The constructive criticism thread

[Too Tall]

 

I'd be very interest to know which group you were in? As I did schedule it so that every group got 6 or 7 autographs on Saturday (I checked this many many times as I did the schedule), and I know every group was called on Saturday for the Saturday only guests (I know the higher groups were called on Saturday afternoon during the talks but that was unavoidable). Some of the guests did go slower than expected and so some groups only got to see 3 or 4 guests on Saturday, but with the way I did the schedule of groups there is no way you could have been called for no guests at all on Saturday. I did check the groups called so far on Saturday afternoon and there was definitely no group not called for any guest. I can only assume you missed being called or didn't see your groups had been called.

Personally I only got 1 auto on Saturday and I had a silver ticket. However I believe I had been called for 4 in total - I didn't get them as my teenage daughter decided to disappear on me and I had to go looking for her. Sorry - I know your question is not aimed at me, just pointing out that not all groups were called for 6/7 autos on Saturday.

As I said in the post you have quoted. I scheduled it for every group to get 6 or 7 autos on Saturday, but I am aware that some groups only got to see 3 or 4 due to delays with some guests.

[Too Tall]

I know you have already picked up the schedule bit already but would it be possible to say have half the guests start at the lower end of the ticket nos and half with the golds and silvers. I had a standard for this event (and a lowish no too) and we only got one photo on saturday and no autos at all so this meant we had to be running around all morning on sunday flitting from the other 3 photos we wanted back and forth to the auto halls. It does need to be a little fairer so everyone gets some each day otherwise the standards are hanging around with nothing to do on the saturday. We never got to see any of the guests who were there on saturday only at all. Not too worried this time but we should have had the opportunity and nobody came round with a final call for everyone that we heard either for these guests?

 

Also when in the auto q on sunday i was told by one lady she had already had her autos and was getting extra ones from John when there were still people who hadnt had any from him on the sunday morning. Now surely as with other cons you should be buying extra autos upon arrival or up to the time your autos are announced not got round once then potentially 3 or 4 more times, otherwise some people could potentially not get their autos at all plus it means the guests could be signing all day!

 

 

this was my main trouble spots everything else was fine.

I'd be very interest to know which group you were in? As I did schedule it so that every group got 6 or 7 autographs on Saturday (I checked this many many times as I did the schedule), and I know every group was called on Saturday for the Saturday only guests (I know the higher groups were called on Saturday afternoon during the talks but that was unavoidable). Some of the guests did go slower than expected and so some groups only got to see 3 or 4 guests on Saturday, but with the way I did the schedule of groups there is no way you could have been called for no guests at all on Saturday. I did check the groups called so far on Saturday afternoon and there was definitely no group not called for any guest. I can only assume you missed being called or didn't see your groups had been called.

 

I'm sorry that someone had gone to get extra John autograph before other had got there free ones. This should not happen. I will make sure it's clear to the crew to check if people have had their free one before letting them into the queue when it's not an open queue.

 

Stuart.

 

I was in group 15, i know we were last on the list for kai and gareth and sara, halfway down on sunday for naoko too so we got these on sunday, we were sitting in the bar area on sat and i was looking every 1/2 hour or so on this schedule (possible not updated)?i think about 5 mins before end of signings i think our ones for john had been called but as it was late we left these for first thing on sunday so ok. The others i dont remember seeing and i was checking and most our nos were in the shaded bits for sunday. nobody came out to tell us the signings were ending and i wasnt aware some guests were only there on saturday (i know this was probably my fault for not listening or something but no worries this time, was just having a fun time.)

 

I do think though for autos you should only go through once, if you want extra autos you get these before your group no is called otherwise this will be chaos however you do it, and the guests will never get finished.

 

i would like to say thanks though, my first massive events con althought i have been to a lot of others and i have to say it was really good fun, my friends and i had great fun especially at the parties, the added touches of bunting etc and changed every night were really nice and set the scene too. We have already booked for hub 2 and hallowhedon which i am sure will both be great fun.

You were down for Sunday for Garth, Kia and Sara (but then Sara was Sunday only).

Out of the 8 included guests there on Saturday you were called for 5...

 

9th for John

2nd for Naoko

4th for Paul

1st for Richard Tunesi

Lachlan Sat afternoon.

 

All these you should have got on Saturday. Obviously there was some mis-com for you that you missed being called for all of those. But as you'll see you were called for 5 autos on Saturday, you weren't missed off and the schedule was as fair as I could make it and not have people clash with the photo shoots.

 

I apolagise I only had very limited time to get the lists together and was as fair as I could be but in this case your group does appear to have been called in the last 3 groups more than any other.

 

I sent a long email on Monday to the 'info' email address. The email was headed Disability query/Thankyou/Thoughts/& Problems Re the Hub/

 

I wasn't expecting an instant reply, knowing how busy you all are, but I just want to make you aware that I sent it. (it was a mixture of general points - some of which I notice have already been made here, some not - and points more specific to me that were of a more personal nature not suitable for the forum) I have also thought of a few more things since then.

 

Thanks

Hopefully you were one of the disabled people that I talked to over the weekend, and any issues you had we sorted out? If you weren't, I apolagize, and please do in future come and see me and I will do my best to help you.

 

I just thought of something that probably makes much more sense than what I suggested at the end of the email I sent, and that is that all the people with disabilities (and their partners/carers) go into the hall first, before anyone else is allowed in (before the golds/silvers etc). I am NOT suggesting that everyone with a disability sits at the front, just that they be shown to the appropriate area relevant to their ticket number (so someone with a Gold number in the 80s would be shown to the third row of the Gold seating, someone with a standard in the 40s would be shown to the second row of the standard, etc). I know we shouldn't talk about other events, but the disabled were escorted into the hall first at a previous Torchwood convention we went to, and that worked well, at least for me. And I would certainly appreciate not having to worry about queueing. So that crew know who has a disability (its not always obvious!), maybe disabled and their partners can have something on their badge to indicate that?

That is a dam good idea and I will sort that out.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Too Tall

[Too Tall]

I wanted to respond to what Too Tall said earlier, as someone who did book late (quite simply because I didn't know about it till collectormania) I thank you very much having the late numbers done on saturday for John as i have no doubt that we would have not have managed to get him otherwise, I had to come out of a talk to get it but it was worth it thanks for doing that... having said that I did mention this to Jason on sunday, I do feel that it is somewhat unfair that the people who book late do get penalised so much, I understand why you do it and everything and this time I have booked early (yay to ben for loaning me the money for gold) so I expect it not to be a problem, but as someone who has in the past been on both ends of it, it does seem a shame that you have to sit at the back of talks, be last in line for autos, etc, I just feel that a standard ticket should be a standard ticket regardless of whether you booked 5 months in advance or 5 days. As I say I understand why you do it but it is somewhat harsh on those that had to save up or just did not know about the event till late on.

 

Also one over thing I did mention to too tall on saturday, if you miss the opening ceremony you don't get all the announcements, (don't waste your time queuing etc) I think it would have been nice to repeat these early on the Saturday as I am sure I was not alone in missing them.

 

But I do hate to complain (really I do honest) so much and I don't want you to think I am being a pain (although I confess i am) but having worked in customer service for 10 years i know it's always better to speak out rather than keep quiet. I would really like to thank the guy (sorry the name has gone from my brain) who was doing Johns photo queue on saturday for letting us queue jump with my daughter as she did fall asleep 5 minutes after the picture. I love how you guys are always flexible and happy to help where possible and that is why I always come to your events!

 

And if this post got any longer it will give gareth a run for his money. So yes i just wanted to say thank you and please keep up the goodwork and stay flexible and bring on teh instalment plan for hub 3 :)

We try and be as fair to everyone as we can.

 

Autographs - The way we do it every group gets called in the first 30 minutes and continue to get autographs through out the Saturday and Sunday signing sessions. So everyone gets the same treatment.

 

Photos - We do call Gold and Silver first. But with Standard tickets I did split the groups so that for one guest half the groups went there and the other half to the other guests and then changed over. It meant people with higher numbers got seen for one guest before lower ticket holders. So it does work out fairly.

 

Talks - When we first did Eclipse we went through lots of different ways to load the hall. We decided that loading the hall by ticket number was the fairest way for doing it and stopped the nessesity for queuing.

 

It's very hard to make announcements other than at the talks. Not everyone would be there to be able to hear it if I'd made that announcement again on Saturday morning. My only suggestion for the no queuing for the talks, is that some of the crew wonder past the hall entrance every 5-10 mins from 12pm to explain that we will be loading the hall by ticket number and there is no point in waiting.

 

We do just try and be as fair to as many people as we possibly can, and help people have a good time.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Too Tall

[mjocovers]

 

I just thought of something that probably makes much more sense than what I suggested at the end of the email I sent, and that is that all the people with disabilities (and their partners/carers) go into the hall first, before anyone else is allowed in (before the golds/silvers etc). I am NOT suggesting that everyone with a disability sits at the front, just that they be shown to the appropriate area relevant to their ticket number (so someone with a Gold number in the 80s would be shown to the third row of the Gold seating, someone with a standard in the 40s would be shown to the second row of the standard, etc). I know we shouldn't talk about other events, but the disabled were escorted into the hall first at a previous Torchwood convention we went to, and that worked well, at least for me. And I would certainly appreciate not having to worry about queueing. So that crew know who has a disability (its not always obvious!), maybe disabled and their partners can have something on their badge to indicate that?

That is a dam good idea and I will sort that out.

 

THANKS! And I hope that that will apply to the Saturday night entertainment as well. It was a bit of a rugby scrum when the doors opened for that!

[Too Tall]

I just thought of something that probably makes much more sense than what I suggested at the end of the email I sent, and that is that all the people with disabilities (and their partners/carers) go into the hall first, before anyone else is allowed in (before the golds/silvers etc). I am NOT suggesting that everyone with a disability sits at the front, just that they be shown to the appropriate area relevant to their ticket number (so someone with a Gold number in the 80s would be shown to the third row of the Gold seating, someone with a standard in the 40s would be shown to the second row of the standard, etc). I know we shouldn't talk about other events, but the disabled were escorted into the hall first at a previous Torchwood convention we went to, and that worked well, at least for me. And I would certainly appreciate not having to worry about queueing. So that crew know who has a disability (its not always obvious!), maybe disabled and their partners can have something on their badge to indicate that?

That is a dam good idea and I will sort that out.

 

THANKS! And I hope that that will apply to the Saturday night entertainment as well. It was a bit of a rugby scrum when the doors opened for that!

I can't see it being an issue to do it for the Saturday night stuff as well.

[mjocovers]

 

THANKS! And I hope that that will apply to the Saturday night entertainment as well. It was a bit of a rugby scrum when the doors opened for that!

 

I can't see it being an issue to do it for the Saturday night stuff as well.

 

Thanks again

Edited October 23, 2008 by mjocovers

[mjocovers]

I know we shouldn't talk about other events, but the disabled were escorted into the hall first at a previous Torchwood convention we went to, and that worked well, at least for me. And I would certainly appreciate not having to worry about queueing. So that crew know who has a disability (its not always obvious!), maybe disabled and their partners can have something on their badge to indicate that?

 

That is a dam good idea and I will sort that out.

 

At the previous non SM convention I mentioned, when we arrived we were already 'on their list' of people with disabilities. (as I had contacted them beforehand). Is there someone I need to contact at SM to make sure we are on the relevant Hub 2 'list' of people with disabilities. I am one of those people whose disability isn't obvious. I mean I'm not in a wheelchair or anything. I just normally contact event organizers before hand to let them know just so there won't be any problems.

 

Thanks.

Edited October 23, 2008 by mjocovers

[TommyT]

I wanted to respond to what Too Tall said earlier, as someone who did book late (quite simply because I didn't know about it till collectormania) I thank you very much having the late numbers done on saturday for John as i have no doubt that we would have not have managed to get him otherwise, I had to come out of a talk to get it but it was worth it thanks for doing that... having said that I did mention this to Jason on sunday, I do feel that it is somewhat unfair that the people who book late do get penalised so much, I understand why you do it and everything and this time I have booked early (yay to ben for loaning me the money for gold) so I expect it not to be a problem, but as someone who has in the past been on both ends of it, it does seem a shame that you have to sit at the back of talks, be last in line for autos, etc, I just feel that a standard ticket should be a standard ticket regardless of whether you booked 5 months in advance or 5 days. As I say I understand why you do it but it is somewhat harsh on those that had to save up or just did not know about the event till late on.

How about if they flipped the seating between days - day 1 low numbered tickets at the front and high-numbered at the back, and day 2 the other way round. Granted the people in the middle would always be in the middle, but you could also do it on a rota basis so that a different batch load go to sit at the front for each talk (albeit that would be more complicated).

[Blackbird]

Sorry for having forgotten this on my other post to this thread, but I think it would be an extremely good idea, if there is a skit at the next event, to make announcements and post notices in the schedule and on the door to the event that no cameras, cellphones or recording equipment of any sort will be allowed into the event until after the play is over, and to have security at the door to enforce that, rigorously. I think that may be the only way to ensure that no video gets out. I've talked about this with a few people who've also suggested it, so I'm putting it up here.

[mjocovers]

I wanted to respond to what Too Tall said earlier, as someone who did book late (quite simply because I didn't know about it till collectormania) I thank you very much having the late numbers done on saturday for John as i have no doubt that we would have not have managed to get him otherwise, I had to come out of a talk to get it but it was worth it thanks for doing that... having said that I did mention this to Jason on sunday, I do feel that it is somewhat unfair that the people who book late do get penalised so much, I understand why you do it and everything and this time I have booked early (yay to ben for loaning me the money for gold) so I expect it not to be a problem, but as someone who has in the past been on both ends of it, it does seem a shame that you have to sit at the back of talks, be last in line for autos, etc, I just feel that a standard ticket should be a standard ticket regardless of whether you booked 5 months in advance or 5 days. As I say I understand why you do it but it is somewhat harsh on those that had to save up or just did not know about the event till late on.

How about if they flipped the seating between days - day 1 low numbered tickets at the front and high-numbered at the back, and day 2 the other way round. Granted the people in the middle would always be in the middle, but you could also do it on a rota basis so that a different batch load go to sit at the front for each talk (albeit that would be more complicated).

 

Except that everyone would want to be nearer the front for the star guest talk, and you really don't want to know how disgruntled people got at another (non SM) con once when they tried reversing the ticket order! To be honest booking a ticket at a convention for me is no different than say booking a theatre or concert ticket, the earlier you book, the better choice of seating you have, I mean a seat in the front stalls close to the stage is often the same price as a seat 3 or 4 rows back in the circle.

Edited October 23, 2008 by mjocovers

[Persephone1]

How about if they flipped the seating between days - day 1 low numbered tickets at the front and high-numbered at the back, and day 2 the other way round. Granted the people in the middle would always be in the middle, but you could also do it on a rota basis so that a different batch load go to sit at the front for each talk (albeit that would be more complicated).

 

If you operated that system you wouldn't sell a single gold or silver ticket as what is the point of buying one if you end up being flipped to the back on the second day.

 

Buying your ticket early supports the event bringing in revenue allowing the organisers to secure the talent they want and selfishly gives the person purchasing the comfort of knowing that they will be loaded into the hall earlier than someone who bought at the last minute.

 

I can't see there are many people who would be willing to see the current system changed.

 

Sorry for having forgotten this on my other post to this thread, but I think it would be an extremely good idea, if there is a skit at the next event, to make announcements and post notices in the schedule and on the door to the event that no cameras, cellphones or recording equipment of any sort will be allowed into the event until after the play is over, and to have security at the door to enforce that, rigorously. I think that may be the only way to ensure that no video gets out. I've talked about this with a few people who've also suggested it, so I'm putting it up here.

 

So far no video of the skit has gotten out. Jason and John asked that people not film and that was respected - increased security might just irritate people who have brought their cameras to the parties to take pictures of their friends. You have to trust that the attendees are respectful enough to accede to the organsiers and actors wishes or what is the point of running a convention like this and trying to go the extra mile if everyone is just going to be horrible and ignore what the actors want?

Edited October 23, 2008 by Persephone1

[spanielears]

So far no video of the skit has gotten out. Jason and John asked that people not film and that was respected - increased security might just irritate people who have brought their cameras to the parties to take pictures of their friends. You have to trust that the attendees are respectful enough to accede to the organsiers and actors wishes or what is the point of running a convention like this and trying to go the extra mile if everyone is just going to be horrible and ignore what the actors want?

 

 

Last night there were a couple of pre skit ones on you tube but these have been taken off today but there are still several of the individual panel talks on there even though it was asked only to take photos not video.

[blaid drwg]

Please could we possibly know more details about what would be auctioned off next time, that way I know if i want to attend or get ready early for the party and actualy eat something lol.

[Persephone1]

In terms of the auction I would definitely say auction the dinner of first and to the extent that you're going to auction anything off make it Torchwood or New Who related. The auction was a little tedious it has to be said!

[TommyT]

How about if they flipped the seating between days - day 1 low numbered tickets at the front and high-numbered at the back, and day 2 the other way round. Granted the people in the middle would always be in the middle, but you could also do it on a rota basis so that a different batch load go to sit at the front for each talk (albeit that would be more complicated).

 

If you operated that system you wouldn't sell a single gold or silver ticket as what is the point of buying one if you end up being flipped to the back on the second day.

Apologies for the confusion - obviously I meant you flip within sections - front of the gold on day 1 go to back of the gold on day 2, front of the silver on day 1 go to back of the silver on day 2 etc

Buying your ticket early supports the event bringing in revenue allowing the organisers to secure the talent they want and selfishly gives the person purchasing the comfort of knowing that they will be loaded into the hall earlier than someone who bought at the last minute.

Yes, such a system would probably need to be used alongside a suggestion I made elsewhere that people who buy their tickets early are rewarded with a discounted ticket price, rather than having first dibs on everything.

Just kicking ideas about...

[thefreckles]

Oh, one other thing, would you be able to do something about the curtains on the stage? I was sitting on the very far right (just another 3 or 4 seats to the right of me) in the front row on Saturday and come the final group Q & A neither the 4 of us nor the person sitting directly on my left could see the last 3 guests seated on the right. A couple of crew members did try to tie back the curtains or do something when we mentioned our problem but to no avail. That was a real pain Paying for Gold meant I'd hope to get a good view of everyone and not a partially restricted view. The seating seemed to be a little bit more 'extended' here than at Eclipse. Such a shame! It was a great talk too.

[Cryssie]

Again, I had such an amazing weekend, so thank you for all you did for us!

 

I just have one suggestion, nothing major, regarding the intimate encounters. I think a fairer system could be used for the winners, rather than who has the biggest bank balance! I really do appreciate you are running a business but there were some people who were HUGE fans and couldn't get that 45 mins with the guests simply because their financial situation could not allow it. Let's face it, not everyone has a great amount of disposable income, esp. in the current climate! Maybe for a couple of the stars you could have a competition based on knowledge of Torchwood and 12 of those who get full marks get the encounter, and only pay a small (say £20 ish) fee for the pleasure? This gives everyone a fighting chance! Plus, having the quiz would be something extra to do over the weekend! It could be done at the end of one of the talks and all answer sheets handed in on the way out, so no one is getting any sneaky answers from the internet! I was one of the lucky ones at Kai's 'encounter' but really did feel for those who couldn't afford to bid.

 

Just a suggestion!

 

Or a raffle to be drawn after the auction. If you charged £2 a ticket you would easily make over £600 (although I suppose that the super rich could probably afford to buy loads of tickets but you could put a maximum amount which people could buy.)

 

A quiz does sound fun as well though.

 

Absolutely agree with this.

 

Before I make my comment, just to say I really had a fabulous time and have already booked my ticket for the next one - but (there's always one lol) my one issue was with the cocktail party.

 

It was very crowded and very hot, some people did seem to be following the guests around like lost puppies, I think John did make a comment at one point to someone along the lines of "haven't I see you before" (and not in an amusing way!) We didn't get to meet Gareth, and yes by the time we realised, he had left so we didn't think that there was much point in saying anything. The only two guests we met were Kai and John, it seemed to be that they were being moved around the outside and since we were in the middle of the room we were treated somewhat like a traffic island.

 

Me and my friends saw this happening too. We were under the impression the cocktail party might have been organised a bit more fairly, where people were put into groups and encouraged to STAY PUT rather than discreetly swimming around so as to 'coincidentally' bump into the guests again. My party stayed put and we were kind of annoyed by the amount of people deliberately positioning themselves in the path of John. Being considerate meant me and my friends only got to speak to Kai (he was my favourite though, luckily)!

 

(I'm not saying everyone did this, of course. 80% of the Gold members were wonderful and courteous! )

 

Personally, I couldn't talk to all the guests as they didn't follow any kind of order of greeting people, they just randomly talked to some groups, actually some of them more than one time. At James M.'s con we had to form some queue or had our own table, so James could greet everyone with a handshake or a hug, saying hi or/and talking to you a little, then moved on to the next attendant, so everyone could get a greeting and had the chance to talk a little to the actor. Apart from Naoko and Kai, I could just eavesdropping others' convo with John and Gareth, no hello or talking to them.

 

Other than this I found everything okay. Enjoyed this con a lot, dare to say it was one of the best ones I have attended this far. Thank you everyone! Repeat next March!

 

Edit:

I agree and support the idea of heightened security concerning recording devices for the next skit. It's not that I don't trust ppl, well it1s just what temporary fame of being the holder of such vid could do to some people, despite knowing the consequences. For the sake of fun and good memory and not last for the actors' faith in us, I'd support the no recording device in the hall during that 30 mins. I think everyone can survive that little time without their cameras.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Cryssie

[mjocovers]

Oh, one other thing, would you be able to do something about the curtains on the stage? I was sitting on the very far right (just another 3 or 4 seats to the right of me) in the front row on Saturday and come the final group Q & A neither the 4 of us nor the person sitting directly on my left could see the last 3 guests seated on the right. A couple of crew members did try to tie back the curtains or do something when we mentioned our problem but to no avail. That was a real pain Paying for Gold meant I'd hope to get a good view of everyone and not a partially restricted view. The seating seemed to be a little bit more 'extended' here than at Eclipse. Such a shame! It was a great talk too.

 

I don't necessarily think it was just the curtains. The stage was short and the seating seemed to extend well beyond the stage. Maybe they could actually test the visibility with the same set up sometime. (Unless the refurbishment at the hotel will include a wider stage?!). The probable restricted views from the end seats was one of the points I raised in my recent emails (amongst other things)

[thefreckles]

I don't necessarily think it was just the curtains. The stage was short and the seating seemed to extend well beyond the stage. Maybe they could actually test the visibility with the same set up sometime. (Unless the refurbishment at the hotel will include a wider stage?!). The probable restricted views from the end seats was one of the points I raised in my recent emails (amongst other things)

No, not just the curtains but they did play a major part. When they were lifted back it did make a difference (we could see nearly 2 more people!) but there was no way to keep them back

 

Unfortunately the seating did extend quite a bit beyond the stage, especially compared to Eclipse. Not too bad if you were further back but for those of us closer to the stage it was badly thought out. I guess that was another price paid for having the extra 51 (as it seemed to have turned out) Gold ticket holders? More tickets were sold at Eclipse but the seating seemed to be a lot better. I remember how extended it was at the Opening Ceremony there and was consequently rather worried but, luckily, they did reduce this during the Q & As themselves and my fears proved groundless. Either that or there were no curtains in the way! ::grins::

Edited October 23, 2008 by thefreckles

[SerenityBlue]

I want to start off by saying I had a great time and I'm already booked for March.

 

I attended with my mother whose in a wheelchair we were treated very courtesly by everyone all weekend and that was great.

 

The only things that didn't work so well for us have already been mentioned, firstly the schedules for the auto's and photo shoots were very confusing, however we did get all our autographs and while we did actually miss our photo shoot time with John the crew got us in with him after the group photo's, so no harm and no foul and thank you for that.

 

Secondly (and again this has been mentioned) the sketch that John, Kai & Gareth did was virtually impossible for my mother to see and it would have been so much better if people on the dance floor had been asked to sit down, as it was Mum did see some of it but had to stand and hold onto her wheelchair for support, she has that option for a short amount of time but there where other wheelchair attendees there who where not so lucky.

 

To finish I just want to say again what a great time I had, can't wait for the next one and I've been to cons (non-SM) that have been much more badly organised, and the highlight of the weekend for my Mum was convincing John to sit on her lap in the photoshoot There is something to be said for being in a wheelchair

 

Cally

[thewhiteladyofrohan]

 

How about if they flipped the seating between days - day 1 low numbered tickets at the front and high-numbered at the back, and day 2 the other way round. Granted the people in the middle would always be in the middle, but you could also do it on a rota basis so that a different batch load go to sit at the front for each talk (albeit that would be more complicated).

 

i think that idea would be fair on all standard wise, as is ay i understand why it happens and i get it, but it can be very unfair on those who do have to save up, check work shedules or are late hearing about it, but at the end of the day it has to be worked as what is easier for the crew and i'm gold next time so i don't really care lol but i'm sure others will and i always feel it's worth mentioning,

 

again i am totally against the raffle idea for encounters i say blind auction :)

[Mrs Plinks]

Hi there. This was my first convention and I really really enjoyed it! But there is one thing that really bugged me-the sharp corners on the pass.

I carried my little boy in a sling in front of me, and the corners scratched him and me more than once. (That he took the pass on occasion and waved it arround didn't really help either I guess )

If the corners could be rounded next time that would be lovely. (We're already booked for march )

[owlpost1992]

1) notices if something needs to be done please put up notices. When I got there early on Saturday I saw I was in for Gareth and Kai first thing and so took my bags with me and was told by a nice man also in the queue I couldn't take those in and would have to dump them, he was so kind as to tell me where to go and that he'd hold my space and this man was a fan not a worker. Later when I was in a different queue an argument flared up as someone else like me didn't know about the bags rule and they had queued for sometime so it was understandable they were upset.

 

2) 45 minutes really isn't enough time for lunch.

 

3) I think the time for the talk should include when doors open as I missed out on good seats even though I paid gold.

 

4) the stage really was too small for those at the side of the stage all I saw was from Andy downwards during Saturday's group panel.

 

5) John's signings. Registration was still selling his tickets on the Sunday if he was in a hurry to leave they should only be allocated to Standard (am I right in thinking autograph and photos separate?). Also literally as soon as girl marked my card and woman before me had finished I got Too Tall going "move along" and when girl on table was asking if I wanted both pictures signed he answered for me, which was really rude and then when I handed over John's gift and asked Carole to sign my magazine I'm pretty sure I was on to my 10th "move on" and could hear a heart attack behind me. Trying to concentrate when 2 people are talking at once is pretty hard to do you know plus he was talking to me not vice versa and thus I was not trying to hog a queue that I didn't know had to close early. It made my meeting with John really crap and it felt like I was not wanted there by anyone but John (cos he's too nice) and ha bl**dy ha I got 2 things signed by him without paying.

 

I also got a second photo off Gareth without paying photographer must have liked me.

 

6) Cocktail party where's the drink and my god where was the air con??? It was so hot I felt like fainting half the time the other half was spent watching John walking around with a David Attenborough commentary going through my head as the people surrounding him were like a shoal of fish. Also spent the end checking out Andy Jones and my god the a** on him

 

7) I did however love Jack's room and spent many happy an hour chatting to fans, nicking sweets and generally having fun.

 

8) The gold ticket really wasn't worth the extra because a) the goodie bag, you could buy it even if you weren't gold Cocktail party was more a meet the fans then drink with the stars which happened after the party anyway c) seating too wide or back with sliver and standards

 

I'm not trying to be rude I had an immense amount of fun best TW con I've been too.

 

So far no video of the skit has gotten out. Jason and John asked that people not film and that was respected - increased security might just irritate people who have brought their cameras to the parties to take pictures of their friends. You have to trust that the attendees are respectful enough to accede to the organsiers and actors wishes or what is the point of running a convention like this and trying to go the extra mile if everyone is just going to be horrible and ignore what the actors want?

 

 

Last night there were a couple of pre skit ones on you tube but these have been taken off today but there are still several of the individual panel talks on there even though it was asked only to take photos not video.

 

I've got a pre-skit video and frankly I don't see the problem of pre-skit as all I've got is John texting SCD, I'm sure that didn't hurt the Beeb in any way shape or form. Skit is a different thing and I'm glad everyone respected John not to record that I'll assume he knew we'd record it otherwise he wouldn't have said not to. Panels again I think should be put on YT as I want to see Sara and Kai's answer to my Welsh question plus other cons have had videos put up like Collectormania and Comic Con.

Edited March 22, 2009 by slaycandy

[mjocovers]

 

Last night there were a couple of pre skit ones on you tube but these have been taken off today but there are still several of the individual panel talks on there even though it was asked only to take photos not video.

 

 

I've got a pre-skit video and frankly I don't see the problem of pre-skit as all I've got is John texting SCD, I'm sure that didn't hurt the Beeb

 

I suspect that the reason the pre skit vid on YT was removed was because it wasn't just the SCD bit, it also had John talking about the reasons the skit shouldn't be filmed!

[owlpost1992]

I suspect that the reason the pre skit vid on YT was removed was because it wasn't just the SCD bit, it also had John talking about the reasons the skit shouldn't be filmed!

 

I removed mine when someone on LJ asked me to, I told her precisely what was on there and nothing about the skit was mentioned and frankly if RTD knows all then he could visit this forum and find out what happened that night.