[penguicon-general] Big first names on nametags

[Wolfger]

On 6/27/07, Seth <sethb at panix.com> wrote:

> I have better ways to spend Penguicon than asking 200 strangers who
> they are.  That's what namebadges are for.

Well, now, I guess that really is the heart of the question:
What are name badges for? Or, more to the point, *who* are they for?
Are they for the wearer of the badge, or are they for everybody else?
Seems to me that the badges are nominally a security device, showing
con staff that you have paid and have a right to be there. Of course,
people can (and probably do) share badges, and having a pre-printed
name on the badge is only marginally going to deter that.
Seth appears to be of the opinion that name badges are there to make
other people's lives easier. I was under the assumption that they are
there for the wearer to identify themselves (or not). So... are they a
tool of the state, or of the people? :-)  National ID badge, or freak
flag?

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Wolfger
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