[dlvorg] DLV event length and strategy ...

In this mailing:

Org List
Where things stand
Length and date comments
Overall strategy for DLV 2015
Lunch With strategy
One clarification
Administrivia
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Org List:

This is the DLV 2015 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg_at_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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Where things stand:

We now have about two weeks until our Call For Comments on the dates
closes, but no objections have come in. See items below.

The DLV 2015 follow-up pages are currently ahead of schedule. Unless a
setback occurs they should be on line by (or during) Labor Day weekend.
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Length and date comments:

Consensus appears to be "ain't broke, don't fix it" regarding the length
and start-stop days for our event. Unless something earthshaking comes
in by the end of the Call For Comments period (September 6), the
proposed start date will stand, along with the six-day event.

This would make our event run from Sunday, March 22 through Friday,
March 27.

Those of you who are specifically interested in the date discussion
should please keep an eye on these threads on the Discussion Forum,
since that is where most of the chit-chat is occurring:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/mydlv/mainforum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2946

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/mydlv/mainforum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2941
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Dionne writes:

> Unless the wind shifts direction over the next couple of weeks,
> this will most likely be what we do for DLV 2015. The consensus
> seems to be "ain't broke, don't fix it" among the volunteers.

I think all of our volunteers have made good points, so keep the core
events where they are.The core events happen from Monday (Welcome) thru
Friday (Farewell).

Maybe we can provide more options for those who have limited time to
visit Vegas. Open up the pre-DLV and post-DLV schedule for more events
for attendees who might want to spend limited time with us. For example,
Bare Minerals has offered to open up appointments on any pre- or post-DLV
days we select.

My recommendation is that we let the attendees decide what best fits
their schedule, especially if they can only attend one or the other
weekend.
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Overall strategy for DLV 2015:

Annie writes:

Along with the recent years' weekly schedule of Sunday through Friday,
we've used a strategy which focuses on the general format of the
evenings. We've divided the evenings into three general categories:

1. Maximum-attendance evenings. These are the evenings that host the
major gatherings, usually the Welcome Celebration and the Farewell
Celebration. The timeslots of the major gatherings are designated
"single track" and we do not schedule other activities at these times.

2. Anchor-activity evenings. These are evenings which feature one strong
activity, but are open to alternate-track activities as well. Examples
of anchor activities would be the Night of the Soiled Doves, the Limo
Tour, the Erotic Heritage Museum, and the Fantasy Ball.

3. Multi-track evenings. These evenings have multiple activities, none
of which dominates. Historically, we've coupled our annual Eating Out
Night with a mid-week multi-track evening.

The plan, over the past several years, has been to have two evenings of
each of the three classes. This is not set in stone, but has worked out
well.

The volunteers and the Teeming Millions appear to prefer the major
gatherings to be on Monday and Friday of our timeframe. I suggest
we keep this for 2015, again from an "ain't broke, don't fix it"
perspective.

There is a mistaken impression by some (many actually) that we "nail up"
various activities to certain days of the week. This is not the case,
even though some items have occurred on the same weekday in multiple
years. Personally, I think we need to avoid the mediocrity and monotony
of "If we're riding in a limo it must be Wednesday" and other ruts.

Some activities work better on some evenings. Shows are sometimes dark
certain evenings. Activities which require prepayment or very accurate
headcounts tend to work better later in the week, etc.

Daily format:

In 2014 we had three recurring daily activities, Katie's Koffee Korner,
Lunch With Ginger (or alternate) and Dancing At Paris. Again, ain't
broke. This gives us three "touch base" opportunities per day.

I suggest we keep this. However, I think the Lunch With can use some
tweaks. See below.
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Lunch With strategy:

Annie writes:

Lunch With Ginger (or alternate) used to be one of our stronger daytime
activities. However, over the past few years we've seen far fewer
attendees participate. We've speculated, listened to comments, and
asked specific questions on two of the yearly surveys.

Let's review these findings, first from the 2013 survey:

+If you did NOT participate in Lunch With Ginger, which of the
+following best indicates your primary reason for not participating?

(Ordered by number of responses.)

+Inconvenient for my personal schedule.: 21
+I had other specific plans for lunch.: 17
+I avoided all or most daytime activities.: 10
+Does not apply - I participated in Lunch With Ginger.: 9
+I did not feel that I was welcome.: 4
+I do not care for buffets and would prefer sit-down restaurants.: 3
+Too expensive for me.: 3
+Too exposed to the general public for my comfort.: 2
+I did not know anyone else who would be there.: 2
+I was persuaded by others to skip this.: 0
. . . . .

Next from the 2014 survey:

+If we moved the start time of the daily lunch earlier to 11:30am
+rather than 1:00pm, would you be more likely or less likely to
+attend?

+I would be more likely to attend.: 16
+It does not matter to me.: 41
+I would be less likely to attend.: 12
. . . . .

+For our daily lunch, would you be more likely to attend if these
+are held at a buffet or at a regular restaurant or full-service
+coffee shop?

+I strongly prefer a buffet.: 0
+I prefer a buffet but would attend at a regular restaurant.: 10
+It doesn't matter to me at all.: 37
+I prefer a regular restaurant but would attend at a buffet.: 12
+I strongly prefer a regular restaurant.: 10

The survey question in 2013 revealed that there were no "at fault"
issues and that the most-suspected reasons for non-participation, such
as expense and dislike of buffets, were way down on the list.

For 2014, to the majority who responded, there are no strong preferences
regarding the start time or the type of facility. However, there is a
definite "tilt" away from buffets and toward an earlier "Lunch With"
time.

Rather than dictate an earlier start time, I would like to let those who
volunteer to host(ess) Lunch With (usually Ginger by default and others)
decide what time it will be. I would suggest keeping this consistent
from day to day, but if there are reasons why this will not work, then
it might not.

Likewise, I would suggest a mixture of buffets and order-from-menu
places but I think the volunteers host(ess)ing Lunch With should make
the call as to what type of venue.
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One clarification:

Annie writes:

Can we tawk?

In the event you send something in (we're talking about the ORG list
here, mainly, but also to the Discussion Forum) and it (or at least a
reference to it) does not appear as expected, there is a reason for it.
Reasons may include technical or human error, but in most cases it's
timing.

You can be assured that nobody is being ignored and nobody's opinions
are being intentionally suppressed. That is not our style, period.

There's always a "lag" between when the ORG mailing is composed and when
it is sent out. Typically it is composed on Sunday or Monday and sent to
the Project Management Team on Monday or Tuesday for review, approval,
and editing. Sometimes multiple drafts are created and edited.

If something is sent into ORG, at least a reference to it should appear.
If a cut-off for timing is made, usually (but not always) a note to that
effect will appear.

On the Discussion Forum, in the rare cases that something which is sent
in is not approved and sent to the list, at least two people are
involved in the process. Likewise, at least two people will be involved
when a Moderator's admonition (such as the recent one) is sent out to
the forum. Technical errors do cause occasional missing posts, and
lately these seem to be with Yahoo group and e-mail addresses.

When you're reading electronic media, please be sure to keep in mind
that various nuances and nonverbals present in in-person speech do not
come through, and it's very easy to misinterpret such things as tone
and tenor. Please consider this when responding to various items.

Thanks. Thus endeth the sermon! :)
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Administrivia:

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Received on Wed Aug 20 2014 - 07:38:07 CDT