AGDQ 2015 Feedback

2015-01-24 02:50:04 pm

I'm pretty sure the entire rest of the post lurk left out discussed why it isn't going to change, TheMG2, if you want to scroll up and read it.

TheMG2

2015-01-24 02:51:35 pm

Quote from flatluigi:

I'm pretty sure the entire rest of the post lurk left out discussed why it isn't going to change, TheMG2, if you want to scroll up and read it.

I was writing in response to kennyman's post, not lurk's second one. I was asking for a more detailed analysis of things rather than a general "they help the event run".

KennyMan666

2015-01-24 02:54:41 pm

Precursor

Quote from TheMG2:

I think there needs to be a discussion of what PCF does, what it does not do, and what would happen if a different charity was chosen. As long as the facts are being properly presented. Heck, maybe even contact a representative of PCF as long as things can remain civil.

Yeah, this is a good idea.

Deuceler

2015-01-24 03:05:32 pm

SPEEDruns not SAFEruns

I don't have much else to add aside from what people have been saying here. Was obviously successful and I can't echo what Cronikeys said enough about thinking of a new charity, or at least explaining to someone who donates what the charity actually does.

The only thing I wanted to really talk about was possibly having someone to facilitate the end of races. Having somebody there to announce the winner and let people know what places everyone got could be a huge help. This would also prevent moments like after the Mega Man X race. Domalix got totally over shadowed by a really awkward speech that had no business being there in the first place. I know we can't control the action of people, but there can be measures put in place so we don't have to suffer through something like that again.

TheMG2

2015-01-24 03:08:39 pm

If some of the concerns could be solved this way, maybe sending some suggestions to PCF would be helpful as well. I highly doubt they would completely ignore what a significant source of fundraising has to say.

AlecK47

2015-01-24 03:38:20 pm

Well, NAMI is already working with RPGLB and our concerns, and we haven't even raised any money for them yet. Granted, they are different organizations, but I see no reason why PCF wouldn't work with us to at least some extent if warranted. And for the record I am neutral in this whole matter.

SpootyBiscuit

Edit history:

SpootyBiscuit: 2015-01-24 03:42:46 pm

2015-01-24 03:42:03 pm

First GDQ I ever attended. Had an absolute blast. Stream layout looked SO much better than it has compared to previous years. Thanks for all the hard work everyone put in.

PJ already touched on it, but I think the quality on the PC setups really needs to be looked into next time. I couched for three different PC runners, and only one of them (CapnClever/Commander Keen) didn't have some form of issue, whether v-sync, controller driver, or audio problems. While I didn't run into any problems with software during my run, it struck me as odd that the sound setup pointed towards the runner seemed to be a mono-channel single speaker. Directional audio seems like it should be a pretty basic thing to have; it definitely would have been a really useful thing to have in my run (and most likely some of the other FPS runs). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the lack of it until I reached a particular point in my run where I'm fairly reliant upon it.

Cool Matty

Edit history:

Cool Matty: 2015-01-24 03:45:00 pm

2015-01-24 03:44:29 pm

Crawlathon WR, get down on my level.

Quote from SpootyBiscuit:

First GDQ I ever attended. Had an absolute blast. Stream layout looked SO much better than it has compared to previous years. Thanks for all the hard work everyone put in.

PJ already touched on it, but I think the quality on the PC setups really needs to be looked into next time. I couched for three different PC runners, and only one of them (CapnClever/Commander Keen) didn't have some form of issue, whether v-sync, controller driver, or audio problems. While I didn't run into any problems with software during my run, it struck me as odd that the sound setup pointed towards the runner seemed to be a mono-channel single speaker. Directional audio seems like it should be a pretty basic thing to have; it definitely would have been a really useful thing to have in my run (and most likely some of the other FPS runs). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the lack of it until I reached a particular point in my run where I'm fairly reliant upon it.

Uhm, actually, they were all stereo setups. All game audio is stereo (NES is even mirrored). If directional audio is supremely important, you'll probably want headphones, since speakers don't give great separation.

[quote="SpootyBiscuit"]First GDQ I ever attended. Had an absolute blast. Stream layout looked SO much better than it has compared to previous years. Thanks for all the hard work everyone put in.

PJ already touched on it, but I think the quality on the PC setups really needs to be looked into next time. I couched for three different PC runners, and only one of them (CapnClever/Commander Keen) didn't have some form of issue, whether v-sync, controller driver, or audio problems. While I didn't run into any problems with software during my run, it struck me as odd that the sound setup pointed towards the runner seemed to be a mono-channel single speaker. Directional audio seems like it should be a pretty basic thing to have; it definitely would have been a really useful thing to have in my run (and most likely some of the other FPS runs). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the lack of it until I reached a particular point in my run where I'm fairly reliant upon it.[/quote]

Uhm, actually, they were all stereo setups. All game audio is stereo (NES is even mirrored). If directional audio is supremely important, you'll probably want headphones, since speakers don't give great separation.

HyperZoot

2015-01-24 04:00:57 pm

Pretty much every comment I had about the event was said already, but there should be more incentive to sub. 100% of the sub money going to PCF is a start, but from what I saw of the twitch chat, it looked like there were not many subs. Sub only mode might be a good plan, as well as new emotes. There seemed to be a lot of confusion about what the emotes are even supposed to mean, and the only one people appear to use is the animals one.

I donated instead of subbing, but even then my comment wasn't read even though I was raising awareness for a new donation incentive. As a volunteer I don't know how a comment like that wasn't read.

Billnye_Fan

2015-01-24 04:01:10 pm

What strikes me as odd is that PCF knows AGDQ gets roughly 75-100k viewers. Why didn’t they require you to spread actual information about preventing cancer to the large audience? This to me seems like a huge flaw that an organization who seems to focus on awareness wouldn’t want to educate an audience of 100k+ people. PCF seems like it would be a much better SPONSOR for the event where they can educate 100k+ people while the actual donations go towards an international charity that focuses on researching a cure for various cancers. To me this seems like a much more EFFICIENT use of donations.

Also, why is there this two week waiting period for feedback thread? I read the post in the marathon forum but what I don't understand is that no one is forcing the organizers to read the feedback until they are settled back in. Instead of a "no feedback for two weeks" rule could it change to something like "No responses to feedback by the organizers for two weeks"?

As for the feedback for the marathon itself, AMVX's posts (and other's) pinpoint exactly my sentiments towards the tech issues. I think what is really bothersome is that since GDQs decided to become professional, that everyone is expecting the event to be professional quality, and in some cases they are being let down in that aspect. There are standards to live up to.

Also, can someone clarify some facts for me. I am under the impression that AGDQ has a large budget (1:7 ratio of the $1,000,000 from last year, sponsorship funds, attendance fees, ad revenue, etc.), the organizers do this as their main job, and the community is full of people offering to help (the 40+ tech volunteers). How come every year the same mistakes seem to occur? The cord jungle, the layout issues, camera issues, prize issues, etc. It just seems like there is more than enough time, money, and manpower to handle these issues.

In my opinion, many issues can easily be PREVENTED if the community was actually allowed to discuss and provide feedback PRIOR to the marathon. A good example is last years AGDQ layout thread.

Finally, I just don't understand why all the secrescy. Secrecy leads to rumors like $200k+ salaries of the staff. It shouldn't be taboo to talk about finances with the community that is essentially doing all the entertainment for the marathon. I can even imagine some people actually helping out and finding ways to more efficiently spend money on better quality equipment. The community has a ton of skills in all areas. Keeping people out of the loop seems to be hurting the event more than helping.

Quote:

-Pick the charity, or the community. Trying to balance both is ruining it for everyone.

This quote was from the ESA feedback thread but it very much applies to AGDQ. Pick one and focus on that.

What strikes me as odd is that PCF knows AGDQ gets roughly 75-100k viewers. Why didn’t they require you to spread actual information about preventing cancer to the large audience? This to me seems like a huge flaw that an organization who seems to focus on awareness wouldn’t want to educate an audience of 100k+ people. PCF seems like it would be a much better [b]SPONSOR [/b]for the event where they can educate 100k+ people while the actual donations go towards an international charity that focuses on researching a cure for various cancers. To me this seems like a much more [b]EFFICIENT [/b]use of donations.

Also, why is there this two week waiting period for feedback thread? I read the post in the marathon forum but what I don't understand is that no one is forcing the organizers to read the feedback until they are settled back in. Instead of a "no feedback for two weeks" rule could it change to something like "No responses to feedback by the organizers for two weeks"?

As for the feedback for the marathon itself, AMVX's posts (and other's) pinpoint exactly my sentiments towards the tech issues. I think what is really bothersome is that since GDQs decided to become professional, that everyone is expecting the event to be professional quality, and in some cases they are being let down in that aspect. There are standards to live up to.

Also, can someone clarify some facts for me. I am under the impression that AGDQ has a large budget (1:7 ratio of the $1,000,000 from last year, sponsorship funds, attendance fees, ad revenue, etc.), the organizers do this as their main job, and the community is full of people offering to help (the 40+ tech volunteers). How come every year the same mistakes seem to occur? The cord jungle, the layout issues, camera issues, prize issues, etc. It just seems like there is more than enough time, money, and manpower to handle these issues.

In my opinion, many issues can easily be PREVENTED if the community was actually allowed to discuss and provide feedback PRIOR to the marathon. A good example is last years AGDQ layout thread.

Finally, I just don't understand why all the secrescy. Secrecy leads to rumors like $200k+ salaries of the staff. It shouldn't be taboo to talk about finances with the community that is essentially doing all the entertainment for the marathon. I can even imagine some people actually helping out and finding ways to more efficiently spend money on better quality equipment. The community has a ton of skills in all areas. Keeping people out of the loop seems to be hurting the event more than helping.

[quote]-Pick the charity, or the community. Trying to balance both is ruining it for everyone.[/quote]
This quote was from the ESA feedback thread but it very much applies to AGDQ. Pick one and focus on that.

SpootyBiscuit

2015-01-24 04:26:38 pm

Quote from Cool Matty:

Quote from SpootyBiscuit:

First GDQ I ever attended. Had an absolute blast. Stream layout looked SO much better than it has compared to previous years. Thanks for all the hard work everyone put in.

PJ already touched on it, but I think the quality on the PC setups really needs to be looked into next time. I couched for three different PC runners, and only one of them (CapnClever/Commander Keen) didn't have some form of issue, whether v-sync, controller driver, or audio problems. While I didn't run into any problems with software during my run, it struck me as odd that the sound setup pointed towards the runner seemed to be a mono-channel single speaker. Directional audio seems like it should be a pretty basic thing to have; it definitely would have been a really useful thing to have in my run (and most likely some of the other FPS runs). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the lack of it until I reached a particular point in my run where I'm fairly reliant upon it.

Uhm, actually, they were all stereo setups. All game audio is stereo (NES is even mirrored). If directional audio is supremely important, you'll probably want headphones, since speakers don't give great separation.

Huh, it sounded like it was all on one speaker slightly to my left. My mistake then I guess.

[quote="Cool Matty"][quote="SpootyBiscuit"]First GDQ I ever attended. Had an absolute blast. Stream layout looked SO much better than it has compared to previous years. Thanks for all the hard work everyone put in.

PJ already touched on it, but I think the quality on the PC setups really needs to be looked into next time. I couched for three different PC runners, and only one of them (CapnClever/Commander Keen) didn't have some form of issue, whether v-sync, controller driver, or audio problems. While I didn't run into any problems with software during my run, it struck me as odd that the sound setup pointed towards the runner seemed to be a mono-channel single speaker. Directional audio seems like it should be a pretty basic thing to have; it definitely would have been a really useful thing to have in my run (and most likely some of the other FPS runs). Unfortunately, I didn't notice the lack of it until I reached a particular point in my run where I'm fairly reliant upon it.[/quote]

Uhm, actually, they were all stereo setups. All game audio is stereo (NES is even mirrored). If directional audio is supremely important, you'll probably want headphones, since speakers don't give great separation.[/quote]

Huh, it sounded like it was all on one speaker slightly to my left. My mistake then I guess.

Vulajin

2015-01-24 04:55:42 pm

Quote from SpootyBiscuit:

Huh, it sounded like it was all on one speaker slightly to my left. My mistake then I guess.

No, you were accurate. We had set up couch speakers to play the audio from the primary player, but they were positioned surrounding the main CRT. During your run, you were positioned right of that CRT, so both of the speakers were on your left, hence the effect.

Cool Matty

2015-01-24 05:43:56 pm

Crawlathon WR, get down on my level.

Billnye: This is an event that is powered almost entirely by volunteers. It may never match the level of production of larger shows such as EVO. We strive for the highest quality, but at the same time, we are still not a professional broadcast.

We can't make our problems go away with more money. Problems like the head organizer suddenly growing ill during the most important stage of planning was a huge blow to how this event went off. It's not easy to recover from that, and in the end, our primary goal was to make sure we still had the most enjoyable, successful event possible. We scrapped most of our ideas for improving the event simply because we would no longer be able to accomplish them. It was a miracle in itself we were able to make the console rack happen regardless of his availability.

Then you have situations like Drew having to take over for Mike. He's still got a full-time job at Twitch, so he's trying to catch up on planning an event he's never managed before, with a charity he hasn't been working with very closely, all in his spare time.

I'm not going to discuss the pay of everyone, that's not my business nor my area, but I'm the next highest on the branch, and I too have been working for myself outside of GDQ just to make ends meet.

In the end, AGDQ was planned by people who are unable to dedicate themselves to it full-time. We were unable take off from work and show up a week before the event to do what needed to be done. We had to make do with what we were dealt. All in all, I think we did a fantastic job given the result. Granted, there are things we need to work on, and we will be doing as much as we can for the next event.

If nothing else, I can't thank the volunteers enough. We had a lot more during setup, and even though it was chaotic (much of my time was actually instructing people on what needed to be done), we still pulled it off. The whole community should be proud of that accomplishment, don't you think?

Billnye: This is an event that is powered almost entirely by volunteers. It may never match the level of production of larger shows such as EVO. We strive for the highest quality, but at the same time, we are still not a professional broadcast.

We can't make our problems go away with more money. Problems like the head organizer suddenly growing ill during the most important stage of planning was a huge blow to how this event went off. It's not easy to recover from that, and in the end, our primary goal was to make sure we still had the most enjoyable, successful event possible. We scrapped most of our ideas for improving the event simply because we would no longer be able to accomplish them. It was a miracle in itself we were able to make the console rack happen regardless of his availability.

Then you have situations like Drew having to take over for Mike. He's still got a full-time job at Twitch, so he's trying to catch up on planning an event he's never managed before, with a charity he hasn't been working with very closely, all in his spare time.

I'm not going to discuss the pay of everyone, that's not my business nor my area, but I'm the next highest on the branch, and I too have been working for myself outside of GDQ just to make ends meet.

In the end, AGDQ was planned by people who are unable to dedicate themselves to it full-time. We were unable take off from work and show up a week before the event to do what needed to be done. We had to make do with what we were dealt. All in all, I think we did a fantastic job given the result.  Granted, there are things we need to work on, and we will be doing as much as we can for the next event.

If nothing else, I can't thank the volunteers enough. We had a lot more during setup, and even though it was chaotic (much of my time was actually instructing people on what needed to be done), we still pulled it off. The whole community should be proud of that accomplishment, don't you think?

Deuceler

2015-01-24 05:50:40 pm

SPEEDruns not SAFEruns

Quote:

we are still not a professional broadcast.

This point needs to be emphasized more, because you're pulling in professional type money. I think a lot of people will agree with the current size of the events and the attention they get, maybe it's time to become a professional broadcast.

Raelcun

2015-01-24 05:52:47 pm

We require more minerals

Quote from RamblingJosh:

Seeing people milling about and having fun is great. Zooming in on people can be fun, bet the way it was done gets awkward fast. And to be honest, if I were at the venue, it would disincentive me from sitting in the viewing area

Just as a quick note. As one of the two people who was primarily playing with the camera, if someone gave us body language that they didn't want to be zoomed in on, we immediately moved the camera. That was something we were aware of while doing that sort of thing.

Cool Matty

Edit history:

Cool Matty: 2015-01-24 06:04:21 pm

Cool Matty: 2015-01-24 06:02:03 pm

2015-01-24 06:01:16 pm

Crawlathon WR, get down on my level.

Quote from Deuceler:

This point needs to be emphasized more, because you're pulling in professional type money.

You severely underestimate how much an A/V company would cost for a (literal) 24/7 event. Think multiple shifts, $100/h ballpark salary per person, overtime, equipment rental fees. People already have issues with how much money is spent on the event.

dangodofthunder

2015-01-24 06:09:50 pm

I don't think you're going to find a happy medium though, Cool Matty. Folks will either be upset that such a large event is held together in an amateur fashion, or folks will be upset that the nature of GDQ's are changing by bringing in professional staff, never mind the cost to do so.

sumichu

Edit history:

sumichu: 2015-01-24 06:31:18 pm

sumichu: 2015-01-24 06:29:22 pm

sumichu: 2015-01-24 06:27:21 pm

2015-01-24 06:26:07 pm

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Quote from Keaur:

-Where was The Yetee booth? I managed to ask registration about the shirts I purchased. They had a representative give me my order, but I felt there should have been volunteers dedicated to this. There were no signs informing people about any of this.

We will try to have hours for registration/shirts (which were done together), as well as a designated place for people to go after hours.

Quote from Keaur:

-I disliked like the lack of things to do when not watching a speed-run. Ultimately I ended up back in the room just browsing on my laptop, which didn’t sit well with me. Of course this is a speed-running event, but one would think there would be something else to stave boredom. This is especially relevant for people who didn't really know other people at the event. I have some ideas for this, and would love whoever is in charge of events to get with me in a PM. I'm not entirely sure who to contact for idea pitching.

This year, DwangoAC, PinballJoe and CoolMatty brought in pinball in addition to the usual provided space for casual/card/board games, and attendees bring the games they would like to play. We're looking at additional ways that we can provide entertainment on-site, but we leave planning for things like off-site entertainment to attendees.

Quote from Keaur:

-They definitely needed to be on better point with roll calls. For instance checking that the commentators are actually scheduled with the current runner. I was informed that at least one commentator on the couch wasn’t supposed to be there at all. This wasn’t my run, but I still feel that it shouldn’t have happened to anyone and could’ve easily been avoided.

Couch management is generally something we leave to the runner, as we focus on getting the stations set up during that time.

Quote from OtakuSRL:

- Also, I had an amazing time being on the (last?) bonus stream but I can agree that cutting speedrunning content out of the bonus stream probably wasn't a good decision or a good idea. Cutting it out completely doesn't seem to be a good answer, being on there definitely added something to my experience, and I think everybody who knows a game well (by this I do not mean un-timed Pokemon Stadium, for the record :D)

From what the other staff members reported (I had to leave before the finale because I had a 12-hour flight and work the next day), the amount of people that were around on-site in the afternoon was in the double digits. That's an extra day or two of a rather large venue for what isn't getting a lot of interest on-site.

[quote="Keaur"]
-Where was The Yetee booth? I managed to ask registration about the shirts I purchased. They had a representative give me my order, but I felt there should have been volunteers dedicated to this. There were no signs informing people about any of this.
[/quote]

We will try to have hours for registration/shirts (which were done together), as well as a designated place for people to go after hours.

[quote="Keaur"]
-I disliked like the lack of things to do when not watching a speed-run. Ultimately I ended up back in the room just browsing on my laptop, which didn’t sit well with me. Of course this is a speed-running event, but one would think there would be something else to stave boredom. This is especially relevant for people who didn't really know other people at the event. I have some ideas for this, and would love whoever is in charge of events to get with me in a PM. I'm not entirely sure who to contact for idea pitching.
[/quote]

This year, DwangoAC, PinballJoe and CoolMatty brought in pinball in addition to the usual provided space for casual/card/board games, and attendees bring the games they would like to play.  We're looking at additional ways that we can provide entertainment on-site, but we leave planning for things like off-site entertainment to attendees.

[quote="Keaur"]
-They definitely needed to be on better point with roll calls. For instance checking that the commentators are actually scheduled with the current runner. I was informed that at least one commentator on the couch wasn’t supposed to be there at all. This wasn’t my run, but I still feel that it shouldn’t have happened to anyone and could’ve easily been avoided.
[/quote]

Couch management is generally something we leave to the runner, as we focus on getting the stations set up during that time.

[quote="OtakuSRL"]
- Also, I had an amazing time being on the (last?) bonus stream but I can agree that cutting speedrunning content out of the bonus stream probably wasn't a good decision or a good idea. Cutting it out completely doesn't seem to be a good answer, being on there definitely added something to my experience, and I think everybody who knows a game well (by this I do not mean un-timed Pokemon Stadium, for the record :D)
[/quote]

From what the other staff members reported (I had to leave before the finale because I had a 12-hour flight and work the next day), the amount of people that were around on-site in the afternoon was in the double digits. That's an extra day or two of a rather large venue for what isn't getting a lot of interest on-site.

esi

2015-01-24 06:53:49 pm

Quote from Keaur:

-I disliked like the lack of things to do when not watching a speed-run. Ultimately I ended up back in the room just browsing on my laptop, which didn’t sit well with me. Of course this is a speed-running event, but one would think there would be something else to stave boredom. This is especially relevant for people who didn't really know other people at the event. I have some ideas for this, and would love whoever is in charge of events to get with me in a PM. I'm not entirely sure who to contact for idea pitching.

Just as a general comment, AGDQ/SGDQ have always been social events for myself and many of my speedgaming friends. There really has never been a plan ahead of time, it's always been just talk to people and figure out something to do for the day. I had no problem finding stuff to do with friends outside of speedgaming - Mario Kart 8, Mario Party, IIDX, fighting games, etc. Unfortunately, if you don't really know people at the event, it'll simply be harder to find stuff to do because a large part of the community (at least the people I talk to) is averse to talking to people they don't already know online.

Meeting people I otherwise would only get to talk to online is the sole reason i go to AGDQ. I don't really feel like people who go just to watch runs are going to have nearly as much fun unfortunately.

[quote="Keaur"]-I disliked like the lack of things to do when not watching a speed-run. Ultimately I ended up back in the room just browsing on my laptop, which didn’t sit well with me. Of course this is a speed-running event, but one would think there would be something else to stave boredom. This is especially relevant for people who didn't really know other people at the event. I have some ideas for this, and would love whoever is in charge of events to get with me in a PM. I'm not entirely sure who to contact for idea pitching.[/quote]

Just as a general comment, AGDQ/SGDQ have always been social events for myself and many of my speedgaming friends.  There really has never been a plan ahead of time, it's always been just talk to people and figure out something to do for the day.  I had no problem finding stuff to do with friends outside of speedgaming - Mario Kart 8, Mario Party, IIDX, fighting games, etc.  Unfortunately, if you don't really know people at the event, it'll simply be harder to find stuff to do because a large part of the community (at least the people I talk to) is averse to talking to people they don't already know online.

Meeting people I otherwise would only get to talk to online is the sole reason i go to AGDQ.  I don't really feel like people who go just to watch runs are going to have nearly as much fun unfortunately.

Genocidal

2015-01-24 07:25:47 pm

I read the first four pages and read-skimmed the last four, so apologies if anything here has been discussed to death.

Volunteering

I had a full tech shift and covered for a partial donation shift, so I touched the two behind the scenes area, but didn't spend extensive time on them. The cheat sheets were excellent and provided a nice walkthrough of what needed to be done at each station. The senior tech/donation people were helpful when questions cropped up. On the other hand, with tech it felt like anything more than a minor fix I absolutely needed to check with a senior tech before going ahead. I understand that with tech being able to edit the live stream there needs to be oversight, but it would have been nice to get more official training so we could learn how things worked and contribute more at future marathons. I notice someone mentioned that some of the senior volunteers were on-duty way longer than they should have been, but every time I poked in to ask if help was needed or just took a look, everything seemed fine/I was told they didn't need help. Setting up a group of junior volunteers who are on call or available for extra shifts in the future may help ease the workload.

Food

Yes, it's been touched on repeatedly. The venue location wasn't great. There was also mention on the first day of the hotel providing something from midnight to 6am right outside the stream room, and that never happened. Not a huge deal, but a slight letdown. The lack of food overnight was a problem unless you love IHOP or McDonald's. I also offered nearly every meal to drive people when I was going, and only had two take me up on the offer (maybe that's a me thing though). It'd be nice to have a bulletin board or something similar where people could coordinate meals and would also be a nice way to meet others.

Everything else I can think of right now has been touched on a lot and answered or is out of our control.

I read the first four pages and read-skimmed the last four, so apologies if anything here has been discussed to death.

[b]Volunteering[/b]

I had a full tech shift and covered for a partial donation shift, so I touched the two behind the scenes area, but didn't spend extensive time on them. The cheat sheets were excellent and provided a nice walkthrough of what needed to be done at each station. The senior tech/donation people were helpful when questions cropped up. On the other hand, with tech it felt like anything more than a minor fix I absolutely needed to check with a senior tech before going ahead. I understand that with tech being able to edit the live stream there needs to be oversight, but it would have been nice to get more official training so we could learn how things worked and contribute more at future marathons. I notice someone mentioned that some of the senior volunteers were on-duty way longer than they should have been, but every time I poked in to ask if help was needed or just took a look, everything seemed fine/I was told they didn't need help. Setting up a group of junior volunteers who are on call or available for extra shifts in the future may help ease the workload.

[b]Food[/b]

Yes, it's been touched on repeatedly. The venue location wasn't great. There was also mention on the first day of the hotel providing something from midnight to 6am right outside the stream room, and that never happened. Not a huge deal, but a slight letdown. The lack of food overnight was a problem unless you love IHOP or McDonald's. I also offered nearly every meal to drive people when I was going, and only had two take me up on the offer (maybe that's a me thing though). It'd be nice to have a bulletin board or something similar where people could coordinate meals and would also be a nice way to meet others.

Everything else I can think of right now has been touched on a lot and answered or is out of our control.

Raelcun

Edit history:

Raelcun: 2015-01-24 10:53:13 pm

2015-01-24 07:30:07 pm

We require more minerals

The hotel food from Midnight to 6am closed after the first two days because nobody used it. It was cash only and was also tucked into a corner that most people ignored. Basically, it was something that didn't work out.

Billnye_Fan

2015-01-24 07:36:11 pm

Cool matty: My understanding was that once you decided to become a for profit company, you all decided to become professional. Maybe you all were a bit too hasty in the decision to profit off the event before you could make the event a professional broadcast?

As for unexpected problems, you are very much correct that you cannot handle with every problem that arises. Mike getting sick was a very unfortunate thing. It's how you handle the unexpected which matters. From an outsiders perspective everything was under control. The post on Dec 30th about people taking over certain roles of Mike was made. No other posts or other public announcements asking for help from the people prior were made. From my point of view everything was under control.

People even offered to help out. Flicky and Edenal offered to help run things since they have experience with ESA and know how to run live events. Unfortunately they were turned away because you were "good on volunteers". So maybe you can see why I am a bit confused? All the posts prior to the event made it seem like you all have everything under control and then now these posts are saying otherwise.

Cool matty: My understanding was that once you decided to become a for profit company, you all decided to become professional. Maybe you all were a bit too hasty in the decision to profit off the event before you could make the event a professional broadcast?

As for unexpected problems, you are very much correct that you cannot handle with every problem that arises. Mike getting sick was a very unfortunate thing. It's how you handle the unexpected which matters. From an outsiders perspective everything was under control. The post on Dec 30th about people taking over certain roles of Mike was made. No other posts or other public announcements asking for help from the people prior were made. From my point of view everything was under control.

People even offered to help out. Flicky and Edenal offered to help run things since they have experience with ESA and know how to run live events. Unfortunately they were turned away because you were "good on volunteers". So maybe you can see why I am a bit confused? All the posts prior to the event made it seem like you all have everything under control and then now these posts are saying otherwise.

Genocidal

2015-01-24 07:52:25 pm

Quote from Raelcun:

The hotel food from Midnight to 6am closed after the first two days because nobody used it. It was cash only and overpriced. It was also tucked into a corner that most people ignored. Basically, it was something that didn't work out.

That would explain it then. Thanks for the quick reply.

Cool Matty

Edit history:

Cool Matty: 2015-01-24 08:14:31 pm

2015-01-24 08:13:16 pm

Crawlathon WR, get down on my level.

Billnye: We did have things under control, as the event happened and was a success. It was not polished as we originally planned, but additional volunteers, particularly ones too far away and too late, would not have improved that situation.

We're an LLC. We became an LLC for liability reasons, and not creating a business would be grossly irresponsible given the size of the event.

Naegleria

(user is banned)

2015-01-24 08:39:30 pm

I asked this earlier and it didn't get a response; What does the tech crew think of having a dual setup, so you setup on one TV while the other is being used for a run?