anime mid atlantic rant or How much richmond sucks?

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anime mid atlantic rant or How much richmond sucks?

Postby Mroni » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:01 pm

Ok I was on the staff of Anime mid atlantic in Richmond this past weekend. Boy how to start this off. To begin with I forgot all my clothes so there went a big chunk of my con money although the dealer room sucked so I didn't miss much. I thought Katsucon was a poorly organised con. In the past I have seen tons of problems at katsucon getting the right equipment, The video contest messing up etc. It all fails in comparison to this fiasco. Friday night we managed to get sound just in time to get the contest started because nobody thought that the amv contest might need sound equipment!!!. Saturdays showing sucked because the same equipment scrounged up the night before was stolen and the dvd player skipped and only one speaker worked. Several of the panels I attended went without sound I lent my notebook usb speakers to the amv coordinator twice because we didn't have sound for his panels. On top of this half of the staff were very rude to us and the attendees we went to con opps to count ballots for the contest and were sent to the con suite while up there we were then forced to leave by others. It almost seemed as if we were not wanted at this con. To his credit Gene starwind 21122 managed to pull this contest off with his charisma. The videos were good and the final day the videos were shown in main events where they should have been from the get go. This was a small con less than a 1000 people all weekend I would say. at about 10 o clock no matter what room you were in the freakin loud speakers came on anouncing a curfew for kids under 18 as per richmond shitty ordinance xxxxx it was complete bullshit. The one good thing I remember about the con was the rave. This con took place in what has to be the most run down city I have ever been in. A complete example of everything moving to the suburbs. I never had a problem crossing the street traffic was minimal even on saturday night. At the con you could either pay 4 bucks for a slice of pizza or go to a crappy food court down the street which had half of it's businesses closed and questionable hygeine. I won't be going back to this con I don't recommend it to anyone there are plenty on the east coast including katsu, and anime usa not to mention otakon all of which are ran alot better than this pos.

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Postby BasharOfTheAges » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:34 am

I'd say a youth curfew would kill the chance of any out of city draw for a con by itself - not to mention the support of any sane staff or organizers... did I just inadvertantly stumble onto something?
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Postby Mroni » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:38 am

BasharOfTheAges wrote:I'd say a youth curfew would kill the chance of any out of city draw for a con by itself - not to mention the support of any sane staff or organizers... did I just inadvertantly stumble onto something?


I agree and where the hell are the kid's going to go? To the hotel to have sex and drink lol. Rather than let them stay for the rave.
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Postby meleechampion » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:52 am

We have curfews? In America? Really?

Is this common?
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Postby BasharOfTheAges » Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:10 am

meleechampion wrote:We have curfews? In America? Really?

Is this common?


It mostly occurs in areas that are high crime and quick to use force and martial law to take care of the crime instead of trying to treat the problems that cause it.

Alternatively you see it in suburbian areas where a relitively small portion of the electorate has children and the law is only related to minors in a punishment-centric capacity.

In either case, the community usually isn't made up of enough people from cultures that traditionally have a night-life - or you know there would be charges of descrimination all over the place. :lol:
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Postby Radical_Yue » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:37 am

meleechampion wrote:We have curfews? In America? Really?

Is this common?


curfew is 11pm in my area ~_~
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Postby JudgeHolden » Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:33 am

I don't remember Richmond being full of so much suckage ..... :shock:

Of course I lived up the road in Virgin...a Beach .....
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Postby Mroni » Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:51 pm

Virginia beach is nice. We had a curfew around here but it didn't affect being in buildings.


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Postby Gene Starwind 21122 » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:20 pm

Anime Mid Atlantic was a lot better when it was held in the hotel 2 years ago in 2005. There is talk about somethings going on which I may not be able to say. I think that the convention will be improved upon next year. The convention did have its bad moments but overall for being under staff it went off okay. Next year I plan to bring my own equipment so I don't have to rely on the Con's DVD Players. I'm also going to discuss other items to improve the convention. I'm giving it one more try after that I may go to a different convention.
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Postby Athena » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:28 pm

AMA blew when I went back in 01. I haven't heard good things about it since. It's really too bad I missed Ota this year. I wanted to go back. It also blew in 01, but last year rocked.
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Re: anime mid atlantic rant or How much richmond sucks?

Postby Brakus » Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:17 pm

I know I'm late, but....

Mroni wrote:I thought Katsucon was a poorly organised con. In the past I have seen tons of problems at katsucon getting the right equipment, The video contest messing up etc. It all fails in comparison to this fiasco.


If you had any problems with Katuscon's contest, you need to talk to Bryan Minnix and his buddy Michael Zubryski, because they ran this year's contest without a hitch. Moreover, I don't know what Katsucon's contest has to do with AMA's contest considering two different people run those contests.

Friday night we managed to get sound just in time to get the contest started because nobody thought that the amv contest might need sound equipment!!!.


It would have helped immensely if Bryan actually attended the crash meeting back in May. Not only am I on staff at AMA, but also I (co-)run the DDR contest at AMA, and I made sure I attended the crash meeting so that I could make sure timeslots are straight and equipment is all taken care of. As Bryan was in charge of the AMV contest, I'd have hoped he'd make it to the crash meeting, but if he didn't, he needs to make sure he talks with Programming and Logistics to make sure he's got everything he needs for the contest. And for other stuff that the convention can't provide, Bryan needs to make arrangements to have his stuff there, or at least a network of friends who can provide stuff.

Saturdays showing sucked because the same equipment scrounged up the night before was stolen


It probably wasn't stolen; the equipment probably belonged to Logistics and it was probably returned to them.

and the dvd player skipped and only one speaker worked.


That's when you call Tech Crew.

On top of this half of the staff were very rude to us and the attendees we went to con opps to count ballots for the contest and were sent to the con suite while up there we were then forced to leave by others.


Con ops is NOT a place for you to count ballots. Also if you are not staff, you're not allowed in the staff suite, period. I don't believe AMA provides access to staff suite for panelists. Bryan could go in there if he wanted, but he can't have non-staffers tag along. Staff suite is supposed to be where staffers go to "get away" from the Con for a while.

It almost seemed as if we were not wanted at this con.


I can't speak for the rest of the convention staff, but not all staff privileges extend to panelists. And of course it's not a good idea to constantly ask the Con chairman for things when they needed to be brought up with Ops, Logistics, or Programming.

This was a small con less than a 1000 people all weekend I would say.


AMA got about 3400 attendees this year. A lot more than 1000.

The one good thing I remember about the con was the rave.


Oh, you mean the rave that started a whole 1 1/2 hours late?

This con took place in what has to be the most run down city I have ever been in. A complete example of everything moving to the suburbs. I never had a problem crossing the street traffic was minimal even on saturday night. At the con you could either pay 4 bucks for a slice of pizza or go to a crappy food court down the street which had half of it's businesses closed and questionable hygeine.


You could have ordered pizza/Chinese and have it delivered. Of course, you should be one to talk about questionable hygiene, MrOni, especially since you left your clothes back home for the entire weekend.

I won't be going back to this con I don't recommend it to anyone there are plenty on the east coast including katsu, and anime usa not to mention otakon all of which are ran alot better than this pos.


Yeah, whatever, you had a lousy weekend, and because of that the con sucked. Big deal. We had a lot of people enjoy themselves despite the hiccups that happened during the weekend. A lot of the bad stuff that occurred in your post was mostly not AMA's problem. It was a lot of your problems. For you to trash AMA because YOU didn't have a good time is insipid, boring, and stupid.

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Postby Brakus » Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:26 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:I'd say a youth curfew would kill the chance of any out of city draw for a con by itself - not to mention the support of any sane staff or organizers... did I just inadvertantly stumble onto something?


From what I'd heard as a staffer, the mayor of Richmond discussed allowing an exception to the curfew law in Richmond. Because AMA is a private event (i.e. you need a membership to attend, which you do when you get a badge at registration), the curfew is the closing time of the facility, which was supposed to be 2:00am. Unfortunately, the Richmond Police had a different idea, and they basically enforced the city curfew during this year's AMA. Lord knows we all weren't thrilled by the Convention Center's "Voice Of God" reminding us about the curfew. It just seemed that the mayor of Richmond's word isn't as good as their Police and their word.

I'm hoping something gets worked out for next year so that we don't have to worry about curfews and such for AMA - especially since there's not much of a nightlife in Richmond to speak of....
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Postby BasharOfTheAges » Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:19 am

I always wondered about memberships like that for cons. Are you a member because you are given membership status or because you sign your name to the dotted line? If it's the latter, the police were in their legal right to ignore those membership "agreements" because if a minor signs them they're not legally valid - especially if the signed documents constitute any sort of contract (like the clauses most cons have to revoke the rights of the badge-holder for any reason they see fit).

I always found signing stuff like that (and, say book contracts in school) to be hilarious as a minor - knowing full-well that a minor can't enter into a legally binding contract, and don't get me started on AMV contest entry forms for "legal purposes" - Without a witness those offer no legal protection whatsoever.
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Re: anime mid atlantic rant or How much richmond sucks?

Postby Mroni » Mon Jul 02, 2007 4:16 pm

Brakus wrote:I know I'm late, but....

Mroni wrote:I thought Katsucon was a poorly organised con. In the past I have seen tons of problems at katsucon getting the right equipment, The video contest messing up etc. It all fails in comparison to this fiasco.


If you had any problems with Katuscon's contest, you need to talk to Bryan Minnix and his buddy Michael Zubryski, because they ran this year's contest without a hitch. Moreover, I don't know what Katsucon's contest has to do with AMA's contest considering two different people run those contests.


Ok First off let me say Katsucons amv contest this year was great I was talking about problems I have seen There in the past. As a con goer I am comparing 3 cons I have went to in Virginia I don't know who runs them I don't care. A sucky con is a suck con :?

Friday night we managed to get sound just in time to get the contest started because nobody thought that the amv contest might need sound equipment!!!.


It would have helped immensely if Bryan actually attended the crash meeting back in May. Not only am I on staff at AMA, but also I (co-)run the DDR contest at AMA, and I made sure I attended the crash meeting so that I could make sure timeslots are straight and equipment is all taken care of. As Bryan was in charge of the AMV contest, I'd have hoped he'd make it to the crash meeting, but if he didn't, he needs to make sure he talks with Programming and Logistics to make sure he's got everything he needs for the contest. And for other stuff that the convention can't provide, Bryan needs to make arrangements to have his stuff there, or at least a network of friends who can provide stuff.


Well all this stuff should be done in advance of the con. It should be known how many panels there will be and every room should a dvd player and a sound system. This was a tiny con it isn't that complicated. Let me say that the staff setting this stuff up was definitley competent they were actually dealing with shitty equipment.

Saturdays showing sucked because the same equpment scrounged up the night before was stolen


It probably wasn't stolen; the equipment probably belonged to Logistics and it was probably returned to them.


No it was swapped with the non working equipment.

On top of this half of the staff were very rude to us and the attendees we went to con opps to count ballots for the contest and were sent to the con suite while up there we were then forced to leave by others.


Con ops is NOT a place for you to count ballots. Also if you are not staff, you're not allowed in the staff suite, period. I don't believe AMA provides access to staff suite for panelists. Bryan could go in there if he wanted, but he can't have non-staffers tag along. Staff suite is supposed to be where staffers go to "get away" from the Con for a while.


Hello we were all staff had the badges and all. Con opps had a big table in the back of that was not in use. The amv contest is an important part of a con so yes counting ballots was a legitimate use of con ops we were told we could have the space at con ops the the day before but then Brian was told to use the con suite while there we got really shitty "Your not welcome here treatment" From people that were acting like elite staff or something it was complete bullshit.

It almost seemed as if we were not wanted at this con.


I can't speak for the rest of the convention staff, but not all staff privileges extend to panelists. And of course it's not a good idea to constantly ask the Con chairman for things when they needed to be brought up with Ops, Logistics, or Programming


Seems to me that con chair could have had things running better I.e. making sure all rooms were setup before the con. This was just my experience btw not speaking for everyone and there were many pleasant people there too.

This was a small con less than a 1000 people all weekend I would say.


AMA got about 3400 attendees this year. A lot more than 1000.


sorry Dude I'm used to a lot bigger cons.

The one good thing I remember about the con was the rave.


Oh, you mean the rave that started a whole 1 1/2 hours late?


well there you go! I didn't know that though because you see I'm very fat and I only go to the last 30 minutes of a rave less a heart attack ensue.

This con took place in what has to be the most run down city I have ever been in. A complete example of everything moving to the suburbs. I never had a problem crossing the street traffic was minimal even on saturday night. At the con you could either pay 4 bucks for a slice of pizza or go to a crappy food court down the street which had half of it's businesses closed and questionable hygeine


Of course, you should be one to talk about questionable hygiene, MrOni, especially since you left your clothes back home for the entire weekend.


This is the one insulting thing you have said so far brak and I do take offense do you suspose I would wander around all weekend with no clean clothes. No I had to go pay over 100 bucks to make up for what I left behind. I might be an ogre I'm not a dirt ball though.

I won't be going back to this con I don't recommend it to anyone there are plenty on the east coast including katsu, and anime usa not to mention otakon all of which are ran alot better than this pos.


Yeah, whatever, you had a lousy weekend, and because of that the con sucked. Big deal. We had a lot of people enjoy themselves despite the hiccups that happened during the weekend. A lot of the bad stuff that occurred in your post was mostly not AMA's problem. It was a lot of your problems. For you to trash AMA because YOU didn't have a good time is insipid, boring, and stupid.


I love that word insipid :D Anyway I stand by my words I have been to lots of cons and this one was the suckiest in all the ways I just mentioned.


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Postby Adv1sor » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:35 am

This was my first time attending AMA and I have to say that, based on what I've read here and seen in their Yahoo Groups posting, I must have been at a different place.

The hotel checked me in super early to a good room and provided great service.

Checking in at the con Friday morning was one of the quickest and best organized check-in's I've seen.

When I asked where or when something was happening the con volunteers were always friendly and helpful.

AMA was smaller than most cons. It had a very relaxed feel. I enjoyed hanging out at a table above the artist alley. The food at the convention center was a little pricey, but was better than most con food. I thought that AMV contest went very very well. Most of the events I saw started on time or close. The concerts were amazing!

My thanks to the AMA staff and volunteers for a fun relaxing weekend of anime!

I'm looking forward to attending AMA again next year.
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