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The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Some suggestions for enforcers or other line-minding and people-steering folks.
TMIB
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
First off, enforcers are *awesome*, so don't take any comments here as any kind of major complaint, merely suggestions. That said, some enforcers are even more awesome than others- some have experience in handling big groups of people, and some don't. Those that don't have the experience are trying hard to make the right things happen at the right time, but may not be as successful as those that have done this several times. That's who I'm directing this at.
(really, this is intended as helpful suggestion, so please take it in that spirit.)
Line management and happy attendees:
We all know lines at PAX can be really long. It comes with the territory. That's ok, there's lots of cool people in line, and often you can start up a game of something with strangers while waiting. This doesn't work as well for constantly moving lines, but a lot of the lines are the kind where you line up a half hour or hour in advance, and can comfortably wait until the event opens. Now you're not going to be playing a game of Arkham Horror in line- but smaller card games, dice games, etc. work really well and are a fun way to meet new people.
Enforcers, these kinds of things are what make waiting in line at PAX fun. There's things you can do to help this work. First off, we know you need to compress the line from time to time. If you can, wait and do a big compression all at once, not small ones every 60-120 seconds. We don't mind moving, but it's so much nicer when we can move once or twice instead of constantly. That lets folks playing games play, and those not playing games get comfortable.
Of course it's not always possible, and that's understood. But if you have the option, move the line larger amounts less often.
Also, (and related to the subject of line compression), keep in mind the length of the line vs. the space allowed. Obviously we can't block hallways, but there is often enough room to have a line go up both sides of a big hallway, so that compressing the line doesn't have to be as agressive. It can be very frustrating to be at standing room only, only to see a hundred feet of bare wall available nearby.
Speaking of standing room only, watch what's happening once you've compressed the line a few times. Once folks get to the point where they are all in physical contact with each other, yelling "move up" doesn't help. At one point last year a few of us had to link arms to keep the crowded line from pushing forward into a woman carrying her newborn. It felt confrontational and well.. very non-PAX.
Also, the queue room is very cool. If it's available (i.e. not fully packed waiting for another big event) use it. One of the coolest techniques I saw happened at PAX 2009. The enforcers saw that a particular panel was getting a lot more folks lining up than they expected, so they radioed down to find out if there was room in the queue room. There was, so they had one Enforcer march the line down to the queue room, and left another Enforcer at the panel entrance. When the event was about to open, the line marched back up from the queue room, and entered in front of the folks that had shown up in the meantime. With clear communication from all the folks involved, it went smoothly, and let everyone in line have breathing room (as well as the fun of watching the big screen in the queue room.)
Lastly: to the folks in line. Sometimes these suggestions just are not possible, and you won't get to play that game of Zombie Dice or Magic. Buck up, Buttercup, there will be other opportunities. Be nice to the Enforcers, be courteous to the folks around you in line, and put the game away if there just isn't room to play or if the Enforcers need you to move.
TL;DR verson:
Enforcers, please be mindful of the line- move people larger amounts, but less often. Use the queue room for overflow if you can. Also, you rock.
Attendees, listen to the Enforcers, be patient and courteous in a tightly-packed crowd.
Thanks!
--TMIB
(really, this is intended as helpful suggestion, so please take it in that spirit.)
Line management and happy attendees:
We all know lines at PAX can be really long. It comes with the territory. That's ok, there's lots of cool people in line, and often you can start up a game of something with strangers while waiting. This doesn't work as well for constantly moving lines, but a lot of the lines are the kind where you line up a half hour or hour in advance, and can comfortably wait until the event opens. Now you're not going to be playing a game of Arkham Horror in line- but smaller card games, dice games, etc. work really well and are a fun way to meet new people.
Enforcers, these kinds of things are what make waiting in line at PAX fun. There's things you can do to help this work. First off, we know you need to compress the line from time to time. If you can, wait and do a big compression all at once, not small ones every 60-120 seconds. We don't mind moving, but it's so much nicer when we can move once or twice instead of constantly. That lets folks playing games play, and those not playing games get comfortable.
Of course it's not always possible, and that's understood. But if you have the option, move the line larger amounts less often.
Also, (and related to the subject of line compression), keep in mind the length of the line vs. the space allowed. Obviously we can't block hallways, but there is often enough room to have a line go up both sides of a big hallway, so that compressing the line doesn't have to be as agressive. It can be very frustrating to be at standing room only, only to see a hundred feet of bare wall available nearby.
Speaking of standing room only, watch what's happening once you've compressed the line a few times. Once folks get to the point where they are all in physical contact with each other, yelling "move up" doesn't help. At one point last year a few of us had to link arms to keep the crowded line from pushing forward into a woman carrying her newborn. It felt confrontational and well.. very non-PAX.
Also, the queue room is very cool. If it's available (i.e. not fully packed waiting for another big event) use it. One of the coolest techniques I saw happened at PAX 2009. The enforcers saw that a particular panel was getting a lot more folks lining up than they expected, so they radioed down to find out if there was room in the queue room. There was, so they had one Enforcer march the line down to the queue room, and left another Enforcer at the panel entrance. When the event was about to open, the line marched back up from the queue room, and entered in front of the folks that had shown up in the meantime. With clear communication from all the folks involved, it went smoothly, and let everyone in line have breathing room (as well as the fun of watching the big screen in the queue room.)
Lastly: to the folks in line. Sometimes these suggestions just are not possible, and you won't get to play that game of Zombie Dice or Magic. Buck up, Buttercup, there will be other opportunities. Be nice to the Enforcers, be courteous to the folks around you in line, and put the game away if there just isn't room to play or if the Enforcers need you to move.
TL;DR verson:
Enforcers, please be mindful of the line- move people larger amounts, but less often. Use the queue room for overflow if you can. Also, you rock.
Attendees, listen to the Enforcers, be patient and courteous in a tightly-packed crowd.
Thanks!
--TMIB
TMIB on
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If anyone else has suggestions or comments, (or if you disagree with anything I said) chime in.
We'll see what we can do about "Fewer, bigger line compression moments." No guarantees, sometimes we get told by others (Police, Fire Marshall, Convention Center Staff, etc) that we need to do things now, and repeatedly. We know it sucks, sorry.
On a related note, the final hour before the show opens on Friday is going to see a LOT of line compression/moving. It happens every year, so just be aware that I fully anticipate it happening again this year.
Glad to see that our "Remote Line" technique is appreciated by somebody. We plan on continuing to use it whenever practical.
Thanks again for the suggestions/comments! They're very appreciated!
"This may be unreasonable, but honor itself is unreasonable."