Date: 10 Jul 94 00:09:42 EDT
From: Richard Lawrence <70233.1737@compuserve.com>
To: <hazel@netcom.com>
Subject: regcon

Hi, Hazel.

RegCon was renamed to ConTrak in early '93 when plans for additional
branches were added to it. It was originally created for BayCon (San
Jose) in about 1989. It was fine tuned, and then greatly enhanced in
'92 to be used for pre-reg of ConFrancisco.

ConTrak is a Convention Tracking application developed in Paradox.
The DOS version exists only for the Registration Department, although
the Programming Division branch was developed by Tom Becker enough to
be used for ConFrancisco.

I am currently rewriting ConTrak in Paradox for Windows. This version
will be complete with all it's branches. These are:

   Registration/Membership
   Programming
   Technical Support
   Volunteers
   Dealers Room
   Art Show/Art Auction
   Masquerade
   Sales to Members
   Site Selection
   Hugo Ballots

The concept is to share common data between the departments. The
branches of the application can be used seperately, linked with
occasional data sharing through the passing of diskettes ("Sneaker
Net"), or by an active LAN.

REGISTRATION/MEMBERSHIP: Pre-reg, confirmation post cards,
bulk-sorted mailing labels, a variety of statistical reports, deposit
slips, tracking reports, status flags (staff, volunteer, press,
guest, etc.) record change archiving (including transfer history),
output to files for Progress Report and Program Book Membership
Lists, badge printing, at-con registration functions, cashier
accounting. The main membership entry screen is designed for easiest
possible data entry: cities can be entered as abbreviations and
instantly expand themselves, zip codes automatically fill in the city
& state fields, phone numbers provide their own dashes, etc.

PROGRAMMING: This area is set up as "Events" and "Participants." And
Event is simply an 'idea' until it is assigned a time and a place.
Participants can be selected from the shared Registration database,
or created independantly. Participant information includes arrival &
departure dates & times, periods not available, one line
descriptions, maximum panels per day, topics of expertese, at-con
location (room number), and the "Don't Put Me With" table, as well as
other information. Events are also linked to topic words, so that
possible participants can be located. Other Event information
includes event title, short & long descriptions, equipment needed,
maximum panelists and expected attendance. Exception reports list
scheduling conflicts, Events placed in rooms that are too small,
Participants placed with their mortal enemies, topic conflicts (two
costuming panels at the same time), and more. Reports include
participant schedules and badge stickers, door signs, name tents,
program book files, participant indexes, technical requirements, etc.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: This is a simple branch of ConTrak that allows the
Technical Services department to track what equipment is being
acquired from where for how long and for how much.

VOLUNTEERS: Tracking hours worked. Linked to Registration database
for determining amount to refund, if appropriate.

DEALERS ROOM: Tracking dealers, tables, amount paid, and the people
working the tables.

ART SHOW/ART AUCTION: Art items, panel spaces, artists, bids,
bidders, etc. Allows bidders to use their membership number for
bidding. Produces accounting lists for cashiers and check issuing
lists for artists.

MASQUERADE: Entries, categories, MC's text, presentation order, sound
& light cue comments, awards, etc. Reports for MC, tech crews, ready
room, award announcements, daily newszine, etc.

SALES TO MEMBERS: Inventories, prices, cashier records & receipts,
purchaser member number, etc. Report sales by day, by item, by
cashier, etc.

SITE SELECTION: Vote counting. "Australian Bid" calculations. Tied to
Registration database. Member Number not required for voting. Name
searches performed as needed.

HUGO BALLOTS: For WorldCon only. Nomination & voting tracking.

Since ConTrak is not polished up, it is not yet for sale. (I would
only feel right in selling it if I was sure it was complete and
debugged.) Because of this, if you are interested in using one or
more of these modules, talk to me about getting "beta test" versions.
This would help you, and would help me fine tune and debug the system.

This may be more information than you actually wanted, but here it
is. Feel free to contact me with any questions or requests through
CIS or direct at (510) 533-2222 or at 2626 35th Ave, Oakland, CA
94619.

 - Richard