In this mailing:
Org List
Introducing some strategic topics
Dates for DLV 2018
Odd year Administrative Committee seat
Critiquing DLV 2017
Call For Votes coming this week
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2018 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg_at_divalas.vegas)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
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Introducing some strategic topics:
Depending on the timeframe we select for our event, we're 7 or 8 months
out from DLV 2018.
We want to use the next few months primarily to go over our program and
think in broad-stroke higher-up terms about what we do, how we do it,
what else we can do, and how we can do things better.
Some topics of discussion are introduced in this mailing, and the floor
is now open for any topics about our event that you would like to bring
up.
Everyone here is encouraged to discuss and comment. (Just reply to this
mailing.)
The most important immediate item is the dates for DLV 2018. See the
item immediately below.
Due to the length of some items, we're holding off on the survey
discussion until next week, and this will most likely be presented in
two parts.
In other news, we're still on target for go-live of the DLV 2017
follow-up pages sometime this coming weekend.
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Dates for DLV 2018:
Annie writes:
This is the biggie!
We want to begin the discussion on setting the dates for DLV 2018.
The Teeming Millions have made it clear that they want us to set these
sooner rather than later, so it's one of our first items on the plate.
For all of you volunteers, we need to know, as early in the process as
possible, if you have any hard-and-fast conflicts with any dates that
are being discussed BEFORE the dates are being decided upon. Too many
times we've had volunteers cry "Oh No! I can't make it that week!" soon
after the date vote was taken. Please don't let that happen to you.
Anyway, let's "round up the usual suspects" ...
Easter is Sunday, April 1
Passover runs from Friday, March 30 to Saturday, April 7.
NAB is April 7 - 12, 2018 (High room rates)
LA Transcon is scheduled to run from April 6 to April 8.
Those are the historic and anticipated conflicts. If anyone sees any
missing conflicts that may affect a good portion of our potential
attendees, please let us know, as in now.
. . . . .
We've discovered by trial and error that for a six-day event, a start on
Sunday and an end on Friday appears to work best. I am suggesting that
we plan our 2018 event to run from a Sunday through a Friday and do not
consider any other weekday spans unless no Sunday-Friday spans are
shown to be viable.
Looking over every week from mid March through mid May, we get the
following. The numbers in parentheses are the average current ROTH web
rates for the Flamingo (cold-click, not signed in, no special rates)
during that week. These, of course, can and do change frequently.
Week of March 18-23: Clear of obvious conflicts, ($89)
Week of March 25-30: Holy week, family conflicts.
Week of April 1-6: Easter, Passover, NAB begins April 7, LAT April 6-8
Week of April 8-13: NAB - High room rates, LAT April 6-8
Week of April 15-20: Clear of obvious conflicts, ($59)
Week of April 22-27: Clear of obvious conflicts, ($79)
Week of April 29 - May 4: Clear of obvious conflicts, ($59)
Week of May 6-11: 11-12 off limits - Mothers Day
Week of May 13-18: Mothers Day May 13
Looking at the above list, it appears that we have four "good" weeks
from which to choose:
1. Week of March 18-23
2. Week of April 15-20
3. Week of April 22-27
4. Week of April 29 - May 4
The floor is now open (just reply to this mailing) for discussion on the
DLV 2018 dates. Please let us know your personal preferences and what
you think works best for the group as a whole.
I (Annie) find all of the four above weeks to be almost equally
workable, so I am personally very neutral. My preference is for the
week that will get us a good turnout, leading to maximum enjoyment and
satisfaction of the event for the attendees.
Comments?
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Odd year Administrative Committee seat:
This will be one of our first orders of business this year.
The term for the "odd year" Administrative Committee seat has expired.
For those who don't know that much about the Committee, it's the group
that handles most of the non-activity-related business for DLV. Info on
the Committee is on line here:
http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/administ/admcom.html
The seat that is expiring is an exception to the rule and is currently
held by Bobbie and Sara (no "h") jointly. In 2011 Bobbie and Sara tied
during the vote and there was no easy way to break the tie. An exception
was agreed upon to let them hold the seat jointly and when the term
expired in 2013, we agreed to "grandfather" that particular pair to
continue sharing the seat and this was also carried forward in 2015.
The floor is now open for nominations for this position. Since
self-nominations are allowed, Bobbie and Sara are welcome to re-nominate
themselves, either jointly or singularly, and other nominations may also
be made. Everyone who is of voting status is eligible for this position.
The workload of the Committee is normally very low and varies according
to time and circumstance.
Anyone else? Any nominations for this position?
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Critiquing DLV 2017:
Annie writes:
Here are a few comments on a number of topics regarding how things went
at our 2017 event.
Your comments on any of these topics are most welcome. Just hit REPLY
and spit it out! :)
I'm presenting these in no particular order and commenting on both our
methods and madness and on specific activities and classes of
activities.
. . . . . . . . . .
Name tags:
I think most of us agree that name tags are a necessary evil, that they
do help quite a bit with name recognition and group belongingness, (if
that is indeed a word). :)
Most of us have also noticed that many slack off on wearing name tags as
the event continues on its course.
We also know that name tags are one of our most labor-intensive items
and one of our most significant (in terms of real $$$$) expenses.
I think that most of us also agree that Vera and Dennis have done an
absolutely fabulous job in producing the name tags over the past few
years!
I have an idea for streamlining the name tag process. I'll briefly
outline it here, and toss it out to see if there are any comments,
better ideas, or objections.
First of all, we'll standardize on the method that Dennis used this year
for the design of the tags. That is doing an image of both the obverse
(DLV logo and name) and reverse (QR code and ID number) side by side
using most of the width of a standard letter-size sheet. The tag is then
to be cut out, folded over, and inserted into a standard tag holder.
This format is actually easy to machine-generate, either onesey-twosey
on the fly, or in a batch.
We've discussed having attendees print out their own name tags and bring
them. The Big Burning Question has always been along the line of how
many will actually follow through and do so.
The only way we're gonna find out on this one is to try it.
For DLV 2018 I would like to add a question "Do you wish to print out
your name tag yourself or do you want a pre-printed tag to be given to
you at check-in?" to the activity sign-up screen. Those who want the
usual pre-printed tag will then have one machine-generated and printed
for them. Those who want to print their own will have a tag image
generated for them at Final Attendee Information time.
It's taken a few years, but our people seem to now be in the habit of
printing out (or at least bookmarking on the web) the daily schedule and
the maps and such. Let's see if they will do the same with name tags!
In the Good News Department, it appears that we actually have enough tag
holders to last through the 2019 event! :)
. . . . .
Check-in:
We did another of those "the only way we're gonna find out is to try it"
things this past year. That was the on-site check-in at the Flamingo.
I staffed this one myself to get a good idea on how it worked.
I think it alleviated, to a certain extent, the madness and long line
for check-in at the first large gathering. It still took two of us to do
it at the peak of the peak, but I definitely noticed some relief as
compared to previous years when I've done it.
I think it's worth repeating the on-site check-in, but only for the very
first couple of days.
This was also the first year when we did check-in electronically, as
opposed to using paper sign-in sheets. A mix of a preliminary scan of
the tag's QR code and a manual "click on registration number" were used.
The tag scan worked quite well when the light was very good, but the
manual click was indeed a bit faster, time-wise.
. . . . .
Promotional hotel rates:
The way this works, (at least) one of our people is at personal
financial risk, in the event of low occupancy.
I really think that having the promotional rates encourages our people
to rally around one particular hotel, and it helps (at least to an
extent) with things like ride sharing.
I would like to see this continue, if we have willing volunteers to
sponsor it, of course.
. . .
Cami writes:
I am willing to take the lead on the hotel bookings again.
. . .
Annie continues:
Thanks Cami!
All, if anyone wants to arm-wrestle Cami for the privilege of taking the
lead on the group hotel thing, please say so during the current list
cycle. (anxiously holding breath) :) :)
. . . . .
Group text and activity reminders:
This is one of my pet projects, I admit. The numbers (both from system
logs and survey responses) show that these are catching on, somewhat,
but still not used by the majority of the people who have the capability
to do so.
Very few true technical issues have been seen. No "two hour off" issues
this year. :)
The one suggestion we had is to send out regular (at least daily)
updates to the group text, to verify connectivity and to remind people
that the system is live.
I think both the reminders and the group text should continue.
. . . . .
The day to day schedule:
I really think that for a six-day event, the Sunday to Friday format
works best. Sunday has always been a slower-start day, and this year
Friday was kind of a wind-down day with no major gatherings.
I really think that two major gatherings, the first on Monday evening
and the second on Thursday evening, work out best.
. . . . .
Makeover sessions:
We had three of these this year, Bare Minerals, MAC, and YSL.
All three scored greater than 4.5 on the enjoyment scale (4.66, 4.55,
and 5.0) so we know our people liked them.
The only one I personally dropped in on was BM. They are now under new
management, but a few of the staff members who remember us are still
there.
The new manager mentioned that she was surprised (miffed?) to learn that
we also had sessions going on at the other vendors. I explained as best
I could that we've never had exclusive arrangements with any vendor and
apologized for any misunderstanding.
I got the impression that the new method of making those booking
appointments leave a deposit, in the form of purchasing a gift card, was
working to manage the no-shows that have plagued the BM makeovers from
the get-go.
I was actually on my way to the MAC counter, but somehow got distracted
and ended up short on time, so I never made it. :)
. . . . .
Lunch With:
I would like to hear comments about this!
In particular, I would like to hear comments from those of you who are
otherwise very active with our program who seldom do the daily Lunch
With, as to why, specifically, you do not, and what, if anything, would
make you more likely to participate.
About ten years ago we used to get great turnouts for these, but in
recent years the average turnout has been in the single digits.
The enjoyment ratings on the surveys are usually high, which shows that
those who do it tend to enjoy it, so we know it's working for the
smaller numbers who are doing these.
Comments please. :)
. . . . .
Studio Lites Open House:
I would like to hear comments on this one please.
I was the host(ess) for this one, and to put it very bluntly, the
turnout was embarrassingly low! :( It reminded me of a similar
dreadfully-low turnout we got at Harmony Nails for a similar open house
some years ago.
I do admit that this was kind of a last-minute add-in, since we did not
get the word that the LV shop was re-opened until only a couple of weeks
before show time.
I would really like to get a handle on the lack of attendance, and
possible lack of interest on this one, since in previous years we've
always had great turnouts for the Studio Lites things.
. . . . .
First major gathering (Bahama Breeze):
Ain't broke! Don't fix it! Enough said.
. . . . .
Group photo:
{sigh!}
This one is a perennial problem child I admit! I might go as far as to
say it's one of those necessary evils. The images, over the years, are
some of our most hit-on photos, so we know they are popular, but it
seems that they are nothing but a royal pain to do!
Everyone knows that it's a cross between a cat-herd and a goat-rope to
get everyone posed. Each year we have quite a few who play like they are
ignoring us when we announce that it's time to pose, like they think we
will go away if they just tune us out.
IMAO the setting (against the wall/railing at BB) is very "OK" but not
the best.
This year we did not watch the crowd closely enough, and it started to
break before we quickly got enough ducks in a row to call to pose, but
some were already out the door! :(
Does anyone have any (actually workable) ideas on how we could better do
this?
Update: The Proofread Team is currently going over the large group
photos and they do look quite nice this year. :)
. . . . .
Newcomer Orientation:
I'm gonna call this one a problem child simply because we've never
really zeroed in on a set of goals and objectives for it, let alone a
format that is geared to meet such.
This year I learned Monday morning that I was doing this one and it took
some checking to see why the connection was missed. It turned out that
when I seeded the schedule, I put myself as Coordinator of about
everything as place-holders and did not adjust it for this activity. I
kind of assumed that Very would be taking it. Anyway, I winged it as
best I could.
We've been doing this in its present timeslot since 2014, just prior to
the first major gathering, which I really think is about the best as far
as timing and convenience.
The metrics we have to see how effective the sessions have been are, of
course, the enjoyment (and previously comfort) scores, the comments on
the survey, and in-person comments and feedback.
The scores for the years we've been doing it at BB are:
2014: 4.64 2015: 4.19 2016: 4.69 2017: 4.60
Those are very consistent except for one year, and in that one year
(2015) we tried a free-form mostly Q and A format, instead of more of a
formal program. Trial and error. Lesson learned!
In the past I've always pushed for little formality at these, but now
having done one, I really think that this is one place we do need some
structure. My impression was that the participants were eager for the
information and considered it to be worthwhile.
We can discuss this further.
. . . . .
Late Night Dancing:
Clear winner for 2017!
This is REALLY catching on and I was very impressed at the turnout
and the enthusiasm at all sessions I attended. It's a really great
consistent gathering place for anyone who's with us. I sure noticed that
the younger and newer attendees seemed to really like this one! I also
noticed that some who avoided it during the first part of the week were
present toward the end of the week.
I think the venue (Paris) was about as good as we can get. No cover and
no formality. No line and no bouncer. Posted drink minimum but seldom if
ever enforced.
I know there's been talk of moving this around from venue to venue on
different nights, but from what I saw this past year, I think we need to
keep it same-time same-place unless there are very highly compelling
reasons to do otherwise.
. . . . .
Erotic Heritage Museum:
Let's talk about this one.
We've done this since 2011, skipping two years when the Museum had some
internal issues. It's always been a medium-size gathering, and the scores
on the enjoyment scale have always been good.
2011: 4.59 2012: 4.43 2013: 4.50 2016: 4.47 2017: 4.60
The one obvious advantage of a venue such as EHM (ditto with KOH) is
that those who wish for an opportunity to dress in more exotic attire
have a very appropriate venue in which to do so. This is what I've heard
from multiple DLVers personally.
Unfortunately I also heard multiple comments along the line of "run its
course", "same old same old", "been there done that" and such this year.
Personally, I've always enjoyed the times at EHM. I've always found
something new to see there and I've always enjoyed the company.
I think it's worth devoting some imagination and some TLC to the EHM
gathering to keep it fresh and viable.
I'll offer two suggestions:
1. It needs some kind of a theme or program! Whether it's professional
entertainment (as in 2013), a self-produced show, some kind of a costume
show or contest, etc. It needs to be more than just an opportunity to
dress and stand around and ... {which leads me to} ...
2. EtOH! This activity needs it! It's a social lubricant which works!
I'm not saying that EHM should be an activity where the purpose is to
get totally wasted, a cash bar will keep people there and keep them
enjoying things. I honestly think that one of the main reasons the crowd
broke up early this year was the lack of convenient beverages.
. . . . .
Tennis Tournament, Kiss Mini-Golf, Topgolf, Escape Room:
Four new winners this year!
Tennis Tournament: 5.0
Topgolf: 4.83
Kiss Monster Mini Golf: 4.75
Live Escape: 4.60
We've been talking about new and different daytime activities for many
years, and things like these are exactly what we're looking for!
. . . . .
Second major gathering:
With some reservations, I would also put this one in the "ain't broke,
don't fix it" category as well.
The big issue with the venue (Off The Strip) is that there's a bit of
formality involved with booking the place and the hostess with first
refusal rights on this one has tentatively stated her intent to exercise
said refusal option.
So, if OTS is to be repeated in 2018, someone else will have to ascend
to the helm.
. . .
Cami writes:
I can also take the lead on the final banquet at OTS.
. . .
Annie continues:
Thanks, Cami!
Same as above, if anyone wants to challenge Cami for this one, please
say so within the current list cycle.
When I was in LV last month I dropped in to OTS and asked if Tony, the
manager we dealt with, was on duty. Unfortunately he was on vacation in
Montana or something. One of the questions I was gonna ask him was what
was the maximum number of people they would be willing to serve with no
significant formality. LOL, kind of a moot point now. :)
. . . . .
Comments on any of this, gang? :)
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Call For Votes coming this week:
The Vote Of Confidence (or of no confidence) for those holding the named
positions within our organization will be sent out to those of voting
status very shortly.
Electors: Please watch your inboxes!
If you are of voting status and do not receive this special mailing by
Friday at the very latest, please let us know (just reply to this
mailing or email dlvorg_at_divalas.vegas).
For those new to voting, here's how we do this.
We send out a ballot email to those of voting status. Electors then
reply to it, editing their responses. (See note below.)
We keep the polls open until no responses are received for 48 hours.
Since some of the individuals mentioned on the ballot this time do have
the ability to see the returned ballots, if you edit and return your
ballot EXACTLY as described below, your ballot will be tabulated
automatically without being seen by a human. If your ballot does not
properly tabulate using this method, it will be tabulated manually.
. . . . .
Here's an example of the way you do this.
The lines on the ballot appear similar to this:
0. Shall Fnordia be retained as Girl Friday?
Yes No Abstain
If you simply edit the line containing the "Yes No Abstain" to contain
only one of those, leaving all other text intact, your ballot will be
tabulated automatically. Here is an example:
0. Shall Fnordia be retained as Girl Friday?
Yes
Normal email quote marks are perfectly acceptable, as in, or similar to:
> 0. Shall Fnordia be retained as Girl Friday?
> Yes
Please do not include any other text, such as comments and discussion,
with your votes.
. . . . .
Please be sure to cc: or bcc: yourself on your reply, so that you have
a copy of your ballot with the Message-ID: line intact. We use the
Message-ID: lines to be sure that all votes are counted and to prevent
any instances of voter fraud.
If there are any questions or concerns, please raise them prior to
casting your votes.
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Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2018 organizational list.
One address for all items regarding this list, additions, removals,
changes, submissions, questions, etc.:
dlvorg_at_divalas.vegas <--- NOTE: New address, all lower case
Diva Las Vegas 2018
Dates to be determined
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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Received on Wed Aug 16 2017 - 03:24:47 CDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Thu May 10 2018 - 08:07:42 CDT