i think a lot of people didn't necessarily notice that.

this, on the other hand, has right in the subject line that the site is back up.

in comparison, the sticky thread looks more like it's a thread about the website not being up, based on the subject.

True, but their webmaster just got home, like, this morning or some such

People who don;t go to the cons don;t always realize how long it takes to recover from the cons And if they go to cons and recover quickly, well... They're obviously doing the con WRONG.

Bull

You should run a seminar at next GenCon on how to do the Con right. Can I put you down for Thursday at noon?

*Bull steps up to the mic*

OK, here's what you do.

Step 1: Don't register for events. That's for pansies with no friends. Youre at a con with dozens, if not hundreds of friends and potential friends. If you have some, hang out with them. If you don't, go make some.

Step 2: Drink heavily. Some proscribe vodka and Mt Dew as the perfect gamer cocktail. I myself prefer a 32 oz bottle of Gatorade, Orange or Lime (Not lemon-lime) with about 4 to 6 ounces of Everclear mixed in. Keeps you hydrated, avoids the hangovers, but still gets you right and properly buzzed. Non Trogs should probably go with a slightly lower dosage.

Note, this is for early consumption, and is designed to keep you pleasantly buzzed and drunk throughout the day. Evening and late night partying requires an entirely different drinking methodology.

Step 3: Schmooze heavily. The dealer hall is big. Really big. And after this year, really, really, really fraggin big. Like, so damn big you can barely see the far fucking side of it big. So all that time you freed up by not scheduling games can nw be spent wandering the dealer hall. Looks through the booths with used and discount books, as you'll find some amazing deals if you look hard enough. Find the games you like and talk to the designers and artists who worked on it (This is easier at origins, where it's far less busy and crowded). Stop by the Catalyst booth and watch Klaus Scherwinski draw you amazing sketches in the fronts of your books in mere minutes.

Step 4: Keep drinking. Pause to eat lunch and/or dinner. Then drink some more. If you keep up a steady intake throughout the day, you'll never lose your buzz, and if you're careful not to overdo it, you'll not hit that "Fucked up" point, but remain pleasently under it.

Step 5: Don;t dress up in douchebag costumes. You look like a tool. Unless you spent a lot of money on a costume that covers you fully (i.e., good stormtrooper armor), in which case you're still a tool, but you look decent. Or, if you're a hot chick and find a costume that actually fits, then you just look like you're pandering to the pathetic fanboys who've never touched a woman before. These are the same fanboys who spent the weekend pawing over the mostly nekkid Nightelf Statue at the Upper Deck booth, and the skimpily clad Conan booth babes.

Step 6: Do NOT be afriad to go up and say hi to your favorite artist, game developer, or author. Steve Kenson, Mike Stackpole, Tracy Hickman, Kevin Siembiada, Peter Adkinson, Margaret Weiss, Loren Coleman, Rob Boyle, Mike Mulvihill or any of dozens of other creators who are at the show actually LIKE to hear from fans and will be happy to shake your hand if they have a free moment, and possibly get their picture taken by you.

However, do NOT waste their time telling them about your character, your campaign, your house rules, how uch you hate their game/writing/art, how much you hate their competitors games/writing/art, or any number of other things that will mark you as an annoying dick. These are gamers, half of them are still slightly amazed that they've transitioned beyond "fanboy" and into "pro", and they love attention. But they don;t love creepy stalkers.

Step 7: No matter how drunk you get, do not ogle the scantily clad fangirls. Yes, yes, they're putting it all out there for the world to see, and yes, they're probably attention starved, but still... Don;t encourage it. Much. Unless they're really hot, in which case, you're being creepy stalker guy and should stop.

Step 8 Review how much you've had to drink, and if you can remember how much you've had so far, drink more.

Step 9: If a company only has a limited number of item X to sell/give away, feel free to rush in to be the first in line to get item X. However, two caveats. Number one, if theres a long line forming hours before the show opens or item X is being given away/sold, it's probably not worth it. Especially if Item X will be in stores within a couple months. Your time is valuable, and you could be doing something fun rather than standing in line for hours on end. Like hitting yourself in the balls with a hammer.

Caveat 2: If said item is going to be very valuable, and you plan to put it on ebay, by all the gods above, don't let me find out. You and your greed is preventing fellow gamers, gamers who could and probably will enjoy said item, from getting ahold of it. I hate that shit. If there's no line and tons available, feel free to snag a couple for eBay, but if you're putting your fellows out, you deserve to be harmed. I will strip you nekked and repeatedly throw you into a swimming pool filled with D4s. And that's just the warm up.

Step 10: More booze. really, by this point, this should be self explanitory.

Step 11: Feel free to go to the local bars, but do not plan to drink there. Be smart. Bars make about 500% profit on alcohol, if not more. That $3 or $4 shot costs them like 10 cents. They buy cases of beer cheaper than we can buy cases of Mt Dew. Have a couple drinks with your friends, enjoy the atmosphere, then go back to your room and relax with a dozen or so close friends and the bottles of booze you bought at a liquor store. $100 in Liqour Stor booze will get you and your friends far, far further than the $500+ you'll wrack up in bar tabs over the weekend. As a note, Indy has the best name for a Liquor Store ever: 21st Amendment Liquor.

Step 12: You'll be walking. A LOT. Make sure you have comforatable shoes. A bottle of Alleve won;t hurt none either.

Step 13: This should be much, much higher on the list, but... You're hotel has a shower. Use it daily. Possibly twice daily. Likewise, do not bring just enough clothes for the con. Bring extras, at least 50% extra. Shit happens, you'll spill stuff, and no matter how skinny you are, the con gets hot and you're walking a lot, so you'll sweat.

Not only will regular bathing and regular changes of clothing make you feel better, it'll make it easier to make friends (and keep the ones you have), and hey, just maybe you'll have a shot with that hot Night Elf chick at the Upper Deck booth.

Step 14: Buy your books and stuff at the con, as your budget allows. Yes, you can get them at your local hobby shop. And yes, sometimes, you even get a discount there. And I'm a firm believer in supporting your local game shop. Don;t even mention Amazon, ok? Anyways, the companies make a much, much greater profit per book at a con, since they're selling direct. They're actually getting $35 for that copy of Augmentation, rather than the maybe $10 that they'd be getting from Diamond. And I'm pretty sure i'm estimating kinda high there. So not only are you helping that company out a lot more than you normally would, but you're also helping pay for their booth, to ensure they can afford to come back next year.

Step 15: Seminars can be totally worth it, if you pick the right ones. 99% of the time they're free, and sometimes you can interact with some pretty cool poeple in the industry. But don;t try and go to more than one or two a day, otherwise, you're just wasting your con again.

Step 16: Don;t be afraid to be a nerd. You're among friends. Geeking out is going to happen, and no one will look at you funny. Well, mostly. Just don;t geek or nerd out TOO much, because then we'll have to sedate you. Booze helps with this.

Step 17: What the fuck are you doing listening to me talk? Jeezus, like I actually have a clue. Go, enjoy your con. See shit, buy shit, drink shit. Maybe you'll get really lucky and get laid. Or really unlucky, depending on which LARP chick you pick up. *shudder* In fact, unless the LARP involves airsoft guns, you may want to avoid them altogether.

Step 18: Ok, I need more booze. Eidolon? Ampere? Caine_Hazen? We need to head back to the room for refills....

For a gaming company to make a trip to a con, it's really rather expensive. As in, way, way more expensive than they can justify unless they're going to sell a lot of product to help offset the travel, shipping, and convention hall associated expenses.

That means that, realistically, a con has to have 20,000 attendees before it gets into the realm of "affordable."

At the moment, there are basically 3, maybe 4 cons that draw enough gamers to justify the expenses.

Those are:
GenCon Indy (Indianapolis)
Origins (maybe -- it's on the bubble) (Columbus)
DragonCon (Atlanta)
Pax (maybe -- it's mostly computer gaming)(Seattle)

Even the San Diego Comic Con -- which is big enough to make GenCon seem small -- isn't big enough for most gaming cons. (Because, only a percentage of the attendees are also gamers.)

So, unless somebody starts up a very large convention in the Northeastern US, it's unlikely that you'll see CGL attending a con near NJ.

Bull, you're slipping. That's only 5 out of 18 steps.

OTOH, if you hit too many cons, you may need to add another 12 steps.

Well, if we're pondering hitting Mid Ohio con...

This is a great idea! EVERYONE should do this, and it will be even riskier for game companies to attend conventions!

Game companies may make more money per unit selling directly at a convention than they would selling through the distribution tier, but almost all of that money -- from every company I've ever talked to or worked for -- is taken up with necessary convention expenses.

So is only getting 125 of the 1000 special edition books you planned to sell at the con to the con because the printer lived down to their reputation. . . .

The Admin control panels can access that.

Yes, but you have to establish a rapport with the dealer: Take a few of his/her business cards & promise to spread them to like-minded people you know. Compare the prices with other dealers & see whom offers the best deal. More often, they'll drop the price a few dollars to keep you coming back.

Above all else, treat the dealer(s) with respect. Even if you don't necessarilly buy anything this year, over the net (if they have a web-page/store) might help.

Each con is different, depening on:

Available space (most organizations rent a local college auditorium) for dealers, media guests signings, movies, panels ect. (SUNY Stony Brook hosts ICON every year; they expanded to multiple buildings after #10 to accomodate all the fans)

Media Guests booked (some cancel just before the 'con)

Attendance Price (sign up for their newsletter & e-mail alerts--get your full-weekend pass at the first reduced price opportunity...even if you don't go the whole weekend, it pays for itself)

Dealers (depending upon the convention's rules, you may see sword-dealers with some impressive hardware)

Accessability (some cons book places with local train & bus access, or offer discounted taxi packages to & from train stations nearby).

Yeah, I'm awful proud that we've busted enough ass both years since to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.