My recent experience with PAX does give me a little light as to why so many anime cons are hesitant to mail out badges.
But what percentage of the total attendees didn't get their badges in the mail? The odds of it happening to an individual attendee are fairly low by all accounts. I can't share, but I have last year's stats for "lost" badges, and it was low enough to be insignificant to even a cash-strapped con.
I don't know if it's because they feel their demographic is fairly honest and not likely to do these sorts of shenanigans
Knowing some things from the back-end that I shouldn't discuss, the rates of "shenanigans" are, by all appearances, very low. Scalping is more of a problem, but even this is heavily mitigated by the community and Khoo's innate cleverness. (One year at Prime, he responded to many of the scalpers himself and met them far from the convention to teach them a lesson).
Funnily, scalping is a byproduct of the fact that PAX greatly undercuts itself on badge prices. They could trivially double the price and likely still sell out, especially for Prime in Seattle. The artificially low prices make scalping much more lucrative than it otherwise would be.
AB's solution is to make the at-con badge process as quick and painless as possible via the ExpressPass barcode system and anything else their registration subcontractor can provide.
AB is going to eclipse other fan anime conventions over time simply by being willing to subcontract when necessary. It was a very smart move. Of course, mailing the badges and handling fallout from issues could also be subcontracted, but baby steps.
There are many cons I won't name that, were they to actually ask me to stand in line to get my guest/speaker/whatever pass, I would no longer attend. Otakon's Friday morning line is a disaster by all accounts every year (they've sorted out Thursday to a large degree, but I can't really justify an extra vacation day for Otakon any more in light of the growing accommodations of other conventions). It hurts us even more that, until our last Otakon, we were able to skip the line.
It's mostly personal incentive for us on this issue, and I'll openly admit that. But the fact remains that the line was one of the motivations for most of our crew abandoning Otakon last year despite almost a decade of yearly attendance.
Sakura Con does the same thing. People can pick up badges on Thursday. Even though I'm a local, it's still a huge inconvenience to me. I would have to go through shit traffic on a Thursday evening and pay for parking just so I don't have to wait in line on Friday or Saturday.
To all anime cons: Give the option to mail out badges for a small fee.
To all anime cons: Give the option to mail out badges for a small fee.
As we've suggested to Otakon for over three years now. Anime Central charges a couple bucks for a mailed badge.
Otakon should:
1. Plan to ship, say, 5000 of their total badges. 2. Offer, during pre-reg, a shipped badge if you reg before a certain date for $5 extra. No choice of design, legal name and address printed on the back of the badge. 2a. If you elect to do this, you agree that you will pay full price should you not bring your mailed badge with you to the con for a replacement.
I guarantee they would sell out of the 5000 mailed badges long before the deadline. People would also be leery of selling or trading this badge away, as it has their real identity tied to it. The $25,000 would pay for contractors to manage the ENTIRE process with plenty of money to spare.
Hell, if they're so afraid of the idea, they should try 1000 the first year. Or even 500, and mail the damn things themselves, pocketing the $2,500 minus postage and printing. See how people respond.
Part of the reason we eventually gave up on staffing Otakon was the sheer indifference-ranging-to-direct-antagonism to any new ideas by pretty-much anyone on the inside (nevermind the accusations of spying and amazing drama). ;^)
Part of me wants to staff again on Sakura Con just to try to implement changes to be more awesome. Then I think about some of the main staffers that run it, and then I change my mind.
Things may have changed, but the thought of having to deal with BS and people's personalities and resistance to change for the better just puts me off for even trying.
having to deal with BS and people's personalities and resistance to change for the better
Anime cons keep far too much dead weight on staff, and are far too reluctant to kick people out.
Well, they are shorthanded to begin with. It's a double trouble. You don't have enough staff. Some of the staff you have suck, but at least they do some amount of work. Do you get rid of them, and become even more short-handed but reduce drama?
Do you get rid of them, and become even more short-handed but reduce drama?
Reduced drama can lead directly to more staff. How many smart people quit or don't try due to the deadweight above them dragging everything down and precluding any hope of reform?
Do you get rid of them, and become even more short-handed but reduce drama?
Reduced drama can lead directly to more staff. How many smart people quit or don't try due to the deadweight above them dragging everything down and precluding any hope of reform?
But your reputation is already ruined. Very few people will come back, or come for the first time, because you claim that drama is gone. If Otakon told us they got rid of Aaron Clark and all the other drama people, could we trust/believe them? Would it be enough to get us to go to the Otakon staff convention?
If Otakon told us they got rid of Aaron Clark and all the other drama people, could we trust/believe them?
If they told us that, I would rejoin the staff in a second.
Would it be enough to get us to go to the Otakon staff convention?
Actually, for me, yes. If they invited us back onto the staff and acted like professional adults, I would resume right where we left off and set up those MC'd screening rooms they're so afraid of.
Not totally true, we tend to stick are dead weight in places where dead weight is useful like standing at a door that you are required to watch but that no one is actually going to use and other fun positions such as that.
Plus, at least at AB, they like having real names on the badges for emergency contact purposes in case any security situation should arise -- something that's much harder to guarantee if you mail out badges and allow their resale.
Anime conventions do have a younger demographic, it's true. That doesn't mean they need to turn themselves into summer camps. Amusement parks, theaters, colloseums, and many other places that grant admission to a large number of minors do not do any of these things. If they are so concerned with saving money, they just need more "tough shit" rules. Anime Boston was on the right track with their policy of absolutely not replacing lost badges. More like that. The convention is not day care. It is not responsible for your children. If they go missing, if they have a problem, then the convention has as much to do with it as a shopping mall has to do with their customers.
Unfortunately, given the litigious society we're in where people will sue for any silly reason they can, I don't think they can be quite so safe. There are many cases where this is the first "taste of freedom" some of these kids have had and they get way out of hand and end up getting in serious trouble. I don't think I should go into detail as to what actually has happened, but there were times when EMTs had to be called in and having real names on the badges turned out to be beneficial.
The thing is, an anime con is somewhere between the "amusement park" and "summer camp" model. Most people only stay at an amusement park for a day and go back to their parents' (or friends' parents') places at night. However, a lot of these kids are staying in hotels during the con, sometimes without parental supervision, which is more akin to a "summer camp" scenario.
AB is going to eclipse other fan anime conventions over time simply by being willing to subcontract when necessary. It was a very smart move. Of course, mailing the badges and handling fallout from issues could also be subcontracted, but baby steps.
I think the main sticking point against mailing the badges at this point, other than cost (which the subcontractor may be able to do relatively inexpensively), is probably wanting some sort of ID check at badge pickup time to make sure the badge name matches who actually purchased the badge.
Real names on badges can be helpful to EMTs regardless of the age of the patient, so I can totally see where this is a good thing.
Minors staying in hotels during the con (or most other events) without parental supervision has always seemed the height of lunacy to me. I say this both as a parent, and as a former minor who stayed in hotels without parental supervision. (And it's not AB's fault, of course.)
It would be nice to see PAX get themselves a little better straightened out with the media/guest badges as well. I've never had an issue picking up on Thursday, it's always taken less than a minute, but the people I was with Friday had to deal with a bit of a chaotic situation. There are sheets of stickers for all of the registered media, and they have to sort through these sheets to find your sticker, or you're not registered. Between the two people working, they had messed up the alphabetical order of the sheets, causing the line to build up. It spilled over into the general will call area and I wound up directing traffic for ten minutes because regular attendees were hopping in the media line not realizing there were separate queues. The situation was not helped by people like this one machinima group who no joke, already had TEN people registered and were trying to talk their way into an 11th media badge, thereby taking up enforcer's time as they begged and pleaded.
However, a lot of these kids are staying in hotels during the con, sometimes without parental supervision, which is more akin to a "summer camp" scenario.
That's between the hotel and the people staying there. It has nothing to do with the convention whatsoever. If I go to see a Red Sox game and stay in a hotel near Fenway, they don't go check at the baseball stadium if I have a problem. They don't even find out about it. IANAL, obviously. However, I think this is one of those cases where because you have a measure in place, you can not be held responsible of those measures fail or are insufficient. If you do nothing at all, beyond what you are legally required to do, then you can't be held responsible.
I think the main sticking point against mailing the badges at this point, other than cost (which the subcontractor may be able to do relatively inexpensively), is probably wanting some sort of ID check at badge pickup time to make sure the badge name matches who actually purchased the badge.
Personally, I would just stop caring about that. Let people resell or transfer badges, who cares? Even your example of the badge name helping people in a case of EMTs showing up doesn't sway me. People carry their own ID. If you have a serious problem, and you don't have ID on you, that's not the convention's problem.
Real names on badges can be helpful to EMTs regardless of the age of the patient, so I can totally see where this is a good thing.
Minors staying in hotels during the con (or most other events) without parental supervision has always seemed the height of lunacy to me. I say this both as a parent, and as a former minor who stayed in hotels without parental supervision. (And it's not AB's fault, of course.)
I agree completely. If/when I have kids attending cons, I won't let them stay in a hotel without my supervision until they're college aged or so. I frankly can't see why parents would let their kids get away with it. Besides, there isn't that much to do at the con after 10 PM or so if you're a minor anyway.
They can't do that and keep their non-profit, exempt-from-ticketing-taxes status.
I wonder about this exempt from ticket tax law. We hear about it all the time, but I want to really know the specific details of it. I also want to know the differences between states.
Even now there is no actual physical way they can actually perfectly enforce the non-transferability of the badges. I guarantee there are badges transferred. Therefore, shouldn't they lose their tax-exempt status already? What if they officially had a policy that badges are non-transferable, but had no actual enforcement measures? That's effectively what they have right now. So just have the badges be non-transferable on paper, but don't actually do anything about it. Keep the tax-exempt status no problem.
One more idea. If names on badges is that important to you, pay the extra cost to have the names printed on them beforehand. Then mail them. At the doors you can have security people checking badges against photo ID. Yes, there will be a line, but a much faster line than registration. Also, everyone at the con will have photo ID, even better for the emergency situations. Also, even harder to transfer badges than with the current system. Mailing the badges can be more secure than at-con reg.
Even now there is no actual physical way they can actually perfectly enforce the non-transferability of the badges. I guarantee there are badges transferred. Therefore, shouldn't they lose their tax-exempt status already?
Nope, because they perform due diligence and officially disallow transferal.
What if they officially had a policy that badges are non-transferable, but had no actual enforcement measures? That's effectively what they have right now. So just have the badges be non-transferable on paper, but don't actually do anything about it. Keep the tax-exempt status no problem.
They already do this, and I expect will continue to do it. But, because they don't mail the badges, no one can sell a badge until AFTER they've personally picked it up at the con.
At the doors you can have security people checking badges against photo ID. Yes, there will be a line, but a much faster line than registration.
Are you kidding? That would be disastrous. It's a crazy and stupid idea. The lines and expense would be enormous.
Are you kidding? That would be disastrous. It's a crazy and stupid idea. The lines and expense would be enormous.
How would the lines be enormous? It takes a matter of seconds to check a badge against a photo ID. That's a hell of a lot faster than a stop at a registration booth, which can easily take over a minute to look you up in a computer and such. If you have just as many ID-checkers as you have registration booths, it should go very very quickly.
You get the badge in the mail. Then they check the ID and apply the holographic sticker. Takes a few more seconds, but still faster. Then after that, you can have the same level of badge checking as they currently have.
Are you kidding? That would be disastrous. It's a crazy and stupid idea. The lines and expense would be enormous.
How would the lines be enormous? It takes a matter of seconds to check a badge against a photo ID. That's a hell of a lot faster than a stop at a registration booth, which can easily take over a minute to look you up in a computer and such. If you have just as many ID-checkers as you have registration booths, it should go very very quickly.
As someone who has had to check IDs for 18+ events, it can take surprisingly long for someone to take out their ID, show it to a staffer/security guard/etc., and then for said staffer/guard to make sure the name on the badge matches that on the ID. Hell, just checking the birthday on the ID can take a while -- especially since every state seems to put them in different places on the ID. Sure, it may take only a few seconds to do an ID check per person, but when you have 17k+ people getting checked every time then exit and re-enter the premises, that adds up to a significant amount of time. It's part of the reason I leave a 30 minute block before any 18+ panels on AB's schedule -- we need that time to do ID checking.
A one-time check at badge pickup time does make the most sense if you're going to require ID checking -- especially with a bar code system that makes the database lookups essentially instantaneous. I don't work reg at AB, so I don't know what the precise process is, but from what I gather it's something like this:
Pre-registered user brings their bar coded receipt to a scanning kiosk.
Bar code is scanned and badge information is passed to a badge printer.
User goes to the badge station to show his/her ID to a staffer. The staffer confirms the ID matches the badge and gives the user the badge.
From this point on, the only other ID checks necessary would only be at 18+ events, unless the badge holder somehow got into trouble. Clogging the entrances with ID checks for everyone that enters would slow things down much more and it would slow it down every time someone enters the convention. At least with this scenario, the slowdown only takes place once.
You get the badge in the mail. Then they check the ID and apply the holographic sticker. Takes a few more seconds, but still faster. Then after that, you can have the same level of badge checking as they currently have.
That would be a good idea, and requiring the holographic sticker would cut back on counterfeiting (which is another issue that anime cons worry about, rightly or wrongly). However, you'd still be standing in line for said sticker, so I'm not sure how much quicker it would be than the current bar code system.
I'm not a hard core "badges must not be mailed" person, unlike some other anime con staffers, but I can see why they feel it would not be practicable for them to do so.
Bar code is scanned and badge information is passed to a badge printer.
Not such a good idea - I used to run a business which essentially revolved around those, and they're finicky little bitches, and the software is fucking annoying.
EDIT - They're good, if they're in place, and you're not moving them. At all. And you can afford the super high quality ones.
Bar code is scanned and badge information is passed to a badge printer.
Not such a good idea - I used to run a business which essentially revolved around those, and they're finicky little bitches, and the software is fucking annoying.
I vote QR codes on the badges, any modern cellphone is a scanner and they are easy enough to go and produce/print out.
Bar code is scanned and badge information is passed to a badge printer.
Not such a good idea - I used to run a business which essentially revolved around those, and they're finicky little bitches, and the software is fucking annoying.
I vote QR codes on the badges, any modern cellphone is a scanner and they are easy enough to go and produce/print out.
Well, the receipts may be QR codes as opposed to traditional bar codes -- I don't know exactly what they are, but they are some sort of easily scannable binary graphic object.
Also, we've been using them successfully for the past couple years. They stay in place in the registration room -- they are moved in before the con and aren't removed until the end of the con. We also don't own them -- they are provided by our registration subcontractor, which I assume would use high quality scanners.
Also, we've been using them successfully for the past couple years. They stay in place in the registration room -- they are moved in before the con and aren't removed until the end of the con. We also don't own them -- they are provided by our registration subcontractor, which I assume would use high quality scanners.
Also - What medium are you printing to, and if you know, what's the printing method? Most of my business might have revolved around a different sort of badge - I was doing hard plastic/thermal sublimation, but you guys could be doing a number of other things, including having pre-printed base stock, and only printing some sections of the badge.
Also - What medium are you printing to, and if you know, what's the printing method? Most of my business might have revolved around a different sort of badge - I was doing hard plastic/thermal sublimation, but you guys could be doing a number of other things, including having pre-printed base stock, and only printing some sections of the badge.
They used to have credit card-like badges (I assume that's the "Hard plastic/Thermal Sub" you were talking about), but now it's a large piece of cardstock with a hologram and your name inkjet printed on to it.
I'm also starting to wonder if not mailing badges isn't unique to anime cons and may be something pretty much all non-profit cons do in order to deal with requirements that badges be non-transferable, etc. I was thinking what non-anime cons may be non-profits and do not mail out badges and I suddenly remembered USENIX. For those who don't know, USENIX is a large non-profit organization of [mostly] Unix programmers and system administrators that holds several conventions a year. I haven't attended a USENIX convention in 10 years, but I do recall having to pick up my registration at-con. As far as I can determine based on the registration pages for their current conventions, this is still their policy.
Comments
Funnily, scalping is a byproduct of the fact that PAX greatly undercuts itself on badge prices. They could trivially double the price and likely still sell out, especially for Prime in Seattle. The artificially low prices make scalping much more lucrative than it otherwise would be. AB is going to eclipse other fan anime conventions over time simply by being willing to subcontract when necessary. It was a very smart move. Of course, mailing the badges and handling fallout from issues could also be subcontracted, but baby steps.
There are many cons I won't name that, were they to actually ask me to stand in line to get my guest/speaker/whatever pass, I would no longer attend. Otakon's Friday morning line is a disaster by all accounts every year (they've sorted out Thursday to a large degree, but I can't really justify an extra vacation day for Otakon any more in light of the growing accommodations of other conventions). It hurts us even more that, until our last Otakon, we were able to skip the line.
It's mostly personal incentive for us on this issue, and I'll openly admit that. But the fact remains that the line was one of the motivations for most of our crew abandoning Otakon last year despite almost a decade of yearly attendance.
To all anime cons: Give the option to mail out badges for a small fee.
Otakon should:
1. Plan to ship, say, 5000 of their total badges.
2. Offer, during pre-reg, a shipped badge if you reg before a certain date for $5 extra. No choice of design, legal name and address printed on the back of the badge.
2a. If you elect to do this, you agree that you will pay full price should you not bring your mailed badge with you to the con for a replacement.
I guarantee they would sell out of the 5000 mailed badges long before the deadline. People would also be leery of selling or trading this badge away, as it has their real identity tied to it. The $25,000 would pay for contractors to manage the ENTIRE process with plenty of money to spare.
Hell, if they're so afraid of the idea, they should try 1000 the first year. Or even 500, and mail the damn things themselves, pocketing the $2,500 minus postage and printing. See how people respond.
Part of the reason we eventually gave up on staffing Otakon was the sheer indifference-ranging-to-direct-antagonism to any new ideas by pretty-much anyone on the inside (nevermind the accusations of spying and amazing drama). ;^)
Things may have changed, but the thought of having to deal with BS and people's personalities and resistance to change for the better just puts me off for even trying.
The thing is, an anime con is somewhere between the "amusement park" and "summer camp" model. Most people only stay at an amusement park for a day and go back to their parents' (or friends' parents') places at night. However, a lot of these kids are staying in hotels during the con, sometimes without parental supervision, which is more akin to a "summer camp" scenario. I think the main sticking point against mailing the badges at this point, other than cost (which the subcontractor may be able to do relatively inexpensively), is probably wanting some sort of ID check at badge pickup time to make sure the badge name matches who actually purchased the badge.
Minors staying in hotels during the con (or most other events) without parental supervision has always seemed the height of lunacy to me. I say this both as a parent, and as a former minor who stayed in hotels without parental supervision. (And it's not AB's fault, of course.)
Even now there is no actual physical way they can actually perfectly enforce the non-transferability of the badges. I guarantee there are badges transferred. Therefore, shouldn't they lose their tax-exempt status already? What if they officially had a policy that badges are non-transferable, but had no actual enforcement measures? That's effectively what they have right now. So just have the badges be non-transferable on paper, but don't actually do anything about it. Keep the tax-exempt status no problem.
One more idea. If names on badges is that important to you, pay the extra cost to have the names printed on them beforehand. Then mail them. At the doors you can have security people checking badges against photo ID. Yes, there will be a line, but a much faster line than registration. Also, everyone at the con will have photo ID, even better for the emergency situations. Also, even harder to transfer badges than with the current system. Mailing the badges can be more secure than at-con reg.
You get the badge in the mail. Then they check the ID and apply the holographic sticker. Takes a few more seconds, but still faster. Then after that, you can have the same level of badge checking as they currently have.
A one-time check at badge pickup time does make the most sense if you're going to require ID checking -- especially with a bar code system that makes the database lookups essentially instantaneous. I don't work reg at AB, so I don't know what the precise process is, but from what I gather it's something like this:
- Pre-registered user brings their bar coded receipt to a scanning kiosk.
- Bar code is scanned and badge information is passed to a badge printer.
- User goes to the badge station to show his/her ID to a staffer. The staffer confirms the ID matches the badge and gives the user the badge.
From this point on, the only other ID checks necessary would only be at 18+ events, unless the badge holder somehow got into trouble. Clogging the entrances with ID checks for everyone that enters would slow things down much more and it would slow it down every time someone enters the convention. At least with this scenario, the slowdown only takes place once.I'm not a hard core "badges must not be mailed" person, unlike some other anime con staffers, but I can see why they feel it would not be practicable for them to do so.
EDIT - They're good, if they're in place, and you're not moving them. At all. And you can afford the super high quality ones.
Also, we've been using them successfully for the past couple years. They stay in place in the registration room -- they are moved in before the con and aren't removed until the end of the con. We also don't own them -- they are provided by our registration subcontractor, which I assume would use high quality scanners.