[penguicon-general] Big first names on nametags

[roxanne at narbat.com]

What they do at Capricon is to put a label on the back of the badge that
has the legal name of the individual on it. If the person is a program
participant, it has their schedule in about 8 pt type. They put a "Badge
Name" in Large, Friendly Letters on the front. 

The key thing they have that Penguicon may not is a dedicated label
printer. As you get registered, the two labels (one for the front, one
for the back) get printed. They do tend to have about five people
working registration during peak times. They also have serious cost
penalties for registering at the door. That's one thing I have had
trouble getting used to in Detroit; here, only about half of the con
pre-registers (and many of them are concom and guests). In Chicago, it
can be up to 90% of attendees that pre-register. The pricing structure
is different there, as well. The pre-reg rate for Duckon 2008, for
instance, is $40; the at-the-door will be $75. They can afford some
fancier equipment as a result. 

Badge names are as old as fandom. They're not going to go away any time
soon. 

Roxanne Meida King
roxanne at narbat dot com


> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [penguicon-general] Big first names on nametags
> From: Shay <bardicwench at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, June 27, 2007 4:27 pm
> To: penguicon-general at penguicon.org
> 
> We have to remember though to have the ability to CHOOSE what name we
> put on
> the badges... if we go by legal first names, people will be really
> confused
> by "Elizabeth" on my name badge... and I'll be really really upset
> (since I
> hate hate hate the name Elizabeth).
> 
> However, if we allow people to choose what they put on the namebadges,
> some
> people will still end up confused because a nickname or LJ name or
> just-silly-name is on a badge...
> 
> So what do we do?  Make people put a legal name (which I will promptly
> white-out and write over with SHAY) or let them choose their own name,
> which
> might defeat the purpose of having the name in big letters...
> 
> ~Shay
> 
> 
> On 6/27/07, roxanne at narbat.com <roxanne at narbat.com> wrote:
> >
> > > -------- Original Message --------
> > > Subject: Re: [penguicon-general] Big first names on nametags
> > > From: Wolfger <wolfger at gmail.com>
> > > Date: Wed, June 27, 2007 5:42 am
> > > To: penguicon-general at penguicon.org
> > >
> > > 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?
> >
> > Namebadges have two main purposes. At large cons, such as the huge
> Anime
> > fests and DragonCon, they serve as your ticket. If you have one, you
> get
> > access to the venue. That's true at Penguicon as well. Your name is on
> > the badge so as to identify you as the person who bought the ticket.
> > There are periodic discussions of replacing the namebadge with a
> modern,
> > washable wristband, but at Penguicon, we'd still want the namebadge.
> >
> > At the small cons, there's an effort to promote a sense of
> community. We
> > want people to recognize and talk to each other. At events where any
> > person is likely to meet twenty or fifty new people, it's helpful to
> all
> > to have the name in large, friendly letters on the namebadge. (I
> > remember long ago not recognizing a Famous Author in an elevator,
> > because he wasn't wearing a namebadge. How was I supposed to know what
> > he looked like?) These days, it's more how to recognize people from
> > LiveJournal or other blogs, where there is no real identifying
> > information other than the blog itself.
> >
> > That's what namebadges are for: Part security, part social interaction.
> > That second purpose means that Your Name in Large Friendly Letters is
> > good.
> >
> > Roxanne Meida King
> > roxanne at narbat dot com
> >
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