Over the weekend, I was able to make my way over to WonderCon 2014 in sunny Anaheim, CA. The convention itself was quite fun and the talent was extremely friendly, however Comic Con International (CCI) (or whoever runs the conventions/lines) continues to disappoint me year after year when it comes to the way they approach and handle booths doing extremely popular signings.
Simply put, these large organizations just don’t care about the fans and are simply staying in the mindset that “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
Well CCI, the system is definitely broke and you seriously need to step up and fix it.
Obviously this complaint isn’t new.
One look at San Diego Comic Con’s Facebook page and anyone can tell there’s more than a few individuals out there that burn with a passion to hate CCI. However, if you look at those same people again, more than enough of them would also sell their firstborn child in order to go to SDCC. Perhaps the biggest complaint about the current system is the fact that it “isn’t fair.”
Well, let’s look at how we could make convention signings more “fair”
In order to be completely fair and make it possible for every convention attendee to have an equal opportunity at a signing, a randomized lottery system that’s completely doneonline would need to be implemented. This system would work almost identical to the way CCI handled this year’s San Diego Comic Con registration.
How would this system work?
CCI, would of course, require all signing/give-a-way booths to register and notify CCI ahead of time. This way, CCI staff and security can better implement security measures and better plan where to construct lines for traffic.
After registered users have bought their passes, they would be redirected to a designated webpage where a cataloged list of all convention signings will be presented in a clear and easy-to-read format. At this new website, attendees would place their BIDs on all the signings that they wish to attend. It is at CCI’s discretion on whether or not they would like to limit the number of BIDs a person can place. They would then have a system in place that notifies the winners and require them to claim/confirm their winning within a certain time limit. Should a winner fail to claim their prize, CCI would recycle their winning and generate a new random winner.
“But Stephen, won’t that just mean everyone will place a BID regardless because it’s completely free and so simple?”
Sure. Why not? I did say at the beginning of this that my proposed system is for a completely “fair” outcome.
Why will this forever be a dream?
The bad apples out in the world. These are the people that have been continuously forcing this dream and to be just that, a naive and foolish dream.
For example, this year’s SDCC registration system was, in my opinion, a completely fair and well placed system. Although it still isn’t any easier to get tickets, CCI made an attempt to make it easier on us.
But, you know what we could do? Demand for CCI to establish a set of rules and guidelines that protect their attendees.
