Response to email, 0512-021510
Tickets, for latecomers to WordCamp Atlanta, were $55. That prompted this email from an attendee:
“I dind’t [sic] realize the tickets were $55… that’s extremely high for a WordCamp, which generally stick to 20-30 or 40 for two full days at max. Can I ask why the prices were so high?”
The one word answer: nuisance.
The tickets actually started out at $35. The idea wasn’t originally mine, it was a co-organizer’s to raise it gradually to $55. But that’s beside the point. The point is nuisance. I think it’s unfair to the community and to the organizers to purchase tickets late to an event and expect a shirt/bag/everything. This is what generally happens with events in Atlanta, people wait until the week of to purchase tickets, sign up, show interest and then try to work their way in. I had someone even say to my face that they weren’t going to purchase a ticket and just show up. He said that’s what usually happened anyway. Well, that mentality is not acceptable.
That means we, as organizers have to order more of X and check to see if we can do more Y, while we have to make sure the existing ticket holders have what they need.
When it came to not allowing on-site registration: that was completely my doing. That’s even more annoying, people walking up and trying to register. I’m still amazed that debate tournaments I went to allowed that to happen, it wasted so much time, redoing parings, everything. After seeing that, I don’t want to deal with any problems with this at something my name was directly associated with.
Sometimes, you have to stretch what’s “generally stuck to” and deal with what realities do exist.
EDIT: The one thing I hate happened. I’m speaking of people I know knew about it, knew it was happening and still decided to wait.
