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Bad idea or Baddest idea: PAX Speed Dating
Cultural Geek Girl
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I apologize in advance if this thread is stupid. I just got home, it's very late, and I have not yet lapsed into my post-PAX own-bed coma.
A lot of my friends were chuckling about all the missed connections posts here, and while some of them are funny or creepy I feel a bit bad making fun of people posting these. Nerds are awkward and dating is hard for everyone. Perhaps we could channel this angst into something less creepy?
I went to a speed dating thing once, essentially on a dare. It wasn't terrible, but the main problem was that everyone there was very normal and a bit boring. I mentioned games to all of them and the only response I got was from the guy who plays Medal of Honor and GTA and the guy who used to play D&D ten years ago. Comics and science fiction/fantasy got even less response. I liked the idea of having these 5-10 minute conversations with a lot of people... but all the people were not my type. Speed dating seems like it'd remove a lot of the creepy or awkward problems: you can go up and talk with someone without worrying about bothering them, and at the end of the session you mark your little card with who you'd want to see again instead of having to ask them out right there. You're actually specifically disallowed from asking someone on a date directly or pressuring them for their contact info. If two people say they'd like to hang out again the organizer emails them both and they can get in contact. It makes resolution/rejection a lot less painful.
There are still a lot of potential negatives: there's the whole "PAX isn't your personal dating service" idea which I rather like, and introducing a tangential dating-based event might mess with that. Having a bad night at speed dating might also be a bummer and I'd hate to hold an event that would make PAX less enjoyable for anyone. Lastly, the gender ratio being what it is, it's unlikely we'd be able to accept all the signups we might get: speed dating sites actually often end up turning guys away, and I'm sure that would be even more necessary at PAX.
I've considered the possibility of doing speed dating around/in connection to conventions for a while. Most anime cons have an age problem, and a lot of gaming cons actually have a worse gender ratio than PAX. The PAX crowd is largely made up of grown-ups who have money and at least some degree of maturity. I'm not saying I would run or attend a speed-dating thing that happened at or near PAX. The idea of it just popped into my head, and I'm too sleep-deprived to determine whether or not it's terrible. Thoughts?
A lot of my friends were chuckling about all the missed connections posts here, and while some of them are funny or creepy I feel a bit bad making fun of people posting these. Nerds are awkward and dating is hard for everyone. Perhaps we could channel this angst into something less creepy?
I went to a speed dating thing once, essentially on a dare. It wasn't terrible, but the main problem was that everyone there was very normal and a bit boring. I mentioned games to all of them and the only response I got was from the guy who plays Medal of Honor and GTA and the guy who used to play D&D ten years ago. Comics and science fiction/fantasy got even less response. I liked the idea of having these 5-10 minute conversations with a lot of people... but all the people were not my type. Speed dating seems like it'd remove a lot of the creepy or awkward problems: you can go up and talk with someone without worrying about bothering them, and at the end of the session you mark your little card with who you'd want to see again instead of having to ask them out right there. You're actually specifically disallowed from asking someone on a date directly or pressuring them for their contact info. If two people say they'd like to hang out again the organizer emails them both and they can get in contact. It makes resolution/rejection a lot less painful.
There are still a lot of potential negatives: there's the whole "PAX isn't your personal dating service" idea which I rather like, and introducing a tangential dating-based event might mess with that. Having a bad night at speed dating might also be a bummer and I'd hate to hold an event that would make PAX less enjoyable for anyone. Lastly, the gender ratio being what it is, it's unlikely we'd be able to accept all the signups we might get: speed dating sites actually often end up turning guys away, and I'm sure that would be even more necessary at PAX.
I've considered the possibility of doing speed dating around/in connection to conventions for a while. Most anime cons have an age problem, and a lot of gaming cons actually have a worse gender ratio than PAX. The PAX crowd is largely made up of grown-ups who have money and at least some degree of maturity. I'm not saying I would run or attend a speed-dating thing that happened at or near PAX. The idea of it just popped into my head, and I'm too sleep-deprived to determine whether or not it's terrible. Thoughts?
Buttoneer, Brigadeer, and Keeper of the Book of Wil Wheaton.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Cultural Geek Girl on
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I guess my opinion on this one falls in the, "I think it could only help," category.
The majority of females that I run into at PAX are either desperately clinging to their boyfriend's arm like a vise, or tugging him along like a reluctant puppy from booth to booth. From what I've seen (and I don't claim to have seen it all, by any means), not a lot of single females attend PAX. Perhaps it's the nerd stereotype, or fear of getting constantly hit on, I couldn't say. End result, though, is that this would make recruiting somewhat more difficult.
Frankly I think it'd be great fun to chat for five minutes about Settlers, Star Trek, and SOCOM with a member of the opposite sex who had a fair chance of knowing what I'm talking about, just not sure the gender ratio'll let me.
PSN: Quintonious
I mean, there is more men than women who attend the convention, so one can reasonably expect the ratio to carry through to most events. However, I believe there are ways to overcome that gap, and as such it isn't impossible.
However, it does require space and people monitoring it, and as such it might not be something that PAX will want to officially add to its already large list of events.
1.) PAX is not a dating service.
2.) There are already ample opportunities for single PAXgoers to meet each other and slink off back to hotel rooms. (I kid, I kid.) (No I don't.) (Yes I do.) (Where's my pancake?) Seriously though, go down to the tabletop rooms or go out to some of the evening events, you'll meet LOADS of people
3.) The majority of people you meet will not be local to you year-round, and you might be better to look at your local meetups/game groups to find people with shared interests.
4.) PAX is not a dating service.
I remember one time during this past weekend when I walked into the convention center and there was a female cosplayer there wearing a skirt so short that part of her ass was showing. Crowded around her were several guys taking photos, two of whom approached her to ask which hotel she was in, and whether or not she had a spare room key. Jesus Christ...
Massive Crystal Cavern!
Biggest reason I don't think it's feasible, unless the organizers split the event by place of residence. Then you have even less of a pool to work with.
I don't really get the whole "pax isn't a dating service" thing in this context. No one would be forcing single women to go to it. If they wanted to chat with guys in this setting, that's their choice. This is nowhere near the same as people creeping on cosplayers or the like.
Still, it felt problematic to be single at PAX this year, so I'm glad the idea is being brought up. Seriously, couples, chill with the High School Musical reenactment. Also, ladies in relationships, I don't -care- what your boyfriend thinks when I ask your opinion on something. And babies? Really?
LOL. I thought the babies were cute!
Yeah, it really could be a disaster if it went bad. As a guy, the safety factor never even popped into my head - that's just not something I have to really worry about. However, it's a sobering concern for the ladies. I think people are just better off striking up a convo while on line or whatever. I met some very cute women at PAX and I probably could have flirted a bit if I wanted to take the conversation there.
Massive Crystal Cavern!
They were and many of the parents were really awesome too, but ... still, it felt kind of weird. Those kids are going to grow up to be hardcore. o_O
I saw a guy with a baby/toddler on his back in a carrier wearing a yoda hat. It was freaking awesome.
We must have been looking in different directions.
Signed, one of the many single ladies who was at PAX and spent a lot of time wandering around the Tabletop area looking for people to play games with, but didn't get invited in to many. My goal of playing Settlers of Catan for the first time was not realized.
+++BRONYS BEFORE BROS!+++
At first I thought this could be an intriguing idea, until someone mentioned safety aspect considering in general people will know your location for 3 whole days (depending on when the event was held).
Last year I did get stalked by someone that had lived in my dorm in college. He seemed harmless enough when I met him through dorm government and the senior capstone class in our major and because of that he had my phone number already. He continually called/texted to find me at PAX (I didn't respond) but he always knew I was cheering on the Omegabat so he was always finding me and creepily following me. I'd say it was harmless, but my PAX boys have dubbed him my stalker. This year the guy didn't have a badge but managed to track us downtown on our way to Hard Rock for dinner. He asked my friends where I was and then proceeded to rush and follow me towards Hard Rock (another friend and I were walking ahead to get us on the restaurant list ASAP). This was on Friday night. The rest of the dinner I was completely weirded out that this guy was going to end up buying a scalped badge and pester me through the entire convention center again. Luckily, we didn't spot him again for the rest of the weekend. I hope he thought I was dating my friend.