The Troubles

[barondave]

For the second time in a month, it looks like I might be on a tv newscast for a sentence or two. I left Convergence a bit after midnight, late Friday evening. I ducked into the Bridge, where I had been working as Triage, a position that acts much like a greeter, answering the first questions and sending people to Registration (by far the most common question) or to the right people (if I can't answer/help easily). I wasn't on duty, but I take the job seriously, and there was a lost-looking guy standing around. He turned out to be Eric Anderson of Channel 5 News, waiting for a badge and a chance to speak to Concom about filming a segment at Convergence. When that bit of business was concluded, he interviewed me about fandom and Convergence (with the Atrium in the background) and I might do a longer segment on Shockwave later.

Convergence is fun. Got a chance to hang out with old friends and made some new ones. This morning I'm on a Heinlein panel. At 11 am, one of the reasons I left fairly early last night. Possibly a longer report later, but in the meantime, here are two pictures of the Bridge, ie Operations ie Ops. The theme of Convergence this year is Creature Features, and the Spirit of Microprogramming has infested even the Bridge Crew. added See Saturday and Sunday.


The Bridge Around 3pm: Laura on duty
note number of Tribbles
July 6, 2007
 



The Bridge Around Midnight: Thomas Keeley at far right
note number of Tribbles
July 6 (really 7), 2007

Comments

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

Triage? Is that what you call it?

I remember one Dragon*Con where I was supposedly there to help people put together characters for D&D games. I dragged down computers and books and all sorts of things and set up the table.

What I ended up doing was telling people who wandered into that particular hotel that NO, this is not where you register, HERE is a map in this booklet showing how to get to registration and I've highlighted the page instructions, NO, you can't register here, NO, I can't take your money. And I did this for FOUR FREAKING DAYS instead of the job I was supposed to do.

I call it "playing Disney Cast Member." Because there's one thing more obnoxious than a bunch of Brazilian tourists wearing bathing suits so small they'd be arrested on Florida's beaches...and they wear them into the Disney parks. That more annoying thing is...American tourists who leave their brains at the state line, and need to be told that THERE is the queue for the ride, that's right, next to the sign that says "Entrance" in two-inch-high letters.

No matter how sophisticated most conventions think they are, they are absolute CRAP when it comes to making basic procedures clear. And it doesn't help that the average person doesn't, or can't, read a sign to save their life.

No wonder the terrorists hate us. They probably were Disney Cast Members at a convention too, and finally got sick of our stupidity.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Fans may be slans, but they are creatures of habit, and old habits die slow. A large number of responses to "Registration is there (points down at an angle), first floor, past the bar" was "Oh, they keep moving it" to which the reply was "it's in the same place it was last year."

Two years ago, when Reg was next door to Ops, we still had to tell people they weren't in the right place...

In your case, I would have made a sign. Wouldn't have stopped the dumb questions, but it would have cut down on them.

[profgeek.livejournal.com]

Are you guys buried in tribbles yet?

[barondave.livejournal.com]

See next.

[thorintatge.livejournal.com]

That's nifty! Do you know anything about what Anderson's segment was like?