Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Diva Las Vegas Discussion Forum

Return to DLV Discussion Forum



Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby External Poster » Tue May 13, 2014 8:00 am

This posting is from: annie
----------

Wow, I've been working on this for well over a week ...

Here are my personal thoughts about some of the comments received on
our DLV 2014 Attendee Survey. I'm not responding to all of them, but
to those I may be able to address or add something to.
. . . . . . . . . .

Although not that frequently mentioned on the survey, in-person and
after the fact reports of illness were much higher than we've ever had
at any of our events, ever.

+I was not feeling well, so I did not get to attend all the
+events that I would have liked to.

There's a very detailed thread on the Discussion Forum about this.
. . . . . . . . . .

Might as well get this one out of the way ...

Comedian:

At DLV we are always trying new and different things. Sometimes these
work well and become recurring favorites.

Occasionally, however, they totally lay an egg! :(

One of our new items this year did not work out as expected. It's all
trial and error. If we don't try new and different things, we will never
get those killer activities that are loved by the gang.

+No comedian next year please. Lame. Passing the hat twice made
+us look desperate.

+Don't think the comedian worked.

+Food at Carmins was great but entertainment sucked.

+Next time pass the hat after the show or else pass it back
+for a refund.

+The comedian was not funny at all and out of line a few times

+as for next year we should leave out the comedian

We live and learn. This particular type of entertainment will most
likely not be repeated in the near future.

+Ginger and Annie plugging their pink festival was more
+entertaining than the stand up guy.

Uh, are we to take this as a compliment? :) :)
. . . . . . . . . . .

Seclusion:

There were some related comments regarding seclusion, or at least the
perception of such, at some activities.

I think there may be some misunderstandings of the intentions of a few
of the cited venues.

+I don't like hidden away venues. The Hustler club was fine, but
+I felt like we were tucked away. I don't need to come to Vegas
+to be tucked away. Same for private rooms.

I'm sorry if anyone felt claustrophobic at the Kings Of Hustler, but I
can assure you that they were not trying to hide us in the back closet
or anything. They opened up the club to us after the venue originally
planned for the Fantasy Ball closed at short notice.

The area we used is normally a mainstream womens club, open to the
general public. We actually had access to all parts of the complex,
and yes, some wandered about the facility freely.

You may have noticed that as our activity was winding down, more and
more "civilian" women were entering.

+Also, I didn't care for being place in the back room and hidden
+away from the general public, like they didn't want 'them' to
+see 'us'.

This particular comment is in reference to Carmine's, and I really don't
know how to answer it. I sure did not get the impression that they were
"hiding" us in the back, like I did not get the impression that Bahama
Breeze was "hiding" us in the Gazebo Room.
. . . . . . . . . .

Restrooms:

I think that there's a definite misunderstanding here.

Again, in the context of Carmine's ...

+When I asked about the bathroom I was directed to a little one
+upstairs hidden behind a partition, instead of the main bathroom
+right down the hall. And when I passed said partition in search
+of the bathroom two employees quickly ran up to me and ushered me
+behind the screen, in hopes, I feel, that I would not be seen by
+other customers.

When I arrived, the Coordinator mentioned to me and to others who
had walked in at that time that there were two options for restrooms
available. The one upstairs was mentioned specifically as a more
comfortable option for those who may be a bit uneasy of the more
exposed one downstairs.

I know that there were no specific restrictions placed upon our group
with regard to restroom usage at Carmine's.

The best thing to do, if you need to take a bio break and are unsure of
where to go, is to consult the DLV Coordinator of the activity at hand.
. . . . .

+The guidelines on the website were helpful as was the discussion
+at the new attendee event. That being said, I think it would be
+very useful to have a clear opinion from the site hosting our
+group on what their policies are. Before the new attendee event
+I felt comfortable with using the ladies room at any of th venues
+that an event was being held and did so at the Spotlight Lounge.

+After the talk at Bahama Breeze I was very conflcted and opted
+to not use the restroom at all (despite really needing to).

I listened to (most of) the restroom discussion at the Orientation
session and I surely don't recall anything that should have scared
anyone away from using a public restroom in the manner intended.

You can be assured that at any venue that we use for a major gathering,
(what we call a "major venue"), the management and staff will be very
much aware of the nature of our group. If any restrictions on the use of
the venue (such as restrooms) are brought up, the ORG group would
certainly not approve of the use of the venue.

For our many smaller activities, it is often impractical to consult with
the staff of each and every venue regarding the nature of our group. Our
history has shown that virtually no restroom issues occur at our various
smaller activities.

In fact, no significant restroom issues have occurred for several years
now. We thank all of our attendees in recent years for helping to make
this so! :)
. . . . . . . . . .

Carmine's:

Last year, Artisan sure took it in the shorts on the survey. This year,
the same can be said for Carmines.

We are always trying new and different dining venues. Places such as
HofbrauHaus, Pamplemousse, Grotto, and Denny's Neonopolis have recently
been promoted from "let's try it and see how it works" status to that
of recurring favorites.

+The food at Carmines was not very good. Everything was too salty.

+stay away from carmines and ricardos

+Food at Carmine's was okay but a poor value IMO. Room cramped
+and too noisy to visit.

+Carmine's was ok (food was real good) but needed a la carte
+tables to have an organiser to ensure there was a variety.

+My only issue with DLV this year was the choice of restaurant
+for the farewell dinner and the lack of communication and/or
+explanation of the establishments menu choices, or lack there of

I think that many people simply did not find the dinner to be what was
expected, meaning they were expecting more of an individual salad and
entree type of serving arrangement.

As I read the comments, I think the underlying issue is the perceived
lack of individual choices. I'm sensing the same vibes here that we had
in years past when the limited "party menus" were foisted upon us.

Cami took special pains to make the information about how Carmine's
worked available to all. It was sent out in a special mailing to those
signed up for dinner at Carmine's, and it appeared in the final attendee
information as well.

Lesson learned, refresher course on the long-learned-lesson that our
people detest limited choices.

Now, question to ponder ... If the comedian had been absolutely
hilarious and had our folks rolling on the floor in the cramped aisles,
how would this have affected the overall enjoyment of the evening?
. . . . . . . . . .

Systems issues and information management:

Can we tawk ...

I take systems issues, particularly reports of trouble, very seriously
and personally. We rely on technology quite heavily to make our event
work, more so than any of the other major TG events.

When something is wrong, I need to know about it, and I always try to be
very responsive when dealing with actual or perceived systems issues.

When I say "something is wrong" I mean both technically, as in something
malfunctioning, and ergonomically, meaning that something is difficult
to use or does not interact with the user as expected. In either case,
the overall effect is that things don't work.

This year we had a total of three "I never got the Large Final Mailing",
reports, all after the event was well underway or had concluded.

I know that in one of these cases, the final mailing was misfiled in the
user's "junk" folder.

In all three cases, the system logs on our side show that the messages
were indeed delivered to the users' e-mail systems and accepted by the
receiving systems. That's where we lose control of the messages and from
that point on the user will need to file a trouble report with the
e-mail provider for resolution. (Fat Chance! on any of the big ones!)

The one thing that can be done is to report non-receipt and we can most
certainly resend as is, or even resend to another e-mail address.

However, none of those reporting "I never got the LFM" reported it until
it was way too late to do anything about it!

Missing e-mail is very easy to trace and verify, and incredibly easy to
resend or forward, but we can't do anything if non-receipt is not
reported in a timely manner.

One thing that many do not know, is that we proactively check delivery
of e-mail. Each major mailing has test users on the big providers such
as Yahoo, Hotmail, AIM, etc., and proper receipt is verified on each of
these.
. . . . .

We had one attendee have difficulty getting sign-up to work properly on
a Samsung "Droid" smart phone. "Missing checkboxes" was the report. I
was unable to duplicate the issue using a similar device and the user in
question tried again using a desktop PC and everything worked as
expected.
. . . . .

Let's go over the comments.

+Simplify all the computer stuff

I want to see this as much as anyone!

Over the next year you can expect to see more information in one place
and easier "click through" or "drill down" in various things such as the
final itinerary. Speaking of which.

+I would like for the location addresses to be included in
+the final itinerary

For 2014, this (the itinerary of signed-up activities) was the one last
vestige of the traditional "Large Final Mailing" that was indeed sent by
e-mail. For 2015 you can expect this to be on line with clickable links
on each item to get the activity details and the venue details,
including the map link.

+instead of a final email blast can this all be added to the
+registration screen page? easier if you had one page with all

There will most likely always be one final "e-mail blast" but in the
future this will most likely only contain a link or reminder to the
user's info/update page on the web.

For the most part, the term "Large Final Mailing" is deprecated and a
more correct term is "Final Attendee Information" which for the past two
years has appeared on the web.
. . . . .

There were a few comments stating the lack of information such as
activity venue addresses, contact info, etc.

+Include address and phone number for activity locations

There were others which implied difficulty getting similar necessary
information.

Our main version of the schedule this year, intended for attendee
reference, was what we call the Custom Schedule, and is still on line
here:

http://www.geekbabe.com/cgi-bin/dlv/customsched.cgi

It will remain on line until we clear out things in preparation for our
2015 schedule.

This schedule, as well as the Tabular Schedule and the "ugly printed"
complete schedule appeared with other things in the Maps And Schedules
page in the final attendee information sent out in the Large Final
Mailing.

You'll note that with the most common options (the "I don't care about
options, just give me the schedule" button) that yes, venue street
addresses and Coordinator phone numbers were indeed displayed.
. . . . .

Shifting gears just a wee bit ...

One of my personal goals for this year's DLV was to better understand
what we've lately called the "Low Information Attendee" situation. This
is where someone does not have the necessary information, for one reason
or another, to effectively participate. It can be as simple as not
knowing how to find an activity location, or as bad as traveling
hundreds of miles and not having enough information to make contact with
the group.

I want to be sure that we, organizers and volunteers, are effectively
presenting the information about the event and that we are successful
in encouraging our attendees to make use of it.

This deals not only with the use of technology, but with human nature,
which is very much in play as far as the behavior patterns of our
attendees are concerned.

If you Google something like "human factors in information technology"
you will get countless hits. (Doing so will be an exercise for the
student.) :)

I'm going to speak very freely here, so please excuse me if I seem a bit
blunt.

The low-information attendee situation appears to occur in two forms.

First is where the attendee is unaware that the information exists or
does not know how or where to obtain the information. This can only
occur when an attendee does not read or comprehend the information which
is sent out.

The second is where the attendee is unwilling to access or to make use
of the information, or actively chooses to ignore the presented
information.

The exchange of information about our event is a two-way street.

We (organizers and volunteers) put forth a considerable amount of effort
to make information about our event available to our attendees.

Attendees need to be willing to spend a reasonable amount of effort to
access and to comprehend that information.

Let me give you an example ...

One of the best (???) examples of not putting forth a reasonable effort
to read/comprehend the information came last February, and this one
literally had a few of our volunteers rolling their eyes!

This was what first appeared to be a routine question sent in as a reply
to one of our general mailings.

A question was asked and the answer appeared in some detail in the body
of the message being replied to. It was painfully obvious that the
particular individual took absolutely no effort to read our latest
general mailing at all!

If that person would have simply read about 10 lines into the original
message, the answer to the question would have been right there.

What we have here is a failure to communicate!

With our event, we don't have the option of saying that there are some
you just can't reach.

Lacking something like a Jedi Mind Meld (that's a JOKE, Trek/Wars fans!)
:) :) the transfer of information is going to take some effort, both on
the part of those providing the information, and those for whom the
information is intended.

+To get the date, address, info, and map location of each event?
+I had to consult 3 pages I printed off at home. TOO MUCH WORK!
+Can't everything be on ONE sheet? Maybe, plus the map?

We'll work on getting the information arranged in a convenient manner.

Attendees have to be willing to access it and make use of it.

I apologize if I sound like a hard-liner in this response here, but
there are a few things which I honestly don't think are too much to ask
of our attendees, and one of those is to print out enough information
(it varies from person to person as to exactly what and how much is
needed) to effective participate in the event.

Is this too much to ask? This is a very serious question. Does anyone
really think that asking people to print out a few things, such as a map
and a schedule, is too much to ask?

I don't think it's too much to ask of our attendees to ...

1. To read the material.

2. To let us know, in time to do something about it, if anything does
not arrive or does not happen as expected.

3. To print out, or to otherwise have ready, enough information to
effectively participate in the day-to-day goings on of the event.
. . . . .

Now, let's talk about the "real estate" and getting all information on
one sheet of paper.

The Custom Schedule does have by default, or by options, everything that
should be necessary, with the possible exception of the map, to know
when/where something is happening and to find the venue.

Even with very small type, our full schedule will not fit on one sheet.
We just have too many activities for that.

The needs for a map vary from person to person. Some need a detailed map
of the central area. Others know the main Strip area well but need more
of a reference to the farther-away things, such as Red Rock, golf, Night
Of The Soiled Doves, etc.

The map we've been using (customized Google map) allows all of this.
Those who need a good local map can zoom in and print out that area.
Those who only need the unfamiliar far-out places can zoom out for a
general view or zoom in to a few of the oddball locations.

+I didn't know until the end of the event that there was an
+absolutely awesome killer schedule and map online. You should
+announce and post them and don't keep them to a select few.

This probably referred to the tabular schedule, which again appeared on
the "Maps And Schedules" page of the final attendee information.

This year I made a point of showing this to those who asked me questions
about options for schedules.
. . . . . . . . . .

There were a couple of comments regarding user profiles on line.

+Some of the girls exchange email and/or phone #. Unfotunately
+when referring to DLV profiles we could not find the individual.

and

+I wish there was some way to meet/see each other online in advance
+under some kind of "prescreen" rubric

There is a very good way to do this, and quite a few profiles are on
line. The thing is that not everyone has a profile on line. To view the
on-line profiles, go to the MyDLV main screen and select the "Browse
other members" button.

+I just could not find the religious place and did not find lots
+of the activities

This (Metropolitan Community Church) was very clearly noted on the main
activity map. This year we had an optional carpool from a location
central to our suggested hotels.

If anyone ever has any difficulty finding a location, please phone one
of the DLV contact people. He or she will "talk you in" and make sure
you are able to find the venue.
. . . . .

+The only problem I had was for the "PF Chang Happy Half-hour"
+which said to meet in the "Main bar area" when it should have
+said "Upstairs Bar". Dinner said "Upstairs area" which was fine.
+Not a big deal; someone from our group came down, found me waiting
+in the main bar area and directed me to upstairs.

We missed this one! :( Sorry! :(

We really tried this year to give out more info regarding exactly where
in the venue to meet the group but this one slipped by us. We apologize
and will pay more attention to this next year. :(
. . . . . . . . . .

Orientation:

This was the first year we had a formal orientation session. It's still
an evolving concept.

I personally think that the session this year came off very well.

+Offer more than one orientation opportunity for first time
+attenders or assign them a big sister. I was too nervous to
+request one but which I had.

We'll discuss how many sessions we have the "bandwidth" to do, but it
may not be practical to schedule multiple sessions of this.

One suggestion was to do a video of the orientation session and place it
on line for those who could not make it. This is a possibility but we
probably won't know how practical it is until we start planning next
year.

We have a query out to the Discussion Forum, seeking feedback on our
Orientation Session and we'll use the responses to it to help us move
this particular part of our program forward.
. . . . . . . . . .

A few reports of high drink prices, but not nearly as many as we had
in 2013.

+Sticker shock when the price of 1 whiskey and cranberry was
+$14.00 at the Paris party.

+I hate to hit Carmine's, but the Happy Hour didn't have happy
+hour pricing on the drinks.

We need to be more obvious in stating that we use the term "Happy Hour"
to mean a social hour (or other timespan) which may or may not coincide
with venues' promotional beverage pricing.
. . . . . . . . . .

Activity suggestions:

Great suggestions this year! Thanks to all who presented them. :)

Quite a few of these have already been discussed as possibilities
(probabilities) for next year. Some of them were mentioned more than
once.

+Yes, the big wheel.

+High Roller Ferris Wheel.

This is certain to happen next year. The reason it didn't appear on our
schedule this year is that we were unable, even a week before DLV, to
get a firm opening date.

Hopefully by next year the novelty will have worn off somewhat and we
will see some easing of pricing and of wait times.
. . . . .

Shows were mentioned very frequently.

Many attendees went off and did shows on their own and reported that
what they saw would make good group activities.

+I would like an additional open show option. Maybe Celine Dion
+or a similar show depending on who is performing.

+The Australian Bee Gees- Music show in Excalibur

+Elton John was great!

+Criss Angel Show at Luxor.... Nocturne at Cosmo... maybe do a
+night of shows

+Defending the Caveman- Flamingo

+Elton John (may be too expensive for most unless there are group
+discounts.. seats are available midweek) X Burlesque

In recent years we have not had as many shows on our schedule as we had
in our early years. One of the main reasons is the challenges involved
in working with the current practices to get everyone in the group
seated together.
. . . . .

+Not sure if anyone has checked into it, but the Redrock hike gave
+me the idea of possibly visiting the Springs Preserve next year

Springs Preserve has been mentioned as a possibility in 2013 and 2014
but has never happened. No specific reason except that nobody has taken
the steps to make it happen.

Springs Preserve apparently has a restaurant, so an outing/lunch would
work very well.
. . . . .

+Bring back the boat ride
+Bring back the limo ride

Our traditional Limo Tour was skipped this year since we had two very
strong mid-size "anchor" activities, the Fantasy Ball and the Night of
the Soiled Doves, to take the two evenings that we designated for the
mid-size "anchor" activities.

The Limo Tour will most likely be back on the schedule for 2015.

There's no particular reason that the Lake Mead Cruise has not been
scheduled over the past few years. If any volunteer sees this as a
priority, it's very easy to plan and schedule.
. . . . .

+Fashion Bootcamp (how-to look realistic)
+LV Strip Excursion (Bellagio fountains
+Paris Eiffel Tower, animals, etc)
+Ponytails, Tshirts and jeans How-to seminar
+Fashion show
+Boutique shopping
+Mani-pedis
+Evening gown/wedding try-on and photo shoot
+Tai chi in a park
+Movie
+Paradise Bakery
+Horse riding

I wish we had more "brain dump" lists of suggestions such as this. :)

We'll be passing this (and others) on to the ORG group.
. . . . .

+DLV Bowling Night

We've done bowling before, historically at Sams Town, but in recent
years at Drink And Drag, which is now closed. We'll be bringing all of
these suggestions forward to the ORG group and all it takes to make this
(or anything) happen is for one of our volunteers to "adopt" it and make
it happen.
. . . . .

+More downtown

As with 2014, in 2015 you can probably expect one evening where various
activities centered around downtown are planned.
. . . . .

Many dining venues were mentioned as suggestions:

+Burger brasserie in Paris--yummy!

+Burger Brassiere [sic]

Yeah, uh, what cup size? :) :) :) :)

+enjoyed going back to the blue ox
+Carrabbas
+Gordon Ramsey Burger
+The new Mexican restaurant at the Quad.
+Maragrutaville for dinner. Great place to go
+and Toby Keith.
+Morton's With some dear friends
+McCormick and scmick
+Morton's
+Claim jumper

All of these will be presented to the ORG group for consideration in
2015. Some of these have been mentioned as possibilities for lunch, in
lieu of buffets.
. . . . .

There were many other suggestions and all will be presented to ORG.
. . . . . . . . . .

A few responses to some general comments ...

+It was nice to have a lot of options, but I found that I didn't
+meet that many people based on too many choices. I would put the
+Fantasy ball early in the event since so many gurls showed up for
+that. That way you might find someone compatible to hang out with
+during the rest of the week.

I'm reading into this comment a desire to have opportunities to meet and
to get to know the others.

I'm also reading into this comment that the individual missed the
Welcome Celebration on Monday, thus the desire for a larger activity
earlier in the event.

There will always be many opportunities to meet many of the others, but
those at which the majority of our people will be present will be, as
a side-effect of the model of our event, relatively few.

We will always have one large maximum-attendance gathering on one of the
first days of the event. This year it was the opening gathering at
Bahama Breeze on Monday. If meeting people early in the event is your
priority, you'll need to make every effort to attend the first major
gathering.

There's no fixed schedule of when our mid-scale activities (such as this
year's Fantasy Ball) occur. They are scheduled according to many many
factors, one of the more significant being the availablility of venues.

We have a name for the periods of mixing, mingling, and getting to know
each other, and that is "Quality Social Time", a term coined by one of
our volunteers more than a decade ago.

If you want to maximize your exposure to other attendees and to
potential friends, there are a number of things you can do, including:

1. Participate on line, in the DLV Discussion Forum and MyDLV. Get to
know the others before the event.

2. Make every effort to attend the first major gathering!

3. Regularly attend the other activities and functions, particularly
those at which socializing will occur, such as the daily lunch, the
happy hours, dinners, outings, etc.

4. Actively circulate! Introduce yourself to others.
. . . . .

+I would encourage name tags for large private events like the
+welcome and farewell dinners, but not for smaller more public
+events.

Name tags are also an evolving endeavor within our program. They are
one of the most expensive, in terms of real $$$ items we have been
providing, and one of the more labor-intensive projects in the process
of preparing for our event.

I heard a suggestion this year to the effect that we should do away with
them entirely.

A recurring suggestion is that we should issue some kind of a permanent
name tag that carries over from year to year. Variations on the theme
include simply re-using previous years tags to getting some fancy
plastic tags similar to employee ID tag and conference registration
badges. Yes, the possibility of including a photo on them has been
brought up.
. . . . .

+gals could set up smaller groups of just 3 or 4 gals who are
+90% or more on the same page with regard to dressing/outfits
+that blend into the everyday/average look,

What I would suggest instead of trying to set up exclusive groups is
to be inclusive and schedule these as regular DLV activities with the
understanding that low-key mainstream dress is required. This has been
done for various activities over the years.

+It's always hardest for me when I'm in very average office-worker
+attire and can blend in public as very passable, but the DLV gals
+I meet are in micro-mini skirts, colored hose, tall heels, and
+their wigs + make-up don't look natural at all.

There are a few very easy things you can do if you're feeling self
conscious among a group of our people in general public, in cases where
you wish to blend in and not stand out.

The easiest thing to do is very simple. When a big group of our people
begins to form, stay back and don't join the large group. Our people, as
well as TGs in general, do have the propensity to assemble and parade in
groups.

In a general public setting, it will be the large group that draws the
attention of onlookers, and not the sole individual off on the
sidelines.
. . . . .

A couple of very similar comments ...

+It seems like there are 2 kinds who come to this thing, those
+who dress like normal women and those who wan to glam up and dress
+fantasy. Not really sure which one that Diva is intended for.

+Seems like 2 kinds of girls who go to this thing. Those who try
+to look normal and those who don't try to or don't care to.

"There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who divide things
into two categories, and those who don't." :) :) :)

Yes, the observation is very valid.

There are some for whom DLV is an opportunity to dress. There are some
who wish to blend in to the surroundings, while others wish to dress to
stand out. This will probably be the case as long as our event continues
to exist.
. . . . .

+Last year Pf Changs split bills for dinner even on tables with ten
+people. They would not do it this year which made several people
+uncomfortable.

It's consistently inconsistent as to what the venues for our mid-size
dining activities are willing to do. For places such as PF Chang and
Trevi, some years they seem to gladly do separate checks, and in other
years they insist on one check per table.

Unfortunately, one check per group is something that we often times
have to deal with, when we have medium-size groups.

Yes, our people detest group checks, but we don't get as many complaints
about those that we have over limited menus.
. . . . .

+I've only been golfing a year so I have absolutely no chance of
+ever winning :) But seriously, the same person wins every year for
+5 years in a row? Is she Tiger Woods in a skirt?

I am not a golfer (IANAG?) and I had no idea that the same person
was winning all of the time. (I do remember having a golf industry
professional with us many years ago, but not recently.)

I would think that some kind of a handicap could be used to level the
field a bit. LOL, perhaps make the previous year's winner play from the
way back tees? :)
. . . . .

There were a few comments about distance from hotels to activities.

+we had a great 7 day package deal at the M but was a 14 mile
+drive each way, 15-20 min to any dlv programs

+My only regret was I did not attend some events because they were
+a ways from the hotels (transportation).

There are a few things we need to be sure that we emphasize, such as
the importance of staying within a reasonable distance of the action
and the necessity of travel to activities.
. . . . .

+I would love to be able to do some of the lunch time events.
+But, I don't understand why they are always held at some
+buffet?

We've always had them at buffets because, well, because we've always
had them at buffets. :) :) :) "We've always done it that way." :)

In light of this year's survey responses, you can probably expect a mix
of buffets and regular order-from-the-menu restaurants for "Lunch With"
next year.
. . . . .

> Kudos and thanks to who ever set up the entertainment. At the
> fantasy ball I was expecting thump- thump loud house music but

Thanks. I know that our people (Valorie and team) steered the playlist
and set the volume for the Fantasy Ball.

> Same with the guitar man at Bahamas. Just the right volume again.

This was a throw-in from the management of the Bahama Breeze. The guy
playing had played for our group before and knew that the theme of the
evening was Quality Social Time and kept things appropriate.
. . . . .

+So I show them my schedule and they ask where I got it, I said in
+e-mail and they said they think they never got it but aren;t sure
..
+I say I can run over and make them a copy since the Fed Ex copy
+place is right next door and they just shrug their shoulders and
+don't really seem to give a crap about it.

Yes, in the TG community there can be some who are very indifferent and
nonchalant about things like this, even things that are important to
participation, such as a schedule.

I don't know what the answer is. It's frustrating when we have people
who will not take the effort to view or print out the schedule and then
b*tch about not knowing what's going on or where things are. :(
. . . . .

+A few of the gurls I talked to spoke like they were trying to
+distance themselves from an official connection with the program.

In the TG community, as well as in the human community in general, there
will be many who wish to be outspokenly independent.

+One told me she was just there that night to see who else was there
+and what was going on. It was like they wanted to be doing their
+own thing and not part of the group.

Some people just want to do that, hang around, and not really join us
for any of the fun things. Some of these hang-arounders don't register
and there's really not too much we can do about this. Since we don't
have a registration or participation fee, we're not really losing
anything if some "crash the party" on their own.

I do know that one of the other major events, one that does have a
fairly steep registration fee, has been troubled in recent years by
crashers and has cracked down on them.
. . . . . . . . . .

One of the most common recurring themes, however, is one which is indeed
noted and appreciated by all organizers and volunteers and never grows
stale.

It's comments such as these which let us know that our efforts are truly
appreciated and that we are doing something right.

These are always read, recognized, and appreciated, every last one of
them! :)

+Very impressive organization of the event. Wonderful.

+The most important thing is the new friendships and renewal
+of the prior ones. I love DLV and so does my wife. I was
+thinking of not coming this year and she said in no uncertain
+terms "YOU ARE GOING!"

+I just want to thank Annie and Delaney and all the volunteers
+for a fantastic event, I know its a lot of work and it is
+appreciated.

+Thanks again for a great time.

+I had a wonderful time and I thought the whole week was
+organized very well...... an enjoyable group of ladies also

+Thanks to all the volunteers

+Thank u, Annie! And, everyone who made this possible. U provide
+a life experience we shall remember our entire lives! Despite
+our current thots about it, we will ALL look back on this
+wonderful time in out T lives! It was simply amazing! Thank u!
+Than u! Thank u!

+Best Diva event ever. Thanks so much

+I really enjoyed myself!

+Thank you!!

+I would like to thank all of the volunteers who gave their
+own time to organize a great event!

+Had a really great time, My best DLV to date. Love you all.

+DLV was a fantastic experience.

+It was a great time and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Thanks again, gang! Hope to see each and every one of you in 2015!

----------
(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)
External Poster
External
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:37 pm

Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby External Poster » Tue May 13, 2014 5:59 pm

This posting is from: Katie Wilson
----------

Hi

I have been thinking of how we can get the info out to let New or even
Old attendees who are not sure what a specific individual DLV event is
all about before they decide set their name in stone and commit their
attendance. I think we could use **MY DLV** to run a .....**Specific
event overview**. This is what I mean.

Send in our individual opinions of an event, EG:-- **The Limo Tour**.
Not necessarily a critical comment ( This can be done separately and
within the ORG to help improve them, The dirty laundry should always be
done within the group I think ) So write more of what pleased us about
it leaning towards the information aspect so that anyone who might be
contemplating joining the group for an evening out but is not quite sure
if it is for them or not can browse the comments>> Pre DLV to see what
others thoughts were and we could also let them know along with the
title what the enjoyment scale said too.IE:-- 5 on a scale of 1 to 5.
etc'.

They can then chose to set up a Type of event suitable for their
specific needs so they do not miss out on something they might have
liked to do in a Once per year opportunity such as DLV or Maybe they
can say "I should avoid this one big time" and attend another more
suitable option for that particular evening etc' Example. **Limo Tour*
Rated 5.= Best enjoyment rating.

Hypothetically here goes... ... I love to dress up in style and never
get the chance to do this at home very often, Maybe only once every 2
years or so because my friends don't go to places where I can wear a
formal gown or a cocktail dress and feel comfortable so the Limo Tour
Event was just perfect for me.

Riding in a wine and snacks stocked Limo all night for 3 or 4 hours and
stopping at several high end Casinos was great for me. The spotlight was
not really on us as I thought it might be on such a venture. In a lot of
ways it was but only very subtly because everyone on the tour was
dressed in similar clothing and they all acted in a lady like fashion
which made the L/T a great option for wearing high end clothes and being
the woman I sometimes dream of being. I Think it could be described as a
Mobile Prom night without the escorts if you will. ( I could have
actually written this 10 years ago myself but doing D L V so many times
now I found that I can dress similar to this every night for 6 days in a
row and go home totally satisfied and with some great memories and the
special clothes did not have to stay in a closet they got out and were
seen and enjoyed ).

---------------------------------------------

Ok so that was a bit sugary but I think you know where I am coming from.
Let's chew this one over girls I think even if we don't do it this way
we can side shift a bit and come up with the right solution to the info
gap. If we decide to do this I would love to write one about this years
**Audrey Tour** as I was not quite sure about that one until I actually
joined the A/T gang and I know now why it got a 5 rating, It was perfect
right up to the ad lib Limo Ride down to The Venetian from The Cosmo and
the late night snacks and HH drinks there at the end of the night. A1
Girls. I will definitely do that again.

Katie.

----------
(This posting was entered by Katie Wilson, an external user of MyDLV.)
External Poster
External
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:37 pm

Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby External Poster » Sat May 17, 2014 7:54 am

This posting is from: Sara P.
----------

Not a bad idea at all but it seems like something that could already be
accomplished as part of the "activity highlight" threads within MyDLV.

Sara

----------
(This posting was entered by Sara P., an external user of MyDLV.)
External Poster
External
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:37 pm

Re: Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby Valorie » Sat May 17, 2014 11:48 pm

We have been doing the Activity Highlights for at least two years now and I think they are fantastic. They include a lot of that information, what to wear, what to expect, etc. I think the problem is that according to the survey, 1/3 of attendees never use MyDLV or read the Activity Highlights. While some activity titles are self-explanatory, they don't know what to expect of the Night of Soiled Doves or Fantasy Ball.

Perhaps we could find a way to include abbreviated Activity Highlight summaries in the Large Final Mailing database - basically a one paragraph description of the event. I would refrain from making it part of the schedule printout (that is already cluttered) but it would be nice to access/mention the summaries in the Final Mailing.

Some other comments addressed the ongoing mainstream vs private debate. I have generally pushed for (and organized) more mainstream activities at DLV (Club Surrender, Dancing at Paris, Scavenger Hunt), but I think it is more that just mainstream. I want activities that push me and others just enough to break down inhibitions and do things that we won't do at home (isn't that what Vegas is all about). It might just be going out in public for the first time, or wearing a new outfit, or taking dance classes, or performing on stage, or playing a round of golf (even terribly), or hiking in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon, or sky-diving out of a plane (meant to do that this year, didn't have time). There is always something new that we can do.

That was the spirit behind the Hustler Club this year - live your fantasy. Dr Victoria gave us unbelievable freedom to do whatever we want. Most clubs would not let us just take over the stage. Club Surrender wouldn't let me climb a pole unless I paid hundreds of $$$ in bottle service. Of course some people's fantasies might offend other people, but I also decided not to censor any acts or performers. I don't think that would be in the spirit of the venue or the original Erotic Heritage Museum. I agree that there should probably be a second track for the evening. This year the single-track was partly due to the last minute EHM closing. If you have any other suggestions on how to improve the event for next year, please let me know.

It is hard to organize one of the big headliner events for 50-100 people and not be segregated off in one room. This is simply a logistical issue where you want the venue to guarantee a certain amount of space and I think it would be true even if we were all some large group of regular accountants or doctors or police officers etc.
User avatar
Valorie
Elector
 
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:37 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby Katie Wilson » Sun May 18, 2014 6:33 am

Yes we do have activity highlights but they were all over the place and often pushed so far down the queue that they disappeared off the first page which inevitably means that they would most likely be missed entirely by someone new who might be searching for a description of an individual event.
I guess I should have expanded on my thoughts a bit more when I first jotted down the idea but as usual *I was in a hurry*, That's me. > Fast Katie!
I was thinking more of separating the Activity descriptions section designed for Activities Only with it's own title for reference, Away from the comments and regular discussions so the section can be a *Sticky* if you will and always be there even after DLV is over and some events have gone by the wayside. This would also be handy for our own reference when considering bringing back an event such as NSD etc'.

I think we are off to a good start though as Valorie's description of an event and her logic on pushing herself to do better each outing is right in the ballpark and probably how a lot of potential attendees look at it, ( I am in the same zone Sis, This is exactly the way I think when I go out too ).

I think if we beat this around for a while we will have something of value to enhance the D L V experience for new attendees and past ones too who might have missed out on an outing and wished they had tried it. A place where they can quickly and easily access what a specific outing has in store right down to the suggested dress codes. It might eliminate some of the sporadic dress faux pas confusion too

Katie.
Katie Wilson
Elector
 
Posts: 128
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:02 pm
Location: Ontario Canada.

Re: Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby annie » Sun May 18, 2014 12:57 pm

> according to the survey, 1/3 of attendees never use MyDLV or read
> the Activity Highlights.

That is true. It's one thing we have to work on. We've found that those who participate on line prior to the event get to know the people in advance and get a good idea of what to expect.

> While some activity titles are self-explanatory, they don't know
> what to expect of the Night of Soiled Doves or Fantasy Ball.

"Audrey Tour", "Night of the Soiled Doves", and "Charles Bar" come to mind immediately as far as activities I've been asked about in recent years.

The highlights are a very good thing. If you go back in the Forum and look at the times read on each item, you will notice that the activity highlights were indeed very popular in the weeks leading up to the event.

> Perhaps we could find a way to include abbreviated Activity Highlight
> summaries in the Large Final Mailing database

The activity highlight items are indeed (more or less) static objects on the net. A link to the highlight of a particular activity is easy to include in any on-line version of the schedule. Thanks for the suggestion.
User avatar
annie
Elector
 
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:07 pm
Location: Somewhere in Middle America

Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby External Poster » Sun May 18, 2014 3:56 pm

This posting is from: Vera Delmar
----------

I think those who are in charge of an activity and do a writeup of said
activity. owe it to all attendees to see that the information gets
widely disseminated to the newbies, and oldbies (I'm sure there are a
few that may have not done that particular event in all the years
they've been attending DLV) by whatever, and all means possible, that
is at hand. So, it's definitely beneficial to all. Then, there gals like
me who just like to be surprised as long as i know what the dress code
is for a particular event.

----------
(This posting was entered by Vera Delmar, an external user of MyDLV.)
External Poster
External
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:37 pm

Re: Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby Valorie » Tue May 20, 2014 3:07 am

The first time I went to the Night of Soiled Doves in 2009, I am pretty sure I didn't know what it was until I got to Vegas. I think that was definitely part of the appeal - almost like an initiation of sorts. However I understand the desire to know what you are getting yourself in for.

Beyond MyDLV, any individual organizer doesn't have that many ways of sending out info to the masses. I usually post my activity highlight, answer any questions online, then do my best to publicize the event once I get to Vegas. It is also easy to overwhelm people with info. When I first attended DLV, I remember feeling overwhelmed with emails particularly in the last couple weeks. Annie has since done a great job simplifying the process with the custom online schedule.

I think there are really only two times that attendees are going to look at the information in detail. The first definite time is on the activity signup page and (hopefully) they come back a second time to read the final info webpage a few days before DLV. Unfortunately, most of the highlights are not ready in time for the initial signup, and instead roll out slowly over the last month prior to DLV. Annie did create a separate page listing just activity highlights this year as the original posts became unstuck, but I don't think we did a very good job of keeping it up to date.

So that's my 2 cents. Annie, if you need help with the logistics let us know. I didn't realize till year how much data analysis/regression you do on these surveys. Your commitment continues to amaze me. If you want we can continue this discussion in the ORG group.
User avatar
Valorie
Elector
 
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:37 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Comments on the 2014 comments ...

Postby annie » Tue May 20, 2014 8:04 am

> When I first attended DLV, I remember feeling overwhelmed with
> emails particularly in the last couple weeks. Annie has since done
> a great job simplifying the process with the custom online schedule.

Thanks. :)

I think we're improving quite a bit as far as presenting the information without overwhelming the attendees.

> Unfortunately, most of the highlights are not ready in time for the
> initial signup,

This may be a very easy improvement to make. Encourage the Coordinators (or others who want to write them) to get these in time for activity sign-up.

> Annie did create a separate page listing just activity highlights this
> year as the original posts became unstuck, but I don't think we did a
> very good job of keeping it up to date.

This year the Coordinators were so good in writing these that they literally overwhelmed the first page of the Forum and had to be pruned to allow the general chit-chat to have some space. One thing we can do next year is to copy the Activity Highlights to a separate message area and then have an obvious single-click to access them.

> Annie, if you need help with the logistics let us know. I didn't realize
> till year how much data analysis/regression you do on these surveys.

There are a lot of logistical items that we can work on. One in particular is how to more effectively communicate with the attendees during the event. We now have a better handle on how many attendees are reachable with various media. We also have just about every tool known to humanity available to reach out. We just need to determine the effective ways to do so.

Other logistical items that have been identified are such things as how we can better manage the "flow" from activity to activity and make this conducive to convenient transportation, etc.

> If you want we can continue this discussion in the ORG group.

Yes, this is one of the planned discussion topics for ORG in the near future.
User avatar
annie
Elector
 
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:07 pm
Location: Somewhere in Middle America


Return to DLV Discussion Forum



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests

cron