Midnight/1 AM is hindsight. Nobody expected people to line up that early.
And as a volunteer, your shitting me if you expect me to play line cop duty at that time and expect to stand up for the rest of the day and then go to the Taste of the Danforth.
Was the line officially set? Then while it wasn't expected, the ability was there to tell people that the line was unofficial and would not be honored when an official one was set up at the announced time.
The last convention I worked at (a creation Star Trek one in Vancouver) people after lining up for photos with Leonard Nimoy, came out and either entered the official line set for another picture (with Leonard and Bill Shatner) or as some did, created an unofficial one for the single pictures with just Bill. They were told that an official line would not be started immediately and that while they could line up where a line started, that it was not an official line and that there spot might not be the same when we "transferred" that line to the proper spot once that space was free.
I understand that as a volunteer that you shouldn't "Have" to be out there, but as a volunteer at my convention, I don't "have" to attend meetings, do extra work, stay up until 4 in the morning working on things that have imploded and need quick fixes. Nobody volunteering for fan-based convention "Have" to do anything, but some of us just do it, because it is what is required. A couple years ago I did one stint where I was on site working at 9am on a Friday, and had to be dragged off to get sleep about 4pm Saturday, I did have to keep working, but my obligation was to keep stuff operating, so I did.
I'm not having a go at your expense Pete, and sorry if it sounds that way. The point I am trying to make is that as the con grows, and attendee numbers increase, that the convention needs to expect and plan to handle things of that nature, including looking at increasing staff to ensure there are people on hand to take charge.
