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lupestripeI have mulled this over for 24 hours now so I can try and give the most balanced view of the Con as possible. Whilst I have never run a con before and respect anyone who takes on such a massive task, I still feel that as a paying customer, I have the right to have an opinion on it. I also do not believe in being anything but honest so I want to be as straightforward as possible regarding my experience of the weekend.
Others may disagree with what I am about to say - after all, it is merely my opinion - but I want to offer it so that it may be constructively used to make RBW 2009 a success. I think that the staff of RBW this year set out with the best of intentions and did their utmost to make the con successful but sadly, a lot of things did go wrong.
I do not wish to cause drama or a flame war over this. Whilst I accept that I was disappointed with the Con as a whole, I would like to offer constructive criticism so that RBW 2009 gets back on an even keel. I would also like to say, from the outset, that if I can help in any way then I am more than willing to lend a paw. Just get in touch.
First of all, may I say it was fantastic meeting up with many old friends, and making new ones too. I don't come to London often enough so getting to know some southern based furs was an utter pleasure and I have made five or six really good friends from the con. I also talked to countless other furs and hopefully, we can get to know each other more through IMs in the coming week.
And herein lies my first issue. As a meeting of furries, it was excellent. But this was a Con, not a Furmeet. The vast majority of my time was spent in the pub or bar, getting to know many fellow furs. Undoubtedly I had great fun but the increased expense of alcohol, food etc meant that I spent far more money than I had intended to. This was in addition to the £66 I paid for admission to the Con itself, which felt like a three-day furmeet.
Another issue was that the con was too diffuse. There were three bars - two in the hotel and the privately owned London Pub - and this meant that meeting furries was very difficult. Often, I spent my time wandering around the hotel trying to find people as they were all spread out in different places and there didn't seem to be a centralised meeting place. Added to this, the hotel was far too big for such a Con and the fact that we had to share space with two other Cons, plus tourists, was a real drawback in my opinon.
If there was a centralised place, that was Galleon C. This had a bar in it but it was only open for two hours for the entire con. Apparently, it was meant to be open throughout but there was clearly a breakdown in communication between the Con Staff and the hotel as the former thought that it was meant to be open throughout whereas the hotel thought that they hadn't booked it. Rumours of insulted bar staff are also circulating but I do not know whether these are true.
The main problem with Galleon C was the computer games section. I accept that I simply do not understand gaming but what happened was that the vast majority of furs gravitated towards these consoles to watch others game. This meant that there was very little social interaction going on and the rest of us, who were sat around the tables, became increasingly disenfranchised in what was effectively a large, empty room. Next year, I suggest having a dedicated computer game room so that this will not happen again because for a lot of the Con, I felt as if I was in the final hour of a wedding party that had turned slightly sour.
Another significant disappointment was regarding the Writing SIG. I accept that writing is perhaps not the most popular element of the Fandom but if an event is advertised then the least we can expect is someone to turn up and run it. This did not happen. The SIG was scheduled for 4:30pm, was pushed back to 5pm (so assumedly the staff were aware it was going to happen) yet by the time 5:30pm arrived, there was still no one there to talk to us. On consultation with the staff, they accepted they had no idea who was supposed to be running it so we decided to run it ourselves. Ultrafox very kindly conducted proceedings and we had a talk about our own writing projects. Effectively, we made the best out of a bad situation but considering that attending writing forums is one of the main reasons why I go to Cons - I felt that my own furry interests weren't catered for.
You may have read my previous post regarding fursuiting and I think this is becoming a significant issue. A lot of furs do feel that there is an increasing favouritism towards suiters. At this Con, this was highlighted further simply because there was very little else on. A lot of Friday was cancelled and there were constant complaints of boredom. Retiring to the pub seemed the only option.
Now, I accept the arguments regarding suiting and they DO give enjoyment to all - suiters and non-suiters alike - but watching suiters have fun knowing that you can't indulge because you don't have a suit does cause resentment in the minds of some people. In a way, I can't blame them. What exasperated this was the fact that there was very little alternative - short of watching someone play Guitar Hero (which most furs could probably do at home anyway). I accept that this is often down to furs not willing to run SIGS themselves but this is something that needs to be addressed for next year as some were disenfranchised and felt that their interests weren't being catered for.
The lack of timetables was also a problem as no one had any idea what was going on. A timetable in the Conbook itself would have been handy as the scant few that were distributed around the meeting room weren't enough. In the end, I resorted to copying the times into a notepad so I could at least keep a track of what was going on. And then everything changed!! I didn't know whether I was coming or going half the time (speaking of which, if I was being fussy, the map was wrong in the book too) so the publication of a timetable would be appreciated. By Saturday afternoon I had given up - I was no longer interested in anything at the Con, simply because I had no idea whether it would run or not. In fact, very little sparked my interest regarding the eventing too - after four fursuit parades, you tend to have been there and done it, the lack of something original was palpable (although getting furries on to the stage one by one, WAS a masterstroke).
Despite these gripes, it is not to say the whole Con was bad. The Boat Party was excellent and far surpassed last year's event. It would have been nice to have food but the atmosphere was relaxed and chilled and because most furs were in a confined space, we were almost forced to socialise. This meant I met many new furs and made loads of new friends, which was the real highlight of the trip for me. I even got an excellent drawing of my character from foxbtails - so I was doubly happy :D
At this time I would also like to say that I hugely respect FoxB and Orona for going from table to table and asking everyone how things were going. After what had happened earlier in the Con, it took a lot of courage and guts to do that and this was an extremely laudable thing to do.
I also feel that the Con improved as it went along. In many ways, this is better than it going the other way and hopefully, lessons have been learnt. If anyone would like me to lend a paw then I am more than happy to chip in and contribute - just get in touch.
All in all, had I paid for the hotel room too - I would have felt ripped off. The fact that I only paid for Con admittance meant that I feel all in all, it was worth it and I will probably go back next year.
As I say, the Con itself wasn't great but meeting loads of new furs - particularly![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
panthras (who I found out has a distinct love for football, who drew me a Conbadge and also is drawing a pic of Lupe that I have been after for over a year now), samiaperun (who I heard a lot about but who in reality is lovely) and gothicat (a good friend of my mate who I had been wanting to meet for ages) - was a true delight. Also, catching up with londonwolf and alfafox - no matter how disturbing Sunday's discussion became - was also magnificent - I don't get to see you guys often enough!! hyperx was also a pleasure to meet - how could I forget you lols :P
And finally, it also great renewing acquantance with my old friendactively_lazy . We really don't speak enough so it was great to get to know you a lot better during the weekend.
Finally, despite the difficulties, thanks to all the staff for taking us all on. I'm sure that next year, RBW will be back to form and without you, all the good experiences of the weekend would never have happened. And those experiences will be treasured :-)
Others may disagree with what I am about to say - after all, it is merely my opinion - but I want to offer it so that it may be constructively used to make RBW 2009 a success. I think that the staff of RBW this year set out with the best of intentions and did their utmost to make the con successful but sadly, a lot of things did go wrong.
I do not wish to cause drama or a flame war over this. Whilst I accept that I was disappointed with the Con as a whole, I would like to offer constructive criticism so that RBW 2009 gets back on an even keel. I would also like to say, from the outset, that if I can help in any way then I am more than willing to lend a paw. Just get in touch.
First of all, may I say it was fantastic meeting up with many old friends, and making new ones too. I don't come to London often enough so getting to know some southern based furs was an utter pleasure and I have made five or six really good friends from the con. I also talked to countless other furs and hopefully, we can get to know each other more through IMs in the coming week.
And herein lies my first issue. As a meeting of furries, it was excellent. But this was a Con, not a Furmeet. The vast majority of my time was spent in the pub or bar, getting to know many fellow furs. Undoubtedly I had great fun but the increased expense of alcohol, food etc meant that I spent far more money than I had intended to. This was in addition to the £66 I paid for admission to the Con itself, which felt like a three-day furmeet.
Another issue was that the con was too diffuse. There were three bars - two in the hotel and the privately owned London Pub - and this meant that meeting furries was very difficult. Often, I spent my time wandering around the hotel trying to find people as they were all spread out in different places and there didn't seem to be a centralised meeting place. Added to this, the hotel was far too big for such a Con and the fact that we had to share space with two other Cons, plus tourists, was a real drawback in my opinon.
If there was a centralised place, that was Galleon C. This had a bar in it but it was only open for two hours for the entire con. Apparently, it was meant to be open throughout but there was clearly a breakdown in communication between the Con Staff and the hotel as the former thought that it was meant to be open throughout whereas the hotel thought that they hadn't booked it. Rumours of insulted bar staff are also circulating but I do not know whether these are true.
The main problem with Galleon C was the computer games section. I accept that I simply do not understand gaming but what happened was that the vast majority of furs gravitated towards these consoles to watch others game. This meant that there was very little social interaction going on and the rest of us, who were sat around the tables, became increasingly disenfranchised in what was effectively a large, empty room. Next year, I suggest having a dedicated computer game room so that this will not happen again because for a lot of the Con, I felt as if I was in the final hour of a wedding party that had turned slightly sour.
Another significant disappointment was regarding the Writing SIG. I accept that writing is perhaps not the most popular element of the Fandom but if an event is advertised then the least we can expect is someone to turn up and run it. This did not happen. The SIG was scheduled for 4:30pm, was pushed back to 5pm (so assumedly the staff were aware it was going to happen) yet by the time 5:30pm arrived, there was still no one there to talk to us. On consultation with the staff, they accepted they had no idea who was supposed to be running it so we decided to run it ourselves. Ultrafox very kindly conducted proceedings and we had a talk about our own writing projects. Effectively, we made the best out of a bad situation but considering that attending writing forums is one of the main reasons why I go to Cons - I felt that my own furry interests weren't catered for.
You may have read my previous post regarding fursuiting and I think this is becoming a significant issue. A lot of furs do feel that there is an increasing favouritism towards suiters. At this Con, this was highlighted further simply because there was very little else on. A lot of Friday was cancelled and there were constant complaints of boredom. Retiring to the pub seemed the only option.
Now, I accept the arguments regarding suiting and they DO give enjoyment to all - suiters and non-suiters alike - but watching suiters have fun knowing that you can't indulge because you don't have a suit does cause resentment in the minds of some people. In a way, I can't blame them. What exasperated this was the fact that there was very little alternative - short of watching someone play Guitar Hero (which most furs could probably do at home anyway). I accept that this is often down to furs not willing to run SIGS themselves but this is something that needs to be addressed for next year as some were disenfranchised and felt that their interests weren't being catered for.
The lack of timetables was also a problem as no one had any idea what was going on. A timetable in the Conbook itself would have been handy as the scant few that were distributed around the meeting room weren't enough. In the end, I resorted to copying the times into a notepad so I could at least keep a track of what was going on. And then everything changed!! I didn't know whether I was coming or going half the time (speaking of which, if I was being fussy, the map was wrong in the book too) so the publication of a timetable would be appreciated. By Saturday afternoon I had given up - I was no longer interested in anything at the Con, simply because I had no idea whether it would run or not. In fact, very little sparked my interest regarding the eventing too - after four fursuit parades, you tend to have been there and done it, the lack of something original was palpable (although getting furries on to the stage one by one, WAS a masterstroke).
Despite these gripes, it is not to say the whole Con was bad. The Boat Party was excellent and far surpassed last year's event. It would have been nice to have food but the atmosphere was relaxed and chilled and because most furs were in a confined space, we were almost forced to socialise. This meant I met many new furs and made loads of new friends, which was the real highlight of the trip for me. I even got an excellent drawing of my character from foxbtails - so I was doubly happy :D
At this time I would also like to say that I hugely respect FoxB and Orona for going from table to table and asking everyone how things were going. After what had happened earlier in the Con, it took a lot of courage and guts to do that and this was an extremely laudable thing to do.
I also feel that the Con improved as it went along. In many ways, this is better than it going the other way and hopefully, lessons have been learnt. If anyone would like me to lend a paw then I am more than happy to chip in and contribute - just get in touch.
All in all, had I paid for the hotel room too - I would have felt ripped off. The fact that I only paid for Con admittance meant that I feel all in all, it was worth it and I will probably go back next year.
As I say, the Con itself wasn't great but meeting loads of new furs - particularly
panthras (who I found out has a distinct love for football, who drew me a Conbadge and also is drawing a pic of Lupe that I have been after for over a year now), samiaperun (who I heard a lot about but who in reality is lovely) and gothicat (a good friend of my mate who I had been wanting to meet for ages) - was a true delight. Also, catching up with londonwolf and alfafox - no matter how disturbing Sunday's discussion became - was also magnificent - I don't get to see you guys often enough!! hyperx was also a pleasure to meet - how could I forget you lols :PAnd finally, it also great renewing acquantance with my old friend
actively_lazy . We really don't speak enough so it was great to get to know you a lot better during the weekend.Finally, despite the difficulties, thanks to all the staff for taking us all on. I'm sure that next year, RBW will be back to form and without you, all the good experiences of the weekend would never have happened. And those experiences will be treasured :-)
