[ST] Elevator Suggestion Submitted With Minimal Comment

[SciFiFanBoston at aol.com]

I ran the poor Day Volunteers ragged last year with the elevator  problem.  
One of the things I most have to stress is at Arisia we DO NOT  separate the 
able bodied from the disabled in any kind of obvious way.   Therefore, someone 
with a heart ailment, who otherwise looks quite fine, should  not be looked 
upon by other con attendees as a "blight" because they took the  elevator and not 
the stairs.  I think a much better way of handling this is  to simply make 
everyone aware of where the stairs are.  So, I'd suggest  making signage that 
simply directs people to the staircase, not suggests that  they use it.
 
-Mary D.
 
In a message dated 11/27/2007 8:15:29 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
dpn at isomerica.net writes:

On Tue,  Nov 27, 2007 at 12:13:32AM -0500, A Fool Who Should Know Better 
wrote:
>  Yeah, so I find this whole idea sort of odd.  As it stands we have people  
> saying "you should take the stairs" with a usually-unspoken "so I can  take 
> the elevator in a reasonable amount of time."  Yes, it is  kind of rude to 
> take the elevator when you don't need to, especially  for just a couple of 
> floors, but it's also rude to  passive-aggressively point out with signs 
> that someone else isn't  being maximally courteous.

The people I heard saying "you should take  the stairs" are the people
who *are* taking the stairs - but maybe that is  partly because I am one
of the tech crew volunteers which means I'm running  all over the place.
And always on the stairs unless I'm carting heavy  equipment, because
honestly the stairs are faster.

In general, in  hotels, people aren't *aware* of the stairs.  No hotel
advertises  their stairs except for fire safety.  So you get perfectly
normal,  healthy people taking the elevator for a few stories because
they don't  realize they can take the stairs.  A sign near the elevator
that  reminded people the stairs are even an option would be great, in
addition  to pointing people towards the location of the stairwells -
often  challenging to find from the lower floors and the lobby.

Admittedly, I  am young, and healthy, and the stairs don't present a
problem for me; in  fact, I love the opportunity to get some exercise
in the middle of  winter.  But if you think most of the people who are
suggesting  elevator signs are doing it so they can use the elevator,
you're  wrong.  Most of the people who I discussed it with last year just
want  more people enlightened to the presence of the  stairs.

Cheers,
Dan

-- 
/--------------- - -  -   -   -   -
|  Dan Noe
|   http://isomerica.net/~dpn/
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