Convention Etiquette: Discussion and Advice on Do's and Don'ts

[Frostfox]

Us Scots know how to have a good time.

Well, you had help from the rest of the Brits, the European and Antipodean fans too! The owner of the brewery came back from the GBBF a day early to meet these mad folks who were drinking his brewery dry.
The conference center didn't have the proper facilities, so the hotel we were in the conference suit of, built scaffolding keg stands and bought ice sheets (rather like giant versions of the things you can wrap white wine in to chill it quickly). They trained up the staff, kept the ice sheets coming, generally were very good about the whole affair. The staff got really into it, when we had pirate night, they all came to work.with bandannas and eye patches.

Of course, the best party hotel was the Central in Glasgow during the 1980's - came back from dinner one night at an Albacon, to find that the night manager had bought deelie boppers for himself and all the staff. And when we got back from breakfast, all the sleeping bags of the 'guests' in our twin room had been rolled up by housekeeping. And all the swords and axes hung from the wall lights, it looked like a baronial hall.

FF

[BruTak]

Well, you'll no doubt be sad to know that the Central Hotel is now no more. It closed down about a year or so ago.

Which is a great shame, cos those massive bay windows that looked out onto the station concourse were great for people watching on a Saturday night.

[Frostfox]

Well, you'll no doubt be sad to know that the Central Hotel is now no more. It closed down about a year or so ago.

Which is a great shame, cos those massive bay windows that looked out onto the station concourse were great for people watching on a Saturday night.

Yeah, I heard.
The Central, Glasgow, The Adelphi, Liverpool, The Dragonara, Leeds and The Midland, Manchester.
Some of the best times of my fannish life were had there. I liked getting off the train in Glasgow and staggering into the hotel, and yep, that beautiful bar (with all that beautiful whisky...)
Though you make new memories, playing hoopla with our four Hugo's and my silver bangles at the 2005 Worldcon (6 bottles of champagne and up until 7am?). Lighting 40 sky lanterns at Plokta.con last year and watching them drift off into a perfect, still sky.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nullspa...7619563046903/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/c_dave/3561777002/
FF

[dtheories]

I'm sure the answer's on the forum somewhere already, so apologies.
What is the protocol for preparing material to be autographed? Should we arrive with a post it attached with the name spelled out? Do the handlers remove any notes that go beyond a name?
Thanks!
d

[discodiva]

It varies from Con to Con....some handlers will ask you whether you want it personalised when you reach the table, some will hand out sticky notes whilst in the queue for you to write a name on (they did this at last year's Creation Vancon I think)...some guests will NOT personalise at all (or may not have time to if the queue is long and they're really popular) and many will only have time to write their name and nothing else....

I'd go with the hope that you might get stuff personalised but not get your hopes up for everyone to do so, nor them write more than just "To..........," and then the signature....


Edited to add that I write my name down on a sticky just in case...but that's usually to use as a "bookmark" on pages of a book I'm adding siggies to....


Deeds xx

[BruTak]

What Deeds said, yeah.

If you've got an unusual name, or even a perfectly ordinary name but with unusual spelling (yer Monty Python-esque "Four M's and silent Q" for example), it's a good idea to have your own post-it.

[Skydiver]

i'd bring my own post-it, simply because then you won't have to depend on someone at the con to have one for you.

also, have a plain sheet of paper...my experience has been, metallic sharpies on photo paper...yes, they do dry, eventually. but if you're gonna be slipping it back into a plastic sleeve, it's good to have a plain sheet of paper to be a 'blotter' for hte photo and metallic ink

the metallic ink can sometimes stick to the plastic, causing some of your auto to 'stick' to the plastic. A piece of paper (simple copy/notebook paper) can help this

[BruTak]

Metallic ink pens are all very nice, until they start to leak...

I had a bad experience with a silver pen at a comic convention once.

[dtheories]

This being my first convention, I want to clarify...do I bring my own pen as well? Is metallic preferred? The tip about the plain sheet to absorb excess ink is excellent. Thank you! Had my images printed yesterday and they are great, so want to do what I can to ensure the autographs only improve the final piece!
Thanks again!

[BruTak]

It's entirely up to you whether you bring your own pen or not.

[Skydiver]

and they may/may not use it.

they SHOULD have a good half dozen or so for the actor to choose from to write with

[discodiva]

Peter Williams is using a Gold Sharpie!....and very nice it is too.....


Deeds xx *having fun in Vangroovy*

[SG7]

It never hurts to bring pens/sharpies. Pens are ok if it is on a non shiny surface like a book page or something. Sharpie like ones are better for photo op photos and those promotional photos that the guests bring. My experience has been that they do have their own pens/sharpies, however if you did want a special one used then worst they can say is "no" when you ask. At GateCon '08 Dan Shea signed one of his photos that he had with him, however it was done in black sharpie on a dark surface so I can hardly see his signature, so in that case I would have preferred a gold or silver sharpie instead.....

As for personalization, it depends on a lot of different factors. The Con, the mood of the Con organizers, length of Queu for the guest(s), the guests' preferences etc. As others have said, it varies from Con to Con and Guest to Guest as to the whole personalization thing. Best to have a post-it note on the item with what you want autographed on the item and then it does help speed up the line if they see in front of them what you want and not have to ask. Also makes it easier when writing out your name. Especially if it is in a room with lots of people and lots of noise. It can make it hard for the guests to hear what you are saying to them, so having your personalization written down and ready is better for the guests. As there is nothing worse than trying to communicate the spelling of your name only to leave the line dissappointed when you notice that they signed your most "prized" item and got or spelled your name wrong. Though if you are hearing that they are not personalizing, be curtious and let the guest know that you only had a personalization ready if they were personalizing. And not make a big deal about the not personalizing (in the queu or in front of the guest) if they are not. And save the griping till after so that it doesn't slow down the line or cause issues.

At GateCon '08 some of the guests like Corin Nemec, Gary Jones and Cliff Simon would often be in the GateCon Dealer's room signing autographs during times when they were not required to be somewhere else like for panels and photo ops. So if the particular Con is allowing guests to do that, then I have found that those are the best times to get the autographs as I was able to talk to both Corin and Gary with out any time restriction as there was no lines when I was visiting them. However being a shy person I didn't take very much time chatting. And at these times, and times when they have no crowd or queu/line is more likely when they would be willing to personalize. At the official signing on the Sunday however, there was not nearly as much time to chat with the guests (while getting stuff signed) until towards the very end when the crowds started to dwindle.

[prion]

Regarding pens... sometimes it doesn't hurt to bring a pen. Pens can run out and suddenly, well, gee, no more gold. Nothing worse really than black ink on a dark background> You can't read it. It's not the actor's fault but the conventions *should* be prepared and have multiple pens, but in cons I've gone to, it doesn't always occur.

Also, if you have a photo signed with a metallic pen, it takes a little while to dry. Sigs can smear easily. Easiest way is to bring a box (the kind that labels come in) and that way it can dry in the box as you go to the next person.

I'm sure the answer's on the forum somewhere already, so apologies.
What is the protocol for preparing material to be autographed? Should we arrive with a post it attached with the name spelled out? Do the handlers remove any notes that go beyond a name?
Thanks!
d

Having a post-it with your name neatly printed is something I always do. Saves a ton of time and possible mistakes

However, recall all the controversy that not only ran rampant on gateworld and twitter, but also spilled over onto Joe Mallozzi's blog. There have been people who have caused real trouble as a result of their dislike of SGU. I am merely suggesting that conventions with SGU cast may not be as smooth running as are all the others. It's wise to be proactive rather than reactive.

One thing that does bug me about fandom is how people assume the worst about fandom. Yes, people dislike hate SG1/SGA/SGU. It happens. Nothing you can do about it. It's up to the convention to police the fans and keep behavior in tow, not for other fans to take it upon themselves to point at another fan and go "rabblerouser". What many people squawk about on forums like this, will never occur at cons. Most people are mature enough to know if they cause problems they'll be kicked out of the con and with a Creation, you lose a TON of money if you buy Gold. 'Vigilante' behavior by fans just makes that fan look like a jealous sour grape.

Some cons, though, do need minders. I heard Supernatural cons are populated mostly by screaming younng female teeagers and things can easily get out of hand.

[BruTak]

Having a normal pen, and a notepad, is always helpful. Just in case you have to make a note of something.

I know that in these days of cell phones, and PDAs, and BlackBerrys and what have you you can usully take notes and so on.

But these things run on batteries. And there's nothing worse than having the battery go phut right in the middle of something important.