Summarized from 14 volunteer responses. Items grouped by what worked, what didn't, and what to change for 2027.
7 items
Multiple volunteers called this the single biggest improvement of the year and asked that it be permanent.
Having supervisors besides Spork was AMAZING and an absolute must for future years. Seriously changed the game.
— Skip skan
Raised by: Skip skan, Silhouette, Guard Dog #17, Ash Neely
The expanded footprint relieved pressure on every role compared to prior years.
We had so much more space for everyone to be compared to previous years, it was a blessing.
— Aloy
Raised by: Aloy, Kaesa
Hydration and break culture were consistently called out as well-handled. Medio Litro singled out as exemplary.
Medio Litro was ON TOP of making sure we took our 30s and 15s. 10/10, thank you Medio Litro.
— Tox
Raised by: Skip skan, Kaesa, Tox
Volunteers learned each other's roles so people could take breaks; mutual care across the team was visible.
Great people, willing to learn other roles so folks can take breaks. I love we all gave it the command mix up to keep things running smoothly.
— Medio Litro
Raised by: Medio Litro, M0X1, Guard Dog #17, J111, Captain Asshole
Pre-event slideshow plus Discord check-in worked well, particularly for mobile-only volunteers.
I very much enjoy and appreciate that Spork created an orientation slide show… sending that out first and then having a Discord call for other questions is a smart idea.
— Aloy
Raised by: Aloy
Patches better organized; Knights signup/payments moved from Info to Admin and ran smoothly.
Switching the Knights signup and payments from info to admin was an excellent idea and seemed to run smoothly.
— Silhouette
Raised by: Skip skan, Silhouette
Info Services getting a dedicated space (with the war rig out back) was an improvement, when it wasn't in the sun.
I'm personally very happy to see info have a better spot this year! … The war rig headquarters out back was great.
— Kaesa
Raised by: Kaesa, pigeon
11 items
System outages and overheating laptops drove long lines. Hot, tired attendees became verbally abusive toward whoever was in the window. Multiple volunteers mention this.
The amount of customer abuse I went through left me extremely tired and weary. I think attendees were also hot, exhausted, and annoyed with waiting for so long so they took it out on the first person they saw in the window (me).
— Kaesa
Raised by: Spade, Tox, J111, Kaesa, pigeon
The info desk metal table sat in full sun 9am–2pm, burning attendees and roasting volunteers.
Better shade at front of house — 9 am to 2 pm it became an untenable oven.
— Tox
Raised by: Tox, Silhouette, Kaesa
Valuables (phones, wallets, IDs) ended up in cardboard boxes that fell apart; volunteers were stressed about keeping track.
I was low key stressed about keeping an eye on it most our shifts. … a cash box or something is easier to identify as VERY IMPORTANT vs a random cardboard box.
— Tox
Raised by: pigeon, Tox, J111
The Command entryway got clogged at peak hours by attendees walking behind the curtain when ideally only admin-bound visitors should.
Altering the layout so we can stop having attendees clog the entryway to Command at peak hours by walking behind the desk.
— Tox
Raised by: Tox, Silhouette, pigeon, Guard Dog #17
When the line wouldn't stop, first-time supervisors didn't always follow up on break times — volunteers worked 60+ uninterrupted minutes.
When we had peak rush and couldn't stop for 60+ uninterrupted minutes, there wasn't much follow up on break times.
— Tox
Raised by: Tox
Attendee and volunteer questions reached Dispatch in the back instead of being absorbed by Info / Admin up front. Gophers also unsure who owned what.
Somehow there were still people & volunteers that had questions that got to the back to me instead of being stopped by admins or info. This is an annoying problem at both events every year.
— Aloy
Raised by: Aloy, M0X1, Medio Litro
ADA camping placement made lunch breaks unworkable for a mobility-limited volunteer. Separately, a mobility-impaired attendee was nearly stranded between Command and the front gate. Wristbands cinched too tight sent many to Medical.
She almost broke down crying. That station broke my heart, but I get it on all sides.
— Kaesa
Raised by: Kaesa
Two attendees claimed special access through Jared after NeoBand cutoff; the volunteer had no reference to verify and felt put on the spot.
I didn't personally know how to handle that situation and I felt uncomfortable being put on the spot.
— Kaesa
Raised by: Kaesa
Command was pulled into work that wasn't Command's scope.
Command isn't build crew lol.
— Medio Litro
Raised by: Medio Litro
Basic supplies — notably scissors — were short, forcing one person to do work everyone could have shared.
A poster job needing scissors but there was only one pair and we all watched helplessly as one guy did it all by himself.
— Guard Dog #17
Raised by: Guard Dog #17
At least twice, a gopher was misgendered by team leads — pronouns weren't visible on schedules.
At least twice, myself included, one particular gopher was misgendered by team leads, so perhaps we should include pronouns with the Neo names on our schedules/lists.
— Captain Asshole
Raised by: Captain Asshole
16 items
Stress-test the backend; address laptop cooling/shade so hardware doesn't fail mid-shift; staff 3 people at the info window during peak (one window, two scanning); build a line-control + de-escalation playbook so volunteers aren't absorbing attendee anger alone.
Raised by: Spade, Tox, J111, Kaesa, pigeon
Awning / shade cloth over the metal info-desk table and the attendee line area. This fixes both the burning surface and morale during peak heat.
Raised by: Tox, Silhouette, Kaesa
A clearly-labeled lockbox for phones / wallets / IDs (keys can stay in the war rig). Move intake to a shared spreadsheet for Ctrl-F search and to dodge handwriting issues.
Raised by: pigeon, Tox, J111
Re-route attendee traffic so only admin-bound visitors cross behind the desk; widen the Info Services area so two-person workflow at the window doesn't block movement.
Raised by: Tox, Silhouette, pigeon, Guard Dog #17
Add explicit coaching for first-time supervisors on enforcing 30s/15s during peak rush, not just hydration. Use Medio Litro's pattern as the template.
Raised by: Tox
Adapt the Wasteland SOPs (which are mostly applicable) into a Neo binder kept in the war rig. Huge upside for new team leads.
Raised by: Captain Asshole
So when an attendee claims special access, the volunteer can escalate cleanly to a supervisor instead of being put on the spot.
Raised by: Kaesa
Reconsider ADA camp distance from Command for break feasibility; clarify gofer scope for mobility-assist (so no one is left between sites); review wristband application training to reduce too-tight cinches sending people to Medical.
Raised by: Kaesa
Add pronouns next to Neo names on rosters. Extend the lanyard/badge system to Neo team leads and consider generic on-shift badges for gophers and dispatch so identification is easier.
Raised by: Captain Asshole
Venmo was unreliable on the playa signal. Cash float would unstick a lot of pumping transactions.
Raised by: Skip skan
Multiple scissors, tape, markers, box cutters at the start of the event, not borrowed across the team.
Raised by: Guard Dog #17
A loud ship-deck-style bell would save voices when calling meetings over engine and crowd noise.
Raised by: Captain Asshole
Acknowledged as needing a redesign — scope this for 2027 with supervisor input.
Raised by: Medio Litro
Push non-Command projects (e.g., build-crew work) back to the right department before they land in Command.
Raised by: Medio Litro
A small piece of attendee-facing messaging to lower the rate of volunteers absorbing verbal abuse at the window.
Raised by: Kaesa
Captain Asshole never received command emails / meeting schedules. Add as an onboarding checklist step.
Raised by: Captain Asshole