Stop signing up for Intercon I.

[laurion]

Stop signing up for Intercon I.

I’m only half joking. As I type this, we’re at 292 signups. We *don’t have enough games* for 292. And we _can’t_ have enough games for 292. We don’t have the space. Three days before game signups opened we were in the 160’s. Even after the first round, even after the second round, we got dozens of new registrations. Even after the signups went wide open, we picked up more registrations. I’m worried that we’re getting a lot of first time Intercon attendees who aren’t going to get into games at all, or worse, feel pushed to sign up for games they won’t enjoy just to play games at all. We’ll be crowded, con suite will have a real hard time turning out the level of food and service we’ve set up expectations for, and people will be bored, feeling trapped in Chelmsford with no where to go and nothing to do.

In short, I’m worried that we’re doing a disservice to everyone. To the new attendees who will have a bad experience because we don’t have the resources to give them a good one, to the long time attendees who we can’t provide the same level of service and experience to, to the staff and volunteers who will be pushed and worked, and have new levels of demands placed upon them. The only group I don’t worry about directly are the GMs, all of whom should have as many players as they could want to fill their games. But they’re players and attendees as well, so they don’t get off easy.

So seriously, stop signing up for the con. Or at least, convince everyone you know to sign up for at least one shift with Con Suite or Ops. Think about what you can do ahead of time to help out, and help us make it a *good* experience for everyone instead of a *bad*.

Originally published at lebor.net. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[tpau]

this is so NOT the year i thought we would have record numbers... sigh.

[jducoeur]

Out of (burning, intense) curiosity, do we have any idea *why* this year is so record-breakingly enormous? I mean, this isn't just up a bit -- this seems astonishingly large for November, and I can't for the life of me figure out what's so different this year.

(At least, different in a way that would cause *more* people to come. I would normally expect the economic mess to cause *fewer* people to travel to it. I suppose I may be underestimating the feedback loops, and instead more people are coming because it's a cheapish vacation or something...)

[tpau]

several people lit a giant fire under some college students.

games are like porn and alcohol and makeup. when life sucks due to economy people turn to them to stay happy and sane...

[jducoeur]

Neat -- I'm always happy to hear that we're getting college students in, regardless of which club. It's good for the long-term health of the activity...

[laurion]

In short, it seems we managed to tap untapped pools. We have an influx from the campaign games (Endgame, Threads, etc.), a decent swing from the boffers, and the college seeds planted over the past two years have had a bumper crop. Add to that the fact that we have a consistently high return rate over the past 6 or 7 years, and we somehow made a perfect storm at a time when most outside influences (notably the economy) say we should be shrinking, not growing.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

^_^ I'm spending the slot I didn't find anything interesting in doing Con Suite and Ops!

And yeah, I'll try to encourage people to help out. Running a con is srs, difficult bizniz, I know.

Is there anything I should know ahead of time for consuite? should I bring made things?

[tpau]

the consuite mistress will contact you about what to bring if anything. or email her and ask, her contact info is on the intercon-i.org page

[mr-teem.livejournal.com]

What a difference a weekend makes, huh?

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

If you don't have the space for more than that, you should really cap attendance. Otherwise you will be sad.

[laurion]

It's under discussion right now.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know of the existence of Intercon until I came across the post. I suppose I could make a joke saying that now that I've heard of it, I'm rushing to sign up. But in reality, I'm not, so I'll just tell you that I thought of making that joke.

[laurion]

Heh. It's a very niche convention, which you can find out more about at intercon-i.org. We regularly advertise at Arisia, but the timing is that we don't push very hard there.