[MR] Fwd: The importance of pre-reg

[Kelly Keck]

I meant for this message to go to the Merry Rose, and instead it found its
way to the Atlantian autocrats list.  I suppose that's the downside of an
e-mail service that "helpfully" fills in an address when you start typing.
So, here it is again, with apologies to those receiving it twice.  (I'm
forwarding it as originally written, but will note that since sending it, I
looked back to Sir Bryce's comment that pre-registration "should be common
courtesy," which I believe is what Domenico was referring to in his
message.)

In Service,
Adriana Michaels
***********

I don't recall anyone suggesting that it was a *requirement* or an
expectation that anyone should pre-register who can't tell for sure that
they'll be going.  Especially when refunds add to the hassle for both the
event attender and the event staff and when attending can be expensive, I
agree that it's a lot less trouble to pay at the door if there's a chance
you may not make it.

But, from the autocrat's point of view, the low pre-reg numbers can cause
problems, and we're trying to brainstorm ways around that problem, whether
it's an incentive to pre-registration, a non-binding RSVP e-mail, or some
other possibility.

>From the event attender's point of view, I'd like to hear what *does* make
you consider it worth your while to pre-reg.  What do you have to get out of
it to make it worth what you might give up?

And no, it's not the attender's job to ensure that an event makes a profit;
that's up to the event staff.  Again, I don't recall anyone saying that it
was, and I hope nothing I said gave that impression.

However, the flip side of that is that those who don't pre-register need to
understand that this choice might affect their experience at the event.  The
dayboard might not have as much food as you would've wanted, the line for
the porta-potty might be longer, you might be closed out of feast (which
most people are well aware of), and if the event has an attendance cap, you
may even end up wasting the whole trip.

Those are just other factors to consider into your personal decision,
balanced against the possibility that you might not be able to go.

Doing something nice for the event staff can also go into that equation, if
that affects your decision.  I can say that it will probably affect mine in
the future--not that I feel *obligated* to pre-register for events or am
suggesting that you should feel obligated, but that I'm much more aware how
much easier it makes things on the event staff after having seen it from the
autocrat's side.

And while it's *certainly* not bad manners to pay at the door, it might be
bad manners to pay at the door and then *complain* because attendance was
far higher than the site expected, and, as with WOWI, there weren't enough
porta-potties.  Granted, it's the autocrat's job to make reasonable
predictions based on weather forecasts, past event attendance, advertising,
other events in the area, and all those factors and to plan accordingly, but
no autocrat has a crystal ball.

I don't think anyone is asking event attenders to always pre-register, or to
ignore the fact that they may be asked to work that Saturday or that they
won't be going if the weather is miserable, or any other factors.  All
that's being asked is that when you're making that personal decision, you
consider how it affects the event (not just as a kindness to the event
staff, but what it will mean to your enjoyment of that event).  Taking all
that into account, you can still decide that it's not worth your while.  And
that's fine.  It seems to me that all Lady Rosza wanted to do was to point
out the effects of that choice, which some people might not consider or be
aware of.

Very Respectfully,
Adriana Michaels

On 10/27/06, Sean D. Sorrentino < sdsorrentino at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Why doesn't everyone simply understand that the vast majority of us will
> either Pre-register or not based on OUR circumstances? Each of us will make
> a decision based on what we get out of pre-registering versus what we give
> up. It is a basic economic decision to bet money on weather, time, and
> random family or job commitments.
>