Pre-reg line suggestion.

One more thing...a LOT of people were not sure which part of their name we were referring to with the alphabetizing. Maybe we can add a blurb somewhere to specify that we login pre-registered furs by the first letter of their LAST/Family name. I lost count how many times I was asked "Is this by badge name?" or "Is this by first or last name?" so I think it bears mentioning.

~Tyrrlin

Perhaps a sign right behind each section... signs held by nice big, fancy wooden easels... which, totally coincidently, I can build! >;]

There are hollow plastic bases which can have a pvc pipe stuck in them and are very good for temporary signage. There are even sites which sell neat little sign holders for a more professional appearance. The bases can be filled with sand or gravel to give them weight.

PIRATE

Member: Stuck In The Elevator Club

How about signs attached to helium balloons, tethered at the desired location? I was considering that for the different Art Show sales clerks, but ran out of time to make it happen. The signs would have to be three- or four-sided so as to be viewable from any angle. The balloon design can tie in with the theme -- for next year, alien heads!

Employ a border collie to herd attendees into the correct line?

A slightly more realistic option might be send someone to go buy some helium balloons (there's a nearby florist, they usually sell balloons too). Write the letters on balloons. Tape string to table. magic floating signs!

Explain this system!

Well, here's the troubles with that, and how we try and route around it.

Each name in Pre-registration is associated with a badge, and those badges are in boxes. (In numerical order, but that number's listed with the entry.) The names and other pertinent information are printed in pages, and assigned into notebooks. There the clerks collect the signatures, check IDs, and initial them.

Sorting by last name into approximately equal groups, by letter, is designed to give an equal amount of people to each line. Kage handled that this year; I'm going to do so next year. Sorting too exactly (MIN-PRO) adds complexity to figuring out the line presence, while (M-P) makes it less evenly divided but much easier to figure out the line each patron should be in.

Adding complexity to this, some registration people are simply faster than others, significantly so. In the past, if I've seen someone much faster plow through their lines, I'll switch them with someone who's going slower- but I wasn't anchored to Pre-Reg this year as in times past, and this sort of judgment call takes time to develop. My Area Leaders will get better on it, I'm sure. But sheer random distribution means that now and then, some lines will be longer than others, and some will be empty while others have people. (Distribution is also not random: families and couples sharing the same name will be in line together.)

Now, to remove the names being fixed to the books (and thus the stations), we've got to do either two things, as I see it. Make duplicate notebooks: which makes for partially-filled pages which we then must process through; or have a system which is electrically bound and not paper-bound: which increases our expense and setup time.

Also: No one will remember their badge number. Ever. No one. ever. We can dependably rely on people to know their last name.

That said, I welcome suggestions on evening out lines, or a decoupled system.

No need to feel stupid, when several dozen people converge in front of a table and block the signs and don't make neat lines, it's easy to end up in the wrong line more than once. Trust me, you weren't the only one.

Hopefully the issue will be better resolved next year.

_____________
My Anthrocon 2008 montage video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xfIYmueKeI

Sponsers and supersponsers too.

_________________
My Anthrocon 2008 montage video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xfIYmueKeI

That information was in the dealer packet, and was also in the confirmation email sent to dealers for their registrations, and was also prominently mentioned on our web page.

I'll entertain any practical suggestions as to what more you think we can do.

This happens every year; I think that information will go in small print on the back of the "Last Person in Line" signs. As Kage said, though.. we mention it to every dealer that the Dealer badges are in the Dealer's room. Multiple times.

Public announcements will help, too: The one time I was able to stand on a chair and announce to several people this con, I saw 4 or 5 immediately head out and to Sponsor/Supersponsor or the Dealer's Room.

Like most Registration information, we can give people information in emails.. but it's often forgotten. Signs and announcements are a big key; we can't rely on "It's in your pocket schedule" with Registration because Registration is where you *get* that schedule.

I think this would be the first time I would disagree with you.

One obvious thing I'd note is that if everyone was forced to pre-reg, and in the unlikely event that everyone would still show up to the cons, then those several hundred people on line would have been in YOUR line, instead of in a different line.

As I alluded to a second ago, not everyone would want to pre-reg. This means a lot of people would simply not come anymore. One example I happen to know a bit about is the artist "Wookiee". He used to pre reg until he got stopped at the US-Canada border on his way to AC06. His membership was forfeit because of it. Now, every year he registers on-site so there's no wasted money.

And this convention has a lot of international visitors.

Also, a great many people live paycheck to paycheck. They might not have the money ahead of time to register, or they might not want to commit to a membership until they KNOW they can go, which too often is simply a few days or two weeks before the convention. A lot of that has to do with jobs not being able to guarantee time off until that schedule is posted.

As for the part about easy access from a computer...that is absolutely true only within the confines of your statement. Yes, very easy with a computer. Sometimes, very difficult without. Heck, a lot of people with computers and internet access seem to have trouble remembering that the con is coming up.

All of this aside..."There is no legitimate reason NOT to do it"? I would disagree on the principle that the con likes to, and by all rights should, make things as easy on the con-goers as possible. If 600 people find it more convenient to register at the door, then that is their right and their prerogative to do so. A great many people would be very upset if suddenly they no longer could register at the door. Obviously, it is their preference.

-There is no truth

Very, very dependably, about 34% of our attendees prefer to register at the door. There's a number of reasons for this:

#1: They may have jobs or military careers where they may not know of their availability until the last few days, when pre-registration has closed.

#2: They may be curious local folks who come across us from media attention or attendees on the streets, and wish to attend. We did have a good number of these.

#3: They may not be certain of finances, rides, rooms until very close to the convention.

#4: They are lineophiliacs and enjoy standing in the longest possible line and spending the most possible money for their own perverse pleasure.

#5: They are one-day attendees. We do not sell Pre-registered One-Day Memberships.

#6: They lack the internet connections and/or payment options needed to pre-register. Yes, really, there are still furries who don't have internet at their homes. Though as mentioned, they can mail in their forms with a check, money order, etc.

#7:They're new to Anthrocon and they just don't know.

The only situation in which I see limiting Anthrocon to Pre-Registered attendees only is if we would institute an attendee cap, for space/safety reasons. Then, we might well have to institute that sort of rule; but I don't see that in our immediate future.