[Penguicon-Concom] Re: GoH Handout Ribbons

[Matt Arnold]

On 3/8/07, Rob Landley <rob at landley.net> wrote:
> On Thursday 08 March 2007 10:51 am, Tammy Coxen wrote:
> Sounds good to me.  If the GoH wants their ribbon to say "Exeunt!", then I
> think the ribbon should say Exeunt!  People will work it out.
>
> (And define "I met".  I saw from the back of the room in a standing-room-only
> panel?)

"I met" in this context is defined as "I was personally given a ribbon
by". If you're wearing a ribbon from them, you probably interacted in
some way. That's how it works. I was GoH liaison for PZ Myers at
ConFusion and I know he liked giving out his as a way of meeting
attendees.

Remember, because this convention tends to cross interests, a lot of
our GoHs will be getting exposure to groups who have never heard of
them. It's a good convention at which to gain a readership or what
have you. If someone's wearing a unique and humorous ribbon that has a
GoH's name on it, other attendees will see it and say "so who is [fill
in GoH's name here]?"

Because of course they won't read the bio in the programming book
until after they get home. Hardly anyone does. And a lot of the time
the program book bio tries so hard to be cute, it doesn't convey all
the info it needs to. The badge ribbon is short enough that it may as
well be cute because all it is is a slogan.

I remember the program book for Penguicon 1.0, a convention at which I
had never heard of any of the Guests of Honor -- well, OK, I had read
Good Omens but had never heard of Pratchett or Gaiman and didn't
retain their names from that novel. It was my first convention and
immediately upon arrival I was seized with a mad case of FOMS. This
was the most fun thing ever and I was already missing it! All of it! I
reached out to the program book like a sinking man to a lifeline. The
first thing in it was Rob Malda's bio.

It was completely useless.

After reading it I had no idea why they made this "Malda" guy a guest
of honor. The rest of the book got less confusing by gradual steps the
further it went along. The point of my rambling tale is, that should
be where the info is. Ever since that day I've made it my mission to
help those eager souls who are in the position I was in that day,
hungry for Information like a baby bird holding open its mouth for
huge wriggling disgusting worms. Um, anyway, that metaphor went
completely off the rails.

-Matt