Registration for this year's Dîner en Blanc pop-up picnic-panic finally began today at 10:30 a.m. The angry Facebook comments about registration problems began minutes later.
With many commenters recalling similar problems last year, most complaints centered around apparent server issues. Would-be registrants, some clearly hyped up on the adrenaline rush of competition, report receiving multiple error messages while attempting to complete registration. ("I would rephrase 'first come, first serve' to 'unregulated lottery based on server load'," offers one commenter.) Even before registration was closed, organizers posted this update to their FB page:
A press release distributed in early June estimated total interest in the event at "16,000+ people," and that was well before the waitlist closed. There were an advertised 3,400 available slots for this year's event (this is up from last year's event, which was said to host almost 2,500 participants).
Weary-sounding volunteer organizers for the event pinned the problems on the international organization behind Dîner en Blanc, which provides the infrastructure to throw these parties in some 40 cities worldwide. But hey, at least everyone ultimately kept things in perspective:
· Dîner en Blanc Philadelphia [Facebook]
· All Dîner en Blanc Coverage [-EPHI-]