Official meet stress: a suggestion - views welcome.
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Islander
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Marauder's Map of Towers tbh...
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Craig
Mobile coverage isn't actually that bad park wide, especially for a small text based website. Remember, this is in addition to phonecalls, texts etc that everyone always does anyway.
On a sidenote, although I wasn't there this weekend, I always find Scarefest to be a little more 'faffy' than other meets. In general, considering their size we seem to be getting a little better at organising anyway.
Personally, I really wouldn't want to go toward set times. Its a little too formal, and I would personally prefer the relaxed nature of the meets now, with smaller groups and the possibility of the Meetup chat box.
On a sidenote, although I wasn't there this weekend, I always find Scarefest to be a little more 'faffy' than other meets. In general, considering their size we seem to be getting a little better at organising anyway.
Personally, I really wouldn't want to go toward set times. Its a little too formal, and I would personally prefer the relaxed nature of the meets now, with smaller groups and the possibility of the Meetup chat box.
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Nightfall
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[quote=""Chris""]How about a website which allows you to update were you are in the park? People can then use this to know were the groups are.[/quote] I was going to suggest this as well but as Islander pointed out there was a large number of members who had no internet connection anywhere on site. However I still think it would be worth a try.
Could we use a similar map to the TowersNerd Live feed?
[quote=""Islander""](not to mention that there are *shock horror* some members without a phone that could easily connect to the internet...)[/quote] Most of us without a smart phone are used to sticking with someone that has. Phone calls will still be a major way of finding each other but this system will help find where the majority of people are gathering (and even how long they’ll be queuing for if the person adds the estimated queue time).
Could we use a similar map to the TowersNerd Live feed?
[quote=""Islander""](not to mention that there are *shock horror* some members without a phone that could easily connect to the internet...)[/quote] Most of us without a smart phone are used to sticking with someone that has. Phone calls will still be a major way of finding each other but this system will help find where the majority of people are gathering (and even how long they’ll be queuing for if the person adds the estimated queue time).
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Vik
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Mind you, anyone with smart phone probably has a flat battery by lunch time anyway. 
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Jordan
[quote=""Islander""]I think you're contradicting yourself here - Simon is not suggesting that split-ups are encouraged, but simply allowed.[/quote]
Just to clarify, my assumption was that if splitting up into smaller groups was much more viable (ie with set times), then the amount of groups would increase.
And I don't think members feel disallowed to split into groups though, and that's great. All through the year there have been people who have gone and done their own thing and joined up again later, and that has worked fine.
I don't want to come across elitist or anything here, I'm trying not to!
[quote=""Craig""]Mobile coverage isn't actually that bad park wide, especially for a small text based website. Remember, this is in addition to phonecalls, texts etc that everyone always does anyway.[/quote]
Craig, I'm on O2 and loading anything at all proves difficult whenever I'm on park. When it works, it will just about load Facebook or Foursquare, but the majority of the time, it won't load anything at all. Not only that, there's been times when people have tried to call me to meet up, and I've not received any call or voicemails at all.
Just to clarify, my assumption was that if splitting up into smaller groups was much more viable (ie with set times), then the amount of groups would increase.
And I don't think members feel disallowed to split into groups though, and that's great. All through the year there have been people who have gone and done their own thing and joined up again later, and that has worked fine.
I don't want to come across elitist or anything here, I'm trying not to!
[quote=""Craig""]Mobile coverage isn't actually that bad park wide, especially for a small text based website. Remember, this is in addition to phonecalls, texts etc that everyone always does anyway.[/quote]
Craig, I'm on O2 and loading anything at all proves difficult whenever I'm on park. When it works, it will just about load Facebook or Foursquare, but the majority of the time, it won't load anything at all. Not only that, there's been times when people have tried to call me to meet up, and I've not received any call or voicemails at all.
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Sam
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[quote=""Simon""]I'd hate for anyone to think I am being a prissy queen for striking out with a small group, but I understand that for some, keeping the group together is important.[/quote]
Oh come on Simon, embrace your inner prissy queen.
I think the Scarefest meet is always a high point for disorganisation and stress, due to longer opening hours and people arriving later, the addition of the mazes, people going off-park to dress up and people being anxious to do their favourite ride in the dark. I don't think faff is particularly a problem during other meets.
I don't mind group split, but I would suggest that every meet has a pre-defined "lunch hour and a half" that at least brings everyone back together again for the start of the post-lunch session. Maybe from 1 'till half 2. I think the problem of organisation will sort itself out as mobile technology improves. I'd like it stressed to people to not have their phones on silent though.
I don't like the idea of an itinerary, just like I don't like the idea of enthusiast jumpers. It crosses too far into World of Warcraft convention territory for me.
Oh come on Simon, embrace your inner prissy queen.
I think the Scarefest meet is always a high point for disorganisation and stress, due to longer opening hours and people arriving later, the addition of the mazes, people going off-park to dress up and people being anxious to do their favourite ride in the dark. I don't think faff is particularly a problem during other meets.
I don't mind group split, but I would suggest that every meet has a pre-defined "lunch hour and a half" that at least brings everyone back together again for the start of the post-lunch session. Maybe from 1 'till half 2. I think the problem of organisation will sort itself out as mobile technology improves. I'd like it stressed to people to not have their phones on silent though.
I don't like the idea of an itinerary, just like I don't like the idea of enthusiast jumpers. It crosses too far into World of Warcraft convention territory for me.
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Dormiens-Dave
Scarefest is always a tricky meet, as Sam said it is the most fragmented of meets due to people getting dressed up midday, the extra attractions and the fact more so than other meets people tend to be split more for accomodation.
Also people always come late on Sunday as the saturday is such a long day.
I like some of the ideas though i certainly think their worth looking into.
Also people always come late on Sunday as the saturday is such a long day.
I like some of the ideas though i certainly think their worth looking into.
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Satch
Ok, here comes my bit. Possibly less diplomatic than Simon, but hopefully everybody understands there is no malice meant. It's just my position as Anti-faff patrol warrants this...
Everybody expects faff on a TTF meet, and that will never go away. Despite my reputation I am usually tolerant of this, possibly to the extent that it doesn't feel like a meet-up without faff! However, there was a different issue on the Scarefest meet-up that really did wind me up the wrong way. This was that there was at times a complete lack of consideration shown by some people when decisions were being made. Sorry if this sounds strong, but I will get to my point in a moment.
[quote=""Big Dave""]Meets normally work fine. Its only when we have a huge meet followed by people arriving in different areas at different times. Saturday at scarefest was ok, but today was a problem due to people being all over the place at different times and therefore not knowing what the others are doing.
Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk[/quote]
See, I disagree here. The problem wasn't that there were separate groups, it was when the groups got together that created issues. There were several notable occasions when groups met, and people asked what the other was doing next. Often, one group had a clear idea of what do next, as we had planned this and communicated it via phone to the other. However, whilst waiting the other group decided to do that themselves. At the time of meeting, they then complained that they had already done this, and stood in the way of other members (myself being 1) of going to do this particular attraction.
There were other occasions when the group I was in would say where we intended to be in half an hour. Rather than doing something else, other groups waited around to find out what the other group was doing, and often got resentful when we were longer than we said, and ended up doing something different anyway. This tension could have been softened if they had just said "we want to do this, come if you want, or do your plans and we will do x afterwards".
Sorry if I am coming across as moaning, but it did feel like too many people were waiting expectantly to be told what to do and too much weight placed on everybody being together at times when people wanted to do different things. My answer is to do this different thing if you want, as it is not a necessity for everybody to follow like sheep.
That's not to say that if people are happy to follow along with the majority, they shouldn't feel welcome. My point is people should also feel welcome to form a breakaway group if necessary.
[quote=""Islander""]
I think that as much as Simon's idea sounds great, part of the problem is actually getting people to meet at a specified time at all, say after lunch. The group can agree to meet at a ride at, say, 2pm, but some will arrive early and ride anyway, others will arrive on time and be compelled to wait for those who are a good 20m late... it just doesn't seem to work sometimes (by no means every time).[/quote] Again, this caused some tension when groups did decide to meet at a specific time, and by being 3 minutes late a breakaway group formed, but then waited around for the other group anyway. Upon meeting, it was decided that they wanted to follow a different path anyway. Again, unecessary tension created because. However, it is fairly easy to say at the beginning of the day where people will be for food at certain times.
[quote=""Diogo""]
Good topic.
Part of the trouble seems to stem from the fact that there are three types on TTF member:
* Those who live locally and visit the park on a near weekly basis. These are the people who are happy to stand around for twenty minutes going "Oooh, look! a new paving slab!"
*People who rarely get to go to the park. (IE: Kelpie). These people primarily want to go on rides, since they only get to be there a couple of times a year. After all, The rides are the reason we go there.
*People who often attend meets but do not visit any other time. (Such as myself). The hardest catagory to please, because I want to ride whore, and do my chatting at the same time.
I think the only practical solution is for people to splinter into smaller groups... as we ended up doing today. It's just not possible to socialise with such a large number of people at once.
[/quote] I don't think these three types are a problem, but they are a solution. It's impossible to manage so many people which fit into all three types as you described. So the answer is to form groups to go around the park at your own pace. Generally, you will find that your friends are all of a similar type, and everybody should be happy to continue in that group.
I've waffled and I've rambled on here. I don't think I have made my point as clear as it could be. But there you go
Everybody expects faff on a TTF meet, and that will never go away. Despite my reputation I am usually tolerant of this, possibly to the extent that it doesn't feel like a meet-up without faff! However, there was a different issue on the Scarefest meet-up that really did wind me up the wrong way. This was that there was at times a complete lack of consideration shown by some people when decisions were being made. Sorry if this sounds strong, but I will get to my point in a moment.
[quote=""Big Dave""]Meets normally work fine. Its only when we have a huge meet followed by people arriving in different areas at different times. Saturday at scarefest was ok, but today was a problem due to people being all over the place at different times and therefore not knowing what the others are doing.
Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk[/quote]
See, I disagree here. The problem wasn't that there were separate groups, it was when the groups got together that created issues. There were several notable occasions when groups met, and people asked what the other was doing next. Often, one group had a clear idea of what do next, as we had planned this and communicated it via phone to the other. However, whilst waiting the other group decided to do that themselves. At the time of meeting, they then complained that they had already done this, and stood in the way of other members (myself being 1) of going to do this particular attraction.
There were other occasions when the group I was in would say where we intended to be in half an hour. Rather than doing something else, other groups waited around to find out what the other group was doing, and often got resentful when we were longer than we said, and ended up doing something different anyway. This tension could have been softened if they had just said "we want to do this, come if you want, or do your plans and we will do x afterwards".
Sorry if I am coming across as moaning, but it did feel like too many people were waiting expectantly to be told what to do and too much weight placed on everybody being together at times when people wanted to do different things. My answer is to do this different thing if you want, as it is not a necessity for everybody to follow like sheep.
That's not to say that if people are happy to follow along with the majority, they shouldn't feel welcome. My point is people should also feel welcome to form a breakaway group if necessary.
[quote=""Islander""]
I think that as much as Simon's idea sounds great, part of the problem is actually getting people to meet at a specified time at all, say after lunch. The group can agree to meet at a ride at, say, 2pm, but some will arrive early and ride anyway, others will arrive on time and be compelled to wait for those who are a good 20m late... it just doesn't seem to work sometimes (by no means every time).[/quote] Again, this caused some tension when groups did decide to meet at a specific time, and by being 3 minutes late a breakaway group formed, but then waited around for the other group anyway. Upon meeting, it was decided that they wanted to follow a different path anyway. Again, unecessary tension created because. However, it is fairly easy to say at the beginning of the day where people will be for food at certain times.
[quote=""Diogo""]
Good topic.
Part of the trouble seems to stem from the fact that there are three types on TTF member:
* Those who live locally and visit the park on a near weekly basis. These are the people who are happy to stand around for twenty minutes going "Oooh, look! a new paving slab!"
*People who rarely get to go to the park. (IE: Kelpie). These people primarily want to go on rides, since they only get to be there a couple of times a year. After all, The rides are the reason we go there.
*People who often attend meets but do not visit any other time. (Such as myself). The hardest catagory to please, because I want to ride whore, and do my chatting at the same time.
I think the only practical solution is for people to splinter into smaller groups... as we ended up doing today. It's just not possible to socialise with such a large number of people at once.
[/quote] I don't think these three types are a problem, but they are a solution. It's impossible to manage so many people which fit into all three types as you described. So the answer is to form groups to go around the park at your own pace. Generally, you will find that your friends are all of a similar type, and everybody should be happy to continue in that group.
I've waffled and I've rambled on here. I don't think I have made my point as clear as it could be. But there you go
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AstroDan
I don't think Saturday was a typical TowersTimes meet. Sunday, I rode far more - because the group wasn't split by people changing, and we weren't loitering for TOTT, Boiler House or Carnival of Screams (which combined, took around 2 1/2 hours of time off Saturday).
I don't think there is an easy answer, but generally speaking I don't think Faff is usually quite as severe as it was on Saturday.
I don't think there is an easy answer, but generally speaking I don't think Faff is usually quite as severe as it was on Saturday.
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McFlurry
Everyone just needs to chillax. With 50+ people you are never going to please everyone, and you never will. TowersTimes is more than just about getting in rides, it's about the social aspect of being part of one of the UK's largest theme park forum communities.
I travel over 6 hours to TTF meets to have fun and make friends. We're part of an amazing comminity full of amazing people, socialable people at that. We should'nt be blaming people/groups for ruining a meet. If anyone feels they haven't got the most out of a meet its due to their own doing, no-one elses.
Faff is going to happen when you have so many people wanting to do so many things, such as rides, toilets, food, chill etc.
The only way for a meet to work is for everyone to embrace the day and what it brings and not chuck the toys out of the pram if they day isn't going their way.
I travel over 6 hours to TTF meets to have fun and make friends. We're part of an amazing comminity full of amazing people, socialable people at that. We should'nt be blaming people/groups for ruining a meet. If anyone feels they haven't got the most out of a meet its due to their own doing, no-one elses.
Faff is going to happen when you have so many people wanting to do so many things, such as rides, toilets, food, chill etc.
The only way for a meet to work is for everyone to embrace the day and what it brings and not chuck the toys out of the pram if they day isn't going their way.
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Sam
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Maybe you believe that itineraries, or a special TTF meetup shoutbox or pre-arranged groups would be a good idea, or wouldn't be a good idea. You're probably right, it would almost certainly reduce faff.
But the truth is that as great as all these ideas might be, they just simply won't happen. TTF is just too big, and any attempt now to get people to follow an itinerary or contribute to some sort of shoutbox techology are just doomed to fail I'm afraid. I think they will just continue on in the organic and consensual way they do, and I think that it works fine at non-Scarefest meets!
But the truth is that as great as all these ideas might be, they just simply won't happen. TTF is just too big, and any attempt now to get people to follow an itinerary or contribute to some sort of shoutbox techology are just doomed to fail I'm afraid. I think they will just continue on in the organic and consensual way they do, and I think that it works fine at non-Scarefest meets!
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Big Dave
I think that most meets work fine. Large meets always have and always will attract a lot of faff. Better communication will aid this problem, but it will never go away. Also I think members need to be more understanding of other members. If a group turns up late due to no fault of their own, you cannot expect them to just miss dinner or a ride to keep up with you. Its best to just say, ok meet us in half an hour at such a place. Think most of the scarefest stress was self inflicted due to lack of understanding, communication and flexibility when trying to accommodate other groups.
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formula1fan
Having never attended a meet, I don't exactly know what goes on, but I'm posting based on what I've seen here, and my own thoughts.
Basically, it all boils down to one word: Communication. To eliminate faff, and not knowing where people are, it's essential to try and communicate better with one another. I'm fully aware that this may take up more money/minutes/messages, but personally, I'd rather use more of them to make sure that everyone's in better contact with one another than not use money/minutes/messages and leave them feeling worried, stressed and increasing faff. Yes, we all want to do different things while we're on park, and that's fine, but I just can't help but think how much better things would be, and how much happier people would be, if we communicated with one another.
I'm kinda speaking from personal experience here, as I find it difficult when I don't know what's happening. I also find it difficult in new situations and meeting new people, so when I come on meets, please keep that in mind.
Basically, it all boils down to one word: Communication. To eliminate faff, and not knowing where people are, it's essential to try and communicate better with one another. I'm fully aware that this may take up more money/minutes/messages, but personally, I'd rather use more of them to make sure that everyone's in better contact with one another than not use money/minutes/messages and leave them feeling worried, stressed and increasing faff. Yes, we all want to do different things while we're on park, and that's fine, but I just can't help but think how much better things would be, and how much happier people would be, if we communicated with one another.
I'm kinda speaking from personal experience here, as I find it difficult when I don't know what's happening. I also find it difficult in new situations and meeting new people, so when I come on meets, please keep that in mind.
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BIan
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I think this Scarefest was one of the worse meets for faff, people being separated, and a general lack of direction.
I think many things added to this, including the mazes being on park, people stopping at many different locations, and people going to get changed at different times. I am not blaming anyone, or pointing the finger at anyone.
I think normal meets, the above issues do not cause a problem, and we sort of do what Simon is suggestion, and that is people go there separate ways at lunch time, and then meet up at an agreed point after lunch.
I think posting a Meeting point and time, lunch time, and meeting point, and a good bye time is not a bad idea, as long as people are aware these are a rough idea of the day, and may change depending on how the day goes.
Ian
I think many things added to this, including the mazes being on park, people stopping at many different locations, and people going to get changed at different times. I am not blaming anyone, or pointing the finger at anyone.
I think normal meets, the above issues do not cause a problem, and we sort of do what Simon is suggestion, and that is people go there separate ways at lunch time, and then meet up at an agreed point after lunch.
I think posting a Meeting point and time, lunch time, and meeting point, and a good bye time is not a bad idea, as long as people are aware these are a rough idea of the day, and may change depending on how the day goes.
Ian
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Nightfall
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The Anti-Faff Whistle did make an appearance at the meet.
Its new purpose is not so much stopping faff as it is to deafen anyone unfortunate enough to end up in the same Skyride cabin as Dan.
Its new purpose is not so much stopping faff as it is to deafen anyone unfortunate enough to end up in the same Skyride cabin as Dan.
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