Security

[Stevo]

Was it just me or could any ticket holder have walked into the convention without any kind of security check at all? That's how it seemed to me.

[Fearless]

Well yes but I don't know many other conventions that would have gone that extra step to check... what sort of security measures were you expecting and why?

I am not being oppositional, I am just curious.

I guess if you think about it anyone who found a lanyard could have walked in but the flip side is if you were asked to be bag checked and verify your ticket purchase whenever you entered the arena it would have hindered the event and we would be seeing some negative threads here questioning why there was so much precaution..

What is a reasonable security presence? What are reasonable checks?

Your points may be relevant and taken into consideration for any future events.

I personally felt the measures were adequate. The only things that annoyed me was after the dinner, a security guard came over and quite rudely told us to leave like we were being bastards at a pub when they were trying to close. I think it was too soon to start using heavier handed techniques... start with pleasant.
The other issue was there being a hold up upstairs when blue lanyard holders were halted and radio checks downstairs were made as they (4 grey haired elderly men) were interrogated as to why they were trying to get in. Turns out someone told them to go up to alleviate the length of the queues below.

[senectus]

the only other paid convention I've been to is techEd and they had security guys wandering around telling people to wear their lanyards where visible or risk being turfed out.

[Ateo]

I volunteered and the security was very good, I worked with the security guys ushering out people or asking for the lanyards, also suspicious people was ushered to a different gate, and also the colors of the lanyards were taking seriously for the seating, with some people a bit upset but still we moved them back.:D

[Dan]

I volunteered and the security was very good, I worked with the security guys ushering out people or asking for the lanyards, also suspicious people was ushered to a different gate, and also the colors of the lanyards were taking seriously for the seating, with some people a bit upset but still we moved them back.:D

I thought the colour segregation was interesting. "Blues only" "Reds only" seems somewhat familiar :p

[TÐöer]

Considering the death threats. http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=5166

Safety is worth considering.

Somebody may be after one of the speakers.
Worst yet, Many Atheist under one roof...
It will be the best opportune time for anti atheist to get their message accross.

Anyway, I'm glad everything went smoothly without incident.

[davo]

There was security quite a bit of it, and some pretty hefty guards specific for particular speakers. I don't think people noticed some of the security either.

Short of metal detectors and plastic explosive screening what would you suggest? What about having the attendee list checked by the police terrorism unit?

Really on one hand you have the 'over the top', the other too little. It is very hard to find a line where there is not an intrusion on attendees, and timewise and cost wise is feasible. Device detection not only costs a huge amount of money, but is minimally effective unless you have stuff like well trained security and x-ray etc.

Realistically if someone wanted to 'get us' there isn't a whole lot security could do to stop it, short of what I mentioned above. Try maintaining that with lunch breaks, people coming in and going, registrations etc etc.

We can't let religion cause us fear of gathering, but it is also up to all of us to be vigilant as with any major event.

[Dan]

Make everyone eat some pork before they can enter. It's a bit harsh on vegetarians; but it will keep the suicide bombers out.

[owheelj]

Not true at all. The Madrid bombers pretended not to be religious - shaved, drank alcohol etc.

But I don't think there's ever been any kind of terrorist attack aimed specifically at atheists, certainly not one that I'm aware of. Also if you want to view it as some kind of us vs them war, such an attack would strategically be terrible for them, and super positive for us. Not that that would be any consolation to the people who were harmed, and it's certainly not something we should view in a positive light, but terrorist attacks aren't aimed directly at the people they kill - they're basically marketing strategies. They're not carried out by retards either, but usually, and especially in the case of attacks in Western countries, by well educated people from high socio-economic backgrounds. These people are obviously intelligent enough not to attack an atheist event. Nor are we any kind of threat to them. Any terrorist attack in Australia would be against the government, specific multinational companies or the general public.

So we didn't have to worry very much about security - there weren't any serious threats.