[dlv] New Year updates - Diva Las Vegas 2010 ...

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This is the Diva Las Vegas 2010 announcement mailing list.

If you no longer desire to receive this list, see list
removal instructions below.
. . . . .
In this mailing:

Welcome (back) everybody
Returnee re-registration is open
Things to come
Behavior, Dress, Restrooms
Important notes for DLV 2010
Administrivia
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Welcome (back) everybody:

Welcome to those who just joined the list!

Welcome back to those who have been with us!

Hope to see all of you in April!

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

This is the "kick-off" mailing for Diva Las Vegas 2010. Quite
a bit of information appears below, so please read carefully,
and let us know if there's anything that requires any
clarification.

Our next general mailing (about a week from now) will cover
things such as our suggested hotels, Big Sisters, room
sharing, etc.

We now have well over 900 on our mailing list, the largest
audience we've had of all time! We're looking forward to
seeing as many of you as possible this coming April.
. . . . .

Plans are proceeding on target for DLV 2010.

One emphasis this year will be on hospitality and the
welcoming and inclusion of newcomers and first-time
returnees. As a means toward this end, we will have a
volunteer DLV Hostess for each of our suggested hotels
and daily informal get-togethers at each suggested hotel
will be planned. We'll also have a special "Beginners
Open House" on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of DLV
week.
. . . . .

Headcount:

"How many will be attending?" is our most frequently-asked
question.

We will be posting registration numbers and projections as the
registrations come in. It's still far too early for any kind
of an absolute count prediction. Best guess as of this time,
and that's what it is, a guess, is somewhere in the 150-180
range for a total.

Initial response to re-registration was very brisk, so there
will be no concern of a poor turnout this coming year. Our
validated headcount at the time of this writing is over 75
so far!

Again, we're expecting a varied mix of attendees, people from
all points on the TG spectrum from those just peeking out of
the closet to those who are fully transitioned, SO's, friends,
admirers, etc.

One important note about attendance numbers. You will never
see the entire group in any one place at any one time. Our
attendees will be coming and going all week.

Feedback has indicated, over and over, that our attendees
want at least one large function which gathers as many of
our people as is possible. Yes, this will happen, twice!

Plans are in the works for an absolutely spectacular
Welcome Celebration on Monday of DLV week, and a large
"dress-up" ending get-together on {Friday}. Details on
both of these will be coming shortly.
. . . . .

Attending DLV:

For those who are new, the steps you need to take if you
want to attend can be summed up:

1. Read the web site (http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/) to be
sure you know what Diva Las Vegas is, what it is not, and
if DLV is something you would want to attend.

2. Register for DLV. Re-registration for returnees is now
open (see instructions below), and registration for newcomers
who are members of this list will begin on or about February
first.

3. Make your travel and/or hotel reservations, if necessary.

4. Show up and have a great time!

Simple, isn't it? :)
. . . . .

Our mailings:

You can expect a mailing to come out every 1-2 weeks until
around the first of April, depending on the need. Mailings
will almost always be made during the weekend.

Beginning around April 1, mailings will come out as needed,
sticking to the weekend schedule as much as possible.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Returnee re-registration is open:

Re-registration for returnees is now open.

In most cases you will be able to use express re-registration,
which only takes a minute or so.

Most of you who previously attended have received or will
receive shortly a personalized clickable express registration
link via e-mail.

If you have previously attended and don't receive this, if it
does not seem to work for you, or if you just want to do things
the hard way :) use the url:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/register2010.html

If you have any difficulty registering on line, or if you see
any kind of unexpected result or error message, please report
it. If anything is wrong, e-mail dlv@geekbabe.com and we will
check out the error and help you get registered.

Registration for newcomers who are members of this list will
begin on or about February 1.

Please remember, when you register, depending on circumstances,
you should receive either a confirmation e-mail or a validation
e-mail very shortly afterwards.

PLEASE READ THE NEXT SENTENCE VERY CAREFULLY:

IN THE EVENT YOU RECEIVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING VIA E-MAIL
AFTER YOU REGISTER, SOMETHING IS WRONG AND WE NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT IT!

If you don't receive anything, write to dlv@geekbabe.com
and explain the circumstances.

We cannot over-emphasize this! Each year we print this over
and over in bold type, and a few people miss it.

The most common problems we see, and we do see a number of
them each year, are mis-typing your e-mail address when you
register and undeliverable e-mail due to "mailbox full",
"user not accepting mail", etc.

One particularly troublesome item is cross-registered couples,
where both members of a couple register, each listing the
other as an attending SO. This confuses things and inflates
our numbers. This year when we come across cross-registered
couples we will convert these to two single registrations,
as that is the easiest for us to do.

Please remember, couples only need to register once, and the
one registration gets both of you on the roster.

Your understanding is appreciated.

We've recently cleaned up our registration database, merging
duplicate registrations. Therefore, your registration number
may have changed. The number on the automated re-registration
e-mail is the one you should use. If you need help with
determining your registration number, please use the "Recover
registration number" button on the registration screen.

If you have any questions, concerns, or issues regarding
registration, please let us know. Just reply to this mailing.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Things to come:

Here's a summary of our timetable regarding some milestones
that we will pass in the next few months:

January 1: Re-registration opens. This just happened. Most
of you who attended DLV between 2001 and 2009 who did not
have an e-mail address change should have received your
re-registration notices.

February 1: DLV 2010 registration opens for newcomers who
are on this mailing list. If you're reading this via e-mail,
this does include you.

March 1: General DLV 2010 registration opens. Please note
that you must be registered to be admitted to DLV 2010
functions.

(On or about) April 1: Activity sign-up begins. Those who
are registered will be sent a mailing with a clickable link
to a screen for all optional activities which require a
hoop-jump or a headcount. This is a one-stop-shop for all
of these.

April 14: Registration closes, activity sign-up closes,
Large Final Mailing is sent out.

April 18: DLV! :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Behavior, Dress, Restrooms:

Due to our mainstream orientation, we have certain behavior,
dress, and restroom guidelines, which all attendees are
expected to observe, both in practice and in attitude.

One important note is that despite some apparently widespread
misinformation, we have no blanket prohibitions against using
any particular restrooms. If you heard this, it is quite
incorrect!

As far as dress is concerned at our last few events, with very
rare exception it's been classy and commendable.

A summary of our behavior, dress, and restroom guidelines
appears on the web at:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dress/nutshell.html

This gives an overview of the guidelines, as well as what you
can expect, and what will be expected of you.

Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Important notes for DLV 2010:

A few significant changes and adjustments this year:

1. In cooperation with Glamour Boutique, a method has been
established which will allow you to conveniently pre-pay
for various DLV activities via e-mail or over the phone.

Details will be announced as we approach activity sign-up
time.
. . . . .

2. Each of our suggested hotels will have a volunteer DLV Host
or Hostess who will act as a local contact person and resource.

If you indicate in your registration that you will be staying
in one of our suggested hotels, you will receive a special
mailing indicating who your Host/Hostess is and how to contact
him or her, prior to or during DLV.

Information on all of our suggested hotels will appear in
the next general mailing (in about a week). As always,
there is no requirement that you stay in any particular
hotel in order to attend DLV.

Our suggested hotel page is on the web at:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2010/2010hotels.html
. . . . .

3. We will no longer be preparing lists of volunteer drivers
and those who need rides. This process, which worked well in
the early years of DLV, has not worked well as DLV has grown
to the size it has become.

If you will be needing transportation to DLV activities, we
very strongly suggest that you stay in one of our suggested
hotels and use the daily get-togethers to make contact with
those who are driving, or those with whom you can share a
taxi.

We encourage those who have vehicles and are willing to give
rides to others, and those who need rides, to use the DLV
Discussion Forum to exchange contact information. This is on
the web at:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlvdisc/
. . . . .

4. To help eliminate confusion, we're asking all to submit
a last name when you register this year. No, it does not
need to be a "legal" surname. Last initials are acceptable.
. . . . .

As we did last year, we will be handing out a hardcopy
printed schedule and map at check-in.

This will not, however, replace our Large Final Mailing. The
printed schedule will be a one page summary with a map, and
will not contain many of the details.

Much material which you will need for your participation in
DLV will be sent out in what we call the Large Final Mailing,
which happens a few days before DLV.

We'll cover the schedule and the Large Final Mailing in detail
as the event approaches.
. . . . .

If you will be attending with your "Significant Other" (spouse
or life partner), you only need to register once. The one
registration will cover both of you. Just check the "SO
attending" checkbox when you register, enter your SO's name,
and you're both on your way!

Spouses and "significant others" are most welcome at DLV and
are encouraged to participate in any DLV activities they
find of interest. We are a very diverse group, and our
invitation to SOs includes male SOs, TG-TG couples, and
those in other "nontraditional" relationships.

We will have at least one specific activity intended for SOs.
. . . . .

For DLV 2010, we will not be admitting unannounced or "walk-in"
attendees. If you want to be part of DLV 2010, you will need to
register in advance. This includes DLV volunteers, well-known
persons in the TG community, and Las Vegas locals. We ask all
who wish to attend to register, please.

Registration is quick, easy, and free. If you want to attend
DLV, there's no reason not to register.

If you have any difficulty registering, e-mail us, and we'll
help you. We can even do it manually if necessary.

Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated. Thanks.

Likewise, if you are planning to bring guests (other than your
SO, of course) to DLV 2010, they will need to register as DLV
attendees. This gets them on the roster, allows them to sign up
for any of the optional activities they wish to do, and admits
them to all of the regular DLV activities they want to attend.

Unannounced guests will not be admitted to DLV 2010, sorry.
Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.
. . . . .

Due to some very frustrating problems, we will no longer
respond to "challenge-response" or "click to activate"
e-mails. You must give us an "in the clear" e-mail address
to register for DLV. (If you don't know what this is, don't
worry, it doesn't apply to you.)
. . . . .

If you need to tell us something, or you need to ask us
something, the correct way is to either post a note in the
DLV Discussion Forum (http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlvdisc)
or write us directly via e-mail at: dlv@geekbabe.com

About once a week on average we receive a note "So and so
has asked you a question" or "There is a message for you"
from some third party site, and almost all of these are
simply promoting something, so it's our policy not to
respond to them.

Likewise, we do not pick up e-cards addressed to DLV. Most
of these are spam or worse.

Your cooperation is appreciated.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2010 Announcement mailing list.

This list is limited to announcements and other high-importance
items.

Replies to this mailing will be forwarded to: dlv@geekbabe.com
Submissions/questions should be sent to: dlv@geekbabe.com
Abuse/complaints should be sent to: abuse@geekbabe.com

Questions/answers and discussion items are redirected to the DLV
Discussion Forum, which may be subscribed to separately or viewed
on the web. To subscribe to the DLV Discussion Forum, send a brief
message to dlvdisc@geekbabe.com and state that you wish to receive
the DLV Discussion Forum.

To view the DLV Discussion Forum on line, visit the URL:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlvdisc/
. . . . .

One address for all items regarding this list, additions,
unsubscribe requests, changes, submissions, questions, etc.:

dlv@geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case

Archives of this list appear on the web at:

http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/dlv10arc/
. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2010
April 18 - 23, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
. . . . .

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