Ah, the registration line. The singular most frustrating element of a convention. Despite the fact that fandom cons have been going on for decades, so many of them continue to screw up the whole registration sales and pick up process. The fact that conventions that have been going on for years still struggle with this element of the con organizational process astounds me.
For example, last year my friends and I stood in line at Dragon*con for three hours to pick up the badges we pre-registered for. Three. Hours. It is …

Not everyone is a seasoned fandom convention veteran. Every weekend thousands of convention virgins stream into hotels and convention centers for the very first time, not quite sure what to expect. And although there is a great sense of camaraderie and friendship that exists at fandom cons, a con newbie may quickly learn that there are some basic rules of convention etiquette, and if you go against them … well … Cthulhu have mercy on your soul.
But never fear! The Convention Fans Blog has put together a very basic guide to …

The vast majority of fandom conventions, whether large or small, offer their attendees the opportunity to pre-register. What is pre-registration exactly? It means the attendee commits to attend the convention in advance, and does so by paying up-front. One of the ways conventions encourage this, is to offer those who pre-register a discounted price. It seems simple enough, right? But there are some complexities to the pre-registration debate, both from the position of attendees and of organizers, and I’ll attempt to address some of these below.
-> Read More: The Benefits …

Not every convention requires attendees to pack a suitcase, much less create a list to pack a suitcase. For a local convention, you basically just hop in your car and go. But what about the convention that requires a hotel stay, and either a long car ride or a flight? What if you’re cosplaying too? In that case, I really recommend making the list. You don’t want to get to the con and realize you forgot an essential costume piece or the memory card for your camera.
Of course, this list …