From: Annie (annie@geekbabe.com)
Date: Wed May 28 2003 - 06:29:09 CDT
In this mailing:
Org List
Welcome
Big Sister Coordinator
Moving forward
Dates for DLV 2004
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2004 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
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Welcome:
I would like to welcome everybody, new volunteers and old hands, to the
DLVORG group. This is the group that plans and implements the vacation
we know and love which goes by the name Diva Las Vegas.
Our group has one mission and one mission only, and that is to plan a
vacation that our attendees will cherish and remember for a lifetime.
I would like to ask everybody, especially the new people, to think about
what YOU, personally, would like to do for DLV, both generally and
specifically. Yes, some of you have sent in notes of what you have in
mind, and these will be brought into the discussion here over the next
few mailings.
As you probably know, DLV is a sequence of activities. Most of our
"work" consists of planning those activities and taking the steps
necessary to make them happen.
Some of our activities are trivial, and these are those where there's
no formality, no sign-up, just show up. On these all we really need
to do is agree on what to do, where, and when.
Others are a bit more involved, and require advance planning, maybe
rate negotiation with a vendor, ticketing, $$$ collection, etc.
If my count is correct, we had 19 nontrivial activities last DLV, and
each one was "adopted" by one or more of us, who took the necessary
steps to make them happen.
Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to go forward and plan
DLV 2004 and take the steps necessary to make it happen.
One important thing to remember in the ORG group here is that it's ok to
agree to disagree. We do have quite a diverse group here, representing
all points on the t* spectrum and then some. Differing views are
encouraged, and playing devil's advocate is cool. Just remember to
respect each individual as a person and their point of view as being
valid from their perspective.
New and different ideas are always welcome. If you have something in
mind that you think DLV people would enjoy, put it on the table, even
if it's something really out in left field.
We have almost a year to plan DLV 2004. We do, however, want to get our
major plans and decisions made early in the game.
One improvement we need to make for this coming year is to solidify our
activities a bit earlier before DLV. A few items were a bit too close
for comfort this year.
I see the following as a calendar to go forward this year:
July 31: Proposed DLV 2004 dates presented to DLV audience for
discussion. See below.
September 1: DLV 2004 dates announced.
November 30: Suggested DLV 2004 hotels announced.
January 1: Pre-registration opens.
February 1: General registration opens.
One month prior to DLV: All activities solid. Activity sign-up opens.
We'll plan for this list to come out weekly as needed, sticking to the
Wednesday schedule as much as possible. If discussion is heavy or if
things are time-critical, mid-week mailings may be made. If traffic is
low, we may skip a week here and there.
There are, however, a number of items that will come out on this list
over the next few days. Those are the activity suggestions received on
the DLV 2003 survey and some various items that have been sent in that
are organizational in nature.
Some discussion on this year's org list will be carryover from last
year's, and those who are new might want to review the archives of the
2003 ORG list at http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/org03arc/
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Big Sister Coordinator:
I would like to call for a specialized volunteer from our ranks, one who
can devote her primary DLV effort toward our Big Sister program.
Our Big Sister program has been quite successful over the years in
helping our newcomers overcome the anxieties and uncertainties of being
thrust into real-world situations at DLV.
This coming year, I would like to see one person take charge of the
Big Sister program, and devote the majority of her DLV energy toward
such things as:
. Interviewing (by e-mail) and maintaining lists of Big Sister candidates
and their particular interests and strong points.
. Corresponding with Little Sister candidates to determine their needs
within the Big Sister program.
. Performing the very important matching function between Big Sister and
Little Sister candidates. Yes, a lot of this will be guesswork. :)
. Corresponding and following up with BS/LS pairs to be sure things are
working out, and troubleshooting problem areas if necessary.
. Reporting to us, the ORG group, as to what's going on with the Big
Sister program.
I would say the only qualification for this position is the desire to
help others help others. :)
Yes, I would say that this is open to our new ORG members as well as
the veterans.
Any of you who are interested in taking on the role of Big Sister
Coordinator, please write in (dlvorg@geekbabe.com) or just reply to this
mailing, and say that you are interested. There's also nothing that says
this role cannot be shared by two or more people who can work together
on it.
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Moving forward:
If there's anything major in nature, we want to address sooner, not
later. If there are changes that have to be made with a meat cleaver, as
opposed to those made with a scalpel, the sooner they are addressed, the
better.
I'm not hearing any calling this year for any sweeping changes, or any
major changes to the scope or the format of DLV. "If it ain't broke,
don't fix it."
Of course, new ideas, and different ideas are always welcome. DLV has
always been a good example of "out of the box" thinking.
The one calling I am hearing is for clarification, perhaps affirmation,
of what DLV is intended to be, what it is not, and what is expected of
our attendees. Specifically, there have been concerns about the dress
and behavior of a VERY SMALL minority of our people in mainstream
situations.
Most of our people have a very good handle on what DLV is supposed to
be, but a few do not, unfortunately. For those who may have missed it,
we've formed an ad-hoc group to continue the discussion on these issues
and make recommendations to us, the ORG group as a whole, on actions to
be taken.
On our plate at this time are the following items:
1. Any final summarizing, follow-up, rehashing, analyzing, etc. of DLV
2003.
2. The scheduling of DLV 2004. Not the day to day schedule, but the
place on the calendar and the length of the event.
3. General discussion, ongoing from this point forward, about DLV 2004
activities, general and specific. The next mailing to this group will
contain the activity suggestions that were received in the 2003 survey.
This can serve as a conversation starter as we begin our activity plans
for 2004.
I'm not hearing any calling formalize, or steer in the direction of a
convention this year.
I am hearing comments regarding a few of our perennial favorite topics
of discussion, such as:
1. One centralized hotel, with, yes, a hospitality suite or meeting room.
2. Mainstream vs. alternative venues.
Might as well have our yearly go-round on these ... :) :)
As for item 1, it's up to us to determine if we're going to try to
concentrate our people more or keep them spread out. We had 4 hotels
on our list this year. Our people seemed to gravitate toward 2 of them,
those being Sahara and San Remo.
Again, if anybody wants to take the initiative to contact hotels and
work out some kind of deal, be my guest, or rather I'll be your guest.
Update: Monique has volunteered to contact the San Remo, the goals being
a more agreeable restroom "policy" and a break on the rates for our
group.
Just remember that we cannot contractually guarantee any level of
occupancy and we don't have any front money that can be used for any
"hold" deposits and such.
With our model of DLV it's impossible to require that our people stay in
any particular hotel.
Last year we had more of a calling to diversify than we had a calling
to concentrate.
As for a meeting room or hospitality suite. I don't think we need it,
but I don't see any point in standing in the way of letting it happen.
My only concern is that it should be paid for by those who use it, and
that those who don't need it or don't want it not subsidize it.
As I think back at this year's DLV (and the last, and the one before)
I honestly can't think of any times we would have used such a thing.
Anyway, if that is to happen, it will be up to those of us who have
it as a priority to make it happen.
As for the recurrent mainstream vs. alternative venues issue, here's
where I stand. I think we had a good mix, and I think we need to
maintain a good mix. It's really up to us, and what activities that we
come up with, that may tilt the balance of mainstream/alternative one
way or the other.
I want to see the large social gatherings, such as the Welcome
Celebration and the Annual Mixer remain in locations in which ALL of our
people, from those who are just peeking out of the closet to those who
are full-time and fully transitioned, can feel comfortable. History has
shown that these activities are well-liked and well-attended, and most
everybody is comfortable in the venues in which they are held. Yes, we
must consider the comfort level of those who are newly-out when planning
the larger activities.
For those who feel more activities in mainstream facilities are in
order, feel free to plan them.
However, a point, which I consider to be very valid, has been raised,
and that is that we should be extremely careful in any expansion of the
slate of mainstream actvities until we get a firm handle on the
difficulties encountered in some of the mainstream venues this year.
Now, speaking very freely again, one point that has been given for
moving some of our things to mainstream bars and clubs has been that
there are more available "het" gg's there. Wrong reasoning!
The purpose of our gatherings such as the Welcome Celebration and the
Annual mixer is not to give our people maximum exposure to potential
partners. Those who are seeking somebody to wake up with, either for
the next morning or for a lifetime, can seek them on their own.
The availablity of potential partners should be a neutral factor in
our selection of venues in which to hold our activities.
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Dates for DLV 2004:
One of our first jobs is to set the dates for DLV 2004. We want to have
a preliminary selection made by the end of July and have a one month
call for comments period from the DLV audience in general, then announce
the final dates around the first of September.
A related issue is the length of DLV.
Personally, I thought the 6-day DLV, ending on Sunday, with the optional
prior Monday worked fine, and the length was about right. However, I did
notice a significant dropoff on Sunday again, and I'm wondering if the
best thing to do would have DLV terminate with a big bang on Saturday.
Of course people would be free to stay late if they wanted, but this
would give us our largest crowd on Saturday evening.
We've also had DLV span the weekend on a few occasions. However I
think it's better to concentrate the slow days in the beginning and
build up to a climax on the weekend.
Yes, there are always people calling for DLV to be longer. However,
those who say "yes, I want DLV to be longer AND I personally commit to
coordinating one additional nontrivial activity" are not very common.
Networld+Interop runs from May 9 thru May 14 this coming year. Having
DLV either immediately before or immediately after allows those who do
N+I to do both on one plane ticket.
Mothers Day is May 9. Although DLV has spanned Mothers Day on 3
occasions, we decided this was a Bad Thing<tm> a few years back.
We could "divorce" DLV from N+I of course, but this will lock out one
longtimer who comes from overseas, and I am opposed to doing it.
I see a number of options for DLV using these criteria, including:
1. Starting Monday, May 3 thru Saturday, May 8. (Optional extension
would be Sunday, May 2.)
2. Starting Monday, May 17 thru Saturday, May 22. (Optional extension
would be Sunday, May 16.)
3. Something similar to 2000-2001, starting Thursday, May 13 and ending
Wednesday, May 19. Optional days could be Wednesday, May 12 and/or
Thursday, May 20. I like the idea of ending with a big bang on Saturday
much better, but something like this allows for two optional days for
those who want them.
Let's hear some chatter from the infield regarding these dates and any
other proposed dates.
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Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2004 organizational list.
One address for all items regarding this list, additions, removals,
changes, submissions, questions, etc.:
dlvorg@geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case
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