Volunteering Question
I have read the FAQ's about volunteerin bou, if possible, I would like to get more detailed descriptions about these four positions Registration, Door Guard, A/V, and Internet Room. (What would I do, How long a shift is for that assignment etc.) Thanks!
That makes Registration sound so cheerful. "Show up, and we'll work you until you're ready to drop!"
Outside of bag-stuffing on Wednesday, Registration work is divided into four main tasks: Pre-Reg Validine, On-Site Validine, Badge Runner, and Management. Management is handled by Directors and Supervisors, and these are staff positions. So let's cover the work of the other tasks.
A Pre-Reg Validine is seated at a table, and handles incoming pre-registered attendees. They check identification, flip through sign-in sheets, collects the appropriate signature from the attendee, and locate the attendee's badge number. That number is then called out to the Badge Runner, who retrieves the badge and hands it to the Validine. The Validine then gives the attendee his or her badge, and a goodie bag; thanks them for comign to Anthrocon, and awaits the next person.
On-Site Validines are seated at a table, with a computer terminal. They check ID, and review information entered by On-Site attendees on their computer terminals. They collect signature on a more generic sign-in sheet, then collect payment for a membership, and then send the badge info to the badge printer. A Badger Runner brings the Validine the badge. The Validine then gives the attendee his or her badge, and a goodie bag; thanks them for coming to Anthrocon, and awaits the next person.
Badge Runners in Pre-Registration listen for called badge numbers, and retrieve badges from the badge station to the Pre-Reg tables. Usually one runner is assigned to two Pre-Reg tables. Badge Runners in On-Site registration pick up newly-printed badges fromt he Badge Printers, and bring them over to the On-Site validines, calling out the name. It's a more physically active position, involving standing and walking. They also often replenish boxes of goodie bags or other materials.
Registration work is at its busiest on Wednesday evening (Setup and bag-stuffing), Thursday, and Friday morning. As for how long a shift is.. well, as long as you wish to work. Many people volunteers work for 4 or more hours on Wednesday and Thursday; we'll certianyl give you any breaks you might need. The incentive to keep you working is the collected hours: 10 gets you a T-shirt, 15 a free membership to next Year's Anthrocon. Bag-stuffing hours also count for 1.5x hours: That means 4 actual hours doing that gets you 6 hours of volunteer credit.
--Chi
Where does the term Validine come from? I was under the impression it was the brand name of the credit card machines, but they're not needed for pre-reg, and google mostly returned a bunch of references to some musician 
Is it another term for Validator?
It was a term used at one of my places of employment; and it is indeed a synonym for 'validator'. ..neither of these terms having particular prominence or widespread use, mind. It's a fairly new term as things go, but as best as I can determine with our web searches, 'Validine" tends to refer to a person and "Validator" to a program or machine.
We use the term because 'Clerk' and 'Badge Checker' are insufficient, where Validine says it well: They validate our attendees. And I like how 'Validine' sounds over 'Validator'. The latter sounds like an Iron Man villian.
Door guards sit at a door and check to be sure that people have proper badges. We try not to make those shifts last longer than 2 hours.
A/V helps run the audio-visual equipment during the big stage performances. It requires a bit of experience in that field.
Internet room can do anything from helping set up the computers to minding the server to simply sitting there and making sure everything is in order while the staff grabs a few hours' sleep, since the Internet room is open 24 hours.
I don't know if it helps any to know it, but we don't normally expect our volunteers to know what work they should volunteer for--most of them just show up and get pointed to wherever Operations thinks they're most needed--or how to do the tasks without some training from us (A/V work is an exception to this). You need only be willing to follow instructions and work cheerfully with the rest of us. 
Here is the AC 2010 Volunteer Page. It is mildly outdated because AC2010 is over, but AC2011 shouldn't change much.
when i am @ AC 2011 i am just gratuaded for vetrinary surgeon (and i did ofcouse get first aid), is there a medical staff needed, i can do some first aid if needed (broken legs, and other things that requires an ambulance) and since furries arent much different than animals..
if i do the preexamination, to see what problems there are, the ambulance staff can act quicker.
so if there is needed an first aid thing, you could always ask...
I'm also certified by the Red Cross in child/infant CPR amd I am currently working on getting certified in adult CPR and child/adult AED use. Just ot let you know! 
Unfortuately, we cannot have "medical staff" due to how liability law works in the state of Pennsylvania.
If we were to advertise medical services, that creates what is known as an "expectation of care" (as the legal system calls it) and can actually increase our liability in certain situations. :-/
This issue was addressed in another thread here: http://www.anthrocon.org/node/5720/my-two-cents.
To hit on a couple of the more important points:
Medical response at a convention is more than a little problematic than you seem to think in this day of litigation and law suits (frivolous and otherwise). Medical people are very conscious of this, and we work with them to help them protect themselves. The Good Samaritan laws don’t work the way most people think and vary widely from state to state. We have very good reasons to work the way we do
As to medical staff, you should know that there were 2 medical doctors, and 3 EMTs working the parade . They were spread out along the route. One at each end of the bridge, one at the top of the escalator, one at the bottom of the escalator and one on the door to hall C.
If you have any further questions, feel free to email them directly to me at
security-2010@anthrocon.org
Remember also that we (neither Anthrocon nor the DI) provide medical service. Yes, there are people on both staffs who are qualified to do it. But it is not and will not be part of their assignments; this introduces all kinds of scary legal liability. What the Dorsai do is try to keep those people free of other duties during the times that emergencies might occur. This maximizes their ability to respond as non-staff individuals. Since they are not acting as staff at that point, liability issues both for those individuals and for AC/the Dorsai are greatly eased.
As you can see there are several people who have medical training and help out but they do not perform any of these duties in an official manner for Anthrocon.
Precisely.
It's something of an end-run around the liability laws. But hey, if it gets our furs the emergency care they need while protecting those who give such treatment from lawsuit...
oh ok,
actualy strange laws on health...
we dont help you becouse you can sue us
here you get sued if you dont do anything,
i think its strange that if you save someones life, you can get sued.
you should be decorated for saving ones life.....
but well, some people aren't really grateful.
is there more cultural differences compared to European laws i should take notice of?
I know it's strange. We do have a "Good Samaritan" law, but as was stated earlier, that law varies from state to state.
The worry is that someone will try to do something out of their level of expertise and cause MORE harm to the person by making a mistake.
If a CPR-Certified Good Samaritan was sued after someone died while they were giving CPR, I'm positive that the Good Samaritan would win the civil suit. Thats assuming that they performed the CPR correctly and appropriately.
Here is the reason:
If we have a "First Aid Department" or anything similar, it creates what is called the expectation of care. In other words, if you say you provide First Aid, then you'd better provide it, and you'd better provide it correctly. If we have a First Aid crew who happens to be in the Zoo and a call comes in for help in the Dealer's Room, and our crew is not able to get there in time to prevent further injury or worse, then we are held responsible.
So no. We are volunteers. We already put in a lot of effort for our attendees; asking us to accept such a crushing legal liability is simply asking too much.
I was a brand new voulunteer last year, so I can only realy answer registration and bag stuffing. It's pretty much show up and work till you are tired or hungry, they will find someone to relive you when you ask.