Registration(Thursday)
Simple feed back:
1.) Let the line know if there is hardware trouble. We did not find out until after the issue was fixed and standing still for thirty minutes that we could have sat for a while.
2.) A few more printers would help speed up badge printing.
3.) Clear signs/directions that certain cashiers are cash only.
4.) Character limit on the web form for the badge name. Too many characters and the badge name gets truncated in odd locations. Which means that the badge needs to be reprinted differently if the attendee is not happy with it.
5.) The waiting area for cashiers quickly becomes a cluster of people waiting to check out with no fluid line.
6.) Sneaky, but it was entirely possible to go through the short/non-existent sponsor line and still register as a regular member. There was nothing to restrict one sneaking through that line to select regular membership and no one checking after that.
Also, Pre-registered attendees had no hardware issue.
Consider this a testimonial from a satisfied pre-reg customer -
I had no wait at all at 10:45 AM Friday, vs 2+? hours for the on-site line
I pre-registered, and when I got to the line I had to wait for one other person. Unconscionable! You should have had sedan chairs to carry us to the table, and..
Well, no, seriously, it was amazingly quick. I've never seen anything like it.
1.) None of us in our group or surrounding area had any idea that registration was supposed to open at 3PM or that it even opened earlier. I could not find any thing about it in the schedule posted before the convention either. The registration portion of the web site does not have it either.
We would have pre-registered if we knew what our friends' plans were earlier. No friends attending means we would not have been able to share the cost of a hotel room.
2.) Well, that is good then! The badge printers still seemed to be taking their time though. It was probably due to another issue then. Perhaps it sped up after I had gone through.
Suggestion for layout changes.
Have as many as possible computers setup for at door registrations in a lounge/cafe/waiting area kind of arrangement. Let people make their own lines to the machines, like waiting for a pen or spot to write on for paper registrations. After that they would get shuttled into a line for cashiers. This method only works if there are many computers available, which I am not sure about Anthrocon's available hardware.
1.) None of us in our group or surrounding area had any idea that registration was supposed to open at 3PM or that it even opened earlier. I could not find any thing about it in the schedule posted before the convention either. The registration portion of the web site does not have it either.
This was a frequent complaint, and while the information was posted on the Anthrocon Website, we're going to make sure hours are much more readily available next year.
I shall, however, make no apologies for opening registration early and getting people on their way to enjoy Anthrocon more quickly. 
2.) Well, that is good then! The badge printers still seemed to be taking their time though.
Please note that our Validines have to check your ID, collect your signature, note payment, collect payment, and then issue the print command. It's the last step in the procedure, some of which is 'invisible' to attendees- but the time between when the actual 'print badge' button is pressed and the time the badge prints is usually less than ten seconds, even with six Validines sending badges to only two printers.
Now and then printers need cleaning, refilling with ink, and restocking with badges as well. That can slow us down for a minute or two; maybe that happened just as you were getting your badge.
This method only works if there are many computers available, which I am not sure about Anthrocon's available hardware.
Anthrocon does have limited hardware, unfortunately; the majority of our terminals and connectivity equipment were provided by Tigerden Internet, with some additional machines loaned to us by Furry Connection North. Our print and data servers are Anthrocon property. Purchasing additional computers is something we do on a very careful and limited basis, with much concern about purchase, storage, and upgrade costs.
I was a pre-reg (from last day of '08 Con) and my two roomies were pre-regged
super sponsors. I got my stuff in mere seconds while it took my roomies a bit
longer...but that's only because they got a lot of perks and were told, "You get this...
and this...and this..." (handed them all sorts of goodies)
As a pre-reg regular getting my stuff is always a breeze for me. Thanks for a great system.
Have attended every single Anthrocon
Suggestion for signage: balloons.
Send a runner to a nearby place to pick up some balloons and you can quickly write on them with black marker to indicate which line is which. Balloons are clearly visible above crowd, which signs attached to tables or stanchions are not. And if you move, its a simple matter of tying it to the right thing or adding a weight.
If you rent a tank and fill on an "as needed" basis, you may also be able to do the same trick for other crowd heavy areas where signs attached to tables may get lost. Being able to quickly add some floating signs to the art show, alley, or large events etc that indicate "cash only" or "supersponsor seating" that are clearly visible ABOVE crowd makes things easier.
And at the end, staff can then play with the helium and sound like the Chipmunks.
Find me at: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fenrislorsrai/
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) does not allow helium balloons in the building. We were informed of this at the meeting with the DLCC management yesterday morning.
If this sounds odd, imagine this scenario: a helium balloon is released on the concourse (or even worse, in Hall B). It floats up to the ceiling. The DLCC has to rent a manlift, get someone trained to use it, and retrieve the balloon. They informed us that there would be a charge of several hundred dollars for each balloon that they have to retrieve.
So that'd be a "no".
---
Tom Brady/Duncan da Husky
Artists Alley and Con Store Manager
For fastest replies to questions about Artists Alley, e-mail me at
I assume a kid with a BB gun isn't an option
But I'd be less bothered by a balloon or two floating around
than the bird(s) I saw flying around this year and last...
Ron
If Anthrocon want to pay me $100 dollars per balloon, I'll happily lend them my patented "pin taped to a piece of dowel" balloon burster
Not with all those windows, no. And burst balloons might cause problems for people with latex allergies. Still, the DLCC people were intrigued by (I think it was KP's suggestion, the method used by theme parks) the idea of using a balloon on a long string, with duct tape sticky side out, to retrieve wayward balloons. Unlikely it'd change their policy, though.
Unlikely it'd change their {no helium balloons} policy, though.
I saw a fursuiter with some balloons attached to him (bloosky?), and a friend of mine also wears a few (it's part of his avatar, plus it helps people find him
I don't recall seeing Blooski wearing balloons, but I know Duncan typically does.
-The two saddest words in the English language are "Good bye"
You're right: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2499147 -
those might not be helium-filled though...
That's too bad. But they make the rules, so no dice.
Some way to get signs above crowd would still be appreciated. I'm short, so it's impossible to see signs on tables if there's even one or two people in the way.
Dowel rods might work. They should be light enough to transport but not be too bulky. They can either be lashed to stanchions or to the side of the register to keep them standing upright. (I assume the DLCC doesn't want you taping things, thus lashing should work) Or stick in a bottle of sand/kitty litter/marbles etc.
Find me at: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fenrislorsrai/
That's also why we try to have signs passed in the lines as well, the 'I am the Last Person' signs. They're not a perfect solution, but do tend to help a bit in keeping folks in the correct line- as was a problem in years past. The signs on easels, as well..
I like the 'flagpole' dowel notion. We might give that a go for next year, thanks for the suggestion!
--Chi
My first con ever, I preregistered and no problems what soever, had a 5 minute wait on thursday 
saw the regulare line and was realeaved I preregistered
I didn't have any problems for that accept for that, when I got up to almost the front of the line, one of the security people said "Anyone paying with cash come over here." which would have been nice to know about an hour and a half before that happened.
Let me explain a little about what happened there. It's a little confusing.
On-Site Registration had two lines, as it has for the past several years: Attending, and Sponsor/Supersponsor New & Upgrading. As happens every time, the Sponsor and Supersponsor line emptied fast; it's priority processing.
Now, we have six Validine stations, of which four were credit cards and cash, and two were cash-only. There were quite a few times that the Validines whom were cash-only were waiting, and that slows the overall line down.
So, as people got near the front of the line, occasionally people whom were paying in Cash would get a little nudge forward into the empty space, sometimes into the Sponsor/Supersponsor line, sometime into just waiting space.
In other words, Range, there wasn't a zero line for cash, just a zero line for Sponsor/Supersponsor that some cash-paying folks got shunted to as needed.
Of course, Pre-registrering for 2010 means faster, shorter lines... (hint, hint)
--Chi
As one of the volunteers at registration that day, I thought I'd add my comments (for what they're worth)...
Regarding the opening time, I guess the 2pm/3pm issue just caused some confusion - people planning to be there for 3pm suddenly hearing registration was open at 2pm and rapidly deciding to change their plans.
As Chi mentioned, I don't think the badge printers were an issue - we were handing out the badges as they got printed. However, as I understand the way it works, the badges only got printed once payment had been accepted - *not* when someone registered - so this may have led to an *apparent* delay in production. Also, because of the noise and the number of people in that small area in front of the payment desks, we could call someones badge name several times and neither the operator not the attendee would hear us - I frequently had to resort to reading the names off the monitors, or peering at peoples con badges to find the correct station for the badge. I don't know if there's a better way of handing out the badges in the future (other than having one printer per payment station which would probably cost too much)....
Yes, the cash only stations need clear signage and perhaps the registration and payment terminals could be seperated a little more to avoid people crowding into one space, as payment was taking longer than registration.
I'm guessing here, but I assume that registration (on the day) could technically take place anywhere - not just at those terminals - so someone could log in from their mobile, their hotel, or even the Tigerden before turning up to pay. In future therefore, perhaps the registration and payment areas could be seperated completely - a pain for the techs I know - but it would allow attendees to register anywhere then just turn up and pay (and might also avoid that crowding). This year, even if they registered elsewhere, they still had to stand in the long registration queue just to pay, so negating any advantage of registering somewhere else.
Oh yeah and *please* pre-register if you can folks - it makes life so much easier for everyone
However, as I understand the way it works, the badges only got printed once payment had been accepted - *not* when someone registered - so this may have led to an *apparent* delay in production.
Exactly. Payment and Proper ID must be handled first before we print the badge.
I'm guessing here, but I assume that registration (on the day) could technically take place anywhere - not just at those terminals - so someone could log in from their mobile, their hotel, or even the Tigerden before turning up to pay.
Incorrect; Registration machines were set up on a private and secure network, and were not at all connected to the internet this year. The only way to get your information in On-Site registration, as it has always been, is to use an Attendee terminal.
We may look into changing this next year and allowing On-site over-the-internet fillout of information; it depends upon many factors, security being the paramount one.
Incorrect; Registration machines were set up on a private and secure network, and were not at all connected to the internet this year. The only way to get your information in On-Site registration, as it has always been, is to use an Attendee terminal.
We may look into changing this next year and allowing On-site over-the-internet fillout of information; it depends upon many factors, security being the paramount one.
Honestly, I don't think this would speed things up. The bottleneck was always at the payment stations. I was one of the people in charge of security in the area and keep an observation on things, we constantly had to limit the number of people at the registration machines until the payment line got smaller. I don't really think it'd be worth the effort to add more Attendee terminals or allow people to register via the internet or some other network.
The bottleneck is always going to be at the paying/ID portion of it. I agree that clearer signage indicating who is cash only vs CC and cash, along with better CC machines would help, but the only way to really speed things up there is for there to be more payment stations. It only takes maybe 30 seconds to enter your information in at the Attendee terminal.
It was, however, much smoother than last year! So, it's heading in the right direction and kudos to all the hard work of people at registration for this.
For the most part, I do agree. We're looking at some interface tweaks that will speed up the Validines on the computer; if I can make the process happen just ten seconds faster per person we could speed things up. I suspect it will always be the chief bottleneck; cash and credit card handling, ID checking, and badge printing will always take a certain amount of time. I'd like to add more Validine stations next year if possible, and if they can be fully staffed during rush times.
As for better CC machines: Oh yes, we're getting some next year. It was rather my fault at that; I convinced the board we'd only need to buy two of them to try them out, as we had 'perfectly fine old ones'.
The perfectly fine old ones needed updating at 1200 baud. And then had more trouble.
This is part of why Pre-registration works so quickly; we remove completely the need to handle cash and print badges. The last-name sorting allows us to easily break what could be one long line into twelve shorter ones (8 Attending, 2 Sponsor, 2 Supersponsor). It remains easier to train a new volunteer how to handle badge passing than to use the computer system. It's an innovation that was introduced by my predecessor, Bennie; and it remains a cornerstone of Anthrocon's speedy registration methods.
--Chi
Another issue that, while it didn't crop up *too* often, caused the process to slow considerably....
Have photo ID. Have it out and ready to go. If you're a minor, have not only photo ID but also your signed and *notorized* permission form (unless your parent is there and going to accompany you to all events). We cannot allow people without any form of official identification to attend Anthrocon.
~Tyrrlin
As Tyrrlin said. Proper government-issued photo ID in hand; it's the first thing the Validine asks for in every line.
--Chi
Maybe add a line to the bottom of the "I am the last person" sign that says "please get your photo ID out now." When last guy in line gets handed the sign, they'll probably read what was just handed to them. Even if only half the people actually get their ID out then, it still speeds things up. And if somebody totally forgot it, THAT is when you want them to go running back to their room, not after they've been in line for an hour.
Find me at: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fenrislorsrai/
Also, Bezel, you're on staff next year. You rocked.
I'm getting in late on this, but since I'm the guy who wrote the registration software this year, I'd like weigh in on a few things:
- We could use more hardware. What we have the biggest need for are either laptops (easy to set up) or "all in one" machines like what Tigerwolf loaned us to use for onsite attendee registration. We'd like to avoid buying entirely new machines, because I cannot justify spending that much cash on a machine that's used for 4 days a year.
- Internet connectivity for onsite registration. It's an option that we're evaluating, but there are some security challenges to be solved first.
- An open access point for onsite registration. Similar to the Internet connectivity issue, there will be challenges to be solved. (Man-in-the-middle attack, anyone?)
If anyone is willing to donate some hardware, or has routing or security expertise, please contact me.
What are the specs for the laptops or all in on machines? Do they just need to be able to connect via ethernet to a page?
I really feel the other 2 are less of an issue. It doesn't take people long to fill out their information, so the bottleneck will always be at the payment/verification stations.
Anything with a modern web browser (FireFox, Safari, etc.) will work just fine. The entire reg system is web-based.
Would a netbook work? Woot regularly has Asus Eees available for under $200. (Coincidentally, as I post this.) And how about if several cons got together to share them, dividing up the cost and getting more than 4 days a year's use out of them?
Once upon a time I was a big advocate of wireless networking for convention registration, until I heard of the DDoS attack on the 2008 Anime Central registration system which resulted in 10-hour waits for people trying to register on-site.
Now the idea of a wireless network gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies I'm sure there are ways to properly secure things, though; I am not an IT professional so that's beyond my knowledge.
---
Tom Brady/Duncan da Husky
Artists Alley and Con Store Manager
For fastest replies to questions about Artists Alley, e-mail me at
My family and I had so much fun volunteering Wednesday night (let's ignore the fire alarm) and Thursday ( we helped with the prereg). I will always, ALWAYS, tell people to preregister for any con. Especially one as larger as AC. But, for one as large as AC was, it seemed to go rather well. At least from my side of the room.
Giza and Chiaro, you guys ROCK!!!
Snowie
polite question here Chiaroscuro,
I understand that hardware is in issue but could we take a cue from Disney and Six Flags here?
Pre reg and Supersponsor lines stay the same.
Reg registration: Patrons arrive at the table, the first 100 or so (or however many we can average in an hour) enter the line immediately.
The next 100 receive a ticket asking them to return at 3pm.
The next 100 receive a ticket asking them to return at 4pm. (and so on and so forth)
As we continue to grow, I don't think there's we much we can do about lines, however a ticket system, passed out on a first come, first serve basis, will at least allow our patrons to do something else rather then spend 4 hours standing in line simply to hold a spot. While this will require someone at the line entrance to check and retrieve these tickets I think the extra time our guests will get to spend doing other things in the fine city of Pittsburgh will make the man hours well worth it.
Just a thought.
Chanur.
This is an interesting idea! It might have some advantages, but it would require us to be very adept at crowd management. If we poorly anticipated the times, we could be sending people away and having them return when we're not yet ready for them. Or alternatively, sending them off and having them return too late.
It could be a logistics nightmare, or it could give people an excellent change to go grab lunch and socialize on Thursday. (The only day I can see this being of particular use.) I'll consider it. Thanks for the suggestion!
As one of the volunteers who worked Thursday and parts of Friday, I'd like to thank Chiaroscuro and the whole Registration staff for making it so easy for us to learn our jobs and get answers to problems as they came up. Y'all made it an enjoyable task to work the tables and meet 'n greet attendees as they got their materials! I look forward to helping out again next year!
1. I and Kage announced the hardware issues together in the line at 2pm; we still opened earlier than our posted time of 3pm. Is this what you are referring to?
Also, Pre-registered attendees had no hardware issue.
2. Badge printing is not a bottleneck for us; our two badge printers can deliver 20 badges a minute. We intend to increase the amount of Validines for next year to speed cash handling and ID verification, which takes a certain minimum time.
Also, Pre-registered badges are printed before the convention.
3. A fine idea! We did attempt to verbally signal this year. We will consider signage and are pondering layout alterations.
4. Yes, we're working on that for 2010, along with other system improvements.
5. We're looking at layout changes for 2010 to minimize trouble. There's a careful balance between keeping the attendee terminals busy, the Validine stations busy, and minimizing backup.
6. This is true, and I had not considered it. Thankfully Anthrocon atteendees are near-universally honest folks; we shall ponder solutions.
--Chi