Lessons from MFF
This isn't so much about MFF but my dealing with things. I had a generally good time, but I felt like I was missing a few things or at least didn't have as much time to just do whatever. The same is true for Orvan. No, it's more true for Orvan. With three candy runs and sixteen deliveries that didn't all go to easily-found folks Orvan spent most of his time "working" or trying to. This seemed odd as Orvan seemed to do better at Penguicon and LibertyCon than at MFF.
Part of that might be that it was generally easier to find folks at Penguicon and LibertyCon, or it was more likely to have a guide. Also, at LibertyCon I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I probably did miss some great panels, but it didn't feel like it to me. I think I need to limit the amount of deliveries Orvan does at any given event, or perhaps make sure that he has guides to the folks he does deliveries to. At least a couple of the Saturday deliveries were a real pain to handle solo since I didn't know the recipient enough to spot as Orvan - and Jay didn't know them either so if he had been around it wouldn't have helped. I don't want to limit too much, and I certainly don't want to turn away anyone if they have an item they want Orvan to deliver under the ACME name. That's why I have some extra bags and boxes and packing material: I can do some ACME prep at a con if need be. But I also would like to have time, at furry cons anyway, to be in suit and "off the clock." So I will continue to try to get things done before Sunday. I thought that that arrangement worked out well at RCFM. There was still a Sunday delivery or two, but things were arranged well.
Another thing is that I have to limit the amount of candy if I do that bit. Whether it's "EAT CANDY NOT CATTLE" for a furry con or "COURTESY OF ACME" for a non-furry con (so as not to be mistaken for an actual protester) the shtick really only needs to happen once per convention. Having just a little extra might be a good idea, as I do occasionally get asked about it by someone who missed it, but that doesn't need to be very much.
I have to be careful as this MFF was starting to lurch into the realm of AnthroCon Disease: Too much time spent looking for people. It says something that the time I spent gophering was actually a somewhat relaxing down-time. Oh, I was active and all, but it was break from other things. At least I can regulate what all Orvan has to do. Or maybe in 2009, depending on how 2008 goes (including how well MFF debugs its security) it'll be time to swap out MFF for some other, smaller convention. Unfortunately they all seem to be more distant and even less conveniently timed.
On the good side, expanding beyond the folks I know does seem to work. It means anybody might get a delivery, not just people I know or who know me (or Orvan). ACME's reputation seems to be improving, too. Orvan still gets asked, "Will it blow up?" but at least a couple people looked at the signature sheets and expressed disappointment, rather than relief, that they weren't getting an ACME delivery. I do need more co-conspirators, however. There will likely be a post or poll about that sometime soon.