Kicked out of a session??

[Jon S]

I just have to say I was in a session that the room was physically cleared by 2 guys before the presenter came in. I wanted to be at both sessions, and didn't argue, but I think it is VERY wrong to kick me out of session because there is a line. Can we get bigger rooms or better organization for next year? Anyone else mad about this??

[Dee Martin]

It's my pet peeve LOL

[Paul Alex Briseno]

That is very wrong and somewhat ridiculous. I myself did not get kicked out of a session, but I did see this one "host" or whatever they were called clearing out people from several sessions. The reason was because they were standing at the back of the room or sitting on the floor and stated that it was a fire code violation. However, it was not happening consistently in all session. I went from that session where some of us (about 4 of us) were asked to leave and walked down to another session and there were about 20 people standing in the back of the room for the entire session.

[Doug Valentine]

It's against the fire code. It's posted all around. I saw it. People should not have to be asked to leave. They can't police every room. You should just leave if there is no seat. It's the law. Sorry.

[Michele Lyles]

Right. Also, I saw a pregnant woman, who arrived when the doors opened to the session (obviously arriving early to get an aisle seat so she could leave the session at will) coerced to "move in" toward the wall, so that others (who were late-comers) could have the aisle seats. This was out of control this year!

[Kristy Fowler]

I also agree that it is wrong to physically clear a room before a presentation. If there are two sessions back-to-back in one room, and I'M ALREADY IN THERE, it seems ridiculous to ask me to get up and gather my things and go to the back of the line, *hoping* that I'll get a chair for the second session.

Why? An attendee in a chair is an attendee in a chair, whether or not we got there five minutes ago...or an hour and five minutes ago.

BEFORE ANYONE THINKS I'M JUST BEING OBSTINATE OR GROUCHY...

I have no problem with being asked to fill in chairs from the front (as we were with Tammy Worcester's ridiculously over-crowded Friday session--originally scheduled in room 13 and then moved to 19--instead of being in a ballroom, as it belonged). I stood in line and sat where I was directed, up front and with people on either side.

It's also fine to ask me to move in to the walls; if I have a medical condition that prevents that, I'll stand and let others take the inner seats.

But asking me to leave a room so I can try to re-enter a room? Um...no.

[Jon S]

The thing is Doug, it wasn't because of fire code. I was sitting in a session and they cleared me out of where I was sitting because there was a line. I can't just stay in a room for the next session?? There was no fire hazard involved, they made me go out and reenter a room. Which I think is dumb and insulting.

[Ronnie Yeatts]

The problem is (and I have seen this many times) that when you have a presenter like Tammy W. or a real hot topic like the WII remote last year, people will attend the session beforehand just to get a seat. They have no intention of listening to the prior session. They just want a "guaranteed" seat for the following session. Fair or not, this is why. My recommendation for many years has been to combine 2 rooms and use them for "hot topics" or popular presenters.
There has got to be some type of technology where we can do a live stream or even saved video of these popular presentations for those of us who bring laptops. I could be setting outside the room and still watch the presentation. Better yet, still in the hotel room--not really. Another possibility is to use a distance learning unit and place the second unit in an empty room. Let's demonstrate the use of technology.