Conventional Wisdom

(Historical Notes: While I obviously enjoy getting shiny stickers and fancy ribbons and other showy details on my badge, the REAL issue here was simply a matter of keeping track of what the registration procedure is from con to con.  While more and more of these things have streamlined the basic check-in process via the previously-mentioned technological advances, the process of checking in as a panelist can’t help but require more steps.  And sadly, those steps always seem to be a little bit different from con to con.  From how the cost of the badge is handled to how you pick it up to when and where you need to check in with panel ops, there’s always SOMETHING that I get confused over because the last con I was at did it differently.  And that’s assuming all these cons can keep their own individual routines straight from year to year, and even that’s not a guarantee.)