Oh, Those Nifty Ribbons - and What They Mean

   Recently a new fan posted about having just registered as a Supersponsor, on a father's advice ("sponsors are well-liked by staff members"); and asked what sort of benefits come with that membership level.  Uncle Kage, our chairman, listed all of the neat benefits which accrue, topping it off with mention of a "nifty ribbon" to let the world know "just how cool you are".

   A chorus of respected fans offered their own sense of appreciation - until one staffer warned to be careful, and not get too close to Staff, lest they pin a "Volunteer" ribbon on you - as though it were some sort of trap.

   It was meant entirely in jest; the staffer had himself volunteered, and done well enough and often enough to be promoted to a Staff position in the first place, and others chimed in with stories of how they were "roped in" - stories posted proudly, with rueful chuckles, as fond memories.

   When one goes to a convention, whether a Fan convention or Business convention or one where actual delegates convene to decide guidance for their organisation, one receives a badge as part of a "credential", which gives access to convention space and events.  Additional credentials, often in the form of ribbons, are attached to signify being a part of a sub-group or committee, or a special duty, such as "Security" or "Information" or "Staff"; other ribbons allow special access, such as ribbons for "Press" or "Art Show" or "Dealers Room".  And of course, there are ribbons for the people who are responsible for running the convention itself, with titles like "Art Show Lead", "Board Member", "President", or "Chairman".  These ribbons are usually quite conspicuous, so that the wearer can be easily picked out of a crowd, if needed for solving any problems which crop up.

   In Fannish Conventions, the attendees tend to be "Free-Thinkers" (and perhaps more than our fair share of "Smart Asses"), and it was inevitable that someone or other would notice all these ribbons denoting specific people as "somebodies", and - because he or she wasn't entitled to one of these official ribbons - come up with one declaring (proudly) that the wearer was a 'Nobody".  Soon followed ribbons for "Assistant Nobody" and "Vice Nobody" and 'Nobody-In-Chief", and the floodgates were opened.  People wanted these ribbons, and soon everyone who could think of some obscure (or wholly imaginary) group to be part of, printed out fancy ribbons, and would pass them out to friends.

   Some ribbons bear club or professional mottos and rules-of-thumb; some are witty, some are Fannish acronyms and titles:

"Death Will Not Release You." (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society).  "De Profundis Ad Absurdum".  "SMOFFERATTI".  "Technocrat".  "Minion".  "Lab Rat".  "Lackey".  "Henchman".

"FIAWOL" (Fandom Is A Way Of Life).  "FIASOI" (Fandom Is A Source Of Income).  "FIJAH" (Fandom Is Just A Hobby).

   I have ribbons from the "9th Annual Herbangelist Cheese and Wine-tasting" (from the "Church of Herbie", which worships the comic-book character, Herbie Popnecker), and from "LOSCON 34 - I DIG IT!" (the 2007 Los Angeles SciFi convention, where the theme was Archeological Digs, and the chairman was LASFS member Susan Gleason, PhD (She-Who-Flintknaps-Clovis Points), and several panels were hosted by world-famous real-life archeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists, most of them wearing slightly-roughed-up Fedoras, a'la Indiana Jones).

   This Thanksgiving, I attended LosCon 38 ("Dude - Where's My Flying Car?"), and was there to greet Fred Patten and accompany him to the registration desk to pick up his badge.  One of the things which LosCon does each year is to host a Blood Drive, and all those who give their blood receive a helium-filled balloon-animal formed as a Fish, and a ribbon which says "Blood Donor".  As Fred is on blood thinners and I am taking hypertensive medications, we each received ribbons which were labelled "TURNIP" (as in, "You can't get blood from a...").

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   Furry Fans, for the most part, haven't really embraced this particular fannish tradition, as the Sci-Fi fans have; sometimes an Artist/Dealer will hand out ribbons ("Patron of RiverCoon Arts", for example), but mostly what you will see are Official Ribbons, denoting a atatus or access or job of some sort.

   Guest Of Honor (GOH) is the ribbon handed out to the one or two GOHs who are invited, at AnthroCon's expense, to come and be recognised by the fans, along with their spouses/partners.  These people are treated and feted like Royalty by AnthroCon - just as any convention should properly treat these guests.  Some conventions hand out Past Guest of Honor ribbons as well, to thank them for returning and sharing another convention (and perhaps sit in on a panel or two).

   Dealer ribbons are picked up with the Dealers' Badges at a special desk; they allow access to both the Dealers' Den and the Artshow space when it closed to everyone else, to facilitate setting up their wares at their tables and the artwork on their display panels.

   Sponsor and Super Sponsor ribbons mark those individuals who have paid extra money to assist the convention in paying its expenses and which helps provide some of the services for the Artists and Dealers who come to the convention for reasons of Commerce, and making the convention more of a pleasant experience in general.  These ribbons do not denote any sort of Fannish "Rank", though there are a few privileges which come with them.  The fact is that anyone can get one, for the right price - but it is reasonable to assume that when you see someone wearing such a ribbon, the wearer is just that more devoted to the cause of Anthropomorphic Fandom, for whatever reason.

...Which brings us to the Volunteer ribbon.  Actually, all of the remaining ribbons are "Volunteer" ribbons. because everyone involved in making AnthroCon - or any Furry Convention, or all Fannish Conventions, for that matter - is a volunteer. 

   That's Right - NO ONE, from the guy wearing the lab coat and the Chairman ribbon, on through the Board of Directors, though the various department Leads, down to the Staff positions, both dedicated (who wear Access Ribbons as well, denoting what department or area they are allowed to get into when the rooms are closed to the general membership) and "unattached" (who do staff-related stuff in any department as the demand occurs), and including the Security folks who wear red shirts and possibly black berets (ESPECIALLY the black berets), gets a penny for the hours of service which they devote to the convention.

   Did I write "Hours"?  Strike that, make it "Days" instead.  To run a convention such as AnthroCon - ESPECIALLY one such as AnthroCon, where most of the staff live in a city far from the actual convention venue - requires many days, as in 8-hours-per, for the equivalent of (on average), a whole month, near on 200 hours, not counting the actual days the convention is actually held.  This is distributed throughout the year, but most of those hours are in the final weeks before the convention proper.  People make trips to Pittsburgh to deal with the City of Pittsburgh municipal government, the DLCC, and the hotels; they devote time for correspondence, space for storage or collection, management of accounts and memberships, payment of bills, of fees, of premiums...and when the Convention properly starts, they are so busy that they rarely get to enjoy the convention itself, like a hostess attending to the needs of party guests.  Their memories of what should be a fun time are often a blur, and the highlights may be disasters averted, rather than successes achieved.

   And at the very bottom of this heirarchy are those truly gallant folks who make the effort to step up and wear the Volunteer ribbon.  Now, not everyone is suited to be a Volunteer - they have to "Play well with others" - but they are the arms and sinews of the organisation, directed by more senior staff; of all the people who help run the convention, they have perhaps the most flexibility to arrange just when they are available to help out with unglamorous and even tedious tasks, so that they can actually enjoy those parts of the con that interest them; but many come back, year after year, and dedicated themselves to a specific task or department, and made steadfast friends in the process.  The people who assist in Registration, for example, make a virtue out of enduring long lines of people, and have fun doing it; and the folks who help with the Art Show, hanging the panels, checking artists in and out, helping with Art Show Closeout by helping people collect and pay for their art, and who handle bag-check, are practically a "family" who celebrate this task every year.    

  Voluneers are rated by the hours that they work, and by those tasks - particularly the ones involving heavy-lifting or prep work off-site or out-of-town - which go a lot faster with the extra hands and strong backs.  These tasks usually get their hours counted with a bonus, and volunteers earn Convention Tee-shirts and even complementary memberships for the following years' convention.  And they gain experience, and reputations within the mvoers and shakers of Fannish events.  And yes- they usually have a great time, while they are at it, with a good and hearty company.

   Volunteers are DOERS.  They accomplish things, get things done.  Without them, AnthroCon could not be held.

   ...And I tip my ears and muzzle to them, whenever I see their very special "Nifty ribbon".