TerpCon Fall 2006

[jezter6]

I'd be willing to help out with the organizing of a gameday. Although Baltimore isn't central, I'd much prefer to have it up here. Plus, there's plenty of things for the non-gaming travel companions to do during the day. Not that there isn't enough to do in DC, but at least B-more is a bit less crowded.

If you need some assistance, D, please let me know.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I don't want to derail this discussion any further, so let's take it elsewhere.

 

[xcsalt130]

We, the officers of the terrapin gaming club, and those who assist in the organization and running of TerpCon are very concerned about the current posts on the message board about our convention. We would like to "set the record strait" about terpcon as we see it.

First off, I'd like to apologize for any alienation caused by the Terrapin Gaming Club, or anyone affiliated with it. It was never our intention to exclude the members of ENWorld. We attempt to put on an enjoyable gaming convention for anyone who wants to come, not just our core group of gamers. If this is not how Terpcon has been going, we are truely sorry and will do our best to correct any issues.

In our defense however, this thread is the first time any of the officers of TGC have heard about these issues. We had no idea that any of you were unhappy with the effort we put in.

I would like to begin by discussing some of the specific complaints raised by some of the members of ENWorld on this thread. First off, the complaint about the game which one person was asked to step down to make room for other people. This game was run in the Fall of 2005, by the GM MarauderX, who is from ENWorld, not one of the members of TGC. Although the game was posted on warhorn with two people waitlisted, Cthulu's Librarian, the person making the complaint, was not one of the people on the waitlist. I am not sure if that is because he removed himself from registration for the game or not, but I feel it is important to mention. In addition, we have abolished reserved slots for games so as to avoid problems like this in the future.

Another complaint we would like to address is the complaint that certain people won more times than others, and that the person who ran the raffle won at all. We would be willing to have the person who runs the raffle not be a part of it, if that would help. We didn't feel the raffle was unfair, as many members of both organizations won different games. But, we would like to reiterate, none of these complaints have been made formally to the Terrapin Gaming Club, so we had no idea this was a problem.

In the future, the Terrapin Gaming Club would appriciate if any complaints, questions, or concerns, were first brought up to us at terpcon@gmail.com so that we can try to fix/solve/assist in any way possible.

 

[Bibamus]

Cthulhu's Librarian- The game that you are complaining about was run by an ENWorlder who wanted to run a game just for his ENWorld friends. Please get your facts straight before blaming us. Also, if you wanted your books to go to ENWorlders, then give those books to ENWorlders. Your complaint about a random drawing of tickets allowing certain people to win makes no logical sense. There are more prizes than people and we allow people to purchase multiple tickets. It is just about the only way that we have of making money. Blame luck/fate/chance/God/whatever.

Xath- You did not even ATTEND the last two conventions. As a fellow TGC member, we tried to include you in the planning and you disappeared from the surface of the world, leaving us in a bind. We haven't heard from you in months. I fail to see how you can logically complain.

Rodrigo Istalindir- You mentioned two games run by ENWorlders. Where did we exclude you? It seems to me that you never tried to integrate.

The Universe- You validated my above point. If you guys don't sign up for games that TGC members run and only let ENWorlders join your games, all of the organizers' efforts to combine the two groups falls flat on its face.

Queen Dopplepopolis- I had TWO tickets. One was given at entrance (just like everyone) and I bought the other. I could have donated to the club, but decided to see what would happen. I can't see how that's unprofesisonal, but we have created a solution. Andrew Beard has offered to run the raffle this time since he has too much stuff already and would not be competing.

Calico_Jack73- Most of these complaints are new to us. If you sign up for games, everyone at TGC would be glad to have you. We enjoy meeting people and playing games with them.

D'karr- You're still awesome. Andrew Beard speaks quite highly of you and I can see why. You presented logical ideas. We would be honored by your attendance.

Here's what I have noticed. Most of you have complained about things that we are just now hearing about. This is highly unprofessional and wounds us deeply. Looking back at the previous records, those of you most vocal with your complaints have only played in each others' games. How can you complain about us when you have yet to return the effort?

We at the Terrapin Gaming Club have busted our butts trying to put together enjoyable conventions. Last year (when I was president), I stressed about them for more than a month beforehand. Matt Saltzman begged and pleaded for the funding to make them happen. I have no doubt that he and our current officers will be doing the same. Popping these complaints on us and scaring people off of a perfectly enjoyable convention breaks our hearts. Why would you do this to us?

That being said, this thread is flamed. We are transferring to a new thread in the hopes that more people will not receive erroneous information. Those of you who would like to talk about what you're looking forward to and what you want to run, stay tuned to this space. Those of you who want to criticize us, you have several options:
1) E-mail us in an attempt to cooperate and provide an enjoyable experience for all (terpcon@gmail.com).
2) Create a TGC-bashing thread.
3) Keep your thoughts to yourself.
4) Follow us and act like school children.

I hope you choose #1. We want to see active, happy gamers enjoying a day together where they create new worlds, new ideas, and new people in an effort to tell a story, relate to each other, or just have fun.


Daniel Powell
Former President of TGC
Current Convention Assistant

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Although the game was posted on warhorn with two people waitlisted, Cthulu's Librarian, the person making the complaint, was not one of the people on the waitlist. I am not sure if that is because he removed himself from registration for the game or not, but I feel it is important to mention. In addition, we have abolished reserved slots for games so as to avoid problems like this in the future.

Just to set the record straight, I removed myself from the game list after being requested to do so by the GM, and signed up for another game during the same slot.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Cthulhu's Librarian- The game that you are complaining about was run by an ENWorlder who wanted to run a game just for his ENWorld friends. Please get your facts straight before blaming us.

Get my facts straight? I didn't sign up because it was an ENWorlder running the game, I signed up because the game sounded fun. Then I was asked (along with 2 others) to remove myself from the game ( http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2591758&postcount=181 ). I don't care who was running the game, I'd never met or communicated with the guy running it before. I just think that having a game with open seats then asking people to remove themselves is poor practice. A simple way to deal with this would be to have fewer seats available if there are some that the GM wishes to reserve for their friends. I appreciate that you are looking into keeping this from happening in the future.

Also, if you wanted your books to go to ENWorlders, then give those books to ENWorlders. Your complaint about a random drawing of tickets allowing certain people to win makes no logical sense. There are more prizes than people and we allow people to purchase multiple tickets. It is just about the only way that we have of making money. Blame luck/fate/chance/God/whatever.

I was not blaming the random nature, I just found it odd that several people won multiple times while people I knew didn't win anything. Personally, I had no idea that multiple tickets were available for purchase. Maybe this should have been announced more. I (and the people who were playing in the game I was in) had to track down a person handing out tickets in order to get one ticket. If we had not done that, we would not have even been eligible for the raffel.

Looking back at the previous records, those of you most vocal with your complaints have only played in each others' games. How can you complain about us when you have yet to return the effort?

I believe that my claims are valid, I have attended almost every gameday except for the last one, and have played in many games run by both ENWorld folks and non-ENWorld folks. I do believe that I have made an effort to mix, and found the experience lacking in many cases. I'm sorry that you don't like the way I feel I have been treated by others, but at the end of the day, it's my time and enjoyment that I have to be concerned about. Currently, it's not worth my time to drive 2+ hours to feel ostracized by those who make up the majority of the attendees.

Popping these complaints on us and scaring people off of a perfectly enjoyable convention breaks our hearts. Why would you do this to us?

Why? Because I'd like to see things get better. If they do improve, I'll return. If they don't I won't. I'd hope that things do improve, as Terpcon was one of the few times out of the year that I get to see people that I know online.

We want to see active, happy gamers enjoying a day together where they create new worlds, new ideas, and new people in an effort to tell a story, relate to each other, or just have fun.

As do I. I hope things improve, and if I hear good things, I will return. Thank you for working to make Terpcon better.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

The ENW crew has, in the past, raised a few issues about the UMD Gameday. It's certainly no surprise.

However, that said, it is unprofessional, in any contest, to have those sponsoring/involved in the contest win.

In the end, I am happy to attend the UMD Gameday and have had fun playing in the past, but when I do, it is with the understanding that it is NOT an EN World gameday... but that's a problem because I LOVE ENW Gamedays. I go because I want to meet the people that I have discussions with here, the people that have grown to be my friends. That's largely the reason that I play with ENWers when I attend the Gamedays. So, while it may seem that we're keeping to ourselves or being standoffish, we're really just hanging out with our friends - the same thing that the UMD Gaming Club is doing... which is why, in the end, there probably needs to be both a UMD Gameday and an ENW Gameday for the area - so we can all get our fill of gaming and hang out with our friends.

 

[grahamdrew]

I don't care who was running the game, I'd never met or communicated with the guy running it before. I just think that having a game with open seats then asking people to remove themselves is poor practice. A simple way to deal with this would be to have fewer seats available if there are some that the GM wishes to reserve for their friends. I appreciate that you are looking into keeping this from happening in the future.

I'm not going to get into the pissing match I fear this thread is starting to become, but I will respond to this point. Yes, there was a situation with the game you attempted to join. I asked for clarification on what the GM wanted me to do, and didn't get anything back. When he posted saying his game was already full I asked for more info again. It was a mess, and I apologize for that. It was a case of the GM not following the rules we had set out from the start, and us being too leniant right up until the point it became a trainwreck. Trust me when I say I will not make that mistake again.

In regards to your suggestion for reserved slots, not just no but HELL NO. We had a situation with this last simester which was a bigger mess. It works in theory until some of the people who are in the reserved slots sign up on the website and sign up for the open slots, as well.

There will be one method, and only method, for reserving slots this year. All players (even reserved players) must be registered on the warhorn site. If a GM wishes to reserve slots for specific players they can email terpcon@gmail.com with the warhorn user name of each player before open registration begins and we'll register them manually before the slots go open. There will be no reserved slots after open registration, as the two are pretty much mutually exclusive. I'm sorry, but reserved slots have caused 95% of the registration problems in the past.

Andrew Beard

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Yes, there was a situation with the game you attempted to join. I asked for clarification on what the GM wanted me to do, and didn't get anything back. When he posted saying his game was already full I asked for more info again. It was a mess, and I apologize for that. It was a case of the GM not following the rules we had set out from the start, and us being too leniant right up until the point it became a trainwreck. Trust me when I say I will not make that mistake again.

Fair enough. I'm not specifically blaming you. I'm just saying that there was a problem, and compounded with other things I have seen and experienced, it made my experience at Terpcon poorer than I expected.

In regards to your suggestion for reserved slots, not just no but HELL NO. We had a situation with this last simester which was a bigger mess. It works in theory until some of the people who are in the reserved slots sign up on the website and sign up for the open slots, as well.

Suit yourself. It seems to work quite well for other gamedays I have attended, without many problems. But if it doesn't work for you, that's fine. I was just giving the opinion of someone who had a poor experience, and offered a different method that I have seen work for a significant period of time. But I don't run TerpCon, you do. Sorry for offering an alternate method. But you might want to look at how other gamedays operate there regestration systems, and see if there is an alternate method that you can adapt to your needs, that can accomodate both reserved and open slots.

OK, I'm done pissing.

 

[xcsalt130]

The ENW crew has, in the past, raised a few issues about the UMD Gameday. It's certainly no surprise.

Why have these complaints never been raised to the officers of the terrapin gaming club who run the convention? We keep inviting the members of ENWorld because we believed you were enjoying yourselves. If you were not, why didn't you mention it to us sooner?

If you want to hang out with your friends at our convention, that is fine with us. If you don't want to mix with the members of the Terrapin Gaming Club in favor of hanging out with your friends on ENWorld instead, thats also fine. The point we were trying to make, is that we in TGC have not been trying to exclude you. We didn't even realise that there was an inclusion problem.

In the end, you are welcome to do what you want. But if you aren't going to make an effort to include yourselves in games run by members of the Terrapin Gaming Club, don't complain that we don't include you.

Matthew Saltzman
Treasurer of Terrapin Gaming Club