Is Festivus happening?

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Aaron's Rod
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Is Festivus happening?

Post by Aaron's Rod »

It is a time-honored quizbowl tradition to read packets on Festivus, December 23rd. This year, that is a Sunday, so it's unusually convenient for those of us who work full-time. Usually a post about Festivus is made sometime in November(!), so I was wondering whether it's happening this year.

There is usually someone who does some sort of central organizing. As far as I know, that mostly consists of enforcing loose rules to keep the pace going quickly, maintaining a set packet order that is subject to reasonable requests, and announcing which packet is next. This is a labor of love, but not at all one that requires special skills. I would very much not like to be that person, but it may be possible that with maybe only a Google Doc or two (which I'd be happy to throw together), it could be done collectively.

I'd like to know:
1. Do people have packets that could be read on Festivus?
2a. Is anyone (or some combination of people tag-teaming) interested in running Festivus?
2b. If not, could Festivus be run with minimal central planning, or is this bound to lead to big delays?
Alex D.
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Cheynem
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by Cheynem »

So, er, I do not wish to run Festivus. But basically, from my experiences:

-You do not so much need a central poobah to be there at all times, but you do need a fair share of central organizing. As Alex points out, at the very least signing up with what packet you have and in what order you wish to read them is a minimum.

-You do need what I'd call a "moderator" present during all the packets. The person reading the packet is usually (almost always) insufficiently enough to be a moderator. Basically the moderator moves things along--cuts off delays where people try and figure out what to do next, avoids complaints about "my answer was correct"/protests, and also just stops those quizbowl-esque things where people just babble about stuff.

-Above all, the moderators must have a good sense of balancing what I'd call "fun" with "efficiency." You don't need to be a dick and stop all jokes or speed through things, but you also have to do things like stop this discussion of what was the best Harry Potter novel after a few seconds or prevent 20 people from guessing at the end of a dead tossup.

-In rare instances, you must also stop actively disruptive people--the folks who repeatedly (!) neg during the same question and then blurt out the answer; the people who start spewing hostile/racist/angry drivel, etc. Unfortunately, a big group event like Festivus drags out the worst and the best in quizbowl.

So if nobody is planning on being there the whole time, you could have people sign up in blocks to be moderators.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by RexSueciae »

If this happens, I can definitely read a short packet consisting of RAPTURE rejects / ideas I had after it was over / funny things that deserve their time in the spotlight.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by Wartortullian »

I'll probably have a half packet of of weird mashups and other miscellaneous oddities.

EDIT: I'm also willing to step up to moderate.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by avp »

I'll likely have a packet about fictional vehicles ready if Festivus happens.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by TaylorH »

I have about 30-50 TUs on various wacky topics I can read at this.
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AKKOLADE
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by AKKOLADE »

I likely will be unavailable for most of Festivus itself, but if there's any logistical work I can do to help out ahead of time, please let me know.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by Bensonfan23 »

If this ends up happening, I have a sports in media packet (sports in tv, movies, and videogames) that's roughly 25-30 tossups that I can read. If it doesn't happen, I'll still read this in discord at some point.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by krollo »

I have 20-tossup packet of 'Literary Elements' I'm up for reading, probably around Regs difficulty.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by Silverman »

So is this happening? I sadly don't have a packet but I'll definitely play; the packets announced so far all sound fun.
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by Wartortullian »

Silverman wrote: Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:11 pm So is this happening? I sadly don't have a packet but I'll definitely play; the packets announced so far all sound fun.
It is now.
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1992 in spaceflight
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Re: Is Festivus happening?

Post by 1992 in spaceflight »

A Very Long Math Tossup wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:42 pm
Silverman wrote: Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:11 pm So is this happening? I sadly don't have a packet but I'll definitely play; the packets announced so far all sound fun.
It is now.
If you'd like to read your packet, please sign up on this form as soon as you can. Thanks!
Jacob O'Rourke
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