lee Van Hyfte wrote:
One thing:That's actually not true. The fact is that cheap hotels usually provide free wi-fi. Good ones often don't. I have stayed at hotel costing hundreds of dollars a night that charge for wireless access. Many provide free access only in the lobby area. That is the case at the DoubleTree. We would have to pay a fee to have wireless access in the auction area.MOST hotels even the nasty ones generally have FREE guest wifi available. So as long as the computer has a wireless card you are in good shape. ALMOST ALL newer laptops do.
This idea of remote bidding comes up regularly in relation to conventions. I agree with Matt that it is easy to speculate on but very difficult to implement in the rapid fire situation of a convention auction. As he also suggests, if you attend you can see the fish and make a decision on what you are willing to pay for that particular pair. The members of the host clubs already have their hands full carrying out the tasks inherent in a convention. Asking them to take on this role would be impossible. About the only workable alternative, if you cannot attend, is to have a friend bid on your behalf.
I also am not so certain that remote bidding would not impact negatively on attendance. I think it would. As for the concept of free conventions, we can't do that until someone comes up with the concept of free hotels. You have to realize that there is a significant investment in putting on a convention. That money has to be recouped and, frankly, that depends on people registering and attending.
Much of the reason for having a national convention is to provide the opportunity for members from various parts of the country to get together "face to face". The social aspect of the convention is extremely important and we have gone to great lengths this year to provide such opportunities. The one other thing that is important to the members is the opportunity to acquire fish. That depends on having fish in the show and, hence, the auction. I very much hope that many of you will attend and bring fish for both the show and the sale. For those who can't attend, I hope that you will send fish as mail-ins. There can be mailed directly to the hotel and will be cared for by one of our experienced members, Patrick Coleman, on site. We are working on getting an account with UPS to allow shipping of fish using that service. We'll announce the information as soon as it is firmed up. lease see the convention pages on aka.org for more information about mail-ins and the convention as a whole, for that matter.
Regards, Barry Cooper Join the AKA at http://www.aka.org/aka/modules/content/index.php?id=9. Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/ Modify your subscription at http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/killietalk