The following form layout is intended to serve two functions. It is intended to remind you of the information that will be helpful to those who will be browsing my convention list page and to enable you to organise your con info in a way that can be put in an email in the form that I use.
I like to think that I present convention information
in the most logical order for a diary type display. This is why
the date must come first. Next comes the event planned for the
date or dates. The event will have a name and a very brief description.
The place where it will be held is next in importance. The precise
location must be stated in plain language without
abbreviations.
SF, Fantasy and Media cons like to advertise that prominent personalities
will be at the event as guests of honour. For many fans, the chance
to meet famous guests is a very good reason for attending the
event. Please do not include information about the guests like
actors' roles etc.
After the guest list there is the possibility of listing other
attractions that the event can offer.
The next item has to be the cost of attendance at the event.
In most instances the fans will need somewhere to stay if the
event lasts for longer than one day. This may be the hotel where
the event will take place (please say so if it is) or one that
is nearby and not too expensive. If accommodation is arranged
for fans at preferential rates, these should be quoted.
The last items tell the fans how to contact the organisers and
how to find out more information. These will usually be an email
address and a web page. If you can think of a better sequence
of items, please tell me.
NEW NOTE (24/07/2003)
Anyone can make mistakes so please try to arrange
that someone else proof reads the info that you intend
to send to me before you send it to me. It is very hard to proof
read your own writing. For example, you won't want to advertise
accommodation at GBP 30.00 per room when it is GBP 30.00 per person.
Please do not include any symbol characters. If you wish to add
asterisks or other symbols, please create a graphic logo that
includes them and send me the logo with your con info. Do not
include them in the text.
The Form Layout
Date: dd/mm/yyyy - dd/mm/yyyy
NAME OF EVENT Type of event (Caps for the name of the event
and upper and lower case for the short description.)
[Please
do not write the words NAME OF EVENT or Date in your submission
to me. Just write the date and name of your event in CAPS.]
Location: The Convention
Hotel, 42, Convention Street, Conventionville, Conventionland.
(No abbreviations please.)
Guests of Honour: Hugo Gernsback, Herbert George Wells,
Jules Verne and Jonathan Swift. (No actors' roles or author's
works here.)
Membership: USD 100.00 until dd/mm/yyyy, then USD
120.00 until dd/mm/yyyy. USD 150.00 at the door. Include supporting
and junior rates if they apply.
If the last date for the cheapest membership rate has already
passed by, use the date for the next cheapest rate if there is
one. Very few fans have time machines these days.
(Please use USD 100.00 or GBP 100.00 or Euro 100.00 etc. not $
or other currency symbols. For example: GBP 120.00 because most
currency symbols do not show correctly in many non-English language
fonts.) Please don't use 100.00 USD or 100 GBP. The substitutes
for currency symbols should precede the figures as the usual currency
symbols do.
Accommodation: Say where if not con hotel or say same as
con hotel. Quote room prices for single double, triple and suites
if available. Also say if con is organising accommodation and
if any discounts are applicable.
Note: This can include any useful info likely to help or
attract fans. (A short optional item)
Contact: This will usually be a name and a snail mail address.
Do not use non-standard abbreviations. (optional item)
Telephone: (mine is +44 (0) 1462 620 737) Please include
the international dialling code for your country if you include
a phone number. (optional item)
Fax: As for telephone. (optional item)
Email: (written as spoken in the UK to reduce spamming.
Mine is wilf dot james at ntlworld dot com) (recommended
item)
Webpage: (This one is: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wilf.james/con_form.htm)
Don't leave out the http:// bit
Please do not include headings for
which you provide no information.
Notes for USA fans.
PLEASE do not abbreviate the state
name where the con is located. Is Ma Massachusetts, Maryland or
Minnesota or your mother? Is Mi Michigan or Minnesota or half
of Mimi? Few non-USA fans know what the two letter abbreviations
mean. Only use the usual abbreviations
in the snail mail contact address.
Please be sure that you use the dd/mm/yyyy
date format that is normally used in Europe and most of the British
Commonwealth.
Double check that 05/04/2005 means the 5th April and not 4th May.
I started the con list using this format and it is too late to
change now.
A Special Request
I get so much spam now (more than 100 a day) that I
have to be careful that I do not delete wanted emails inadvertently.
To help to alleviate this problem, when you send me your convention
details in an email, please make sure that the word Convention
is in the subject line. You can add your convention name to this
as in "Fannish Convention - Concourse" or "Fannish
Convention - Swecon". I have set filters to ensure that such
emails are directed to a Conventions folder automatically
and do not end up in the SPAM or TRASH folders where they might
be lost.
dd/mm/yyyy - dd/mm/yyyy
NAME OF EVENT Type of
event (Please do not include the words NAME OF EVENT etc. - I
know what convention names are like.)
Location:
Guests of Honour:
Membership:
Accommodation:
Note:
Contact:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Webpage:
Note
that I normally use Verdana font
in BOLD for the Headings and normal for the rest
of the text.
However, don't
bother to try to make headings bold in the email you send to me.
Bold and other attributes
are lost when copied from an email to the web page image on my
hard disk.
Please don't use stars
(asterisks) or other symbols in the text. Brackets and parentheses
are acceptable.
A lot of fans who
view my convention list do not use English as their native languages.
In consequence, the font sets on their computers will not show
the same symbols as will be shown on a computer using an English
font set.
NEVER PUT ANYTHING EXCEPT THE CON NAME IN
CAPS.
If you put other info in CAPS
I have to retype it.
Please avoid double spacing too.
If you copy the way I put con info in
my convention list in your email, it is then a straight copy job
for me that saves me time and avoids possible mistakes.
Changed dates or locations are usually shown in red.
Logos
I will supply an image of your national flag and one of the following
logos unless you wish otherwise. The British flag is only shown
for Eastercons and for Northern Irish conventions where it is
shown jointly with the Irish flag. If you have a logo that you
would like me to use, that you do not mind me using later for
other similar events, please send it to me as a JPG or GIF preferably
at 300 pixels high and 450 pixels wide if you can. I can make
an exception for the odd tall logo like the Tardis. On the con
page it will usually appear as 40 pixels by 60 pixels. The larger
version will appear on my logos page. Here they are mostly shown
at 60 pixels by 90 pixels for clarity.
