[dlv] Diva Las Vegas 2013 ...

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This is the Diva Las Vegas 2013 announcement mailing list.

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

Welcome and Welcome Back
Returnee registration is open
Big Sister (and Big Brother) program updates
Se habla Espanol
Our suggested hotels
Introducing MyDLV
What you need to do
Things to come
Administrivia
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Welcome and Welcome Back:

Welcome to those who just joined the mailing list!

Welcome back to those who have been with us!

Hope to see all of you in April for our 17th annual event!

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

In almost all cases, you can simply reply to our general mailings
with any questions or concerns. Replies to these mailings are
valid and are read by a human, three of them, actually.

This is the "kick-off" mailing for Diva Las Vegas 2013, which
will happen in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, from Sunday, April 14
thru Friday, April 19.

Those who are new to DLV will want to read this mailing thoroughly,
and those who attended before should note the changes planned for
DLV 2013.

You can expect the DLV mailings to come out every 1-2 weeks as
needed between now and shortly before the event.
. . . . .

We've received a few list joins from e-mail addresses which appear
to represent commercial businesses which may be of interest to the
TG community.

We welcome those who offer products and services to attend, and we
will work with attendee-vendors to schedule such things as vendor
"open house" sessions on our schedule.

We do ask that anyone who plans to attend as a vendor to please
read our Frequently Asked Questions list carefully, as our event
is quite different from other TG events. The FAQ is on line here:

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

Please pay particular attention to this item ...

http://www.geekbabe.com/cgi-bin/afaq.cgi?d=/dlv/faq&i=15.08

.. which discusses attending DLV as a vendor.
. . . . .

One request to all: Please do not "invite" the various DLV e-mail
addresses to social networking sites and please do not add the
DLV e-mail addresses to any automated mailings you send out. Your
understanding and cooperation are appreciated.
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Returnee registration is open:

Most everyone who has attended in recent years should have now
received a special re-registration e-mail. This contains a link
to a personal express DLV 2013 registration screen. All it takes
is a few mouse clicks to re-register for DLV 2013!

If you attended DLV in recent years and you did not receive this,
please be assured that it's something such as an oversight or a
technical issue and not a snub. If we missed you, please write in
(just reply to this mailing) and we'll get things on track for you.

Newcomer registration for members of this list (if you are reading
this via your personal e-mail account, this applies to you) will
open on or about February 1.

MyDLV members may register at their convenience by following the
appropriate link on the main MyDLV page.

If you have any concerns about registration for DLV, please let us
know. Just reply to this mailing.
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Big Sister (and Big Brother) program updates:

There will be a few changes in our Big Sister Program this year.

Nora, our long-standing Big Sister Coordinator has retired from the
position after many years of service. Please join us in thanking
Nora for countless Big/Little Sister matches over the years and for
staffing the Big Sister Hotline telephone during our events.

The DLV Organizers Group has voted to adopt the "team" concept to
manage the Big Sister Program, and the following individuals (in
alphabetical order) have volunteered to be part of the Big Sister
Team:

Bev
Bob
Darlene
Delaney
Gabi
Vera (nee' Rosada)

Delaney will be taking the lead and will hold the position of Big
Sister Coordinator on our Administrative Committee.

Big thanks go out to our Big Sister Team volunteers!
. . . . .

One other change to the Big Sister Program is that for the first
time in our history we will be offering Big Brothers, assigned on
a case-by-case basis, to those who need them. These are available
to men who attend DLV either solo or with a partner.

Bob, on our Big Sister Team, will be overseeing this aspect of the
Big Sister and Big Brother Program.
. . . . .

The main functions of the Big Sister Program will not change. Our
Big Sister Team will be personally matching Big Sister and Brother
volunteers with those who request them.

It's natural to be nervous before heading to an event such as Diva
Las Vegas, particularly if you're new to the TG scene and don't know
any of the others yet.

The Big Sisters (and Big Brothers) of Diva Las Vegas can help!

Big Sisters (and Brothers) are volunteer DLV veterans who are
standing by to help as needed, either prior to DLV, or during DLV.

Big Sisters and Big Brothers are intended mainly for those who are
new and don't have much public exposure, or those who may be feeling
a bit uneasy about the upcoming trip, but Big Sisters and Big Brothers
are available to anybody who wants one.

If you haven't been out in public at all, if you're new to public
exposure, your exposure has never been in the mainstream before, or
if there's any reason you feel uneasy or uncertain about the upcoming
trip, the Big Sisters and Big Brothers are here to help, either before
DLV, during DLV, or both.

Before DLV, if you would like to correspond with somebody one-to-one
about concerns regarding DLV, just send a brief note to:

bigsister@geekbabe.com or
bigbrother@geekbabe.com

.. and say that you would like to get in touch with a Big Sister
or Big Brother.

Examples of concerns might be questions that you don't feel
comfortable asking on one of the mailing lists, a request for an
honest fashion critique, etc.

During DLV, if you need some advice on any number of topics, Big
Sisters and Big Brothers can help.

If you are uneasy and can't get the nerve to walk out of your hotel
room (this has happened), phone us, we'll have a Big Sister or Big
Brother meet you, assure you, and escort you if necessary.

These are only a few example of how our Big Sisters and Big Brothers
can help!

Also, if you have attended DLV in the past and would like to
volunteer to spend some time helping others, please say so and
volunteer to be a Big Sister or Big Brother. (Just reply to this
mailing or e-mail bigsister@geekbabe.com and state you would like
to volunteer to be a Big Sister or Big Brother.) The primary
qualification is the desire to help others.

You can also sign up to request a Big Sister, or volunteer to be a
Big Sister on the web as you register.

To request a Big Brother or to volunteer to be a Big Brother, please
e-mail us (bigbrother@geekbabe.com) and we'll handle things on a case
by case basis.

For any questions or concerns about our Big Sister and Big Brother
Program please e-mail: bigsister@geekbabe.com
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Se habla Espanol:

Bienvenidos! Si el espanol is su lenguage nativa y Ud. tiene
dificultad comprendiendo qualquier cosa sobre DLV, Ud. nos puede
mandar sus preguntas por correo electronico en espanol, y se los
mandaremos a uno de nuestros voluntarios que hablan espanol. - La
direccion electronica es: dlv@geekbabe.com - Muchas Gracias.
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Our suggested hotels:

When you attend DLV, you may stay wherever you wish. Unlike most
of the other major TG events, our program is not centered around
a hotel. For Diva Las Vegas, hotels are used mainly for attendee
lodging.

We make hotel suggestions for those who are unfamiliar with hotels
in Las Vegas, for those who want to know which hotels have given
previous attendees good service, and for those who, for one reason
or another, wish to stay in the vicinity of other DLVers.

Our suggested hotels for DLV 2013 are (in alphabetical order):

Harrah's Las Vegas
Paris Hotel and Casino
Tuscany Suites

Further details on our suggested hotels are on line here:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/2013hotels.html
. . . . .

A few specific suggestions:

If you want a less-expensive room: Harrah's.

If you want to be near the largest group of other DLV attendees:
Harrah's.

If you want a room in a place where you won't have to transit a
crowded hotel lobby or casino: Tuscany.

If you want a more upscale room: Paris.

If you want to be right in the center of the action: Harrah's
or Paris.

If you want the hotel which is on record as actively inviting
LGBT folks: Paris.

If you want to stay away from the Strip: Tuscany.

If you want the "safest" option: Tuscany.

If none of the above hotels appeal to you, please use our Big List
as a secondary list of suggestions. It's on line here:

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

Several casino-hotels and non-gaming hotels are listed.

Special notes:

If you will be needing a ride to the DLV activities, we very
strongly suggest that you stay in one of our suggested hotels.
This will allow you to share rides (at your own risk, of course)
with others staying there.

Tuscany Suites is not recommended for those who will not be driving
a vehicle and do not have pre-arranged rides to DLV activities.

When comparing rates, please consider that the Tuscany adds a
mandatory $14 per night "Resort Fee" to your bill. Harrah's and
Paris do not, as of this time, charge a Resort Fee.

We do appreciate the additional hotel suggestions which have been
sent in since our suggested hotels were first announced. However,
we will not be making additional hotel suggestions for DLV 2013.
One purpose of our suggestions is to center our people around a
few common areas and not to spread them out. You are free, however,
to use the DLV Discussion Forum to suggest your favorite hotels to
others who will be attending.
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Introducing MyDLV:

MyDLV is an expansion of our on-line presence which allows you as
a DLV attendee (or prospective attendee) to contribute to the
experience of all users.

We're inviting you to join and participate. It's free and there are
very few formalities, conditions, and rules.

Some of the features of MyDLV which are currently in place include:

1. Photo Gallery. MyDLV users can easily upload their own photos
from their PC or browse the DLV collections and include those photos
in their gallery. Other users can then view the photos and add
comments to them.

This feature replaces the former high-maintenance people gallery we
had during the early and mid 2000s.

2. Chirping (microblogging - yes, an admitted rip-off of Twitter).
This is a great way to spread the word on things during DLV if
people will subscribe to "chirps" on their text-capable cell phones.
It has convenient informal uses too. "I'm at the bar at Harrah's,
anyone wanna join me for a drink?"

3. Discussion Forum. Clean interface, threaded by topic, archives
going back to the early 2000s on line for browsing.

Easy one-click reply with sane quoting. This replaces the old
Hypermail interface.

DLV announcements, going back to the early days of DLV, are
archived on MyDLV.

4. "Friend" mechanism. Basically a way to focus Chirps to groups
of users, but it has other potential as well.

5. The Whiteboard. A just-for-fun widget. :)

6. Blogs. We have a full multi-user implementation of Wordpress,
the blog software to which all others are compared. This is
available to MyDLV users who wish to publish a blog.

7. Last but not least, easy one-click access to the DLV
registration and activity sign-up screens. No hassles with
forgetting those numbers or digging back through old e-mail
for the correct links.

Please give it a try and let us know if you have any issues.

To get started and try this out, surf here:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/mydlv/
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What you need to do:

For those who are new, the steps you need to take if you want to
attend DLV 2013 can be summed up as:

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. Please note that DLV is not based on the
model used for Southern Comfort, Colorado Gold Rush, etc.

2. Register for DLV. Re-registration for returnees is now open and
registration for newcomers who are members of this list will begin
on or about February 1. (MyDLV members can register or re-register
at their convenience by following the appropriate link.)

3. Make your travel and/or hotel reservations, if necessary. Info
on our suggested hotels is on line and a summary appears above.

4. Show up and have a great time!

Simple, isn't it? :)

Any questions? Concerns? Please let us know.
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Things to come:

For DLV 2013 we'll be testing out a reminder service, where you can
sign up to have schedule reminders sent to your e-mail account or
text-capable cell phone prior to scheduled DLV activities.

You'll be able to select the activities you wish to be reminded of
and set the interval at which the reminders will be sent on a new
screen by following your registration link. Further details on this
will be announced toward the end of March.
. . . . .

Registration for newcomers who are members of this list will open
on or about February 1. General open DLV 2013 registration will
open on or about March 1.
. . . . .

Toward the end of March our activity sign-up process will begin.

This is when you tell us which of the many optional activities
you wish to do. Most of our activities are "no sign-up, just show
up" in nature, but some will require an advance headcount, some
kind of additional action, or in some cases prepayment.

Further details about activity sign up will appear as the date
approaches.
. . . . .

During the week just before the big event, we'll send out what
we call the Large Final Mailing.

For DLV 2013 we will be repeating our "experiment" where the bulk
of what we call the Large Final Mailing will be placed on line on
the web, rather than being mailed out individually to attendees.
Following the DLV 2013 attendee survey at the conclusion of the
2013 event, we'll make a decision whether to keep the "webified"
format or revert to the previous e-mail format.
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Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2013 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/mydlv/mainforum/viewforum.php?f=2
. . . . .

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/dlv/mydlv/mainforum/viewforum.php?f=4
. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2013
Sunday, April 14 - Friday, April 19
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
. . . . .


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