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FAU Report/Slight delay in work by SpartaDog
So, I'm back home from FAU! It was an....interesting weekend, to say the least. I did great in terms of sales and managed not to spend too much, so that was good. But a lot of things happened that just made the whole con seem....weird. Attendance was down and the whole con just seemed really, really dead. It was a little disconcerting. We also raised $38 in #I'llGoWithYou buttons! Now we just have to find a trans charity to donate it to. Suggestions welcome!
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'll be going back to FAU next year. A lot of my friends (and usually roommates) who usually go won't be going, and the con itself seems to be slipping a little downhill each year. Hoping i can kind of work my way out before I start losing money. Instead I'll be looking into FurryCon up in Rochester, NY. It's a 21+ con so I won't have to worry about hiding my adult work and I would assume that the people going have jobs and therefore more money to spend. Some people I talked to said they made almost twice as much there as they do at other cons of similar size. So that's worth looking into.
Unfortunately, I also ended up with a case of con crud Sunday morning, hence there will be a slow down in my work schedule. I probably won't be streaming again until Friday, but I maaaayyy be able to do a short casual stream today or tomorrow. Fortunately the sick seems to be moving through my system pretty quickly, so I should be back up and running in no time.
In any case, if you commissioned me or even talked to me at all this weekend, let me know!
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Yeah same. Part of me is disappointed that the only con in my state is going south, but the other part of me is like "FUCK YEAH GO TO WEASYL INSTEAD" lol
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Yeah, Weasyl's such a better site! D: Regardless of the attempts of FA to try and 'improve' (read; mimic other sites). It's truly a shame that the community here isn't as active as far as commenting/commissioning goes...
I wish there were more cons here in MN. I can't travel at all due to funds, etc.. Though there is Furry Migration in Minneapolis, so i might attend that next year if given the chance o:
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Ngl I keep hoping FA just takes one big final shit and the userbase splits for Weasyl and SoFurry. Like IMVU deciding to put the entire site behind a paywall kind of final shit.
And yeah same. After FAU, the closest one is Furpoc, which is 4 hours. It's doable, but my no means convenient. I still can't believe there isn't a huge fur con in NYC
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lol you and me both. I'm just hoping for the day IMVU fucks up so bad that it implodes in on itself at this point.
I've never been to a furry con, sadly... They're either too far, or too expensive.. So i really don't have much for comparison ;w; All i've got is a local bi-weekly furmeet that I used to go too, and that has two annual picnics (spring/fall) that I go too every so often.
And yeah, you'd think there'd at least be Something started in NYC o-o but noooope... Furries are too weird i guess :B-
Pffft nothing's too weird for New York.
I hope you're able to find something nearby though! They're tons of fun and well worth the travel/money.
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Yeah, I'd definitely love to go to a furcon someday if funds ever allow it ;w; Only things close that i've experienced were a few anime conventions, and a comic book convention i've volunteered at in the past. Metacon, Anime-Minneapolis and Anime Mid Atlantic. I forget the name of the comic book convention though :B
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Fur cons are very different from comic/anime cons. Totally different atmosphere, friendlier, more personal vibes c:
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Well, i've not had any negative feelings from the anime/comic cons i've been too as of yet. But as I said, i've never been to a fur con, so i don't have a basis to judge, so i'll take your word for it :D I'd love to go to a fur con soon though.
I keep hearing about people having so much fun at them, and it'd definitely be a nice change of pace to go as an actual con-goer, rather than someone working/volunteering at it.-
Oh no! I don't mean that anime/comic cons are UNfriendly, it's just....a different vibe? Like there people go with their friends and shop basically, but fur cons are definitely more focused on socializing, meeting new people, and partying lol
I would def recommend if you get the chance~
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I always considered FA:United to be the NY metro area's furry con. A con inside New York city would be very cost prohibitive especially if it is located in Manhattan.
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It would have to be a large con right off the bat, I agree, but it is doable. People spend plenty of money to get to AC, MFF, and all the other big cons.
Unless you mean it'd be expensive for the con to get a venue and whatnot. Which is true, but also ensures it doesn't stay rinky-dink lol.
If FAU is the NY area's con, they kinda got screwed, IMO.
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Midwest Furfest is in Rosemont IL, which is well into the Chicago suburbs vs downtown Chicago. Pittsburgh is a smaller city compared to New York or Chicago.
The big problem with having a furry convention in New York city is parking and the hotels are way more expensive compared to Northern New Jersey.
Honestly I felt FA:U to be kinda lackluster as well. Its a nice hotel, it was nice to be there with my mate, but like I felt a lot of things weren't done right. I lost $15 at the art show since someone bidded on my work and never actually paid for it, so they're like sorry too bad.
For a con that has a bunch of people going it always seems so empty in the lobby and con spaces. I have no idea where everyone is.
The fursuit parade needs to be worked out better, I don't like when they delay the time to start the parade since its very hot inside the fursuit and every minute counts before you succumb to heat exhaustion.
There should be a better system in place to catch deadbeat bidders, like require a credit/debit card number or something.
Furpocalypse/Furfright is still my favorite con. Despite having a tacky, outdated hotel venue, they make it work and everything is run really well.
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The hotel is nice but the staff is pretty eh. As for the con itself yes, those are all issues. And those are all issues they have....every. single. year. They're always poorly organized and poorly prepared. Things change last-minute every year, and it's a LOT of things. They didn't decide the official dealer room hours until Saturday morning of the con. How fucked up is that? I could go on but it seems you've got the gist of it.
The con isn't normally this empty. It used to be much more active, but this year and last, the con immediately followed some less-than-positive events on FurAffinity itself, so a lot of people chose not to go.
I was only able to go to FurFright in 2012 when Sandy hit and everything went to shit, so I didn't get to experience the golden years. I did go to Furpoc last year though and loved it. My only complaint is that the hotel is easy to get lost in, but that's a minor inconvenience at worst.
I think my favorite con so far is Anthro New England. It's only had one year and was already the most well-run, well-organized con I've ever been too, with a very polite and helpful staff who did everything in their power to make it a pleasant experience for everyone, took wonderful care of their dealers and went out of their way to make their lives easier, and did their best to work around problems outside their control (like the 7 ft of snow on the ground taking up parking spaces lol). I'm so excited to go again in January.
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I still cant believe they scheduled the fursuit parade originally on Sunday AFTER check out time, so its like where the fuck was everyone supposed to get changed into fursuit. Then last minute they change it to Saturday and not advertise the change so a few people missed the parade. Something like that they should have fliers posted in big letters about the change, not assume everyone checks twitter.
Sandy really affected the Sunday at Furfright that year if I remember right. I bailed in the morning that Sunday. When i got up around 10am and went downstairs, it was a ghost town and everyone was rushing to get out of there.
Anthro New England I haven't attended so I cant comment, tho from what I've heard for a first year of a con they did amazingly well. Its a difficult time of year for my boyfriend to get time off so I don't think ill be attending that one for a while. (Its also expensive for me to go to too many conventions per year, i try to limit it to 2, 3 tops)
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Wow, I didn't know that. They're so bad at everything lol
It affected the entire weekend. Unfortunately I went with my friends and one of their mothers. Guess who didn't want to drive home Sunday because she already paid for the hotel for 3 nights. Guess who paid for 2 extra nights when we got stuck :D
ANE is fantastic. I definitely recommend it when you have the chance. But then this is my fulltime job so I have 5 - 6 cons per year and am looking for more lol
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Yea it was really just..... off. It sucks cause it's so close to where I am..... it was convenient and the past 2 years were the best. I'm not surprised though about the decline.... maybe one year I may go to furpoc instead. Eventually I want to go to Furry Fiesta though.
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I'll still be going more then likely but eventually I do think it may die.
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You could always put it towards a surgery fund.
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Additionally, I'd absolutely agree that FA:U downgrades in quality from year to year. The only reason I go is because it's 15 minutes away from home, and costs me only the price of admission to go and try to sell things.
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Yeah same. It's 2 hours but it's in-state so -shrugs 5ever-
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SliferFox
Gonna be honest, but i'm not at all surprised at the decline of FA:U. shrugs Good riddance, if you ask me.
That said though, best of luck at other cons, and hope they prove profitable for you.