My comments on the comments, part 1 ...

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

These are my comments on the comments.

I'll be posting this in two, possibly three parts, this is the
first of them. I've been working on this off and on for over a
week and decided to post them in parts instead of waiting until
it's complete.

I'm not commenting on all of the comments, in particular when
multiple similar comments were received.

Let's get the BDR items out of the way first ...

Restroom comments:

>First stop after dinner Fri night a number of us went to Freezone.
>We hadn't checked the listing info. Because, while I used the
>bathroom and didn't have a problem, someone else did. We were told
>we had to use the one that corresponded with our IDs.

>So we left.

Good!

Starve a rat today!

>They're still bathroom Nazis!

And that's one reason why we haven't used them for any DLV
functions since 2007.

Their enforcement of this "rule" seems to depend on time
and circumstance, but it's been consistently reported for
almost two years. They first started to pull this back in
the early 2000s, then eased off in maybe 2004-2007, then
started doing it again.
. . . . .

>I was refused to go into the Ladies room at the Palazzo. I was
>told to go to the mens room.

Yes, unfortunately. You were not the only one to get caught in
this trap.

>I dont know Nevada's laws on transgener discrimnation,

IANAL, but according to one who is, there are none. It's not
illegal to use the facilities of your choice, but likewise
it is legal for management and/or security to restrict you
from any part of the property they don't want you to use.

There is a TG-inclusive non-descrimination bill working its
way through the Nevada Legislature. The closed-minded
opponents are citing just this, genetic males in the ladies
room, as a sensationalistic opposition.
. . . . .

>First of all, about your dress and bathroom codes, this is
>Vegas! Nobody cares! Understand it! Live with it! Nobody cares!

Unfortunately, those who file complaints with security most
certainly do care. It may be Las Vegas, but those of very
closed minds are present and do make a lot of noise when
they see things that are not "the way things ought to be<tm>"!

The surveys also consistently show that the majority of the
DLV attendees are in support of the Behavior, Dress, and
Restroom guidelines.
. . . . .

>I am pre-op transsexual and have enough time on hrt that I
>pass very well.

Uh, and your point is ...???
. . . . .

>At the Bilagio hotel, during the Limo ride, security denied
>entrance to the women's room for several Diva girls. No real
>problem just annoying.

This is the first I have heard of this at the Bellagio. We did
hear of the similar issue over at the Palazzo, but not at the
Bellagio.

I also heard of no issues during the Charles Bar activity
later that night (actually morning).
. . . . .

>As much as I have grown, I still am very uncertain and uneasy
>using a ladie's bathroom in public. That will be my growth
>goal for next year.

Hopefully in the near future (by next year maybe), there may
be some legal protection for you (us) in Nevada.
. . . . .

Behavior:

I don't think I ever witnessed first hand anything close to
a behavior issue this year. (One was reported to me, however,
by a vendor.) For the most part, I would commend the group as
a whole for behavior this year.

However, I'm not everyone.

First, a few comments ...

The term "Pub Crawl" should indicate that yes, quite a bit of
alcohol will be consumed, and yes, things will get somewhat
uninhibited. :) The same could be said about such things as
a Karaoke night in a bar which is known for being jovial and
unrestrained.

It's very hard to say, particularly in retrospect, when the
line of civil behavior has been crossed, and more specifically,
if any DLV behavior guidelines have been violated. Some things
(such as flashing bare boobs and inviting others to grope) are
clearly out of compliance.

Others are borderline, and I will go as far as to say that
behavior at "safe venue" bar activities may easily approach
what some consider to be inappropriate.

>The pub crawl on tuesday was a joke. Why were two guys allowed
>to follow us around all night all because of some dlv girl
>liked to lift their skirt up and show off their panties.

Another thing about a "Pub Crawl" is that it often times
snowballs, meaning as the group crawls from pub to pub,
others join in and tag along. There's really not much we
can do about it, particularly if those already crawling
encourage others to crawl along with them.

As to the "why?", it's because some of our group let them
tag along, or even encouraged them to do so.

If someone is uncomfortable with this, they need to make
this known to the coordinator of the activity on the spot.

>Then there was kereoke night. I don't know who she was but she
>was showing her breasts all night long and letting others feel
>them up.

I sure HOPE this was not one of our people! :( :( (Update,
apparently it was not, thankfully!)

If it was not a registered DLVer, there's nothing we can do
about it, other than maybe complain to the bar management.

If it WAS a registered DLV attendee, the DLV volunteer
coordinator of record should have been brought into the
loop on the spot at the time.

>DLV was done for me after the kereoke night. I don't go out
>with sluts and whores and you have many.

To imply that DLV has "many ... sluts and whores" is to say
some very bad things about some very good people! :(

There may be a few isolated cases of some DLVer attempting
to practice the world's oldest profession or being overtly
out to get one's ashes hauled, but these cases are the rare
exception.

If this ("sluts and whores") is your perception of the DLV
attendees, you need to take a closer look. I've said it for
the record and I'm saying it again, DLV attendees are some
of the finest people in the known universe, and to refer to
them as "sluts and whores" is extremely disrespectful!

If an attendee is behaving in a way you don't think is
appropriate, you need to call the attention of those in
charge, without hesitation. To affix such labels such as
"sluts and whores" to any but a few isolated individuals
is uncalled for, sorry! :(
. . . . .

Dress:

This particular item needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, in
hindsight, when the details are not fully known, it's hard to
come to any definite conclusions on exactly what was intended
and in what capacity (official or personal) such suggestions
were made.

On one hand, we try to encourage "sisterly advice" in cases
where one's appearance is off, anything from a reminder that
a button is un-buttoned to a well-meaning suggestion on how
to improve an overall look.

We try to create a climate and culture where it's "cool" to
commend or constructively criticize one's presentation.

On the other hand, we try not to create an atmosphere where
our attendees have to be worried about inadvertent minor
dress issues.

(DLV organizer's hat on)

One best practice which has clarified itself over the past few
years is that action should be taken if an attendee's dress,
appearance, or behavior negatively impacts the enjoyment or
comfort of others. This is usually indicated by one or more
complaints received by organizers from attendees.

That is where the line is crossed, when others are negatively
affected.

Hold that thought.

(DLV organizer's hat off)

Here's the comment:

>To answer the question, "did you recive any unsolicited advice ..."
>more fully, I have to say that a very strange bird who showed up to
>an event in some kind of androgynous look advised me not to wear a
>dress to another more casual event. She advised me to wear
>something like what she was wearing. I was a bit put off by this
>comment mainly because the person giving the advice was clearly
>using poor judgement herself, when attending the lunch in some
>strange androgynous look.

This is a hard one to answer.

In cases like this it's difficult to tell if what you're
getting is just some informal well-intended "sisterly advice"
or if it's intended to be an official or a semi-official
statement on behalf of DLV.

If it's just informal advice, you are free to accept it or
ignore it. If it's in any way official, it should be very
obvious that it is.

(DLV organizer's hat on)

I'm assuming from your comments that this was at one of
the daily lunches, and the dress guidelines for all of
them was "casual to dressy", so if the dress you were
wearing was indeed dressy, but appropriate for daytime,
you were within the guidelines and nobody should have
said anything.

If you ever have any question about your outfit being or
not being appropriate for the activity at hand, find the
primary coordinator of record for that activity (in the
case of the daily lunch, Ginger or Mary Beth) and ask.

If an attendee needs to be consulted about appearance,
there should always be two volunteers present, and the
consultation should always take place out of sight and
out of earshot of any groups of DLV people. This is what
our enforcement guidelines say, and this was affirmed as
best practice last year.

I'm going to bring this one up in the ORG group, both to
see if anyone has any additional information on this
particular incident, and also to re-affirm best practice.

(DLV organizer's hat off)

The bottom line is that if you were within the dress
guidelines for any particular activity, nobody, whether
they're a volunteer or a rank and file attendee, should
have said anything about it.

My suggestion is that if anything like this happens,
particularly if you sincerely believe you're within the
dress guidelines, is first to ask if the advice is
intended as any kind of official word on behalf of DLV,
and if it is, bring the situation to the attention of
the primary coordinator of record, on the spot.

>I suppose I shouldn't have been upset by the comment because
>this same person, at a previous event, bragged about her
>ability to pass in public restrooms as if that was some sort
>of rite of passage.

:( :(

Although it's not as common as it was a few decades ago, there
are still some vestiges of pecking orders, status symbols,
rites of passage, etc. in our community.

IMAO, those who play those cards are seeking some kind of an
ego boost.

A similar remark:

>A few of your guests, most notably one, was bragging about
>being a pre-op while obviously being oblivious to the true
>meaning of GID and transsexuality. This casts a bad light.

It's been a fairly consistent observation of mine and of
others, that those who are really-truly on the transition
track seldom boast about it.

>Also, because someone is now a TS and not a CD doesn't mean
>they can go witout makeup.

Very true.

It's actually somewhat common (too common, IMAO) for someone
who drops the self-identity of TV or CD and adopts the self-
identity of TS to display what's sometimes called the "Too
Natural" look. This is discussed at length in our dress items.

The DLV dress and appearance standards are clear, "complete
boymode or complete girlmode" and androgynous or "genderqueer"
looks are discouraged. Some additional questions on the 2008
survey showed that the DLV attendees as a whole do not like
androgynous looks.

Makeup, per se, is not required, and it's usual and customary
for some women to go without it. However, obvious facial hair
or beard shadow when in girlmode is not within our guidelines.

Many GGs can indeed get away with little or no makeup. Very
few TGs can do this!

A related item.

>Some people need to learn how to present themselves properly
>Too many people wear jeans and look like guys!

I sure HOPE I'm not the one being referred to here, since I
do wear jeans quite often and did so this trip.

Jeans, per se, are well within our dress guidelines, as they
are quite "usual and customary" for women in many casual
situations.

(DLV organizer's hat on)

If the overall look is a conscientious effort to present in
complete girlmode, yes, it's within our guidelines. If the
overall look is mixed-mode, then it is not.

(DLV organizer's hat off)
. . .

>Being a SO, I probably shouldn't comment,

If you wish to comment, then by all means do so!

All DLV attendees, regardless of orientation or label, should
feel free to comment. Observations from those who are not TG
are always welcome and are appreciated. These give us more of
a view from the "outside looking in" perspective.

>but I feel that you can't stress enough, dress and (makeup)
>should be age and activity appropriate.

Yes, ever since 2003 we've been stressing that dress and
appearance should be age, size, and occasion appropriate.

>I'm by far no expert at either subject, but some attendees
>looked as though they were made up for Halloween.

And a similar remark:

>Most of the girls try, but they just don't understand what
>a "day look" means. You've got girls going lunch or shopping
>all done up like they're performing in a drag show.

There is a learning curve to climb WRT makeup and presentation
and on that uphill climb there will be stumbles and falls!

Many of our attendees do not have that much experience doing
the everyday basic face. Our median for frequency of public
exposure is monthly or so.

Yes, I do admit that there were a few whose look could best
be described as "theatrical", and, IMAO, those I noticed were
on the climb up the learning curve.

>Then there's the other extreme, bad beard shadow. It has to be
>covered, girls.

True, and I noticed this as well. One case was brought to our
attention, but the organizers decided not to say anything since
it was the last night.

The following comment refers to the additional answer which
has appeared in the "giving advice" questions for the past
few years.

>No, but I sure felt like it at times.

>I'm very hesitant to do this. I don't want to hurt feelings,
>I don't want to piss anyone off, and I sure don't want to lose
>a friend, which I'm afraid I would do if I did this.

I hear you, and I've felt the same way many times. This is also
one reason why organizers are hesitant to get involved when a
BDR violation is reported. It's often times a no-winner.

It's very difficult to tell if the advice will be received as
intended or if it will be taken as an insult or worse, if the
recipient of the advice will go off the deep end. :(
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Activity comments and suggestions:

For activity suggestions, we'll be summarizing these to the
ORG group.

However, if anybody wants to see any of these happen, it's
well within your power to make them happen. All you have to
do is volunteer to coordinate them as DLV activities.

You'll see that many of my answers and comments to this
section revolve around this point.
. . . . .

>Let's have lunch and the SBS at 12 noon.

The timing of activities is mostly decided by those who
coordinate them.

We do, however, try to standardize (as much as is practical)
the times of some of the recurring things, such as lunches,
happy hours, etc.

You'll see that most lunches are 1:00pm, most HH's are 6:00pm
and most dinners are 7:00pm.

There are a few exceptions. One show conflicted with our
normal dinner time, and this one had its own dinner after
the show.

We also moved up the Wednesday evening things 1/2 hour to
allow a bit of breathing room between the dinner, photo
session, and Limo Tour.

We can surely revisit meal timing in ORG during the slow
season, if any of the volunteers care to bring it up.
. . . . .

Probably the most frequently recurring theme in the activity
suggestions this year is along the line of a dance activity
at Paris.

>More dancing options - Paris - Le cabaret' is usually good
>(last two years)

>I went to Le Carrousel, the semi-night club off the casino
>at Paris, both Fri and Sat nights. Fri night we closed it.
>Probably 10-15 other DLVers there each night. It was like
>a scheduled event; very open, fun. No issues. Really a
>good dancing alternative. We should put it on the schedule
>for next year!

There are several others citing Paris. This is a recurring
theme in the general comments, activity suggestions, and
venue suggestions this year.

Assuming we have a volunteer to coordinate things, I'm sure
this will be on the schedule next year.
. . . . .

Fashion show:

>The Sat afternoon fashion show was fun. But I understand
>Edy tried to organize one using DLVers, and the mall wanted
>no part.

Edy can comment in more detail, but it was my impression
that the mall's management had absolutely no clue what to
do, and kind of blew us off.

>I think it still would be fun to do. I'd do it. I know
>Fantasia Fair does it.

Yes, I know that FF and some of the others do this as a
recurring activity. The way this was originally proposed
was to do our own Fashion Show in cooperation with some
vendor, either a department store or one of our supportive
vendors.

That never happened, but Edy found out about the regular
show at FSM and tried to coordinate things so some of our
people could act as models.

Edy gets an A+ for the idea and for effort, but the mall's
management was obviously not too keen on the idea.
. . . . .

Shopping:

>Organizing a 'thrift shopping spree' with a van or something
>for group transportation would be a neat addition to the
>events IMNSHO.

This has happened before, and can easily happen again if ...

>However, "No, we're not committed enough to organize/facilitate
>it".

**Ding!** Two points! You saw that one coming, didn't you? :)

We've had organized shopping groups many times, going way back
into the early days of DLV. They typically don't draw a huge
number of DLVers, but they tend to be rated highly.
. . . . .

Payment hassles:

This has been an ongoing issue for several years, the subject
of many comments and complaints.

>You need a better way of paying for events. This stuff about
>find Annie for the limo, find Jami for the tea, find Amy for
>doves, is rediculous!

This is one thing where I think I can safely say there will be
a solution next year. The details have yet to be worked out,
but we are planning on on a method by which payment can be made
conveniently, in advance, and for multiple activities at once
with one transaction in many cases.
. . . . .

RHPS:

>We should go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show!

I would *LOVE* to see this happen (again)!

We did RHPS several times during the early years of DLV.
They used to have an ongoing show, complete with live cast,
at a local cineplex.

Unfortunately the cast bifurcated and lost the theater.

We've discussed getting this going again, and we've come
close a few times, but let's face it, RHPS on video on a
small screen or even on a large screen TV in a bar or small
auditorium is just not the same as a real 35mm presentation
with a live cast.

I know that a few years back, one of our volunteers spoke
to a manager at the theater that used to host RHPS and got
a real earful! :) :(

Last I was told, what remains of the local cast(s) have been
to every full-scale 35mm theater in the area and have been
turned down at all of them. :(

There were a few semi-regular video performances at times,
one at Toucans (nee' Hamburger Marys), then one over at Flex,
but I understand the underage issue was too much for them to
effectively supervise. Then there was one in the back of a
bookstore, and one at the small artsy theater by The Rack
which may still be going on.
. . . . .

Missed connections:

The only significant "missed connection" this year was for
the Star Trek Imax Experience.

>The IMAX times were incorrect and caused us to wait for
>approximately an hour and a half to see the next show.
>This caused us to be behind a schedule that we were trying
>to keep.

>The time for the movie was wrong. Which parkng garage? Both
>are off Wynn Avenue. Nobody else was there. We weren't going
>to wait around. We left, very disappointed.

Other comments came in to this effect.

We'll bring this up in ORG. There's not much we can do in
retrospect, but looking forward, we can further emphasize that
missed connections, when they happen, can very easily spoil an
evening. :(
. . . . .

Schedule conflicts:

>A lot of activities that I wanted to attent were in conflict
>with others. It would be nice if the same activity like going
>to the movies, going to a Harmony Nail Salon, or going to a
>show/club could've been scheduled more than once on different
>days.

There's nothing that says we can't have more than one session
of any activity, but that really depends on the strength of
the volunteer force and the desire of the volunteers to hold
multiple sessions of any activity.

Things like Harmony Nail Spa aren't limited to just the day
of the Open House. Places like that will welcome DLV people
any time they are open.

As far as activities which occur in the same timeslot, such
as the Boat Tour and High Tea, we try from year to year to
schedule things so the same major activities are not always
up against each other. Usually this works, sometimes it does
not.

Now on some of our evenings, this year Tuesday and Friday in
particular, we'll do multiple smaller-group activities. This
has worked well for several reasons.
. . . . .

>Having the approx cost of the venues posted so I could see
>what it may cost, before I show up and get suprised.

We try to list approximate costs on the final detailed
schedule. These come from a number of sources, including
the volunteers, posted prices, and in some cases they are
just rough guesses.

I know we had one price wrong by a 200% margin this year.
I don't know how this got by the volunteer activity
coordinators and the proofreaders, but it did. Human
error will happen.

Sorry.
. . . . .

>Also it would be nice to have some additional SO
>activities.

There's nothing that says we can't have more than one SO
activity during DLV. The only thing that's holding us back
is, yes, you guessed it, volunteers to coordinate them.
. . . . .

Mainstream vs. alternative:

With all of our emphasis on things mainstream, we started to
see suggestions of "alternative" venues this year, some of
which we've used in years past.

>Power Exchange Thursday night

>I wennt to a club with a few local cd's called flex.

>We need more strictly social just bull sessions in bars like
>we used to have back in the early 2000's.

>Stoplight Lounge. Nice little bar. We walked down there from
>dinner.

I assume you mean Spotlight Lounge, outside Commercial Center.

>... found myself visiting some of the local bars, like
>Spotlight, Badlands and Las Vegas Lounge. I also went back
>top PT's for lunch one day and was well received even
>without the group.

Over the past few years, those who answered these surveys
have requested more mainstream venues and fewer "safe"
venues, and that's one reason why we've had fewer and
fewer major activities in places such as Flex, Spotlight,
and Goodtimes. We're now seeing some DLVers suggest these,
not knowing of their long history with DLV.

If anyone wants to see more get-togethers in alternative
bars, just volunteer to coordinate them. They would fit
very well on any multi-track evening, and even as a
second-track against one of the big guns. The coordination
of a bar mixer is usually low-maintenance. A minimalist
approach would be to pick a place and agree to be there
to welcome the others.
. . . . .

>The M Resort-Spa-Casino would be a great location for a great
>night out for Dinner/Dance/Gaming/Drinking/lodging. I went out
>there with a girlfriend dressed and had a greatest time with
>no problems what so ever. so much better than a low end with
>high priced drinks in a dive bar activity like goodtimes.
>And it's very TG friendly and an excellent venue and not at
>all pricey

The M Resort has been mentioned as a possibility, but it has
one major disadvantage, that being it's way out in the
toolies! My guess is that it's close to 10 miles from the
major Strip hotels, and that translates to about a $30.00+
taxi ride for those without a vehicle.

If somebody wants to coordinate an activity there, it can
be done, but I envision fall-out and complaints due to the
distance factor.
. . . . . . . . . .

General comments:

Timeframe and weather:

A number of comments which came in had to do with the DLV
2009 timeframe, specifically the weather, which during DLV
this year ran about 10 degrees F warmer than the historical
average over the May 11-17 dates.

Let's clear the air on this first one ASAP.

>I understand that the reason you moved it to May is because
>one of the Chief organizers could'nt make it in April. This
>is highly inconsiderate. You need to consider 100 girls and
>not one.

There's no single factor, volunteer availablity, weather, or
whatever, that dictates the dates for DLV.

The dates for each yearly DLV event are selected by the members
of the ORG group who are of voting status. These are the ones
who are on record as coordinating at least one activity over
the past two DLV events. In other words, it's those who do the
work who make the decisions, including the setting of the
timeframe.

>Let's move it back to April, when the temperature is cooler
>and our make-up doesn't run all over our face.

>The time needs to be set back in April, for the cooler weather.

>Please hold next years DLV in cooler months with lower temps

There were several other similar remarks.

I don't think anyone actually wanted DLV in mid-May, but it
just came out that the week that was chosen was the only one
which worked to any degree at all. All of the other timeframes
which were discussed had some fairly significant issues, such
as high room rates, conflicts with religious holidays, and
yes, anticipated availability of some key players, which is
one factor, one of many, considered along with others.

The timeframe of May 11-16 was a least-of-evils compromise.

To set the dates this year, it took three rounds of votes.

It almost took four rounds of votes, but a final motion to
set aside the chosen dates (May 11-16) failed to carry by one
vote.

It was generally agreed that "The timeframe of May 11-16
is the worst possible timeframe there is, except for all
of the others."

I doubt very seriously that a mid-May timeframe will be
seriously considered for DLV 2010.

I might remind everyone to "be careful what you ask for,
you may get it!" Just as it was the luck of the draw that
we got 90+ highs in mid-May, there's an equal chance that
there will be temperatures 10 degrees cooler than average
in April.

Looking back a month, April 15 2009 in Las Vegas had a
high of 58F and a low of 39F. I daresay that if we had
held DLV that week, we would have received a number of
complaints about it being too cold.

Despite the weather, the enjoyment of this year's DLV
scored high, indicating that while the weather was not
ideal, it did not spoil the event.
. . . . .

Hotels:

The idea of having one and only one suggested hotel, or
having one hotel that is "more suggested" than the others
does occur semi regularly.

I plan to bring up both of these points (only one hotel,
one hotel designated as primary) to the ORG group this
coming season. I'm really not in favor of either point,
but I think the question should be called since it is
(they are) frequently occurring.

>with more high end venues to select from and a central
>location for lodging for better socializing (pick one
>hotel on the strip)

Let's discuss and recap ...

Our suggested hotels are decided by a vote of the ORG
members of voting status. The number of hotels to be
suggested, as well as the scale and the actual properties
themselves are decided by this vote.

Over the past few years the trend has been to offer several
options of various scale and in various locations. I see
this trend as reflecting the diverse needs and wants of
our attendees.

This trend could be changed by those of voting status, if
they want to move in such a direction.

>and not the Sahara PLEASE.

The Sahara is not the Waldorf, I will admit, but it remains
consistently popular with the DLVers.

Assuming the Sahara is open and in more or less the same
state during DLV 2010 (there are plans for a renovation,
now on hold mainly due to the economy) it's very likely
that the Sahara will be one of our suggested hotels.

If the ORG group should decide to suggest only one hotel,
or designate one hotel as primary or "more suggested" than
the others, there's a very good chance that the Sahara will
be it. The Sahara and the Imperial Palace have been the
ones which have attracted the largest groups of our people
over the past 10 years or so, and I really don't see this
changing.

>The Stratosphere was a great choice for me and the VIP
>staff love the TG com community

We've had the Stratosphere as a suggested hotel in previous
years. If it's nominated and carries an ORG majority, it
can be a suggested hotel for DLV 2010. However, I think the
chance of the Stratosphere being the only hotel suggested,
or the one recommended above all others, is low, sorry.

However, if it's a priority for you to have a large group
of DLVers at the Stratosphere in 2010, feel free to take
the initiative to encourage as many as you can get to stay
at the Stratosphere. You don't need anyone's permission to
do this.
. . .

>1. The Hilton Hotel - Las Vegas was WONDERFUL. I went to
>the front desk en-Femm may times gambled in the private
>Bacarett room. They lowered the table limit from 100 to 25
>for me.

We've had our people stay at the Hilton off and on since
the early days of DLV. Hilton has never been one of our
suggested hotels yet. It's on our Big List with positive
ratings and comments.

If you're a volunteer and you want to see the Hilton as
one of our suggested hotels for next year, please submit
the Hilton as a nomination when the topic comes up.
. . . . .

The Big List:

>Also, pls update the places to go/things to do listing. We
>tried to find the Zappos Outlets, and actually go to where
>one was supposed to be, and a next door shop person told us
>they closed in Dec.

I think we may have a misunderstanding here.

Nobody has the job of keeping that list updated. Actually,
it can be said that it's the job of everyone, including you,
to keep the list updated. :)

The Big List (http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/vendors/) is
entirely user-supplied information. When someone sends
in an update that a facility has closed, we'll delete
the listing.

You'll notice that several listings have the "yellow light"
just due to the fact the no recent reports have been received.
However, when something closes at short notice, it's very
possible that a listing will have the green light while it
is closed.

Yes, the word came in that Zappos has closed and the list was
updated.

You (and everyone) can help out keeping the list current and
accurate by sending in ratings and comments, and of course
such things as new vendors to be listed, and updates when a
facility closes or has a major change.
. . . . .

>PS - in future surveys, maybe pre-fill the fields of the big
>multi-line queries with 'did not attend' or some default answer
>to eliminate a lot of box-clicking. A minor irritation.

Let's just say that the ability to skip over all of those "did
not attend" checkbuttons is a benefit for those who thoroughly
read the instructions. :) :) :) :)
. . . . .

>why not have the group photo on the first night with over a 100
>girls instead of the 40 i for one will not put my self out at
>9pm to have a photo taken you will only get girls form the
>limo tour

The reason we had the group photo at that place and time is that
was the wish of the person coordinating it. If you want to see
it at one of the larger activities, please volunteer to make it
happen next year.
. . . . .

Ever since we started doing these follow-up surveys, the most
frequently recurring theme in the comments is along the lines
of these. All of them are truly appreciated and we thank you
for letting us know that we're doing something right. :)

>As I keep saying, this is the best girl time ever! Thanks for
>another great time!

>You are doing a GREAT job with the event and it just gets
>better and better every year. Thank you!

>I want to that [sic] everyone who put together DLV this year,
>it was a great first time.

>The Diva organizing group is doing an excellent job. Thank
>you sooooo very much!

>Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for putting on
>such a magnificent event.

>I consider Diva to be my annual finest hour and I am
>eternally grateful to all of those who gave me this
>opportunity.

>Each year I've grown and would not be able to say this
>without Diva.

>This was my fifth DLV, and the best.

>I have to say that the meet and greet was awesome on monday
>night.

>Every DLV person I met treated me great. The Big Sister
>program was great. I am indebted to you all.

>Soiled Doves is a RIOT.

>Annie, I'm probably the most 'out' T* person on the planet
>right now, so my DLV experience is atypical. You are doing
>a GREAT job with the event and it just gets better and
>better every year. Thank you!

>Overall, a magnifcent an delightful week, from Sunday to
>Saturday! Kudo's to those who put this together. I've been
>once before, but this one is the best. I met so many very
>nice folks. Thank you so much!

>Very friendly bunch! Great time. I haven't had this much
>fun in years.

>A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who had a part in putting this
>whole thing together! Brava!

>Great week! Great people! Great food, too much of it!

Thanks to all who took the survey, and thanks for the
feedback.

I'll continue with my comments on the comments shortly ...

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
----------

Some of the comments on dress and behavior were from people that weren't
registered as a DLV attendee.... a local, or possible tag-alongs or
other tg people that are coincidentally there at the same place at the
same time dlv is there and are dressed or behave inappropriately.

In 08 we have other non dlv people that dressed in what would have been
a bdr violation attend our mainstream activity in that public location,
or what they say, were at that public location by coincidence,
independant of dlv having a event there.

The result is that these non-dlv attendees is assumed included as a dlv
attendee, and has negative impacts to the venue and dlv attendees, ie
restroom issues, bdr issues, etc.

These seem to happen at mainstream public venues, where these others
also have a right to be, and where the bdr is more criticl to all
attendees.

We have name tags. But there is still a problem in determining who is
a dlv attendee.. or if the bdr violator is a dlv attendee or not a
attendee.

We need to find a way to determine easier and more consistently who or
who isn't a attendee throughout the whole dlv... it will help the
organizers, and those who look at each of us with a critical eye.

Any ideas how to solve this?

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

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

>We need to find a way to determine easier and more consistently who or
>who isn't a attendee throughout the whole dlv... it will help the
>organizers, and those who look at each of us with a critical eye.

We have the DLV name tags. We don't have a requirement that they
be worn, but for the past few years we've told everyone to please
have this with them in case there is any question.

There is no way, however, to indicate to the general public, who
really doesn't know what DLV is and doesn't really care, which
individuals of a gaggle of TGs are registered attendees and which
are drop-ins, tag-alongs, and hang-arounds.

> Any ideas how to solve this?

Not without introducing another order of magnitude of formality,
which those who obey the rules will dislike and those who do
not obey the rules will ignore as they do all of the other rules.

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Mardi
----------

You might try using the pins to ID people.

We have t-shirts, has there been a big run on t-shirts lately.

Mardi

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(This posting was entered by Mardi, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Gina
----------

>We do have a certain percentage of DLVers who would not
>be caught dead wearing a t-shirt in girlmode, DLV shirt
>or whatever.

It's not ever going to happen, even the low life Rick
doesn't wear T-shirts.

Love ya,

Gina

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(This posting was entered by Gina, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

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

> We have t-shirts, has there been a big run on t-shirts lately.

This past DLV I saw nobody other than myself wearing one.

We do have a certain percentage of DLVers who would not
be caught dead wearing a t-shirt in girlmode, DLV shirt
or whatever.

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

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

>>We do have a certain percentage of DLVers who would not
>>be caught dead wearing a t-shirt in girlmode, DLV shirt

>It's not ever going to happen, even the low life Rick
>doesn't wear T-shirts.

Never say never. :) It took me over 10 years to get Tina
to "dress down" ... you're next! :)

I also have the perfect t-shirt for you to wear in boymode:

http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/feature/shirt3.jpg

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Gina
----------

>I also have the perfect t-shirt for you to wear in boymode:

>http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/feature/shirt3.jpg

Not bad.. but I'd rather just be in girl mode...

Love ya,

Gina

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(This posting was entered by Gina, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Tina
----------

>Never say never. :) It took me over 10 years to get Tina
>to "dress down" ... you're next! :)

Hi All,

<in a haughty voice with a toss of the hair> I have learned to dress
casually and pass more, but I don't wear T-shirts.

<more calmly> On second thought, I do wear the lovely DLV shirts to
sleep in sometimes. They're very comfy.

Thanks,

Tina

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(This posting was entered by Tina, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
----------

Hi Tina!

Good to hear from you!

Hope you can make it back to DLV someday!

- Kumi

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)