[Deptheads] Fw: Circus Maximus

[Strategicon Department Heads]

I am somewhat surprised that it took this long to be brought up in this
form. I actually have a lot of thoughts on this.

Full disclosure, everything after this point is snark and sarcasm free,
these are my actual feelings about it.

Ok, I know some people don't like Circus, usually proportional to the
splash zone. If you think BGHQ gets a lot of complaints, you should hear
the gripes from the Minis players who can end up right next to it. In fact
the historical grognards double hate it for being annoying and not
historically accurate. That said, I do understand both sides of the
argument, it is a polarizing event. So, I try to schedule it to minimize
impact to the best of my ability. The core misunderstanding is that fun is
subjective. Whenever I get a Circus noise complaint (regardless of source)
it comes off to me as 'you aren't having fun the right way' and that
bothers me. But by the same token, we used to have a Godzilla game that had
the unfortunate initiative system of loudest and longest yell possible.
With 24 players. At the same time. So, yeah, we don't have that anymore. I
am not sure exactly where my line between disruptive and fun is, but it
does exist and Circus remains on the fun side especially now that I don't
let them blow the horn anymore either. I am fully aware that not everyone
appreciates it, so we have moved to limit its effect. Listed start time is
5pm on Saturday, never sooner. That means the first flip chant happens
around 6-630. We also trimmed max players to 21 so it is a tad bit quieter
and ends sooner. Whenever possible, I place it away from the BG side of the
room. Lastly, and most importantly, regardless of the overwhelming demand,
Circus runs once a con. Period.

Addressing the email directly, Alfonso refers to the last 2 conventions,
which makes me wonder if Circus managed to somehow get louder or he hasn't
been paying attention the last 30 years or so. It has been a staple since
long before my time, and I was honored to continue it. The rest of it seems
somewhat vitriolic and misinformed and somewhat unpleasant to read.

In closing, I wanted to convey that I have heard the complaints and I do
listen and am not ignoring them. I don't want acrimony between anyone, but
these are games and meant to be fun. Maybe it is time we start acting like
it. In the future, I am more than willing to field any and all complaints.

Thanks,

Mike James
Strategicon Minis



On Fri, Apr 29, 2016 at 10:13 AM, Strategicon Department Heads <
deptheads at strategicon.net> wrote:

> Message From: Tim Keennon  tim at stugiii.com
> Now that we have that out of our system.  Mike, see what you can do to
> keep Circus in the evening?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Deptheads [mailto:deptheads-bounces at strategicon.net] On Behalf Of
> Strategicon Department Heads
> Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 9:36 AM
> To: Strategicon Dept Heads <deptheads at strategicon.net>
> Subject: Re: [Deptheads] Fw: Circus Maximus
>
> Message From: Jason DuVall  nekojin at gmail.com
>
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