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Balloons...

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Ralesk:
The only time I saw a balloon inside the main stage room was while we were waiting for the auction to start.  It was one single balloon, and the moment the waiting ended it was put away and it never appeared again.  Judging by the sounds of the crowd (“awwwwwww!”  “yaaaaaaay!”) most of the people there had a lot of fun.  From the viewpoint of someone not affected by this irrational fear a bunch of you seem to have (actually, way more people than I first thought), it was a much more pleasant and a much less obnoxious pastime than the “Oi! oi!” from previous years.  As for stage equipment, people seem to have been quite careful not to throw the balloon at things too expensive (and even if the balloon had touched something and it had come off – I would say said thing could have come off on its own; needless to say, no such thing happened).

I don't know a solution to this, but these are my two cents.

nifela:
The fear of loud noises isn't so irrational, as loud (sudden) noises are quite real  ;D

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonophobia seems to describe at least my problems quite well. I am terribly afraid of balloons in general and am easily startled by sudden, loud noises (with the after-effects lasting for several minutes up to half an hour). That's why I carry earplugs with me all the time - to counter such loud noises.
New years eve (or Bonfires/"Funken" in particular) have always been a horrible experience for me until I discovered earplugs.

Druon:
I really don't want to see balloons getting banned. They have been a great source of fun to my friends and me and helped alleviate the time waiting in front of the Pawpet-show a lot. Pictures of the balloon incident showed up in forums, blogs and twitter, so I guess it really was that popular. So no, I don't want that fun taken away due to a phobia. But maybe there are other ways to help, maybe minimize the problems coming up for the affected furs.

While unfortunately loud noises will be a given at any convention of  that size one way or another, I agree that we should limit sudden non-voice loud sounds where we can.  Like asking the guests not to pop balloons on purpose! The balloons themselves where pretty sturdy, from my experience they only went pop due to people using needles, keys or sometimes sharpened fingernails. So if we add a line to the rules of conduct, asking especially for not destroying balloons in public spaces, I am pretty sure that would help your problems. Also we could clarify, that they are not allowed during most shows and SIG-panels (unless the event taking place works with balloons somehow), limiting them to public places and maybe dances (though I would like to hear the input of other dancers and the DJs on that one).

Shay (Wolly):
I can completely understand the fear of loud noices and can put myself into the shoes of people that have this fear. It is however already been noted that the people that have this fear are in the minority here. From what I read no one is asking for a ban on balloons just for some consideration as to when they are being "Deployed", I think that is a fair question.

I'd personally freak out if a clown would pop up in the waiting line to the PPS... seeing I have a fear of them. The only real reason I bring that up is that clowns and balloons go hand in hand most of the time, but also that having a fear that few people have is usually put aside as not important and ignored for the sake of the majority. (not saying that is the case here)

Its only normal to ask for concideration and it shows respect to then read, think and show some of it.

Btw, those huge balloons floating around, one of which exploded about 1 meter to my right after the premiere and I had the shock of my life, geez that thing made a huge bang. What the hell are those made of? :)

Nightfox:
I think its no option to ban balloons completely but we have to find a way that is fine for everybody.
Bringing a balloon with you and looking after it is fine, flooding the lobby with balloons is not.
If something brakes or glasses fall over, the owner has to pay for it.
Making them explode near other people is a 100% nogo in my opinion.

If you want lots of balloons around you don't take your fetish to the public, do it in your room where everybody is fine with it.

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