Lessons from MFF

[vakkotaur]

This isn't so much about MFF but my dealing with things. I had a generally good time, but I felt like I was missing a few things or at least didn't have as much time to just do whatever. The same is true for Orvan. No, it's more true for Orvan. With three candy runs and sixteen deliveries that didn't all go to easily-found folks Orvan spent most of his time "working" or trying to. This seemed odd as Orvan seemed to do better at Penguicon and LibertyCon than at MFF.

Part of that might be that it was generally easier to find folks at Penguicon and LibertyCon, or it was more likely to have a guide. Also, at LibertyCon I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I probably did miss some great panels, but it didn't feel like it to me. I think I need to limit the amount of deliveries Orvan does at any given event, or perhaps make sure that he has guides to the folks he does deliveries to. At least a couple of the Saturday deliveries were a real pain to handle solo since I didn't know the recipient enough to spot as Orvan - and Jay didn't know them either so if he had been around it wouldn't have helped. I don't want to limit too much, and I certainly don't want to turn away anyone if they have an item they want Orvan to deliver under the ACME name. That's why I have some extra bags and boxes and packing material: I can do some ACME prep at a con if need be. But I also would like to have time, at furry cons anyway, to be in suit and "off the clock." So I will continue to try to get things done before Sunday. I thought that that arrangement worked out well at RCFM. There was still a Sunday delivery or two, but things were arranged well.

Another thing is that I have to limit the amount of candy if I do that bit. Whether it's "EAT CANDY NOT CATTLE" for a furry con or "COURTESY OF ACME" for a non-furry con (so as not to be mistaken for an actual protester) the shtick really only needs to happen once per convention. Having just a little extra might be a good idea, as I do occasionally get asked about it by someone who missed it, but that doesn't need to be very much.

I have to be careful as this MFF was starting to lurch into the realm of AnthroCon Disease: Too much time spent looking for people. It says something that the time I spent gophering was actually a somewhat relaxing down-time. Oh, I was active and all, but it was break from other things. At least I can regulate what all Orvan has to do. Or maybe in 2009, depending on how 2008 goes (including how well MFF debugs its security) it'll be time to swap out MFF for some other, smaller convention. Unfortunately they all seem to be more distant and even less conveniently timed.

On the good side, expanding beyond the folks I know does seem to work. It means anybody might get a delivery, not just people I know or who know me (or Orvan). ACME's reputation seems to be improving, too. Orvan still gets asked, "Will it blow up?" but at least a couple people looked at the signature sheets and expressed disappointment, rather than relief, that they weren't getting an ACME delivery. I do need more co-conspirators, however. There will likely be a post or poll about that sometime soon.

Comments

[bronxelf-ag001.livejournal.com]

I don't feel so bad now about not scheduling Orvan to find quentincoyote.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

As they about ball games, "There's always next year."

[kiwihunter8.livejournal.com]

I thought about you on Saturday at MFF as I saw the huge crowds; wondering how Orvan would manage to find his delivery targets. At RCFM or similar sized cons I imagine it's still hard to coordinate finding someone while in suit, since people are usually bouncing all over the place.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

It can be a problem. There are few ways around it, but they can't be relied on every time.

If there is a panel or appearance, that makes finding someone easy, but care must be taken to do the delivery either a bit before things start or just after they end (GoH). Or coordinate it (Kage). I really don't like entering a panel or event as it's going on, but it does occasionally happen (Linnaeus).

If someone is in a fixed location for much of the day (Dealer's Den, Artist's Alley) that also makes things easier.

Having a guide that can recognize a recipient, or having someone make arrangements for a recipient to be in a certain place at a given time also works.

This time, many of the folks on the recipient list were on staff or were well known to staff and thus could be located by radio. Very nice, but not something to rely on. If nothing else, ACME deliveries need to be more diverse than con staff, GoH, and Big Names. That's why I seek help (co-conspirators), so that it's not "Oh, it's just for a certain crowd." Not that staff, GoH, and Big Names are to avoided... after all, the idea is that it could happen to pretty much anyone.

And that leaves the really hard to find folks. They have no set place they'll be, I don't have a guide that can recognize them, their location is random and for all I know they might not even be there anymore - or at all. It's the folks in this group that I probably really have to keep to a minimum. Everyone else is sort of a hit-and-run bit. Go there, do the delivery, get out. Or, "Set up the bit, do the joke, get off the stage."

I found that it wasn't clear to a lot of folks that Orvan was looking for someone. A few folks asked him if the recipient was in the parcel he was carrying! I've been told that Orvan looking for someone that he can't find might be a workable shtick and it likely is, but then I want a smaller, lighter, easier to carry parcel. Saturday I had one item that was bulky and heavy and took way too long to deliver.

I think smaller cons are a bit easier, but I have had similar problems at RCFM and at LibertyCon. LibertyCon was good as it was only about 300 people in a fairly small hotel and most people there knew who Orvan was looking for. But people could still be hard to find, and I didn't know what any of the recipients looked like at first.