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[Rua Whitepaw]

Maybe next year there could be a department of 'unforeseen delay entertainment'? Uncle Kage showed up this year but he was a bit too late...

[MartinRJ]

Just because it's not been said before: I think it's totally antisocial, rude and a little bit ignorant and dumb to destroy someone else's balloons. It's like acting like kids. That IS NO FUN and NO entertainment for others.

The ballloons we're talking about were very nice balloons with nice printings on them, which were PROPERTY of someone, even though they probably aren't roughly worth the meal they'd destroy if they would have dropped into it.

And apart from that, everyone KNOWS that there are some people with fear of balloons and you do us NO favor by being in charge for the start of a discussion like this one (of all things, the guys which like to pop balloons should know BEST about other's fear of balloons).

It is rude, ignorant and counterproductive to pop our balloons, which we were having lots of fun with, obviously!

The result will be a ban of the balloons - in a more or less minor extend - and some annoyed and freaked furs which couldn't enjoy the wonderful evenings with us.

I would say: ban people with needles instead!!!!!! NOT the balloons.

[Fafnir Kristensen]

mmm you dont need needles to pop a balloon, just poking it hard to try to make it fly high is enough to make it explode, and I guess most of the time it was unexpected.
the plastic used for common balloon is not really sturdy.
now if we used some of these large blowup balloon intended for beach fun (which are still relatively light) the risk to see them explode would be much reduced, but then the risk it would topple a drink glass or something else would be higher too and that may not go well with security.

[Nightfox]

@ MartinRJ

Yes, it is rude to pop them.
But, its also the owners responsibility to take care of the ballon, and that is not possible if you throw like 10 if the giant ones into the lobby.
Balloons are fragile after all and they also pop when they hit sharp corners and that can happen everywhere in the lobby.

Its simple, just don't overdo it, if you bring one balloon with you nothing will happen
If there is a person (but i doubt it) who runs around and pops them to cause trouble, just tell the security, its easy.

[gwyndolium]

I'm afraid of fursuits. Can they be taken away please?

[davuu]

I didnt personnaly mind the balloons, they looked wuite good all in the air, and were a distraction from the wait to go in, I only started minding on a few things which are -

People started to pop them deliberately with keys or other objects they had with them, I did see this being done, and being big balloons they made a big bang and made me a little jumpy.  Its fine to have fun and bat them around and throw them in the air, but theres no reason to deliberately pop them so they bang that just ruins the fun for other people. Also in agreeance with Nightfox if the person who threw them over the balcony didnt want them to be popped they shouldnt have thrown them over because as well as deiberate popping, accidents do happen.

The second annoyance was that in the dance in the bar the lighting wasnt great (not a complaint it was just darker than the lobby) and being in fursuit which adds to vision impairment, someone kept throwing these large balloons at me and other suiters. There wasnt alot of room on the dancefloor and it was difficult to dance whilst not stepping on balloons and falling over.  Also being hit on the head with several large ballons from differnt directions was a little disorientating and put me off my dancing.  I didnt mind it at first when I first came on the dance floor, and bounced some on my nose, but after a while of having these things thrown at you from all directions the novelty soon wore off and I left as I almost slipped on one on the floor. 

So whereas its fine to have fun, I think just common sense should apply. 

[BigBlueFox]

I'm afraid of fursuits. Can they be taken away please?

We'll be glad to dispose of you.

[Honey]

I agree with most things said here.

I myself are very afraid of loud and sudden noises, regardless how silly and stupid some people seem to think it is, and those balloons in the waiting line scared the living shit out of me. I was really in a dilemma because on one hand I wanted to run away but on the other hand I really wanted to see the shows on the stage as well.

What to do? In the end I ended up staying there with my fingers in my ears and my heart sitting in my throat, but maybe next year it could be a little less scary experience. I agree that a total ban on balloons is not an option. It was really mostly during the wait it was a real issue for me because I had no where to "run" so to speak. Ofc I could just have left the que but then I would have missed out on the show. Random balloons in the lobby and or other areas during normal hours of the con doesn't bother me because I can just walk away if I get afraid. 

[Fauho]

Next year fill them with water 

[Cheetah]

I'm sorry, but at 1000+ participants it is practically impossible to take any individual's possible phobias into account.

Even if 10 persons felt offended (quite a high number), that would make 1% of attendees affected, and 99% unbothered.

Which is exáctly why I left it at a kind request - I fully realize how rediculous it'd get to take ánything into account, but just wanted to mention it. As said in the first post I'm in no way asting for any ban of some kind, which 'd obviously be impossible.

Now comes the hard part. You're basically asking me for a decision if I should let 500 people ruin the fun for you ...

I've been véry carefull nót to ask that question! I hoped I was clear in the first post that that's not at all what I'm after, but just to be sure:
Banning random things because someone míght dislike them isn't an option. Politely asking someone specific to take one or two things into consideration for the future is, right? :3

I think its no option to ban balloons completely but we have to find a way that is fine for everybody.
Bringing a balloon with you and looking after it is fine, flooding the lobby with balloons is not.
If you want lots of balloons around you don't take your fetish to the public, do it in your room where everybody is fine with it.

^That.

Okay, I sense this thread nearing its end of life ... I think all good points have been said (and taken), and before this turns into off-topic chatter, I'll lock this thread now - if anybody still wants to add something that has not been said, feel free to contact me personally.

Edit: The posts of the original author have been removed by request. I moved everything he said into anonymous quotes in the subsequent articles to preserve the context. For future reference: Plase, people, make up your mind about what you want to publically post BEFORE doing so. You can always contact us by email if you think you have a matter that is too sensitive to be discussed in public.

[Cheetah]

Skeppo wanted to add the following, and since the thread is closed, I'm doing it here for him:

Only one "Skeppo" balloon was thrown into the lobby from me. It was the purple one with the "Skeppo" print on it. The other balloons in the lobby have been blown up by other furries.

There are two different prints on my balloons, but all of them have the name "Skeppo" on it. I didn't know that the mentioned things would happen and I'm really sorry that I hurt people with my balloons. I just thought it would be nice to entertain the waiting crowd with one of my balloons, I wasn't expecting such a chainreaktion.

Right now, I'm feeling very sad, because I feel myself responsible for that what occured. I understand how it feels to be afraid of loud popping sounds. I'm afraid of that, too. But what should I say? Balloons are my life, and if someone is popping one of my balloons just for fun, it really hurts deep within me. Well, at least I have to deal with it but that's one reason why I would never drop so much balloons into the lobby.

At my roomparty there were balloons popped to but that's a whole other situation, in my opinion. My apologizes to those who don't like my balloons and who got hurt in some ways........ I just wanted to make people happy not to harm them.

Skeppo

My comment to this: Don't worry. A single balloon certainly did not any harm, and while I take people's phobias very seriously, it's reasonable to expect that most people see balloons as something fun and harmless. As you can see on the video, the majority of people there had a wonderful time.