I'm really not sure where I can post this to make sure someone of importance reads this. But here it goes.
My friends and I attended the black and white ball this year, I was the Belle,my boyfriend the beast, and we came with 2 girls (1 in a pink sari and other in a black and white dress) and 2 X-men.
After sometime in the ball we decieded to do a conga line with eachother and it unexpectintly turned huge. Apperently this was a safety issue of some kind that we were unaware of, and then staff came to break it up.
The staff member that broke us up was a little too pyshical insteed of telling us to break it up she litterly pulled us apart with force. and when she grabed me she pulled me by my dress. ripping it severly. Since it was dark I could not see the damage untill the next morning in the hotel room. Long past going back there to complain.
The staff memeber in question was blonde and had her hair up I believe, and my friend believes she may have been wearing red but we are not sure.
Aside from this we had a great time at the Ball and at Fanime this weekend. I'm just upset that a cosplay that i have spent well over 100 hours was ruined in a matter of seconds by a staff member.
(If someone knows who or where else I can send this, please let me know.)
I think I know who you're talking about!
Probably the same one who GRABBED me any my buddies by the shirt and pushed us in the direction of the back of the line at the Masquerade.
Yeah..
We just wanted to see the line..
WE JUST WANTED TO SEE THE LIIIIIIIINE ;_____;
This thread has been forwarded to the appropriate parties.
Oh my gosh.. Sorry to hear about your costume. I would be furious............
I was going to attend the dance as well, but I was restricted from going inside because I had an unopened package of pocky in my purse.
There was absolutely no food allowed on the dance floor I guess. Not that I was going to eat it. It wasn't like it was a plate of Nachos with everything on it.. I just boycotted the dance all together.
Quote from: RiotKitty on May 27, 2008, 10:07:47 AM
Oh my gosh.. Sorry to hear about your costume. I would be furious............
I was going to attend the dance as well, but I was restricted from going inside because I had an unopened package of pocky in my purse.
There was absolutely no food allowed on the dance floor I guess. Not that I was going to eat it. It wasn't like it was a plate of Nachos with everything on it.. I just boycotted the dance all together.
Pocky is clearly a threat!
Next time, they should just strip us of our clothes and get it over with.
I had nothing nice to wear...so I didn't go, but that's just horrible what happened to your dress. ><
They shouldn't be physical in the first place unless someone like refuses to listen. :-\
Sorry to hear about everyones experience with the nazi staff member. I had a great time at the dance, especially people who taught me the dances either in the line to get in, or at the actual dance since I missed the classes due to a flat tire on the way back from lunch on Sunday.
Wow, I am so sorry to hear that. If it was me it would be discouraging to spend that much time on a cosplay again. @_@ I saw you before that though, and it looked nice ;_;
I was pretty ticked that they didn't extend the time like they said they would. We didn't get down there until about 9 (roomies took too long to get dressed, I was ready at 7:30) and the line was so long it took 45 minutes to get in. They had said they'd extend it to like 10:30 so we'd all get more time to dance and they never did! It's nice that they had it in a bigger room this year but we never had any of these problems last year.
I'm very sorry to hear plus it was a beautiful cosplay. I really enjoyed the dance expect later at the dance I've been asked to remove my "brain age" sign? Thats my cosplay plus I did fine wearing that.
Quote from: Hylia on May 27, 2008, 11:33:21 AMPocky is clearly a threat!
Next time, they should just strip us of our clothes and get it over with.
Regardless of in said food item is a threat, there was no food allowed in any of the dance areas.
Quote from: OniCourseMusha on May 27, 2008, 04:00:14 PM
I'm very sorry to hear plus it was a beautiful cosplay. I really enjoyed the dance expect later at the dance I've been asked to remove my "brain age" sign? Thats my cosplay plus I did fine wearing that.
I saw you!
Quote from: MPLe on May 27, 2008, 05:06:34 PM
Quote from: Hylia on May 27, 2008, 11:33:21 AMPocky is clearly a threat!
Next time, they should just strip us of our clothes and get it over with.
Regardless of in said food item is a threat, there was no food allowed in any of the dance areas.
I know ;(
The only thing I could say that it was HOT in there.
Oh wow, that's horrible! Sorry to hear that your costume was ruined, what a downer :(
I noticed that the B&W staff were a little.... disgruntled....
One other thing was the lack of planning for more people, I feel bad for everyone who ended up missing chunks of the dance because they had to wait in line.
Also, sucks that if you needed to use the restroom, you had to go to the very BACK of said line. Ditched early to go to a nice dinner cause my poor moms couldn't hold it anymore and there was NO WAY we were waiting in line for another 40 minutes. Please try getting a bigger room next year, or working out something better for the restrooms.
Other than that the ball was really nice, I just felt pretty stupid for not having taken the lessons @,@
Hey guys, I'm Zog, the SOS guy who was head of the line at the B&W- Not the tall blonde guy, the slightly shorter, much much better looking guy in the vest who went up and down the line telling everyone that he was trying his damndest to get everyone into that tiny little room to have a good time.
Remember me? (...I hope I'm not one of the 'disgruntled' guys, I know I was having a blast)
So, first and foremost- Belle (Miss Nintendo) , I am personally totally and completely sorry for what happened to your magnificent dress, I saw you in line and thought you looked amazing, and when I saw you the next day in the elevator at the Marriott I said as much, and darling, as soon as I know who ruined your dress, horrible things are going to happen to them, come hell or high water. That kind of behavior from any staffer, whether they be newbie volunteer or seasoned veteran is completely unacceptable, and I will personally see to it that whoever it was -burns- for that.
After working this Black and White, as well as Last year's Black and White (if you were there, remember that guy at the door having his own party in the hallway asking for badges? That's me), I actually have a couple of things to say about the size of the room and the length of the line. From being inside the room they used this year as well as the room they used last year (this year it was used as what, the Karaoke room?) I can say confidently that this room was easily twice as big, if not moreso. Whoever put this thing together at Extravaganzas really -did- think ahead and plan a much bigger room.
The only problem was they didn't figure on like 300 THOUSAND people showing up for the party, especially during the An Cafe shindig across the street- not their fault, no not at all. All we can ask of them is that they take this year's findings, log em in a report somewhere, and then book the entirety of the Civic auditorium with a full Orchestra and Chorale for next year, because it's gonna be CRAZY.
And I'm gonna be on the line for it, having a party and asking for badges. Hope to see you guys there!
OMG was this like, a slightly over weight woman in a red shirt? Jesus! She freaking came out and searched us (illegally), detained us (illegally), broke into my humidor (expensive box with a lock) ruining it, and stole all the money for my hotel room and gas! Now... I admit, we DID have a bottle of alcohol, but it was in a bag, and no one was drinking it, like the VP of con staff told us to. Seriously... She even tried to claim I wanted to get drunk and drive simply because I OWNED a car.
She tried to act like I was doing the same stuff last year, said she recognized my jacket (which is brand new and part of the winter line, so it didn't EXIST last year). This is freaking retarded, I know Fanime is hard to put together, and has no corporate backing like Expo... but Fanime, you owe it to us to not have staff that is going to abuse their power like this. I lost upward of $1,000 to that crazy woman between cash and the broken humidor.
Quote from: Zog on May 27, 2008, 06:34:36 PM
So, first and foremost- Belle (Miss Nintendo) , I am personally totally and completely sorry for what happened to your magnificent dress, I saw you in line and thought you looked amazing, and when I saw you the next day in the elevator at the Marriott I said as much, and darling, as soon as I know who ruined your dress, horrible things are going to happen to them, come hell or high water. That kind of behavior from any staffer, whether they be newbie volunteer or seasoned veteran is completely unacceptable, and I will personally see to it that whoever it was -burns- for that.
Oh my god, thank you so much.
The ball should be in a bigger place next year, as it is a security concern and I've already talked to the HR people about it =P.
They are thinking about it...hopefully it goes through.
Oh no! I saw you at the ball and meant to compliment you on your dress, but ended up missing you. I'm so sorry some crazy staffer ruined it! It was absolutely magnificent! :(
Does anyone have a photo of the woman in red or did they happen to catch her department or badge name? This is the fourth thread with an issue regarding this person and I would like to take care of this as best I could.
Quote from: deonchan on May 28, 2008, 02:02:14 PM
Does anyone have a photo of the woman in red or did they happen to catch her department or badge name? This is the fourth thread with an issue regarding this person and I would like to take care of this as best I could.
No one who has PM'd me has been able to get a name or badge number/staff department sadly.
Damn these sneaky staff people who we don't know about!
I'm gonna put in my two cents how I think this BW Ball issue can be solved only because it really worked at Anime Central.
Anime Central has pre-sale tickets for their "Masquerade Charity Ball." The ticket sales go to charity and cover any cost for the hotel useage and beverages. We were able to get water after those fast paced songs! The ones that pay usually care about dressing in their best and it would weed out any, for lack of a better term, goofballs.
The pre-sale ticket for ACen's event were $10. $20 at the door. $25 for non-ACen attendees. Even Industry and Press had to pay for their own ticket. Not that we didn't mind since this was all for a good cause.
Yes, the floor needs to be bigger. I've done professional dancesport and that floor space was not enough. I'd like to have more waltzes and slower songs. While this was one of the better ballroom dances at conventions I've been too, I'd still like this event to reach it's full potential. I will say that all the anime con ballroom dances I went to blew all my high school formal dances out of the water in terms of music.
Just an idea. ^.~
If anyone is coming to Anime Expo, my partner and I teach at their ballroom classes.
Selling tickets for the Ball?
You know what would be cool? If they did that, and used some of the proceeds for catering for the event too. That would be cool. And have tables and a lounge and such, with water and stuff inside to keep out the ::ahem:: riffraff.
And a disco ball.
Just throwing that in there.
is it possible to hold the BW ball _in_ the civic center? just... clear out the chairs and all? that seems like it'd be more space. and if anybody wanted to hold dance competitions or whatnot, hey, there are ready made seats along the sides to watch
also it already seems setup for sound at least... unless that's something the tech crews setup for masquerade, cafe, amvs...
Quote from: spinny on May 28, 2008, 04:39:58 PM
is it possible to hold the BW ball _in_ the civic center? just... clear out the chairs and all? that seems like it'd be more space. and if anybody wanted to hold dance competitions or whatnot, hey, there are ready made seats along the sides to watch
also it already seems setup for sound at least... unless that's something the tech crews setup for masquerade, cafe, amvs...
We'll look into that as a possible venue but with MusicFest and the Cosplay held in the Civic from Friday evening through Sunday night, I don't know if it is feasible. But we'll definitely talk about that possibility when I sit down with my dept heads and the other Programming divisions.
Quote from: Zog on May 28, 2008, 04:37:56 PM
Selling tickets for the Ball?
You know what would be cool? If they did that, and used some of the proceeds for catering for the event too. That would be cool. And have tables and a lounge and such, with water and stuff inside to keep out the ::ahem:: riffraff.
And a disco ball.
Just throwing that in there.
YOU ARE MY HERO
awww that sucks for your dress =(
I don't have much complaint about the ball~ I had a Blast =D
only regret is I miss 2 hours of it cuz Antic cafe is at the same time =_=
WHYYYY >_________<
I vote for the disco ball too! I honestly felt really silly at the ball. My dress was pretty long and really swishy, and it felt too packed to be a 'Ball' since I was thinking something along the lines of prom and much more formal. I had the black beaded dress with the white floaty fabric and the shall, and I felt REALLY overdressed.
Omg, Zog you threw me off when you told me I looked wonderful and had the people clap for me. XD That was full of awesome. <3
I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you MissNintendo! I hope that this person gets properly reprimanded.
I am the tall man with the white shirt named Aaron. I hope you had a good time dancing with me :)
To be honest it was my first time really dancing, and I wasn't sure if I did a good job.
I heard they didnt let the Enchanted cosplayer in =( she was so beautiful and very formal!!
Quote from: Kegan_Flame on May 30, 2008, 11:34:52 AM
I heard they didnt let the Enchanted cosplayer in =( she was so beautiful and very formal!!
When I saw her she had several people under her dress... i think thats probably why she could get in? she literally had a party going on under her dress. :P
Quote from: Jerry on May 30, 2008, 11:47:51 AM
Quote from: Kegan_Flame on May 30, 2008, 11:34:52 AM
I heard they didnt let the Enchanted cosplayer in =( she was so beautiful and very formal!!
When I saw her she had several people under her dress... i think thats probably why she could get in? she literally had a party going on under her dress. :P
Uhm...no comment :o
Quote from: chikhra on May 27, 2008, 05:59:25 PM
Oh wow, that's horrible! Sorry to hear that your costume was ruined, what a downer :(
I noticed that the B&W staff were a little.... disgruntled....
One other thing was the lack of planning for more people, I feel bad for everyone who ended up missing chunks of the dance because they had to wait in line.
Also, sucks that if you needed to use the restroom, you had to go to the very BACK of said line. Ditched early to go to a nice dinner cause my poor moms couldn't hold it anymore and there was NO WAY we were waiting in line for another 40 minutes. Please try getting a bigger room next year, or working out something better for the restrooms.
Other than that the ball was really nice, I just felt pretty stupid for not having taken the lessons @,@
Heeeeyyyy, I know that Dance Partner! <3
My personal Complaint about the ball is actually ::SPACE::
The Room that they held it in, Though Larger then Previous years (From what I'm told at least), Was Perfect Size for their Raves, Compact and filled with Gyrating people.
Classical Dance needs a LOT more room them waving around your arms with Glowsticks, and considering the size of some of the Dresses worn, that room was FAR, FAR too small for the B&W ball. *shrug* I don't know what estimates were made, But From what I saw, There were too many people, in too large costumes for such an Enclosed space.
Great Tunes though, I'm Sad I missed out on the Twist.
There wasnt a dress code for the rave was there?
Quote from: Ari on June 03, 2008, 11:42:16 PM
There wasnt a dress code for the rave was there?
I don't believe so, beyond the general convention dress code.
Quote from: EclipseDarkmaster on June 03, 2008, 02:08:11 PM
My personal Complaint about the ball is actually ::SPACE::
The Room that they held it in, Though Larger then Previous years (From what I'm told at least), Was Perfect Size for their Raves, Compact and filled with Gyrating people.
Classical Dance needs a LOT more room them waving around your arms with Glowsticks, and considering the size of some of the Dresses worn, that room was FAR, FAR too small for the B&W ball. *shrug* I don't know what estimates were made, But From what I saw, There were too many people, in too large costumes for such an Enclosed space.
Great Tunes though, I'm Sad I missed out on the Twist.
This year's space for the Black & White Ball was 50% bigger than last year's inaugural Ball. The Head of B&WBall and I did not expect the sheer number of attendees during the pre-planning stages. Last year's Ball was a bit crowded so we thought having the space that it did this year would be enough. We didn't expect it to be super popular (to which we are very happy that attendees really want to go to it)!
We are looking into other options for the B&WBall for 2009. :D
Fanime Heads really need to train their Staff and tell them the "Do's" & "Dont's".
It would be bad to do a back ground check or something ether.
Hmmn, yeah, this year there were some seriously rude staff members.
I mean, if a little rule was broken, people would get -yelled at-. Things like bare feet in the rave, for example. I can understand why it's a rule, I can't understand why staff would be so insanely rude. I seriously watched like, eight people get reprimanded really rudely. Generally with the staff (there were more than one) gripping on their arm or shoulder. I know my arm was sore after the rave because staff decided to get in my face, too. I didn't want to get kicked out, so I obliged -- I wasn't actually aware of the rule until they pointed it out.
Next year, can you please talk to your staff about personal space? That touching, gripping, pulling, tugging is NOT a way to get the attention of someone? Some people have serious qualms about being gripped like that. What if the person had some sort of trauma related to a grip like that? Or if they accidentally rip someone's gorgeous dress? A costume or dress that had cost money, and time, be it work hours to buy it, or craft hours to make it.
The staff for the past three years have been great, but this year, all of a sudden, they went way beyond boundaries. Any little rule they could nitpick at, they would. Which is acceptable, but it's the way that they did it. I heard nonstop complaints about the staff all weekend long from my friends. Yes, rules are important. No, you do not have to be rude to enforce them.
--Also
I wanted to thank the staff who have replied here already for being sincere and truly being concerned. That's a good sign to everyone that because of staff like you, the overall workforce next year will improve!
Though to be completly honest, I had no problem with the staff.
Heck, I almost got into the Yaoi movie on friday night (I'm 17 BTW), except for the fact that I'm not into Yaoi.
Quote from: mekalai on June 07, 2008, 01:13:22 AM
Hmmn, yeah, this year there were some seriously rude staff members.
I mean, if a little rule was broken, people would get -yelled at-. Things like bare feet in the rave, for example. I can understand why it's a rule, I can't understand why staff would be so insanely rude. I seriously watched like, eight people get reprimanded really rudely. Generally with the staff (there were more than one) gripping on their arm or shoulder. I know my arm was sore after the rave because staff decided to get in my face, too. I didn't want to get kicked out, so I obliged -- I wasn't actually aware of the rule until they pointed it out.
Next year, can you please talk to your staff about personal space? That touching, gripping, pulling, tugging is NOT a way to get the attention of someone? Some people have serious qualms about being gripped like that. What if the person had some sort of trauma related to a grip like that? Or if they accidentally rip someone's gorgeous dress? A costume or dress that had cost money, and time, be it work hours to buy it, or craft hours to make it.
The staff for the past three years have been great, but this year, all of a sudden, they went way beyond boundaries. Any little rule they could nitpick at, they would. Which is acceptable, but it's the way that they did it. I heard nonstop complaints about the staff all weekend long from my friends. Yes, rules are important. No, you do not have to be rude to enforce them.
--Also
I wanted to thank the staff who have replied here already for being sincere and truly being concerned. That's a good sign to everyone that because of staff like you, the overall workforce next year will improve!
you know, i've worked for security before. if any staffer would of made a grab for me or any of my company, i would of put them in an arm lock. yelling is one thing, being rude too, but thats assault and no one should put up with that. if it would of caused a scene or if i would of been taken to con ops. i would of gladly gone to set an example for any other hot headed staffer.
p.s. im volunteering next year. just to know some ones keeping people safe the right way.
I believe i will volunteer next year as well.
I've been in love with con since the first time I set foot there, and while this year was no less fun, some of the staff made it a lot harder.
I whole heartedly believe in the rules and the tightening of the rules, as the con gets bigger, and we are under more scrutiny we cannot get away with as much. But there is a DEFINANT difference between enforcing the rules and going overboard. I have heard this year that staffer have asked people to break glasses, have broken humidors, and torn dresses, all in their overzealous attempts in enforcing the rules.
i myself was yelled at for a consensual glomp. Not much really, but for someone who HAS read the rules this means a lot- consensual glomping is not outlawed, yet. But should it become so, i'd stop. I understand the importance of following the rules.
my boyfriend and I were the harbingers of a couple strange events such as fan fishing, The Fantastic Super Amazing Game Show, and the end of con parade. On the second night of fan fishing we were (rudely) told to stop, and we did. We didn't argue, even if we were somewhat confused and hurt. Confused because we had been approached by other staffers and they told us what rules we should be observing, if we wanted to continue. We even JOINED by a couple of rovers at one point. But we stopped anyways. I would not have hurt the staffers to ASK, and while it would have taken time it would have been nice if they had explained what we had done wrong instead of just yelling and flashing their badges. We are not hooligans, we just want to have SAFE fun and give away candy...
I've also heard that staffers were crazy under-staffed this year. There are horror stories of people volunteering, showing up for their badges and then not showing up to work one day. This, i feel, and all may not agree with me, explains some of the hostility. It does not, although, warrant ANYONE getting grabbed unwelcomely, and is even hypocritical when you consider how hard staff is trying to prevent unwanted glomping- isn't it the same theory? Anyways this was the MOST the most memorable con I've ever attended, for good and bad reasons, and I plan on doing my best to see that next con is better and less hostile but just as safe.
Well next year I wont be cosplaying as Wolfwood EVERY day of the Con, so i kinda toyed with the idea of volunteering for staff work next year (i'll be wearing a costume thats more intricate but easier to move/interact.)
Its nice to see that some staffers still cosplay, i find it makes interacting with them easier...geek-to-geek as it were, rather than Geek-to-Obvious-Authority-Figure.