Come on, you guys have to have some good pointers to tell about?

>do
-ask a cosplayer for a photo, it looks better if they're looking at your camera
-talk to people, compliment them, try to make friends - people are nice at cons for the most part
-look at the programming schedule and map for the convention
-go to the convention forums and introduce yourself - maybe add people who live around your area you can even hang out with so you're not by yourself
-bring water, always
-bring a backpack
-shower and deoderant

>don't
-snipe photos or ask cosplayers for a photo when they're eating or look preoccupied, it's very rude
-shove people in crowded areas - just say excuse me

when my local con opens up, we usually get a list of what and what not to do. i'll try to remember, it's been a while.

DO
>be polite and courteous to everyone
>have your badge with you everywhere
>be sure to check the panel scheduling and plan things out ahead of time
>have a way to meet up with friends, phones and meeting place, etc
>make sure you eat something other than pocky and drink something other than ramune
>SHOWER PLEASE SHOWER
>try to be safe, it's a con but it's also real life
>report any suspicious/iffy activity to con security
>treat the guests with the utmost respect
>be sure to visit the dealer's room
>bring money
>have fun and try to make as many good memories as possible!

DON'T
>glomp, hug or tackle people without asking first
>take, break, damage or do anything to someone's prop/cosplay
>if you have a prop, like a weapon or something, for the love of anime hell don't USE it
>treat cosplayers like pieces of meat
>be rude to guests
>be loud and obnoxious at panels
>being disrespectful of everyone else's fun, whether they be a 14 year old weaboo kid or a 34 year old hardcore anime fan, is not cool
>don't be stupid
>seriously don't be stupid
>harrass people for pictures and hugs and stuff even when they're trying to do something else

mostly, be a good person and remember your social skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MshWum3kMI

Listen to the words in this song. It's amusing and informative, talks about some great Con rules.

Do:
-Drink lots of water
-Socialize with people
-Wear your badge in a way that it won't fall off
-Bring your own lunch (seriously, some cons have lots of price gouging with that)
-SHOWER
-Ask people when you want their picture
-Get enough sleep

Don't:
-Try to go on marathons of no sleep
-Try to take someone's picture without them knowing. It's annoying
-Pretend to know someone's cosplay when you don't
-Be annoying (sure people are more lax at cons, but if it's annoying outside a con, it's probably still annoying inside)

lol drink ramen.

Using a PS3:

Don't:
*Get so drunk that you don't remember the whole day.
*Drink when you know you act stupid when drunk and/or destroy property
*Get less than 7.5 hours of sleep and/or don't sleep all the days of the con.
*Steal badges, food, etc.
*Glomp or molest people.

Do:
*Respect everyone
*Tell IRT for any issues than settle it yourself.
*Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of food
*Wear stick
*Ask if you want a picture, hug, etc.

1. Always bring a camera with you.
2. Bring at least $100 per day to the convention.
3. Don't expect to do everything that the convention offers, there are often random events and goings-on by the convention attendees that you may get sucked into.
4. Eat at least two meals a day: Breakfast and dinner. I prefer a large breakfast, a small lunch, and a dinner.
5. Keep your cell phones and electronics charged.
6. Bring a notebook and pen, you might want to write something down of interest.
7. Get at least 3-6 hours of sleep.

>>4820396
>-Bring your own lunch (seriously, some cons have lots of price gouging with that)

i think this might have been my biggest fault the last 3 days

>>4820417
Don't
Be an ass.

Do.
Have fun.

Random ideas.
Showering doesn't always prevent Fench. It helps though. Just because someone smells, doesn't make them a disgusting now-shower.

Cosplay:
For fuck's sake make sure you can actually wear it without it killing you. Especially be careful of things which sweat the face off you/

Also. Chances are your cosplay is not as shit as you think it is. I made Engineer goggles out of electrical tape and movie 3D glasses. Nobody noticed unless I pointed it out. And it's nice for someone to say 'You look awesome'... even if it's just shite you scrabbled together from the shed. And a big wrench.

Don't buy everything in the first ten minutes. Don't blow your train-fare either. Always make sure you have enough money to get home. Walking isn't fun.

Don't get so drunk you fall off your stool and crack your skull on the floor. Don't go to a con with a concussion. There's pictures of me with a sniper rifle, and I've no idea when it happened

not really dos or donts but heres some stuff we did this convention this weekend and it worked out well.

Bring a mini grill or some other way to cook to the hotel room

bring an old game console and rf adapter and plug it into the tv. just have to take off the faceplate and unscrew the coax cable from the back.

if your not having a good time. take a break in the room and cool off.

if its at a hotel with pools and weather permits go and socialize.

>>4821004

Don't be too afraid of being the creeper. If people are talking to you, you probably aren't. If you're having to impose yourself on people's conversation, you probably are.

Don't cosplay as something memetic. I was ready to murder the next person who said 'Need a dispenser here'. Never bring a prop that could be useful as a murder weapon. You may use it, or the Con may take it from you.

Sleep. You can burn a night or two if you absolutely have to. Set your alarm and put it somewhere that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. Have a shower, have a breakfast... you can get by with 3-4 hours for a few days.

Don't be afraid to say no to someone asking for a picture. If you're in a hurry, or you're tired, or they're asking at a really PITA time like when your clearly reading the conbook and fiddling with your gunpla, with half your costume on the table.

If you feel sick, GTFO. Don't try and tough it out. If you're concussed, get into bed. Try sleep it off, or you'll remember the con solely as a void in your mind, and the half remembered ghosts of regrettable actions.

Buses suck and are full of pricks.

If you come in a group, be very specific about meeting points and shit. Make sure everyone has everyone's phone number. If someone's not answering, 9/10 they can't hear their phone ring. Make sure everyone has a specific meetup time at a specific place.

Don't be afraid to haggle with traders. Don't be too much of a cunt either. Getting 10% off is nice. If you wait until the last hour on a Sunday you can push a little bit further, mind. But they will remember you.

>>4820830
I know! I had to learn that the hard way. Went to a con once and the concession stand they had there wanted like $7 for a sandwich.

Thankfully I learned that before I went to SDCC where a bottle of coke can run you $4

>>4821044

Feet. Your feet are everything. You will have to walk places. Don't wear things that tear your feet apart. Don't pop blisters either, that's bad. Especially don't put superglue in them. It hurts like FUCK.

Keep the memes to a minimum. It's annoying to hear The Cake is a Lie over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

Food. You can get by on carbohydrates like coke, and maybe Guinness. Starchy foods like a deli-roll, or the God-like breakfast roll are better though. You can generally get through a day without eating with no ill-effect. Remember, humans are designed to go for quite a while without food... you do have reserves.

Except. Always eat before drinking.

If you drive to a con, don't drink. If you drink, don't drive. If you drive, don't get caught. If you get caught, don't get surprised.

Try staffing. You save the entry fee and you can still buy stuff from the traders, and you can usually ask the staff manager to put you on events you want to attend. And it's a good way of auto-meeting new friends.

Don't leave your iPod in the jacks. I was lucky mine was still there.

If it dangles, it will snag on something fragile and expensive.

If you run into any tween girls with yaoi paddles that want to hit you with them, firstly tell them calmly that you would rather they don't. If they ignore that, tell con security about them.

Same thing goes for glompers

>>4821109

Friend and I are planning to attend a con soon. This right here has me on edge.
What the fuck is it and whats up with this?

Mainly whats the idea fun behind it?


And I have a related question this will save me from making a thread, if you guys don't mind answering.
How much excluding costumes would you normally spend at a con?

>>4821078
>Especially don't put superglue in them.
>superglue
>in blisters

What on Earth were you thinking? That sounds both disgusting and painful!

>>4821067
this is why you learn where the grocery stores are
load up when you can, put it in your hotel/car. preferably things that don't need refridgeration but if you have to you can utilize the hotel ice machine and the ice bucket (or the trash if you want) as a cooler. if you've got a car you can bring coolers. hell, i've got this giant refridgerated one that i bring with me to conventions to help keep food.

i think i survived off subway sandwiches for half of SDCC this year.

>>4821164
not to mention that some superglue will cause an exothermic reaction when it contacts certain materials (like cotton)

>>4821155
They think it's fun and cute and that all boys love getting hit with paddles regardless of their sexual orientation.

Don't worry about it. For all the posts about yaoi paddles they are very rarely seen nowadays.

>>4821155
It's mostly just stupid little kids being stupid little kids. Or weaboos being idiots and not understanding that glomping hurts.

I usually spend around $50, but it really varies. My Deadpool cosplay has cost me $70 so far, but it's going to be one I'll wear a lot because I love Deadpool

>>4821164
Stopping it peeling and tearing off.

Hurt like holy fuck and I still have a solid plasticky lump on my heel from it. Yet... it did sort of work.

I think you're supposed to use bleech, or tincture of benzoin. I had neither

>>4821175
That's exactly what I did with SDCC, except my hotel room had a refrigerator in it.

Maybe things are just cheaper in the midwest, but I laughed my ass off when I saw the store across the street from the convention center having signs referring to selling 2 monsters (ew, hate that drink) for $6 as "The Comic Con Special"

>>4821192
>>4821186

Hmm I see. Nothing to worry about then.

I'm not to worried about making the costume price wise, more so how much I money we might need to bring with us. Room and Board would probably be in advance so I'll rule that out, I figure a nice bit for gas and food.

I could see myself spending a ton on Gunpla, if it were available, just kind of curious how other more veteran con goers wallets hold out once you've arrived.

>>4821202
There was something like that afo this year.

they were charging like 4$ a slice for pizza that they just had delivered from pizza place thats in walking distance from the hotel. and the worse part was people kept buying it.

>>4821216
I usually allow myself $30 per day, and leave the rest of my money in my room in case I really need it for something

>>4821224
Well yeah, there's lots of people who blow their money for stupid reasons at SDCC.

That being said, I really want to get a ride on one of the bicycle rickshaws, just because they look fun

>>4821231

What about trade rooms? How are the prices there. like full retail?

Friend and I are kinda new to this and money is basically the linch-pin of this plan so I wanna make sure I dot my i's and cross my t's if you know what I mean.

By the way thanks for the feed back, haven't received any on my other queries, it's greatly appreciated.

>>4821254
It really varies a lot. Some things are more expensive, some are regular priced, but usually you get good deals.

Though, a lot of times if you get a really insane deal on CDs/DVDs/Games, it's usually pirated. There's a surprisingly large amount of high quality pirated stuff.

>>4821254
Best deals you get are usually on Sundays. Dealers usually just want to get rid of all their shit so they don't have to carry it back

>>4821216
If Bluefin/Bandai is there you can spend all the money on Gunpla you want. They bring stacks on stacks of Gunpla.

>>4821254
Expect prices to be higher than what you'd find online. Sometimes you can get a deal but most of the time not. If you don't think they're going to sell out of something wait til the last day of the convention and they will oftentimes cut prices at least a bit because they don't want to ship stuff back with them. You can also try haggling if you are buying a couple things to get a few bucks off. Don't blatantly lowball them because they'll just say no. Large industry booths don't haggle as much so stick to smaller ones.

>>4821216
If you can't buy online, Bluefin's your best bet for Gunpla.

If you can buy online, don't even fucking bother.
You're better off with Tatsuhobby,GSaM, or Hobbywave.

That said, Bluefin are the only guys who sell exclusives at non-rape prices. Unlike the GGInfinite guys.

Oh, great tactic for reducing waiting in lines: If you're going with a friend (which it sounds like) and you want to go to a panel but there's a huge line, just take turns waiting. Then, a few minutes before it starts, have the person who's out come back.

Worked for me at Comic Con. Just don't do that with a lot of people, though

>>4821295
>>4821280
>>4821273
>>4821267

Buy on Sunday haha, that's what I'll remember.
I doubt my friend and I will have buckets of cash to spend, like I said money is the only barrier right now. And the nearest cons for us are in November and January so we've got some time to work this all out.

I just don't wanna get down there and not have the funds I need for this or that, I'm not a massive spender so I'm not to worried but it's kind of a vacation so your supposed to let lose right.

I'll do some more Lurking see what I can't come up with. Thanks again.


Ohh one last question to pick over your brains. Are their like certain cons you should avoid because their just total shit or does it vary?

Closest ones to us are in NC and one to the East.
Nekocon, Ichibancon, and Animazement. Ichibancon is the closet to me and seems like the best option.

Nekocon's name just scares me for to many reasons.
>Horror images of cat eared yaoi fangirls everywhere.
Shudder

>>4821335

Sounds good thanks for the tip.

>>4821349
The only cons I avoid are:
-Motor City Comic Con (pretty much just a dealer hall, random guests, no real panels, not worth the money, better Comic Con in town)
-Local Copy Cat Cons (they're just not as much fun as the big one around here)

>>4821370

Animazement didn't have to much on their site but that cons not til this time next year.

Neko's was confusing and din't have much. It's the furthest from my location and will probably be passed over.

But Ichibancon seemed legit, if I can use that term haha, 2 hour drive site had a good amount of stuff for being this early Forums were kinda active.

Guess I'll keep lurking and see what happens.