. . . . .
We put forth a lot of effort to be sure that all of the information necessary to effectively participate in DLV is made available, and if anything, there's more information than many attendees will need.
It concerns and saddens us when someone's enjoyment of our event is impared by attendees' lack of information. A "worst case" example this year is the lady who drove several hundred miles and was not able to make contact with the group.
Attendees do need to pay attention to such things as the Large Final Mailing. DLV is a unique event and it's close to impossible to fully participate without having this information.
A comment from the survey:
+ ... But, I found navigating thru old emails to find a link, then
+having to google DLV to locate other details to be confusing!
+What I would like to see is: A DLV page that has every possible thing
+linked FROM THERE!
+It would make it so much more easier to; organize my schedule, find the
+different events, dates, times, requirements, locations, etc., etc.
+Instead of jumping back and forth from your emails to the site as I had
+to do to put it all together. I'm obviously not a techie!
A registered attendee should never have to Google to find info on what's going on at DLV.
Everything that was mentioned here, and more, should appear on the web in the link sent out in the Large Final Mailing, all in one place.
Please take a look at this URL:
http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2013/lfmfinal/lfm.html
A personalized link to this was sent out just prior to DLV to all registered attendees. It has schedules, maps contact information, etc., and quite a bit of effort was put into producing and QA'ing it.
Are we missing something?
If something is missing that's important to know when attending DLV, we need to know about it.
If the person who wrote that comment is viewing this, I have a few questions:
Did the Large Final Mailing arrive as expected? Did the content display as expected?
Were you aware that the Large Final Mailing was being sent out?
Were you aware of what information was in the Large Final Mailing?
Please let us know, as we really need to prevent as many issues like this in the future.
. . . . . . . . . .
This next issue has been brought up multiple times over multiple years and I think it's important for all to understand just what the "rules" are and what the expected course of action is if you have an objection.
+Face masks should be an absolute No No! They are tasteless and silly.
+and draw unwanted attention to a group which does not need that kind of
+scrutiny. If I had been the hostess I would have insisted the person go
+home and put makeup on and act like an adult.
and
+someone needs to say something to the girl in the mask. This is not
+Halloween! We're the Transgender community and we're trying to gain
+acceptance and looking like a carnival side show act is not helping. I
+know no one wants to confront but there was a lot of talk about this
+and it's agreed that someone needs to say something.
Masks clearly fall under the category of costumes, which are not allowed, unless the Coordinator states otherwise, at our "mainstream" activities, meaning those activities which occur in venues open to and shared with the general public.
If it says "this is a mainstream activity" on the final schedule, costumes are not allowed unless the schedule notes on that actvity say otherwise.
At "safe venue" activities (alternative bars and such), there are no general prohibitions on costumes.
"Major Venue" (most larger and some mid-size activities) are somewhat of a grey area, but even these usually clearly fall into the mainstream or safe categories.
Now about "doing something", enforcement, and the like ...
There are no DLV standing rules that REQUIRE anyone (organizer, volunteer, etc.) to take action if an attendee's dress is out of compliance. Our people have made it perfectly clear that such things as a Sergeant At Arms or an Enforcement Committee are not wanted.
Under the current climate and culture of DLV, a motion to reqire that action be mandatory in cases of dress noncompliance would have a zero chance of carrying.
Therefore, it's primarily up to the Coordinator of any particular activity as to what action, if any, is to be taken, and by human nature, most Coordinators probably will not act unless there's a particular reason to do so.
We've been over this before, but for the record, here's what you need to do if another attendee's dress or behavior is impacting your enjoyment of an activity: Find the primary Coordinator of the activity. This is the only singular person, regardless of seniority or named leadership position, who has the authority to act in cases like this.
We do have a standing rule that does say that if a Coordinator declines to take action, the volunteers as a whole, and a quorum is six, can require an individual to change into an appropriate outfit. This has never been done in our history but it is possible.
The bottom line for this issue is twofold.
First of all, those who wish to present in a manner that's not "usual and customary" need to be aware that others may be annoyed by it and they do need consider others when selecting their outfit and mode of presentation.
As to "someone needs to say something ...", that "someone" needs to be one of those who feels that their enjoyment is being impacted, and it needs to occur in real time, when something can be done about it, as opposed to long after the fact on a survey.
. . . . .
+Don't go to studio kites [sic], why would you tour a place that
+didn't have any plus sizes and only had club wear - which is banned
+at every function?
I think we have two misunderstandings here.
First of all, clubwear, in and of itself, is not banned universally at DLV activities. For "safe venue" activities and others where a relaxed dress code is specified, clubwear is quite acceptable. Examples would be something like the Erotic Heritage Museum, an Alternative Bar Crawl, or at a place such as Drink And Drag. "Appropriate for the time, place, and circumstance of the activity" is the general guideline.
I also think that there's a misunderstanding about Studio Lites and for whom their clubwear is intended.
Their outerwear is not intended for the TG crowd. Their business model is unique and they do have a number of target customer groups, one of which is the TG community. Most of their outerwear is targeted at people such as dancers, showgirls, and yes "private entertainers" and such.
Therefore they do tend to concentrate on the single-digit sizes for their outerwear.Lines such as breast forms, wigs, foundations, accessories, etc., are indeed intended for their TG customers, as well as anyone else in need of those items.
