Subject: Announcement: Arisia 1993 ASB Party ANNOUNCEMENT: Arisia 1993 ASB Party Hosts: [snip], Multics Date: Saturday, January 16, 1993 Time: 9:00 p.m. until closing Place: Arisia 1993 convention, Boston Park Plaza, room TBA (see below) Who is invited: Anyone over 18. Why: Because there's a con and we want to have a party! ::: GENERAL INFORMATION ::: ID'S AT THE DOOR, PLEASE You will not get in without showing positive ID indicating that you are at least 18 years old. This may take the form of a driver's license, passport, college ID, sheriff's ID, or student ID. You will also be required to sign a statement that says that you have read, understood, and agree to abide by the party rules. The rules are posted below for your reference. Please read them before coming to the party. If you have questions about them, please send me email [snip]) and I will try to explain what they mean and why we have them. Please DON'T post questions about the rules, because I can't promise to read all the posts and answer them, and also because...well, because the rules are not subject to debate. The hosts are in agreement on these rules, they've been field-tested at many other parties, and they WILL be the rules for this party. WHAT THE HOSTS SAY, GOES Within the context of the party, the hosts are to be considered Gods. We reserve the right of final decisions on the rules, the right to exclude or dismiss anyone from the party without stating reason, and the right to reserve any other right. We also reserve these rights' attendant responsibilities. PARTY LOCATION The room for the party will be announced DISCREETLY on the con bulletin boards, with a small notice that will say "A.S.B.". The room number and time will be on the reverse. Last year the bulletin boards were located on the mezzanine; I don't know where they are this year, but they should be very easy to find. No other information about the nature of the party, rules, etc. will be posted publicly, so please be sure to keep a copy of things like dates and times if you're prone to forgetfulness. PARTY TIME The party is set to start at 9:00 p.m. Please don't come early. We'd love to see you all, but that's why we're having the party. It's gonna be a long one, and we will need the pre-party time for setting up, eating dinner, relaxing, and Doing Our Own Thing. Alone. And Multics needs his pre-party sleep. RSVP RSVP's are not strictly necessary, but they are appreciated so we can get some idea of how many people to expect. Please RSVP to [snip]. WHAT TO EXPECT This is a BD/DS/SM playparty. If you've never before been to a party like this, you can expect to see people enjoying themselves in ways that the general public might not find 'acceptable.' In specific, you can expect to see hugging, kissing, stroking, petting, bondage, tit torture, cock and ball torture, whippings, canings, spankings, etc. If watching this stuff at a party would make you uncomfortable, perhaps this isn't a party for you. I will be posting a short guide to party goings-on and accepted standards of behavior. If you haven't been to a party, you should take a look at it. It's not included here for a couple of reasons: lack of space, and because these kind of standards aren't real rigid. They vary from party to party and scene to scene, and they're not absolutes. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Perhaps most importantly, you - or whoever takes responsibility for you if you don't take responsibility for yourself - are responsible for your own safety and well-being, both emotional and physical. The door is unlocked and you are free to leave at any time if you experience something you don't like. If help is necessary, ask and we'll do our best to provide it. INVITING/BRINGING OTHER PEOPLE TO THE PARTY You may feel free to bring other (i.e., non-ASB people) to the party; however, it is your responsibility to see that they read this document and understand the nature of the party that they'll be attending. Do not attempt to use this party as a vehicle for playing a practical joke on your roommate. It is guaranteed to backfire in an ugly way (see Rule 9, below). SCENE SPACE AND NONSCENE SPACE We will attempt to arrange things such that scenes are not visible from the door, but we can't promise anything on that yet. We will also do our level best to provide some non-scene space where people who need to get away from something heavy can go for awhile. All of this is subject to the amount of space available in the room. Please be aware that all space in the party is public space. We will not be able to provide space for private scenes; therefore, if you do a scene you should expect an audience. If people watching bothers you, you should not do a scene at this party. Please note that the scene space will be limited, and must be shared by all. If you want to do a three-hour scene, this is probably not the best place to do it. DONATIONS AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS No donations of anything that could be construed as legal tender will be accepted by any of the hosts. In addition, we insist that any financial transactions between guests take place outside of the party. If you have bondage-wares of some type that you sell and would like to exhibit, please contact us first. In general, you are welcome to exhibit your wares, but all transactions including payment in any form must take place outside the party. MEDICAL CONDITIONS/NEEDS If you have some kind of special medical condition that we should know about, please do let us know. You have to judge for yourself whether that is the case. I would put in this category anything that might have a strong negative effect on you, in such a way that you couldn't tell us what was wrong or what we needed to do. FOOD/DRINK We will be providing some snack food. By all means, feel free to bring some more if you like. Please do not, however, plan on having dinner at the party and call out for a pizza delivery or something. Also note that these parties frequently get rather crowded, so if you get the munchies and leave in search of food, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to readmit you. WHAT TO BRING/WEAR Please bring whatever tools and toys you'd like to the party. Because so many toys look very much alike, you should either mark your stuff in some distinctive way (e.g., colored tape or threads tied around handles or buckles or something) or keep very close track of it. If you see a toy lying around that you'd like to use, please ask its owner first. When it comes time to collect toys, please make sure that you're taking your own stuff and not someone else's. To paraphrase the airport baggage claim people, many toys look alike. If you would like to have some specific scene music, please bring that too. We'll have CDs but we're not gonna DJ and we won't have time to run around trying to assemble your requests. If you do bring music, for reasons stated above, please mark it so it can be identified as yours afterwards. As for what to wear, wear whatever you want or don't want. Standard commonsense applies. Outside the party, there is one thing you should be aware of. Spikes on clothing, collars, etc. are illegal to wear in Cambridge (not Boston). If you're sightseeing during the weekend and go anywhere in Cambridge -- Harvard Square, Central Square/Man Ray, etc. -- carry any spikes in a bag and avoid the cop hassle. CRASH SPACE The hosts' crash space is long since used up; therefore, no crash space will be available. Please make your own accomodations. FOLLOWUP The point of the party is to have fun. Notes to the hosts after the party to let us know that you did indeed have fun and to tell us where we did particular good jobs arranging things will be received with much glee and will vastly increase the likelihood that we'll roll another one of these things. Notes to the hosts after the party to let us know where we screwed up will be received with less glee, but send 'em anyway. Just try to be constructive. ::: 1993 ARISIA ASB PARTY RULES AND CONVENTIONS ::: 1. ASK BEFORE TOUCHING, KISSING, PLAYING, ETC. This is not a free-sex-for-all party. This is not a free-play-for-all party either. Do not assume that the presence of someone at this party means you're free to play with them, take pictures of them, post to the Net about their presence at the party, or even touch them. Don't assume _anything_, in fact. When in doubt, ask first. And always doubt. On the flip side, people who want others to play with them should feel free to give blanket permission to everyone to do whatever. We will have a mechanism for this; ask a host when you arrive. 2. RESPECT THE HOUSE SAFEWORD Continuing the old (?) tradition, the house safeword will be "aardvark." I don't know how this got started, but why not. If you are playing with someone and want to negotiate a separate safeword or set of safewords to be used between you, please feel free to do so. However, everyone is expected to respect the house safeword, and to use it if you need to. Regardless of what other arrangements you've made, Simplified definition for anyone who doesn't know: a safeword is a word or phrase that means "Stop what you're doing NOW". If you're playing with someone and they use the safeword, stop what you're doing immediately, find out what's wrong, and rectify it. 3. NO PENETRATIVE SEX This includes finger-genital, finger-anal, oral-genital, and oral-anal activity. 4. NO MINORS This means anyone under 18. As noted above, IDs will be checked. 5. NO CAMERAS, CAMCORDERS, OR OTHER RECORDING DEVICES No recording devices of any kind will be permitted for any reason. This rule applies regardless of whether you have the express permission of everyone whom you are recording. 6. NO DRAWING OR LETTING OF BLOOD 7. NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL No drugs may be brought to or consumed at this party. People under the influence of drugs will not be admitted. 8. NO SMOKING 9. NO FREAKING THE MUNDANES Common sense item: We probably don't want to scare the hotel-goers too much. Keeping toys mostly under wraps until you're inside the door would be a good thing, I think. Waving two-foot-long pink dildoes at the hotel staff is Right Out. (I stole this line from someone -- thanks!!) On the flip side, this _is_ a Con, so I don't think you need to worry about it _too_ much. This also includes any guests that you bring to the party. Don't drag some vanilla person into this party unwarned and unprepared. It is your responsibility to show them this document and make sure that they understand the nature of the party that they will be attending. 10. NO DAMAGE TO THE PARTY ROOMS The rooms where the party will be held are not ballrooms or conference rooms or public-area party rooms. They are guest rooms where some of the hosts will be spending the weekend. Trashing the rooms is Right Out. 11. NO FIREPLAY Because the Park Plaza is an old wood hotel, with very sensitive smoke detectors and sprinkler system, no fireplay will be allowed. This includes candles. ::: AFFADAVIT ::: I am at least eighteen years old. I understand and accept that this is an S&M party, and that consensual erotic pain, not bodily injury [which is defined as impairment of physical condition or substantial pain], nudity, bondage, cross-dressing, role-playing, and dominance/submission may or may not occur in my presence. I am free to leave at any time for any reason, stated or unstated. As the door will not be locked on the inside, I will simply let myself out. I will follow instructions given by a host or leave that party at that time. If I view a violation of these Rules, I will immediately notify a host. I am aware that all activity at this party is consensual, and no non-consensual activity or bodily injury of any type will be tolerated. I have read and understand the 1993 Arisia ASB Party Rules and Conventions, and by signing I state that I agree to abide by them, and that I will not hold the hosts, the Arisia convention, or the Boston Park Plaza Hotel responsible for any damage to my self, my property, or to any other person present at or involved in this event. _______________________Date___________ Print Name:____________________________