Things we were chatting about in Massage Den and Staff Den

[xiphias]

A guy from Security had come up for his massage on Sunday, late morning, early afternoon. After his massage, he was mentioning how calm Security had been this year. They'd had a betting pool going about "what time Saturday night the drunken rowdiness would require Security intervention."

As of noon on Sunday, nobody had collected.

We were trying to figure out why, and came up with a number of theories.

One, the elevator problems and layout things worked in our favor. You could go to a party and start drinking, but then, if you wanted to party-hop to another party with booze. . .

The party suite rooms were the ones that ended in 32. So, let's say there were big parties, with free booze, in 632, 732, and 832.

You could sort of imagine the floorplan of the hotel, looking from above, as something kind of topologically similar to a triskellion. That's not remotely what it was SHAPED like, but in terms of walking-paths, that will give you something of an idea.

The X32 rooms are at the tip of one branch, the two staircases were at the tips of the other two branches, and the elevators were somewhere vaguely close to the center point.

So, you're in 632, and you've sucked down their booze, and you're now ready to suck down someone else's booze.

So you leave your branch, and go to the center, and you wait for an elevator.

Which, of course, doesn't show up, so you get fed up and go to the stairs. So you walk down another branch, go down or up a flight, come out, go back through that branch to the center, then go out a branch to the X32 room.

That's a LOT of walking for free booze. And well worth it, but it meant that you actually had to be CAPABLE of walking that far to get more free booze.

Which is, frankly, a limiting factor.

I suggested that perhaps the membership cap was a factor.

This was not seen as likely, because, even with the membership cap, previous conventions were only 200 or 300 people larger.

"Ah, but WHICH 200 or 300 people?" And, let's face it -- our membership cap was 2000. 2200 or 2300 is 10 or 15% larger. That's not nothing.

And that does lead to another issue -- it's a smaller hotel -- there were just fewer places to put parties. A number of the perennial parties that are there year after year just weren't, for lack of space.

And of course, another reason was the layout. With an open layout to a central court, Security could really see what was going on, pretty much everywhere. You had good sightlines -- there weren't many places you could be staggering through a hallway where you'd be hard to spot.

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I think the membership cap talked a lot of people out of going to the con--specifically, those who were half-hearted about the con or who buy a membership at the door "because it might be a fun thing to do this weekend and there are parties". I think the people with the least amount of commitment to the con as an entity--the ones who view it as a big "frat party for geeks", rather than as a *con*, with programming and creative stuff and dealer's room and non-drunken socializing--are probably the most likely to make drunken shitheads of themselves.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

So, let's say there were big parties, with free booze, in 632, 732, and 832.

lets say, hypotheticly, perhaps? Hyptheticly I may have stayed in the one on the 7th floor, so I couldn't speculate about the 6th or 8th :) The open court also had the interesting effect of letting everyone see where the parties were very clearly. But the parties that were giving away booze seemed to be selective about who they let in the door. I encountered someone in the halls who was cruising for a get drunk and fall down sort of party, and she was unable to talk her way past the door guard on 7.

But speculating about the lack of disaster, I think that the membership probably had a good effect on the bad people. I would hope that the party element wouldn't be any more supressed than it was, but it is good that there weren't any disasters.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, my wife and I weren't able to get into 7, either, which is probably why we never met.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Bummer. I was hoping we would bump into each other. There will be another convention. It's been a slow past few years (ok many years) for me and conventions, but it's about time to go back. I just don't know what else to go to, other than gencon, which is substantially different.

I felt pretty good about talking my way in. My wife tells me that when I'm talking to girls I think are pretty I can get really charming.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I could have. I don't know. I didn't care to try.

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

I, on the other hand, tossed my hair and unbuttoned the top few buttons on my shirt. Seemed to work.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Interesting. That approach failed for at least one person I observed. You may be some combination of younger, more beautiful, or more known to the hosts. Or I may have just had to keep talking until the unpleasant person trying to ride in on coattails left. Who knows what lies in the mind of the doorperson.

[undauntra.livejournal.com]

One of my gaming buddies got in by knotting up his T-shirt to show of his chest and borrowing my hat. Said chest was not exceptionally pretty or anything. (Hat was leather.)

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

"Ah, but WHICH 200 or 300 people?" And, let's face it -- our membership cap was 2000. 2200 or 2300 is 10 or 15% larger. That's not nothing.

I always heard that ziggurauts would stunt your growth.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

Friday night had some drunken, possibly underage, students from BU hanging out in the chairs by the elevators with open mixed drinks, harrasing the con attendees. The hotel liason called the police to take care of them. That was the only instance of drunkeness I saw the entire weekend (some tipsy con attendees on Saturday night on the second floor, but no one openly drunk & obnoxious like that, and none of the con people carrying drinks with them outside of the party rooms). I think the parties were well-run this year, given the lack of security intervention required. Well done to everyone involved in them.

[redknight.livejournal.com]

Boston University has a chronic shortage of dorm rooms at the start of the fall semester and houses the overflow in nearby hotels, including the Cambridge Hyatt. Usually enough dorm space opens up by the start of the spring semester to move everyone on-campus, I wonder if these were students still living in the hotel?

I remember seeing a newspaper article (possibly in the Boston Globe) on the subject, but I can't seem to find it now. Wikipedia also mentions this, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_University_Housing_System#Hotels:_The_Hyatt_and_Holiday_Inn_Brookline.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

No. Arisia had *every room* in that hotel. We gave back the employee lunch room, though.

[redknight.livejournal.com]

Really? Every room? Sunday morning I ran into some friends of a friend who were in town for the MIT Mystery Hunt and claimed to have secured room at the Hyatt through priceline.com.

[theferrett.livejournal.com]

That's actually a pretty good analysis. I hadn't considered that, but the whole "Walk around" thing probably did keep it in line.

Unfortunately, there were a ton of parties on the first floor I didn't know about and so I went to bed early since the x32s had pooped out. Bleah.

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

I think, not selling walk in or one day registrations helped a lot. As did the smaller hotel and the elevator limits. Our elevator hosts and hostesses were a big help in watching out for the few falling down drunks we did get.

And the hotel was great about getting non fen out of the building on Friday.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

One dealer told me that the ones who didn't come were theones who didn't spend money, 'cause she made plenty.

It sort of makes sense: pre-regs are sold to people who can plan ahead. Those sorts tend to be more adult.

[ron_newman]

I was able to buy a Sunday-only membership at the door. I wonder how many were sold.