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To be fair to showmasters it is their own forum not an independant one so whatever the reason posts get removed or hidden its entirely up to them.

 

Well, of course. But they're also a company charging for products and services. So while they have a legal right to do what they like, one would hope that they would allow criticism to stand publicly and respond to it.

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I have seen some very negative posts, and as someone who comes on here to read posts etc, I don't want to read them, so I'm quite glad when a post disappears.

 

I think people lose sight of the fact that Showmasters/Jason does these events for us film fans and the fact that he is a fan himself, this forum has been set up for continuous improvement of the cons, not for slating the cons or the guests. Constructive criticism or room for improvement posts don't get removed (from what I have seen) unless it runs its course and is a repeated post. I want these cons to continue and if I have an issue I voice my opinion, I don't come on here to slate because I can't imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes, no one does it better than Showmasters. So it confuses me why people come on here with negative comments, a con is what you make it, it's a joint effort between us and Showmasters, so being negative won't help, it's up to us to feedback improvements and make it better every year.

 

Lets not fool ourselves here, first and foremost Showmasters organises these events to make money. They are a business and that is what every business does. They don't organise these events for us, they organise them because we are willing to spent on them. It's not a joint effort, it's not that I have to do something to enjoy the con, that is what I pay SM for to do, although I guess I already help them out by giving them my idea's free of charge on this forum. I want them to organise a Con correctly, safely and that everything is done as promised up front and that has simply not happened this year, thus it's good we inform SM of that fact and hope they'll do something to correct that. If this forum would just be about praising SM for their event, this forum would be useless. Luckily SM and the mods here realize that as well.

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I have seen some very negative posts, and as someone who comes on here to read posts etc, I don't want to read them, so I'm quite glad when a post disappears.

I think people lose sight of the fact that Showmasters/Jason does these events for us film fans and the fact that he is a fan himself, this forum has been set up for continuous improvement of the cons, not for slating the cons or the guests. Constructive criticism or room for improvement posts don't get removed (from what I have seen) unless it runs its course and is a repeated post. I want these cons to continue and if I have an issue I voice my opinion, I don't come on here to slate because I can't imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes, no one does it better than Showmasters. So it confuses me why people come on here with negative comments, a con is what you make it, it's a joint effort between us and Showmasters, so being negative won't help, it's up to us to feedback improvements and make it better every year.

 

 

 

Lets not fool ourselves here, first and foremost Showmasters organises these events to make money. They are a business and that is what every business does. They don't organise these events for us, they organise them because we are willing to spent on them. It's not a joint effort, it's not that I have to do something to enjoy the con, that is what I pay SM for to do, although I guess I already help them out by giving them my idea's free of charge on this forum. I want them to organise a Con correctly, safely and that everything is done as promised up front and that has simply not happened this year, thus it's good we inform SM of that fact and hope they'll do something to correct that. If this forum would just be about praising SM for their event, this forum would be useless. Luckily SM and the mods here realize that as well.

I know it's a company and I know they are out to make money, I'm not saying that the forum isnt for voicing issues, I'm just saying I don't understand why people come on here to be so negative and leave no feedback that can be used to improve the cons.

 

I saw a few people this weekend turn up with tickets and photo tickets who expected to walk in and have theirs shoots done there and then. Some even thought they would just walk up to a guest and get their autograph without queuing and complained because it didn't go their way.

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To be fair to showmasters it is their own forum not an independant one so whatever the reason posts get removed or hidden its entirely up to them.

 

Well, of course. But they're also a company charging for products and services. So while they have a legal right to do what they like, one would hope that they would allow criticism to stand publicly and respond to it.

This would be the proper way to do it, I dare say.

 

Of course we are talking happenstances that can be singled out, people that haven't figured out they would be rushed (really, with a guest like MJF you expect to talk for 30mins?), people that have never been to a convention before... The list is endless.

 

What I am saying is,

As soon as something is voiced, the person voicing it wants to be treated seriously. Why else would this person take time to speak up and report what has happened to him / her. It's always an effort to give feedback, no matter if it's positive or negative. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt and I like to apply positive intent to whatever they've said.

 

It looks like some problems weren't handled too well on the day and this is something I am sure Jason & Co. will address. They will have the bigger picture as I am sure they see all hidden content as well.

 

 

HOWEVER, I would have much appreciated nothing to be hidden - unless it being a violation of forum rules. Just general concern or even an obvious rant - come on, people are let down from something that has happened to them. There is really no need to hide this content. I'd rather you see reply to the postings with a reasonable suggestion as to fixing the mistakes that were made.

 

(I concur, there are people that have had too high of an expectation throughout the weekend and people that indeed felt the need to point out how incredibly important they were when in reality they really weren't but there kinds of douchebags will be everywhere, I tend to just ignore them. If they get too much, I'll speak up)

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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criticism is so important. the only reason why we criticism the convention this year so much is because we wanna come back next year and we only can do that if SM makes chances. thats why its important. we want the LFCC but they just have to listen to the customers. otherwise less and less people will visit the convention. I hope they just dont think, "we sell anyway, we gonna sell out anway".

 

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I disagree that nothing changes. SM is trying new stuff all the time. Some of it has worked; instant photoshoot printouts came as a result of feedback and have been wonderful. E-ticketing has been a major improvement from my perspective (no more early shop closing!) and once we've switched 100% to e-tickets for next year, the priority confusion between old-style tickets and those bought on the day will have gone. However, I don't disagree that some parts still needs lots of work.

 

SM's biggest problem is that the LFCC is still expanding faster than it can handle at the moment, even after implementing some of the changes discussed last year. We've got a new and larger venue; assuming we can use all of it in 2016, SM caps entry at a reasonable level and keeps tighter controls on entry, the crowds will get better (it's definitely better than Saturday last year - I will never forget how squishy THAT was), and there have been some great suggestions made by attendees. My previous feedback was in a post that was hidden, unfortunately, and I don't have the energy to summarize it all again, but I'm sure SM will look through the constructive bits we all made and take them on board.

 

your feedback was hidden, this is really a shame. thats the wrong way. of course they wanna make money and Im pretty sure they did but if you have a lot of complaints about something and they are not gonna change it and listen to the customer, they of course gonna make less money next year and I hope they know.

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I think it can be a bit of an 'us vs them' vibe around here sometimes, same as at the event etc.

 

I think we all need to remember sometimes that we ARE all fans - that part genuinely isn't a lie. People like QS and myself attend a lot of conventions and have done for many years - 12 in my case alone. I joined the forum as a fan, became a part of the events as a fan, and still to this day consider myself a fan.

 

In the run up to the event I can spend a good 12 hours a day on Twitter answering queries etc and I do it because I enjoy being a part of all of it. And you've all seen the amount of effort that QS has put in on here. We're all volunteers and have been for years now. I have my normal job and do all the social media stuff in my spare time or alongside that when I can because I want to be able to help people. The crew all have their day jobs and volunteer to help because they're fans too.

 

 

Do we get it perfect all the time? Absolutely not. In the end though, at events and on here, it comes down to what Showmasters want and their decisions, and we all work within that. I'm friends with so many people off here and Twitter etc, yet they understand I have to do my 'job' when necessary. Of course, when it's necessary is often a matter of opinion, and we do try not to be too heavy handed, but we often have to make judgement calls.

 

In the end no one wants arguments. We all want to be a part of something special, and do whatever we can to make that happen.

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What David said.

 

I've been doing events since 1999 and have been on here for over 10 years now, most of the time as a mod. I do this in my spare time too which sometimes takes every free second there is.

 

My first Showmasters event was Collectormania 4, and I very clearly remember saying to my friend and room mate "I am never coming back to MK". Things there went less than ideal, but things have changed. If they hadn't I wouldn't be here anymore, much less working here. :lol:

 

A couple of people stopped me at the show telling me: "I don't know how you put up with this." I do because I want to help other fans enjoying the events.I know I can't help everyone, but like David on Twitter I am here to try. If you're not a fan... well I don't think I can say you wouldn't be able to do this, but it's a different level if you are a fan I think. I saw Jason's face when talking to Denis Lawson. He didn't look different to yours truly when Ben Browder is around. :lol:

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True fact - only reason I wanted to use the forum initially was to complain that they didn't get through all of Robert Englund's VTs at C3 in MK so I had to miss him :lol:

 

That was my one and only true 'fan' experience at a SM event, not understanding what was going on etc. Believe me, I've seen so many changes over the years, and been a part of many of them.

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This is just a suggestion for Jason so don't take it the wrong way, but a quick double-check of his spelling and grammar before he posts would go a long way towards establishing a more professional image of the Showmasters company.

 

Keep up the good work and please please please think about reducing the number of tickets you plan on selling at the next summer LFCC... a little less overcrowding will make the experience far more enjoyable and will encourage newbies to return ;)

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Jason is dyslexic. Usually he asks someone to proof read, but you probably noticed that he does have the habit of coming on at odd times sometimes. At 3 AM in the morning sometimes there is no proof reader around. He will still post if he feels something needs to be said/answered.

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I don't punch, I kick. And only on request. ;)

 

The usual announcements (if Jason is doing them) go through the proof reading process I mentioned because they only go up once everything is finalized. So enough time to wait for someone if necessary. It is another fine line, but sometimes things need to be addressed immediately, otherwise there's the "why isn't SM saying something?" posts coming in large amounts again.

 

Sometimes someone from the office posts these with the SM ID if instructed to do so. We found out it's best if guest announcements are only made with that ID. I was asked to put up a guest for Hallowhedon once cause it was really last minute and no one could get internet access. There was a pretty impressive amount of "is this for real?" questions. :lol:

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GoogleKnowsUs - I think we were in line for the MJF photoshoot - high fives of relief after getting done with them...that sound about right? ;)

 

Might well have been, I've seen so many faces over the weekend, bear with my that I can't associate them with any forum names

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GoogleKnowsUs - I think we were in line for the MJF photoshoot - high fives of relief after getting done with them...that sound about right? ;)

 

Might well have been, I've seen so many faces over the weekend, bear with my that I can't associate them with any forum names

I was the guy with short dark hair and glasses - also in line with us was a woman with blonde hair/glasses. You were directly in front of us :)

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