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Honest Opinion of EF 16
Drift:
1. Hotel staff: The employees at the bar were fantastic! Always gave us free refills of nuts and crisps when we asked, joked around and were friendly. And the non-bar staff was not that bad either, I observed that especially the younger once always smiled and were amused about us rather than upset. Give them another year, let routine in furry handling kick in, and they will be great.
2. Prices: For beeing in a 4 Star Hotel in the middle of a city as big as Magedburg, I found the beer rather cheap. The rest was def. to expensive, but if you are to lazy to cross the road to get food and drink, you have to pay the prize!
3. Venue: Let's face it - the Rinberg IS to small to host an event as the EF has grown to. I did not see getting a place as a challenge last year, I saw it as a frustration, not beeing able to get a ticket 10 mins. after registration opened cause it was sold out. For that reason I am glad the EF moved. And finding a Hotel that is big enough AND has the beautifull sourroundings + cosyness of Ringberg? Good luck!
4. Room parties/Piano Bar: I spent loads of time in the Piano bar, and never found it to empty. Room parties will always occur, no matter the prices, you had those at Ringeberg as well. And if you use it only as a place to "Vorglühen" (drinking cheap beer from cans/bottles before the actual pubing) and thus going to the bar after, it is perfect.
5. Parking: Did not go into that subject as I came by train, but was there not park and ride somewhere in Margdeburg that was affordable?
6. Super Sponsor: My only negative point. I do not like the super sponsor system. I can understand that EF needs the money in order to keep the prices low. I also can understand that people who donate should be honored. But must it be in the way it was done?
To mention super sponsors in the con book, to give them some extra goodies and the one or other exclusive panel - fine. It feels like: you pay more, so you get more.
But extra queues, better seating, earlier admission to dealers den... is not right. It feels like: you pay more, you get better treatement.
Sorry, but it gave me - and other participants - the feeling of 1. and 2. class, which in my opinion should not be advocated on a furry event. I know that this subject is much about personal believes, but for me furries should share a certain amount of solidarity and equality rather than experience classification due to their income.
Runo:
I really love having the (super)sponsors financing part of my con attendance. No problem at all IMO to let them have a few benefits for that. If they were that important to me I'd sponsor myself (as I'll do again when my financial situation improves).
All in all I found the con absolutely great! There could be a little more cozy sitting-together-area in the lobby, if that is somehow possible, but it's okay as it is now, too. The more business-like hotel meant for a little cold athmosphere until about Friday evening IMO, but then it all started to come together, and I bet now that we know this place and they know us, everything will work out much better next year. I'm already looking forward to it!
Jojo
Fangz:
--- Quote from: James The Dog on 07.09.2010, 23:49:54 ---the "yiffy guide to safe sex". This was the first thing I saw- it dropped out in front of me before I'd even opened the conbook. I don't have an issue with the idea of the leaflet itself, but the pictures on the top... no thanks. I don't want or need to see a picture of an erect cock to illustrate what the leaflet's trying to tell me. If I was going into the more adult areas of the art show, or looking in the porn artists folders in the dealers den I'd at least be prepared to see that sort of thing (and I know to avoid those things if I don't want to see it), but I certainly didn't expect to see it fall out of my conbook, so I wasn't prepared at all, and was actually quite shocked. I'm personally not comfortable with that sort of art, and even if I was, I just don't feel it's appropriate in that context- it's precisely the sort of thing people will leave on show in their rooms (meaning the cleaners likely saw loads of them) and I saw a few floating around the lobby too (where other hotel staff and members of the public could see it)- it's precisely the sort of thing which gives off a bad impression of the convention and our fandom. One of my friends, who was staying in another hotel, says he tore his up and threw it away to make sure the cleaners didn't see it, because he was quite horrified at the idea of them finding it, and I can only agree with him.
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I personaly found that leaflet too be a verry funny and amuzing little detail a few years ago at the first EF I went too, and it still gives me a little giggle as it does look a little silly and cute.
It's extremely far from offensively pornographic or anything like that... turn on any random tv, any random cookie or juice comercial is more offensive than that.
So I really hope they keep that one. as for hotel staff I'm 100% sure they have all seen alot worse long before the furries came :P
cosmo:
--- Quote from: Drift on 08.09.2010, 00:09:48 ---6. Super Sponsor: ...earlier admission to dealers den... is not right. It feels like: you pay more, you get better treatement.
Sorry, but it gave me - and other participants - the feeling of 1. and 2. class, which in my opinion should not be advocated on a furry event. I know that this subject is much about personal believes, but for me furries should share a certain amount of solidarity and equality rather than experience classification due to their income.
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I used the early Dealers' Den admission idea myself for the ConFuzzled den. For us it was as much about keeping sponsors happy as it was about getting the initial epic queue as short as possible in the simplest way possible since at the much smaller CF '09 it still took us 2 hours to get rid of the queue.
I don't know if this was part of the reasoning behind EF doing it, but I wouldn't mind betting it at least played a part.
Wawik:
--- Quote from: Cairyn on 07.09.2010, 16:51:29 ---
I hope that we can overcome the recent issues in next year's sales and get back to a more efficient pickup.
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Do you have € 4,800 in your budget? :)