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ArC,

It's not a matter of lack of attention. We see them, we ask them to stop.

The hotel relies on us, the convention staff, to see to it that our attendees behave in a manner that doesn't put any person or the hotel at risk. We've established a great relationship with the Hyatt that has allowed us to have an amazing amount of autonomy, which means they don't have their staff patrolling the dance. That and if there is any damage from our event or our attendees, they bill us, which really sucks.

As for me sounding "like a paranoid mother," I'm the guy that had to sit with an attendee at another convention while we waited for medical, after she was hit in the head with a glo-stick that had sailed across the room. It still had the string tied to it. This stuff does happen, and it sucks that not everyone can be as responsible as you appear to be.

As I've said before, in this very thread:


As a staff, we try very hard to allow our attendees to have uninterrupted fun and do what they wish, but when we see people putting themselves or others at risk, we stop it.

As for making people "take their shoes off", actually, we the to opposite: we're less concerned about people putting their hands on the floor than we are about people wandering around without shoes, as that's both a safety and a health concern. To avoid people getting their hands stepped on, we ask that people not sit on the floor in the middle of the rave.

A roped off/barricaded area fails to prevent glo-sticks from flying out of the area. That also fails to protect the thousands of dollars worth of equipment that we rent to provide such an amazing event.

Having said all of this, I still hope you'll show up and have a great time.

Nathan

That could have actually been from a responsible glowstringer. Accidents happen. You're spinning it around, someone bumps into you, and WHOOSH!, off it goes. And it's not just the hazards to other people. I remember at the juggler's convention a couple years ago, there was a guy doing fire poi, and I lost count how many times he hit himself in the head and quickly smacked at his head to keep his hair from burning more. You don't do fire poi unless you're confident in your ability, and even he was messing up.

It's not just about being paranoid, either. A lot of people who don't get hit complain about them.

sigh, so much thinking and typing all for nothing, T-T
o well, i tried

well, i suggested it once before,

would a workshop during the rave (the workshop would be in another room, just as the same time as the rave) focusing on spinners meeting up be acceptable? so in the case of the people that go to the rave in hopes to spin but find out they can't can still have a place to hang out, spin, and meet other spinners?

During the rave, or at a different time, either would be nice for a Poi workshop. It'd be a nice place for us to learn new tricks and methods and whatnot. I don't know anyone else who even knows what Poi is, I've only ever met them at Ausa.

I think that a poi workshop would be a nice compromise.

The problem we run into with a poi workshop is that outside of Main Events or Events B, all the ceilings are too low

It sucks, but we can keep it in mind for future venues...

Overlord

i don't suppose those would be free at any time?

and how low is low, you'd be surprised what alot of us deal with.

Normal ceiling height. Probably the same height of the ceiling of the room you're in now, wherever that may be.

would that be 8 1/2 to 9 feet?

cause thats plenty of room for most basic poi moves and such.

Actually most of them are between 7 1/2' and 8', though they claim to be higher. We always have a problem putting our screens up because of this.

Overlord

thats low, but it can be worked with.

also, have you ever had a poi workshop, or anything similar before?

i ask because i was wondering if you'd be curious in atleast trying. if anyone didn't like it, it'd be us you'd hear from first.

I don't think we've ever had anyone willing and able to step up and teach a poi workshop.

Would you be interested? Just fill out the form on the website, and we'll see if we can fit it into the schedule for this year. If not this year, then we'll keep it on the list for things to make happen next year.

Overlord

that sounds like a plan



EDIT - submitted

Yay ^-^

Okay.. I first want to start by saying hi! I created this account simply to reply to this thread only because it's something i feel very strongly about.

I am a fire/led/glowsticking Poi Performer. When i am at a rave walking around and i find a place that's open to string at I am astounded at the number of people who think they are entitled to walk through the area I am currently occupying. It really is not my fault when I hit some retard who is oblivious to BRIGHT EFFING LIGHTS IN THEIR FACE and walks directly into them as if I simply do not exist. People need to be aware of their surroundings (myself included(which is why i can avoid hitting people 90% of the time just by knowing how far my reach is extended due to the poi)) and not aimlessly walk around like a bunch of E-Tards..

/end rant

Now I agree with astronomikal to a point, because see, what if I wanted to ask the guy a question. Music's too loud to go: "EXCUSE ME! CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT?"

Then dude goes: "DID YOU JUST CALL ME FAT?!

j/k.

Is this workshop really going to take place? I couldn't glowstick to save my life, and I'd like to learn. Even if I won't be wearing something suited for the occasion.

I hope so. If anyone knows, please post here. Otherwise we'll have to organize our Outside Rave again.

Woah, this sounds really cool.
I'd definitely love to learn!

And this, my friends, is why cons are starting to ban stringing/poi. While you may be responsible, there's no guarantee that some overstimulated teenager will not walk right into your poi. The dances have "bright effing lights" everywhere and it can be hard to distinguish your poi lights from the other lights in the room.

Please don't start this bickering again. I started this thread (though my post was deleted...) to try and change things. Give us our own place to poi, even if it's just the back of the rave room (or outside).

A semi-large workshop room, some techno music, maybe even dimmed lights... That's all I'm asking for now. Poi workshop would kick ass. Doesn't even need someone leading it. Just throw us all in and we'll teach each other.

And that's where I come in. Unfortunately, at our current venue that would be difficult for a number of reasons:
1. The time to set up and tear down. Assuming we gave you a large block (3 hours), that would negate the room for six hours (90 minutes to set up, your workshop, 90 minutes to restore the room). That's too long of a time breach for us to allow the time. And while you may say that "it only takes five minutes to set up a room!", the fact is that the panel/workshop rooms run on a schedule, and to require setup and teardown time takes up effectively one entire slot, otherwise it skews the times.
2. The music would be too loud for the panels/workshops floor. This is why we no longer hold small band/panels up there, because the music has gotten out of hand. The person running the panel might have the best of intentions, but it's essentially a rave, and raves get loud. I know, I've been to a few over the years, so you can't convince me otherwise.
3. Damages. Yes, I'm going to bring this up. The walls in the panel/workshop rooms here are soft walls and thus very susceptible to projectile damage. Since it is hotel policy to bill the offender for the damage, this would require either me to have a staffer in there at all times to watch (and I can't spare staff for that), or the panel facilitator would have to assume all responsibility for damage to the room...or specifically point out who did the damage. You say it's an accident? Well, the hotel doesn't care - we annually get bills from the hotel for damages from "accidents" (genuine or otherwise) that we (or the hotel) have to eat. If we have to pay, that's less money for us to be able to put towards the con. If the hotel eats it, it makes them less willing to work with us.
4. "Private" Party. This is also a problem, as we've had a panels in the past that people have requested of this nature and they've attempted to turn it into a "private" party; one such offender (which we've not allowed back since) even had their own "bouncers" (of which we were not told) to ensure only the "right" people got in. To me, that's extremely offensive and unacceptable. Granted, I'm not accusing anyone here of such, rather it's something to watch out for.

So at the present venue, it is very hard to do this. There may be some accommodations in the future, and we at the con will notify you of such if they happen.