Voodoo Board
The Voodoo Board is an ingenious system for transmitting written messages at a large gathering, such as an SF convention. Since not every member of a con is necessarily staying at the convention hotel, and even those who are aren’t necessarily the listed on the hotel registration, it can be problematic to get a message to someone else.
In outline, the concomm prints a list of all members in large type and posts it on a large foam board or similar backing. Someone who wishes to leave a message sticks a pushpin next to the name of the intended recipient (hence the name "Voodoo Board"), writes his message on a slip of paper and places it in a file box with alphabetical dividers. An attendee who sees a pin next to his name knows to look in the message box.
In the era before ubiquitous cell phones (that is, not very long ago), this scheme was invaluable. It still has a great deal of utility, since people may not know the cellphone number of a person they’re trying to connect with.
The inventor of the Voodoo Board was Filthy Pierre, who furnishes each Worldcon with detailed plans for its construction. Many regional and local cons have copied the idea.
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