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PAX 05 Enforcers
SquallSeeD31
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
First off, I'd like to thank all of the dedicated staff/volunteers of PAX 04, and I really hope that every one of them comes back for a repeat performance. With that in mind though, one of the biggest noted problems was that there were too many people, and we can expect that even more people will show up next year. I think 3500 is a conservative estimate, so I'm sure the show will need more staffing.
My apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere...
Quoted from the back of the program book:
Q. Can I volunteer for PAX 2005?
A. Sure! Go ahead and send an email to pax@penny-arcade.com with the subject line "2005 Volunteer" with all of your contact info and we'll be sending you an application about 5-6 months before PAX 2005.
I've already done this, but obviously I haven't seen the application since it's not even been 5-6 /days/ after PAX 2004, so forgive me if I'm blatantly wrong.
I have no idea how the organization of "Enforcers" went out, but I'm thinking that with a show this big already, the staff will need to diversify. Have structured departments with heads and staffers. Registration, Security, Con Ops, Info, Events, Tournaments, maybe even a con suite or newsletter.
If the applications haven't been made, and again I don't know if this is even already on them, I think it would be a good idea to have applicants specify which areas they'd like to cover, so the organizers can get a good idea of how to block shifts months before the show actually starts. It just seemed to me like random people were covering random areas, except for that one tall guy with the blonde hair who seemed to always introduce the panels and kindly remind us that flash photography bugs the hell out of panelists.
My apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere...
Quoted from the back of the program book:
Q. Can I volunteer for PAX 2005?
A. Sure! Go ahead and send an email to pax@penny-arcade.com with the subject line "2005 Volunteer" with all of your contact info and we'll be sending you an application about 5-6 months before PAX 2005.
I've already done this, but obviously I haven't seen the application since it's not even been 5-6 /days/ after PAX 2004, so forgive me if I'm blatantly wrong.
I have no idea how the organization of "Enforcers" went out, but I'm thinking that with a show this big already, the staff will need to diversify. Have structured departments with heads and staffers. Registration, Security, Con Ops, Info, Events, Tournaments, maybe even a con suite or newsletter.
If the applications haven't been made, and again I don't know if this is even already on them, I think it would be a good idea to have applicants specify which areas they'd like to cover, so the organizers can get a good idea of how to block shifts months before the show actually starts. It just seemed to me like random people were covering random areas, except for that one tall guy with the blonde hair who seemed to always introduce the panels and kindly remind us that flash photography bugs the hell out of panelists.
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Get the PAX 2008 Countdown widget and while away your sad, pathetic life watching it tick down the hours to PAX '08!
http://homepage.mac.com/ctishman
Goon would be better than mook. Or stooge.
Anyway, I think there's one huge change I'd make to the enforcers uniforms. As much as I'd like short sleeves, maybe thinner material that isn't a hundred degrees hotter than the sun itself, those are minor difficulties.
Every shirt needs, in addition to the PAX logo and the title on the back, a Map and an Event Schedule printed right onto the shirt. This would speed things up considerably as we would only have to deal with serious issues while things like "When the Mario Kart is?" could be dealt with using a simple gesture to the left abdominal area, and things like "Where do I go potty?" could be answered by pointing at the back of the shirt.
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…Perhaps most disturbing is what would result if that innocent point to the back of the shirt misdirected someone with a potty emergency to the theater. :P
*raises hand* - I was happy to be the nearly sole slave of the theater all weekend. I'm sorry I couldn't get everyone in for every event, I tried the best I could to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
It's pretty easy to be the one to always introduce the panels when you refuse to quit working. I never set foot on the 4th floor Sunday, and only had time to see a few things on Sat before jumping in to help out again. I would say at least half our crew would laugh at the thought of only working an 8 hr shift (even though most were only scheduled for 4 hour shifts).
Most of the Enforcers were trying to help out as much as they could. Believe it or not, some volunteers flaked and no-showed. (I know, who the hell would turn down that opportunity?) From what I saw/heard, most of the Enforcers tried to help as best as they could, but when they're on shift for the 10th hour, and they've just seen the console room for the first time all weekend, you just can't really expect them to know who's up for the next tournament or who won the last.
Hopefully next year with a larger crew, everyone will be much more informed. This year we simply struggled to keep everything running, and as far as conventions go, everything went much better than it could have. I look forward to seating twice as many of you next year, and maybe even getting you guys some entertianment while you wait for the panels to start.
Thanks for the recognition SquallSeeD31 (and the rest of you that have chipped in on other threads), the Enforcer staff certianly appreciates it.
For anyone who felt like there was a problem with the Enforcers, I've got to say I was most impressed with how they handled the task of getting a first year con off the ground when they were wildly understaffed for the number of attendees who showed.
Speaking personally, I don't really have the skills in any one game to even have a chance at the tournaments, so aside from the casual competitive play, I have no reason whatsoever to enter the console/PC rooms. I really loved the energy when I got a chance to witness the tournaments going on, but I was mainly floating around the panel and exhibition rooms. I'm the sort of person that would really get the most out of PAX by being on radio full time, same goes for any other show I'm at. I love to be behind the scenes, I love to be able to appreciate the finished product of a year's preparation, I especially love reading all the feedback after the fact and seeing how much fun everyone had.
So to any Enforcers that don't feel appreciated, I think the greater majority of this forum can join me in giving a very heartfelt thank you for sleepless hours of service when duty called. I don't think I speak only for myself when I say that I had more fun than I planned on having, it was worth every minute of my time and every dollar I ended up spending. Which, by the way, wasn't that much due to Robert the machine. I still don't think that man is human, he wiped the floor clean with his numbers. It's like he took a PAX flag and set the end of it into some hotel salesperson, setting a foot trimuphantly on their fallen back with a signed contract in hand.
Spoken like a true con volunteer.
"I love to be behind the scenes, I love to be able to appreciate the finished product of a year's preparation, I especially love reading all the feedback after the fact and seeing how much fun everyone had. "
Yeah, this was a rather new experience for me, but the roar of the crowd when Pong showed on the big screen made the entire weekend worth every drop of sweat and blood. I keep trying to get "real" work done this week, but I can't stop reading people's comments and suggestions.
Hope you get the chance to volunteer for next year. It certainly will be something to witness from within.
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Zig was one of the final guys in the SC2 tourney, I believe...
When we weren't on shift, we were pretty much free to partake in anything the expo had to offer, just like everyone else. Of course, most of us ended up being on shift for 30+ hours, so it didn't quite work out, but in principle...
Yep, he and I battled it out in the SCII finals for the Best SCII player in Penny Arcade title 8)
Did enforcers get free admission?
I was just wondering if enforcers were eligible for the Omegathon. :?
Media and Helpers got free admission, I believe. And media weren't eligible for the Omegathon. Not sure about helpers(Enforcers) though.
BTW, I was only joking about punching aeolist and Borfase (IN TEH FACE!). They're coo with me 8)
For now... :evil:
You seem pretty much unpunched in the face...
So...no.
Unless I totally missed you while playing Diceland with my buddy Omeganaut.
I was an enforcer....
-I got free admission
-I could do whatever I wanted between shifts
-I could compete in the tournaments (Counter-Strike and Double Dash...)
-I could NOT compete in the Omegathon (bummer...)
Dedicated? Pffft No way. I worked 60 hours in three days.
me = Hardcore :P
Set up entire PC room by myself (friday-sat). Well I did have one slave (a semi-friend who came) but he was more intrested in talking than helping, Fallout was there but he was too busy with tournament shit. I even hooked up all the rigs in the lanwerx room when they were on their 4 hour lunch break...
Then, most shows also have volunteers. I guess PAX is big enough that they'll want to sign up volunteers beforehand, which is a good idea, but typically volunteers are registered on site and go to work for whichever department needs them, putting in specified shift time. After their shift time, typically 4 hours per day, they're free to go enjoy the show, and often get benefits like free admission, food, et cetera. I'm sure the Enforcers had their share of Bawls.
I don't know how PAX ran their Enforcers, but it seems like I was seeing the same people on shift for a majority of the time, so I'm guessing the shifts are pretty flexible if you want to break away to go hit a specific tournament, a choose your own dedication sort of thing.
Some positions are even /better/ for seeing the show, depending on what you want. For example, Shades747 probably saw all the theater events from backstage, and BigRed, if in the PC room the whole time, got to see the PC tournaments. I really wanted to see Round 5 of the Omegathon, but that room was packed. It does help to know that you've got room backstage in case you aren't lined up in time for a ticket.
In all honesty, I encourage everyone to volunteer, the more staffing they have, the better the show will execute next year. Do it if the money is a problem and you /really/ want to be there, do it if you have a passion for the show, don't do it if you want freebies, you'll inevitably get bummed out if you go into it with the wrong mentality. If you just want freebies (and you can't make E3), you'll probably leave the show with a desire to go back to your /boss/, con people are slave drivers and it takes a strong work ethic to keep pace if you're looking at it as a job. :P
Minions, damnit!
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Forget printing t-shirts with all that mess on them. I think since this is PAX and your not at PAX if your not the type to handle or give out biting cynical comments, if someone asks about something blatantly obvious and simple like a restroom or the schedule the simple response should be "Try reading one of the many schedules and maps all over the place and the restroom signs posted all over the convention centrer, if you need someone who is capable of reading for you at a 5th grade level I'm sure we can find someone to assist". I mean security is security, not hosts, they're there to do a job whether security, lifting heavy things, etc. Don't bother them unless its for some stuff that can't be handled yourself by simply studying a schedule, asking someone with a schedule, or looking at whats posted on the wall or by the front desk to a room. An enforcer in the PC room is not going to know when the next tournament for DD is and likely isn't going to care since it probably won't be on time, if your in a tourney or want to be in one you should have already looked at the schedule on the wall on the way in. If you were me you printed off a schedule and marked off on it all the places I wanted to be at certain times for certain events.
Someone could dress up as Captain Obvious to answer questions like that, then the enforcers could direct the person to him.
Hah! That would have been me, downstairs. A lot of people didn't know there was an Info Booth/Lost and Found right next to registration, because I was hidden behind that huge TV in the lobby. I was there, i swear!
Next time I'll get a cape, or something.
The methods suggested here for organising the Enforcers are good, but they don't take into account the fact that we WERE organised months in advance, with shift schedules and room managers we reported to directly, and a set of regulated duties to perform...
... until half of them quit, or were unable to show up to PAX, or simply quietly faded away with no word as to whether or not they were still interested in helping out. I'm not shitting you, Kristin must have re-worked the schedule about a hundred times before we had something do-able, and even after that we had to fill last-minute holes when people's rides quit on them or their legs got broken.
The subsequent shift-switches and understaffing resulted in some of us working 16+ hour shifts, and EVEN THEN we simply couldn't stretch ourselves thin enough to cover all of the eventualities when we ended up with a thousand more people there than the PA guys were expecting. Can we apologise enough times for the fact that it ended up being better to pay at the door than it was to prereg? No. Neither can I wash away the shame of being Info Booth on Saturday and running out of the info booklets for people.
The primary thing to remember is that the Enforcers were all volunteers. If someone decided they needed to leave mid-shift, or they couldn't show up, it's not like they could be held to their post by contractual obligation or the threat of a pay-cut. The people who stayed in did a great job under high stress, and I'm totally proud to have been a part of such an ass-bustingly dedicated group of people. The survivors left standing - or rather, slouching - at the end of Sunday night managed to devour a couple of pieces of pizza and then wandered around looking for things to do. Keep in mind that these were the guys who showed up at 5-6am Friday to start setup, and showed up almost as early on Monday to break down.
That having been said, we were a little less than organised on Saturday, and things could have gone a bit better. Not all of us had radios, and we ran out of batteries really quickly. We weren't as experienced as dealing with crowds of people as we are now - after this weekend, we're all veterans - and we definitely need to work out a way of keeping the lineups organised and out of the way. We're definitely thinking of whiteboards, arm-bands for prereg (cheaper and less transfer/theftable than badges), and a host of other things for next year. We've been relaying your suggestions to Robert, Mike, and Jerry and the reception is excellent. After all, it's FOR you.
I think after the excitement of PAX'04, less people will want to quit before we even begin PAX'05. This is going to be SO FUCKING COOL.
I wish! Unfortunately while everyone was seated and enjoying whatever was going on in the panels, I was busy working. I ducked in a few times for everything, as we were supposed to have an Enforcer in the theater at all times, but that just wasn't possible. I only ever needed to remove one person, but that incident could have been avoided if we had someone available at all times. The only thing I did see was the Pong game at the end, and that was only because they FORCED me to go sit down and quit working.
Please don't volunteer if your only motivation is to get in free or get backstage. (I think this is what happened to some of the Enforcers who just disappeared.) It makes everything much harder if you can't at least work your scheduled shift. I doubt it will be an issue next year though, as we'll be much more prepared, and should have lots more people volunteering.
(Seriously, I think if everything continues to go this well, PAX could be bigger than E3.)
Next year! We will have more people!!
I would love to volunteer for PAX05, and as long as I think that I can get into a couple of tournaments in the console room I definitely will. In fact there are going to be quite a few of uberlame.com staff that are going next year, and I bet most, if not all of us, will volunteer.
In any case, Great Job to all of the Enforcers this year, you guys were way overworked.
One last suggestion. I don't know if this would cost too much, but It would be cool to have the Fruit Fucker on the back of the shirt. Doesn't have to be colored or anything, just a line drawing. It probably won't happen, but that would be fucking metal!! (and maybe you guys could have iron on patches for sale? Don't know what that would entail, but I would definitely buy one!)
Personally, I think the Enforcers next year should have a shirt with the violated fruit on the back and in "Enforcer Font" say "This Could be You" above it... and maybe on the front left breast a PAX05 logo with Enforcer underneath and a small Fruit Fucker..
You can have a cape, but you're not allowed to gimp your knee next year.
All in all, I'll be back and enforcing again in 2005. And this time, I'm actually going to remember to bring a pillow when Kristin orders me to take a nap. I actually ended up crashing under a table on the BYOC room, using air packing pillows to rest my head on. Noisy as it may have been, it was warm in there, and it was dark. Perfect place to sack out.
[10:24] * @BigRed-Worky cums the water
[12:32] <+prox> lawl you kickbanned me so hard my client crashed
Hey, D, are you asking me to make some orders? Hey, actually, if I start now I could make costumes for people, if they ask. Depending on what they want. If I get a lot of orders I'd have to charge, but I wouldn't rip people off. Just the cost of materials and a little bit extra for the time spent.
Omo, yeah, you could be the totally bad-ass info girl Captain Obvious with a cape. Or maybe, in stead of a cape, some sort of big beat-down stick/staff, for when people disobey your word; after all, your word is law, right?
-Kyle