A Critical Issue for Conventions: Size Mon Jun 24 2024 Convention attendance is going up year over year exponentially. We have to plan for it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Critical Issue for Conventions: Size ====================================== Published Jun 24, 2024 - 24 min read /---------- Table of contents ---------\ | Table of contents | | * Exponential growth | | * Compensation and admission pricing | | * Continuous improvement | | * 2024's Growth and how we succeeded | | * So, what's inside 2024's success? | \--------------------------------------/ In 2023, I radically improved FurSquared's on-site registration with process engineering [L1] and software development. This eliminated its recurring "line- con" problem, reduced stress for attendees and staff, and gave all involved more time to enjoy their time at the convention. Loyal attendees remarked on the difference they saw from prior years. Then, in 2024, FurSquared grew by 35%. Despite the increased attendee count, the smaller room, and once more another broken printer, we performed better on Thursday and as good for the rest of the convention. If anything, 2024's experience emphasized the importance of handling scale with a small volunteer workforce. Successful conventions, like FurSquared, are growing exponentially each year. The technology and processes we use have to support that growth while improving the quality of life for everyone involved. We need to constantly improve our operations to support that. Should we fail, staff will burn out, the quality of life for attendees will deteriorate, and our mission in bringing people together and raising charity is at risk. Exponential growth ------------------ After FurSquared (abbreviated as F2) 2024, I attended Furry Weekend Atlanta (FWA). FWA experienced a 45% increase in attendance year over year. Like F2, FWA 's registration process scaled up to handle even more attendees than the year before. It was as smooth to check in as the year prior and they had the staff and technology to sustain it throughout the convention. /[cendyne: dab]----------------------------------------------------------------\ | Though, "swag" rewards were not as smooth as at F2, as it was bundled with | | their Con-store, which was absolutely swamped because of its purchase | | oriented function. Because of that, they ran out of stock and I never got | | one of the silver sponsor rewards. hey have emailed that they will ship | | something out later this year. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ A safe rate, according to an FWA registration staffer, is to plan for 22% growth year over year. Have the supplies for more, but plan for 22%. [I1: A critical issue for conventions: size; makes your convention big and round ] /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Furality @furality@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | The VR furry community came together in a huge way @FurryWeekend [L2] this | | year! Thank you so much to everyone who came to the #FWA2024 [L3] #VRChat | | [L4] Meetup! Can you spot yourself? Zoom in and let us know where you are in | | the replies! 📸: @Nixtorm_ [L5] Photo download link below 👇 | | [I2: Photo included with tweet] | | | | [L6] 5/12/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: cheese-thwap]-------------------------------------------------------\ | Yes, I am in this picture. No, you will not be able to identify me. I look | | like I got slapped with cheese. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Then, in June, I attended Furality. The amount of technical infrastructure and skilled work that went into it surpasses about every other convention I know of. /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Furality @furality@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 📈 #FuralityUmbra [L7] is officially over, and we have some wild stats to | | share! 📈 This year, we welcomed 21,004 attendees to Umbra, and raised | | $46,120 for this year's charity, The Center Orlando!!! We couldn't have done | | this without you. Thank you all! 💜 | | [I3: Photo included with tweet] | | | | [L8] 6/10/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ It was a wildly different experience that required just as much planning to execute at the scale they had to operate in. /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Tahvo @TahvoVR@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | At #FuralityUmbra [L7], a #vrchat [L9] lobby was opened with a 250 (later | | 150?) user cap. I hope that one day, as PCs and performance continue to | | improve, this can be the normal for online cons! This is the best I could | | record for now. | | [I4: Video: Video included with tweet] | | | | [L10] 6/9/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Being able to connect so many people remotely in real time is an impressive feat. One that, I dare say, Meta has yet to accomplish. Whether online or in person, the amount of growth we have to plan for is no joke. It is a crisis that can go well or go terribly. /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | PandaTheMan @RealPandaTheMan@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Most recent MFF and FWA were highest attended furcons EVER. What could be | | causing this swell in attendance? | | [I5: Photo included with tweet] | | | | [L11] 5/18/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Soatok is now on furry.engineer instead of here @SoatokDhole@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | What we see is an exponential growth. In an average year, AnthroCon's | | attendance will be 14.176% higher than the previous year's. For MFF, that's | | 17.189% higher than the previous year. | | [I6: Photo included with tweet] | | | | [L12] 3/8/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Soatok is now on furry.engineer instead of here @SoatokDhole@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | The rate at which furry convention attendance grows every year is absolutely | | fucking bonkers! If it keeps up, Midwest FurFest should hit 30,000 attendees | | by 2029. AnthroCon by 2030. What is driving this exponential growth in con | | attendance, anyway? | | [L13] 3/8/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Soatok is now on furry.engineer instead of here @SoatokDhole@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | One hypothesis we have right now is simply: The Furry Fandom itself is | | growing exponentially. Every year, there are more people participating in | | our community than the previous year. What is the growth rate, exactly? I | | wish I knew. It could be as high as 25%. | | [L14] 3/8/2024 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------[soatok: thinking]\ | Furries Are Losing the Battle Against Scale [L15]. The furry community is | | growing at a break-neck exponential speed. Exponential growth cannot | | continue forever. You will always run headfirst into some sort of carrying | | capacity or limiting factor that impedes growth. If things continue at the | | same pace they’re currently marching, conventions will become increasingly | | overcrowded. Convention staff will eventually buckle under an exponentially | | rising amount of pressure. People will burn out. It won’t be pretty. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Why is there so much year-on-year growth? I believe the newest generations no longer consider LGBTQ+ identity to be a social stigma. The internet and social media spread cultural acceptance and diversity like never before. As a trend, it is bleeding into older generations like my own as well. /[cendyne: dies-from-cringe]---------------------------------------------------\ | I grew up in a time and place where people thought trans people didn't | | exist, or that they were perverts using an excuse to cross into another | | bathroom. Trans people do exist and they have an identity that doesn't match | | their gender assignment at birth. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------------[mane: wave]\ | To be trans is to inherently critique society's understanding of gender | | norms. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Social acceptance of LGBTQ+ is growing and the Furry community is a vibrant beacon and home for those who seek friends and found-families without being judged for their personal identity. FurSquared and other conventions have to plan for growth each year as the furry fandom grows. While we can be proud of our success in serving an even greater audience than the last, when we fail attendees by not preparing for their attendance, it is a shame on us for our poor execution and harms the expectations they have in returning the next year. /[cendyne: hold-up2]-----------------------------------------------------------\ | Convention staff celebrate constant growth to the point of bragging in a | | game of superiority over other conventions. It isn't a great look. These | | figures should inform the depth of preparation the convention has to do next | | year, rather than be a bragging point. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: nervous-sweating-with-rag]------------------------------------------\ | Convention leadership must candidly act on projected attendance, make | | agreements with venues, budget for licenses, and set directors and their | | teams up for success to pull off a convention. | | | | And, unfortunately, also raise prices at times too. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /--------------------------------------------------------------[cordite: shock]\ | If there's more people, why does it get more expensive? | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: money-on-fire]------------------------------------------------------\ | They have to get more space. BMI [L16] and ASCAP [L17] license fees go up | | instead of down at higher volumes. They might even allocate a budget to pay | | for Furry DJs. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Compensation and admission pricing ---------------------------------- /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | AWU 2024: YAPerture Science! @AnthroWeekendUT@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paid DJs? Background checks? Lotteries? Dealer fee options? Automatic hotel | | booking? There are a lot of changes on their way for #AWU2023 [L18] and | | beyond; take a moment to read them over! anthroweekendutah.org/Anthro_ | | Weekend_Utah_2023_Updates.pdf [L19] | | [L20] 11/11/2022 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Some conventions compensate DJ attendance — some even do the hotel or flights. Very few actually pay them on top of that for their time before and during the convention. The same goes for all the other staff types, like Audio/Visual. The most I get from all this is a discounted hotel room and free attendance. If I were to be compensated with an income for my technical work, and if all the other highly specialized staff received compensation for executing the convention, the admission price wouldn't be $65. It would probably be more towards $120 or $180 with the current attendance levels. Prices like that would make the event unaffordable, and ultimately undermine its mission to raise charity. It can be a difficult line to draw and any step near that line will bring up controversy, leading to responses like Alofoxx's when a board member received $39,000. See Furality Form 990 page 7 [L21]. > Alofoxx > > Daltyn isn't paid for his board duties. He is also not paid for his non board > Furality team chairman position. He is paid as one of the contractors on the > art team for his work as a creative director as are all the art staff in the > creative department. > > You can see full expense report by class and category on our website for > download [L22] > > — Alofoxx in VR Furs [L23] (archived [L24].) Continuous improvement ---------------------- I am preparing for that kind of growth within my realm of influence, within the constraints this convention has, and the time I can give. I want each and every attendee to have a wonderful time with their friends, without their experience degrading as the convention grows. Staff have directly said that my work saved their convention career. I have reduced so much stress that staff, anticipating burn out, felt more energy than ever before and also felt the load was lighter even with more attendees to assist. That's a fantastic reputation to gain. Back in 2017, "line-con" went on for hours for a convention still under 1,000 attendees [L25]. The same is true for the years afterwards. /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | SNOWFEATHER! @SnowytheGryph@twitter.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Line con 2017 at @FurSquared [L26] ! | | [I7: Photo included with tweet] | | | | [L27] 2/24/2017 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ That is, until 2023, and the hundred plus hours of work I put in to solve its most distressing issues. [I8: Video: Someone checking in at FurSquared 2023] Apart from cash payments (which I will get to in a future article), check-in time was improved further in 2024 with the addition of drivers license ID scanning. /[cendyne: drawing]------------------------------------------------------------\ | Oh yes, there are many exciting things that came in 2024. Those details will | | be in the next article! | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ 2024's improvements gave FurSquared the margin needed to absorb the 35% growth with only four check-in stations—one of which processed cash at a much slower rate than the rest. [I9: Video: Someone checking in at FurSquared 2024] The need to continuously improve to meet the demands of scale cannot be understated. We cannot rest on our laurels [L28] when exponential scale is our reality. /[cendyne: firefox2]-----------------------------------------------------------\ | Furries have not reached the scale of Dragon Con [L29], which got to 85,000 | | people before the pandemic. Given the multi-fandom nature of Dragon Con, we | | might consider its highest number to be the ceiling any furry convention | | could reach in the next ten years. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ To adequately respond to growth, we need to both retrospect on what happened and to imagine ahead the issues we face at scale. /[cendyne: knives]-------------------------------------------------------------\ | Some armchair engineers on the orange site would argue that imagining ahead | | is pre-optimizing. I counter: all of my work in 2023 was without any | | knowledge of 2022 and prior's functioning with first or second hand | | experience. We can rigorously evaluate processes before they are executed | | and consider what variabilities there are in execution, the risks there are | | in deviating from process, and how we might improve the whole system. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: laptop-tail]--------------------------------------------------------\ | It also helps that I have experience with distributed systems, databases, | | queues, and so on in the software world. I am responsible for improving the | | p95 latency of every request on my employer software. I absolutely used the | | same mental models from distributed software systems to improve a whole | | convention. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ 2024's Growth and how we succeeded ---------------------------------- As mentioned, FurSquared 2024 had 35% more attendees than in 2023. The growth showed itself each day of the convention, starting with pre-registration check in on Thursday evening. On-site registrations kept coming, even as late as the last hour of the convention. [I10: A graph of badge handout over time, Thursday has a steeper continuous incline year over year and the gap grows each day.] /[cendyne: ych-bonked]---------------------------------------------------------\ | It was previously announced that 1,441 attendees made it to FurSquared 2023, | | that number is incorrect as it counted those that never showed up to claim | | their badge, or were refunded prior to the convention. The true number of | | attendees for 2023 is 1,323. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: dumb-math]----------------------------------------------------------\ | 1,441 = highest badge number + number of children / parents in tow, when it | | should have been | | 1,323 = checked in attendees + number of children / parents in tow. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Every incremental improvement enabled us to handle 2024's impressive growth without breaking or straining our staff. Unlike 2023 and before, the gaps in FurSquared's technology are no longer a source of imminent stress. /--------------------------------[jacobi: phew]--------------------------------\ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ By separating swag from the convention store, we were able to independently scale our swag reward distribution with a heavy emphasis on Thursday and Friday, and scale down for Saturday and Sunday. [I11: Swag over time] /---------------------------------------------------------------[cordite: peek]\ | Wait, auto scaling? Is running a convention like executing in the cloud? | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: smirk]--------------------------------------------------------------\ | Haha, not quite! Unlike the cloud, we can't just demand more resources when | | we need them. We can however predict and plan when to schedule people now | | that we have demand profiles like this. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ The fact that we could hand out over 1.5 shirts per minute at our peak, in addition to posters, sponsor bags, super sponsor brief cases, and dinner vouchers, while auditing the exact attendee that picked up their reward is a testament to how efficiently we can run with so few staff. In fact, 20% percent of people got their shirt within 90 seconds of checking in. 50% within 4 minutes. Beyond that, it is clear attendees went elsewhere and returned later to pick up swag. [I12: A chart of how many shirts were picked up over time since their badge was picked up] /[cendyne: sprayed-by-hose]----------------------------------------------------\ | If only Midwest FurFest could get attendees sponsor swag within four | | minutes. It still takes over an hour to go from registration through the end | | of the swag line. We had, for a 1790 person convention, the same number of | | people operating swag as Midwest FurFest. They're at an entirely different | | scale at eight times as many attendees. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: stubbed-toe]--------------------------------------------------------\ | An immediate argument an MFF staff member has said to me is that attendees | | should just come back later and load balance themselves. If there were staff | | in line to cap the line length, that might happen! | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: you-are-running-out-of-it-is-what-it-is]----------------------------\ | The convention involves so much walking in the first place that attendees | | are deterred from coming back later. It is so easy to forget, once outside | | that area, to ever come back to claim the rewards that come with their | | respective admission. And so, many, like me, choose to bear the burden of a | | poorly managed line with distracted staff operating at the end, while all my | | friends are still in line for registration or swag. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ A few more exciting figures: 85% of on-site registered attendees received their badge within 40 seconds of it being printed. We print immediately upon purchase… Whoa! That's a lot of people doing it in line! 95% got their badge within 10 minutes of paying online or in cash. We had 615 hours from 39 volunteers (not staff) this year. They were absolutely essential in setting up the convention, managing doors, loading out the convention, and assisting in all sorts of ways. Of the 39, 7 of them picked up rewards earned by giving time to the convention. We really ought to tell them when they're due for a reward! 22 of the 39 have earned free attendance next year too! All this supporting data came for free with well-optimized processes, holistic technology inserted into the right places, and proper staff allocation at FurSquared. /[cendyne: sleeping]-----------------------------------------------------------\ | We're running ChromeOS on donated 12-year-old thinkpads. They're almost old | | enough to be charged for their own registration! | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ So, what's inside 2024's success? --------------------------------- How was FurSquared this successful across vendors, volunteers, registration, and swag? A retrospective [L30] set my priorities for 2024. Afterwards, I listened to the needs and issues raised since 2023 and incorporated as much feedback and proactive design I could in over three hundred hours of expert contribution. I worked with several incredibly effective communicators, like Fishy [L31] who led the vendors department in a time of crisis. I got clear and constructive feedback which allowed me to support the payment process for Weekend Dealers and Night Market. I worked with Gadget to design volunteers (the department) a necessary and basic online form to track volunteer time records, and with Fishy again on where rewards to volunteers would be given. I worked with Toshu, Jase, Kit, and others in registration to make the tools needed to support them before and during the con with incredible efficiency. I worked with Kashi, Axel, and Toshu to acquire new equipment as well as plan and setup the equipment and network at the new venue. I put a lot into this, but so have others. Without their depth of experience, their effective communication, and their relationships with the venue, it would not have been possible to handle 35% more people and still be excited for the next year. The 2024 staff team deserves a lot of thanks for what was a great convention. All this feedback paved the path for the technology updates I brought to FurSquared 2024 [L32] and ultimately let us absorb the surprising growth spurt with few technical hiccups. Again, without all that input, the technology I could have added would never have worked as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [L1]: https://cendyne.dev/posts/2023-04-16-process-engineering-at-a-furry- convention.html [L2]: https://twitter.com/FurryWeekend [L3]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/FWA2024 [L4]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/VRChat [L5]: https://twitter.com/Nixtorm_ [L6]: https://twitter.com/furality/status/1789722723125440589 [L7]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/FuralityUmbra [L8]: https://twitter.com/furality/status/1800246990577467821 [L9]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/vrchat [L10]: https://twitter.com/TahvoVR/status/1799684367888818560 [L11]: https://twitter.com/RealPandaTheMan/status/1791874467813298427 [L12]: https://twitter.com/SoatokDhole/status/1766114631968288849 [L13]: https://twitter.com/SoatokDhole/status/1766114642814791901 [L14]: https://twitter.com/SoatokDhole/status/1766114646077976875 [L15]: https://soatok.blog/2024/05/30/furries-are-losing-the-battle-against- scale/ [L16]: https://www.bmi.com/licensing [L17]: https://www.ascap.com/music-users [L18]: https://twitter.com/hashtag/AWU2023 [L19]: https://anthroweekendutah.org/Anthro_Weekend_Utah_2023_Updates.pdf [L20]: https://twitter.com/AnthroWeekendUT/status/1591148108754583554 [L21]: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/852497531/ 202303169349300375/full [L22]: https://furality.org/org [L23]: https://t.me/VR_Furs/273417 [L24]: https://archive.is/IiaIC [L25]: https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Squared_2017 [L26]: https://twitter.com/FurSquared [L27]: https://twitter.com/SnowytheGryph/status/834930623588483072 [L28]: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/rest-on-laurels [L29]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Con [L30]: /posts/2024-06-21-issues-identified-at-fursquared-2023.html [L31]: https://doverspike.art [L32]: /posts/2024-06-28-technology-updates-for-fursquared-2024.html [I1]: https://c.cdyn.dev/IvlFxWf3 [I2]: https://c.cdyn.dev/mcgD2gJs [I3]: https://c.cdyn.dev/sWltq2Pb [I4]: https://c.cdyn.dev/KWN4zImW [I5]: https://c.cdyn.dev/wyitHl-f [I6]: https://c.cdyn.dev/VWQsEby4 [I7]: https://c.cdyn.dev/xEMpRjf0 [I8]: https://c.cdyn.dev/ukaVw0oL [I9]: https://c.cdyn.dev/PtkMwNBd [I10]: https://c.cdyn.dev/qdIP8FgB [I11]: https://c.cdyn.dev/1lNyRGlS [I12]: https://c.cdyn.dev/QOm3GKT9