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After many hiccups, everything should be entered. If there are data entry errors in your play/GM history here is the preferred way of handling it:
1. If the table session is entered into the system but the GM number/player number/character number is incorrect, then that can be edited by any Venture-Captain or above. Players, please remember that your hard copy chronicle sheet trumps anything viewed online, and a data entry error doesn't invalidate your chronicle.
2. If the table session is not entered into the system at all, then email genconleads AT gmail.com. Please include all of the table session information from your chronicle sheet and we can look through the paper copies. Priority will be given to GMs since table count affects stars and GM rewards.
Thanks for your patience!
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In October 2018, I emailed corrections for GENCON 2017 reporting errors for my sessions to GenConLeads, including all session sheets, and I have also followed up via email and cc'd Tonya and Customer Service, but the reporting errors still remain.
So - I guess my question is: what is the expected wait time for Paizo to process my request to fix the GENCON 2017 reporting?
Also, notably, the reporting for GENCON 2017 (for me, at least) shows the "Assault on Absalom" special as session #83,141 (??) of event #82290 "Pathfinder Society at Gen Con 2016" instead of something tied to event #153572 "OPF at Gen Con 2017" (or whatever the 2017 special should have been). That error may affect everyone or just me. I'm really not sure, but regardless, I doubt there were 83,141 tables. Is the high session count some kind of reporting or DB corruption?
Generally speaking, as a Paizo supporter, it would be great to see Paizo be able to provide better and more timely customer service, and I hope someone can resolve the GENCON 2017 reporting errors for my sessions sometime soon.
Also, based on reporting errors and dropped sessions for me across multiple GENCONs, it is a possible process red flag that there needs to be a better and more accountable/trackable reporting system (if my experience is typical of that of other GMs). I know the HQ staff works very hard to enter the games as quickly as possible, which we all appreciate (!), but it seems like there is also a high error rate.
So, maybe there is room for process review and improvement. For example, it has seemed to me at various GENCONs like there are in/out baskets for session sheet handling that are identical/similar and easy to mix up. Given the sometimes hectic pace and personnel swapping at HQ, maybe some sheets are finding their way into the wrong basket(?). If so, one small change that might help would be to use a slotted/sealed outbox for sheets that have been reported online so that in/out never get mixed up (where the result of new sheets accidentally ending up in the outbox would be dropped sessions in reporting).
The other possible point of failure I wonder about is, at the end of the CON, during the rapid tear-down, is there a clear chain of custody or hand-carry process for any unrecorded sheets? If not, they could be: lost, put in a box somewhere and/or generally misplaced and not entered for a long time (or not at all). It may be another point of review to ensure that someone always hand-carries and enters the remaining sheets at the end of the CON instead of packing them up in a random box (or just losing track of them).
Thanks!
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Hi Bob -
Thanks for the reply. Respectfully, this issue does not require searching for missing records or sheets, and is easy enough for Paizo to correct.
The expected (and relatively simple) resolution requires 1 of the following corrections:
Method 1:
1. Open Event #82290, "Pathfinder Society at Gen Con 2016", session #83141, making sure that it is mine
2. Copy or screenshot the info (or just refer to the session sheets that I sent via email)
3. Delete session #83141 from event #82290 and add the session data to the "Assault on Absalom" event for Gen Con 2017 (not 2016), which would be Event #153572 "Organized Play Foundation at Gen Con 2017".
(nb. I think the special at Gen Con 2016 was #8-00: Cosmic Captive, rather than Assault on Absalom.)
Method 2:
Alternately, if Paizo happened to misreport all the tables for "Assault on Absalom" at Gen Con 2017 under the Gen Con 2016 event code (maybe the more likely problem), then just move them to the correct event. Any in-house DBA/engineer should be able to extract and migrate all the misreported "Assault on Absalom" a heartbeat using back-end db tools...or just construct a basic query, including updating the sequential session numbers for the merge to the 2017 event. Again, it is a very easy and quick fix. Just give it to engineering.
So, whether #1 or #2 above, it would be nice if Paizo would fix this error so that the online session data correctly reflects the year and event where the games occurred. I think you would agree that the GMs who ran games deserve to have their sessions reported correctly and accurately for the Organized Play events they attended.
Thx. I hope someone there can correct the OP "Assault on Absalom" error.
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What if they don't have a DBA/engineer on staff?
And what if Valeros wore a spandex panda suit under his armor and cried out "Let's have a panda party!" after every battle?
They obviously have access to one and any basic web engineer should be able to fix this problem in minutes. And, it is mystifying to me how these very simple (and necessary) data corrections persist for months or years without any remedy.
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Baltic
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They obviously have access to one and any basic web engineer should be able to fix this problem in minutes.
With the number of players worldwide fixing all reporting errors would be a full time job with little added real value.
I feel your pain and I’ve tried to look into your problem, but the online tools available to me can’t handle the amount of sessions GenCon has it seems.
Just remember, your paper records are the real records and the misreported session still gives you the proper GM credits .
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Auke - thanks. I appreciate your looking into it. Sorry you weren't able to help. The Paizo site tends to be on the slow side, even for US queries. If you are more distant, you could be looking at significantly increased packet delays - probably at least on the order of 250-500+ms. It could make certain types of accesses very challenging.
But, if someone in authority is willing to temporarily delegate me for events #82290 and #153572, I will be happy to review and attempt resolution, at least as far as it relates to me. I have organized and reported small CONs, coordinated PFS across multiple gaming stores and run and reported many games (300+ personal credits + other site-specific reporting). Hundreds of games, 0 outstanding reporting complaints. Also, there is an (ex) OP/VL agreement on file with Paizo for me, and I made this same offer to Paizo last October in my original email in the event that they did have the necessary time or resources to address my request for reporting corrections.
Alternately, as before, this is a simple problem for Paizo to fix and should not be an incredible burden on anyone's time. The fastest way to fix this problem (if it affects all GMs for the 2017 special) is probably with a back-end DB query to extract/migrate the sessions.
Given that Paizo provides an Organized Play campaign with related online tracking, it should be easy enough to ensure that the reporting is correct at the marquee events that they host, such as GENCON. Other reporting errors are usually handled at the local level and are rarely an issue and easily and quickly resolved.
Further, the best way not to have reporting errors is not to make them in the first place -- for example...when entering data for GENCON, make sure you are accessing the event for the correct year, and do have a system in place so that you don't misplace or mishandle any GM session sheets, the critical resource for OP reporting. However, if/when there is some issue and you have the documentation (as in this case), do your best to provide excellent customer service and handle the resolution in a timely manner for an integral component of the OP PFS campaign.
From an enterprise service standpoint, if it takes this much discussion and time to try to address the simplest, at-fault reporting/data entry errors, it is an organizational red flag.
This commentary is neutral feedback. I support Paizo and, as a GENCON GM, I want my OP session history to correctly reflect my participation, as it should without the need for any extended discussion.
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It would be nice.
However, having the events I can play @ Gen Con still being affordable on my budget is also a factor...
EDIT: Even with volunteers, the amount of time and money that would be required to go from ninety-fivish percent efficiency to not quite one hundred percent efficiency would be significant, given local logistical hurdles at Gen Con. This is not a slam on the hard-working volunteer team by any means!
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Thank you for your commentary, but the Gen Con Organizing Committee has the same reporting system access as any VC/RVC. At this time we are focused on processing volunteers for GC’19. Please direct any reporting concerns regarding Gen Con 2017 to your regional leadership.
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Bob - I appreciate the reply, but it doesn't help and fails to address the necessary scope.
What stops you (or anyone to whom I have reported this problem) from sending a request for 5 minutes of Paizo engineering time to migrate the DB sessions for the 2017 special from 2016->2017 where they belong (since it seems likely that all the special sessions were misreported, not just mine, and where, obviously, the "request to regional leadership" would not be a very effective approach to fixing the problem for the many GMs it affects)?
It is a very small request that should easily address this problem and requires no more than a moment of your (or anyone's) time and subsequent inclusion in site maintenance the next time there is down-time.
So, instead of deferring, please take responsibility for this issue and apply the very minimal effort it would take to fully resolve it, like sending a 1-line email to engineering that says something like:
"Please migrate all sessions of 'Assault on Absalom' in event #82290 (GENCON 2016) to 'Assault on Absalom' in event #153572 (GENCON 2017) during the next planned site downtime, including adding the scenario to the 2017 event and updating any necessary/related fields (scenario ID, session ID, etc.)."
Feel free to copy and paste.
If Organized Play isn't going to ensure the accuracy of the game reporting (especially at events that they host), then what's the point of Organized Play with related online tracking?
Or, from another perspective, if, as GMs, we can spend our valuable time advancing the cause of Paizo (not to mention the high level of commitment for GENCON), Paizo should be able to take a few moments to fix its errors in basic data entry affecting many GMs in a system that is supposed to accurately reflect the play history of its members.
Thanks for listening.
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Hi Robert -
Thank you for looking at this issue and for taking a moment to fix it for all the GMs who ran the special in 2017! Great job! I see that it has been fixed in my session history! Glad it was just an easy DB migration.
I really hope that Paizo can find its way to a proactive enterprise process where it can rapidly triage, delegate and address the full matrix of support requests, and where those responsible take ownership of the resolution and other necessary corrective action(s). It is a very common and fixable problem that, once solved, enhances customer loyalty and overall satisfaction.
Thanks again, Robert!