see such major stumbling blocks two years in a row- this time without the outside uncontrollable influence of a power outage to blame. I admire the staff and volunteers for all they do- I just don't want to see Fanime having to choose between its ideals and flourishing as a con. I'm sure there's a middle-ground!
Since the convention here on the forums I've seen the volunteer/by fans for fans mentality listed as an obstacle to extreme change at the convention. Congoers ask for badges to be mailed out, Fanime folk tell us that they don't have enough volunteers to do the envelope stuffing. People ask for logistics folk to be hired for registration to flow more slowly, we're told that no one is paid on the Fanime staff so that's an impossibility. I've seen posts with regards to the masquerade requesting that someone with experience be brought on as staff, whether to run it or to help train the volunteers- and again, it's shot down under the notion of everyone being volunteers.
I love the fact that Fanime comes from a fan mentality and that it's run by people who are fans of anime. But I am genuinely concerned that Fanime will become strangled by this ideal- maybe not next year, maybe not the year after, but possibly in the future. Even beyond registration, there were apparently many problems (not all of them, mind you) at the con this year that often came back to not enough people or people who didn't have enough training. I'm not doubting the dedication or effort of the volunteers and staff AT ALL, but Fanime is only going to get bigger and bigger. What if more people step down (like with the cosplay spectacular department) and Fanime's left scrambling to find volunteers/staff to fill in that may or may not have the proper experience? The FMV directors stepped down this year. Will there be someone who's qualified to fill that space?
I think most people would agree with me that if Fanime had a handful of people on PAID staff, that it wouldn't ruin the ideals of fanime. Would badge prices have to be raised? Possibly, but even a few dollars per badge with 20,000+ attendees would create quite a budget for such a thing. I'm not going to claim to have any ideas as to raise revenue or how much additional revenue would need to be raised, but I think Fanime needs to open itself to the idea. At this point in time Fanime can't afford to not be a professional-level convention, volunteer-run or not.
I hope this doesn't come off as inflammatory. I want Fanime to thrive. I've been going to Fanime for ages and it worries me to see such major stumbling blocks two years in a row- this time without the outside uncontrollable influence of a power outage to blame. I admire the staff and volunteers for all they do- I just don't want to see Fanime having to choose between its ideals and flourishing as a con. I'm sure there's a middle-ground!