BSidesLV Volunteer Guide

HEALTH / Covid

This year, masks ARE required and will be made available at registration and the information booth.

Communication

The email in your profile will be invited to the BSidesLV Slack. There are a couple of rooms you will be added to: #Volts-Social, #Volts-Announcements and #Volts-JobMarket

#Volts-Social is for general communications, questions, talking, meetups, memes, whatever.

#Volts-Announcements is for announcements only. Use threading when commenting on posts.

Have a question or issue? At mention @voltadmins and Paul (@paulb) or Max (@max) or Pocket (@p0cket) will get backto you as soon as possible.

If you haven’t been invited please email volunteer@bsideslv.org and we will get it sorted.

Going to miss or be late for a shift?

Life happens, we totally understand but please tell us (via email or slack on #Volts-Social) as soon as you know and are able to do so. The sooner the better as it helps us be able to plan and accommodate for your absence.

HEALTH / Covid
Communication
- Going to miss or be late for a shift?
Important Dates
Volt Check In
Badge and Shirt Policy
- Badge
- Shirt
Volt Responsibilities
- PRIMARY DUTIES DO NOT INCLUDE:
Volt Requirements
Volt Benefits
Volt Roles
Surviving Vegas

Important Dates

Event	Date
Shared Comped Room Cut off (Hours must be logged in Shiftboard.)	July 8, 2024
Volt Meetup (Bring your badge, Drinks and Snacks provided	Tuesday August 6, 2024 @ 8PM till 2AM at the Tuscany Pool
Early Check In (get your badge and Shirt)	TBA Time and details will be posted in Slack.

Volt Check In

Operations Center Florentine G - Conference Map

Early check in is Monday in the Operations Center. There will be a post in Slack closer to that date for the exact time we will be open.

Badge and Shirt Policy

Please maintain possession of these during the conference. After the conference you may do with them as you please.

Badge

It is yours and yours alone. Do NOT loan it out.

Shirt

It is yours and yours alone. Do NOT loan it out. It must be worn during your shift. When not on shift please remove it or turn it inside out.

Volt Responsibilities

Volts are responsible for completing assigned tasks within their scheduled shift. General descriptions of each assignment type are listed in the [Role Assignment] section below. We will always do our best to keep Volt activities core to the job assignment that the person has signed-up for, but on occasion we may request that Volts assist other areas as necessary. As with all BSidesLV personnel, Volts are expected to be professional, abide by BSideLV’s Code of Conduct, and represent the organization in a positive way at all times while on shift. However,

PRIMARY DUTIES DO NOT INCLUDE:

Directly addressing security, safety, rental, venue, or contract - direct these to BSidesLV Staff or Safety Operations.
Answering media questions - please DO NOT make any statements, or lead anyone to believe that you are authorized to make statements on behalf of the Organization, to Press or Media.

Volt Requirements

Minimum 12 Hours

All volunteers are asked to sign up for 12 hours (or more). The shifts can span General Volts and SafetyOps.

Age Requirement

You must be 18+ years old OR 16+ years old with a parent on site and permission given. Please reach out to volunteer@bsideslv.org before signing up to make arrangements.

Kid in Tow

Anyone between the ages of 10 and 15 can be a ‘Kid in Tow’, where the child is allowed to work with their parent on their parent’s shift, but they are unable to sign up for their own shifts, Additionally, Kids in Tow must have two contacts listed for Emergency. The Kid will get a badge and a shirt. Please contact volunteer@bsideslv.org to make arrangements.

Check-in / Badge Pickup

Report to the Operations Center (Conference Map) with ample time before your first shift. You may check-in anytime the Operation Center is open.

Shift Check-in

Unless told otherwise, always report to the Operations Center 15 min before your shift begins.

Volt Benefits

Volunteer Badge

Special color for Volunteers
Gives you full access to the conference when not on duty.
Cool Volunteer T-Shirt
An invitation to the volunteer appreciation mixer on Tuesday evening
A +1 to the Wednesday night pool party.
Access to the BSides Slack Volunteer Channels for 1 year.
Invites will be sent out around mid-july
Comped Shared Room for qualifying volunteers.
Meals for volunteers working qualifying shifts.
Non-profit volunteer hours.

Comped Shared Room

To qualify you need to volunteer for 18+ Hours and be over 18. The room provided is a Double Queen Bed Room. If you qualify for a comped room a Google form will be sent out asking for your name, dates of stay and roommate preferences. You can specify a volunteer to room if they also qualify for the room share. Monday evening through Thursday morning is covered by BSidesLV. If you would like to extend your stay, that can be arranged. When you check in, someone has to put a Credit Card down for incidentals, any days not covered by BSidesLV will be charged to the Credit Card provided at the end of your stay. You must provide us with the name that is on your valid ID. This is the name the room will be booked under. There is a Parking pass included with the room. If you and your roommate both have a car let Volt Staff know and we can acquire a second one. All information will be kept confidential.

Conference Meals

Meals are provided for volunteers working qualifying shifts. The food is buffet style and cannot be changed to accommodate to meet all dietary restrictions. There are vegetarian options during each meal.

Meal	Qualifying Shifts	Food Served
Breakfast	Starting before 930AM	7AM - 830AM
Lunch	Starting before 230PM	1230PM - 2PM

Conference WIFI

There is wifi available on the conference floor. There is a special SSID for volunteers. See the Volt Coordinators for connection info.

Non-Profit Volunteer Hours

Security BSides Las Vegas, Inc. is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) and as such many companies allow you to donate your time to us.

Slack

Volt Roles

There are many volunteer opportunities available at BSidesLV. Below is a comprehensive list and description of the responsibilities for each role. If you have any questions, please contact us at volunteer@bsideslv.org

A/V

Most Talks are recorded and live streamed. You will be required to start and stop the recording. It is expected that you are there for the entire talk. You do not have to be familiar with AV equipment. No experience required, training will be provided.

Info Booth

Answer people’s questions. If you don’t know the answer, ask one of your booth mates. Most of the questions you get are likely to be location based, so make sure you’re familiar with the overall layout of the con so you can accurately answer questions like:

Where is the bathroom?
Where is Track X / Y Talk / Z person speaking ?
Where is registration?
Etc

Requirements for working Info Booth

Don’t be an ass.
BSidesLV aims to be a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. This is particularly important in the Info Booth, since we are a key interface attendees have with the conference staff in general. As such, the general BSidesLV guideline “don’t be an ass” very much applies.

Karaoke

Setup the Tuesday Night Karaoke Party. You are not required to sing.

Lock Pick Village

Experienced and Inexperienced positions available.

Experienced No need to be an expert lockpicker, just familiar with the basics of how lockpicking works. Your primary responsibility will be to walk around the tables and assist participants who are interested in learning more about lockpicking. We will try to equip you with a one-pin starter lock to demonstrate with; please try to retain this lock through your shift (demonstrate to attendees with it, let them try it out, and then set them up with a two-pin or other starter lock). We also run an intro lesson each day; if you’re interested in helping to teach this, great! Let us know!

Throughout your shift, please circulate among the tables and answer any questions participants have. If possible, please remind participants to be gentle with the picks and to leave all locks and picks on the tables when they leave.

Inexperienced We also have slots for volunteers who do not yet know how to lockpick. If you’re interested in learning, awesome- hopefully you will be able to attend one of our intro lessons and play with the locks. One of your primary responsibilities will be to circulate among the tables and answer any questions participants may have.

For both groups: You will also help us set up the tables during the first shift of the day, and break down during the last shift of the day. During the last shift of the conference we will pack up all the gear: pick up all lockpicks on the tables; help us pull out bent ones and pack up the others; pack locks and other gear into our bins.

Network Operations Center (NOC)

No experience required. Opposable thumbs are helpful, but not required. The NOC provides all the network connectivity throughout BSidesLV. This service is provided throughout BSidesLV conference space in the Tuscany Resort and the Training Ground areas in the neighboring Platinum Hotel. NOC activities can be broken down into 3 phases - Setup, Operations, and Teardown.

Setup: Unpacking gear, running and gaffing all necessary cabling, placing Wireless Access Points (WAPs), and testing connectivity.

Operations: handling basic questions from attendees trying to connect to WiFi, checking gaff tape across doorways, working with NOC staff to troubleshoot as needed.

Teardown: Retrieving all NOC equipment, pulling gaff tape up, testing and bundling cables, repacking all NOC equipment for storage. It really is that simple, packed into 2.5 days.

Pool Party Cleanup

After the pool party is over there is equipment that needs to be gathered and stored. This is a late night (or early morning depending on how you look at it) shift as the Pool Party ends at 3AM. You are not required to get in the pool or pickup trash.

Press Support

You’ll assist in watching the press desk, and directing reporters who ask to various tracks, talks, or events. In addition, you’ll help coordinate on-site communication between the press and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Raffle and Silent Auction

Selling Raffle tickets and helping people bid on Silent Auction Items. You will be required to interact and talk with attendees.

Registration

Interacting with registered guests, getting them checked in and handing them their swag. People will come up to you and ask questions, DO NOT guess the answers, ask a Staff Member (Purple Shirt) or send them to the Info Booth. Please be courteous to all guests, greet them with a smile, you will likely be their first interaction with the conference.

Roamer aka The Reserves

To cover any shifts that other volunteers are unable to fill. Basically any role listed in this section with the exception of Runner. You are not expected to have a vehicle for this role.

Room Host

Work with the track chair on tasks needed to run a track, including: Introducing the speaker to the audience & stream. During Q&A make sure everyone asking a question speaks into a microphone. Keep the speaker on time by notifying the speaker when they have 10, 5 and 0 minutes left.

Runner

MUST HAVE YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION IN LAS VEGAS & BE INSURED. You will be sent on store runs to get last minute critical items. Money will be provided for you to purchase the items needed. Please return the change and receipts. Receipts are critical for our accounting purposes. You will be compensated 1 tank of gas. If you are asked to drive more than 1 tank (which has never happened) you will be compensated for that gas as well.

T-Shirts

Handing out and selling T-Shirts.

Speaker Ops

Speaker Liaisons Shift You are responsible for finding your speaker. They should be in the speaker lounge 15 minutes prior to their talk. You will escort the speaker to their track room, remembering to recommend they visit the bathroom on the way. Once in the room, introduce them to the room host and AVvperson. in the room for at least 5 minutes after the talk begins to ensure there are no issues. Then, return to the Speaker Lounge.

Speaker Quiet Room Shift The goal of this room is for speakers to have a quiet place to work. Please assist them with any needs they have and/or reach out to the SpeakerOPS team to help. This should be a quiet place, as such, do your best to direct anyone not working to the speaker lounge. Note: The room is only accessible to speakers. Please ensure anyone coming into the room has a speaker badge.

Speaker Ready Room This is a lounge for speakers to relax and meet their liaisons prior to their scheduled talk. This room is only accessible to speakers and volts that are on shift. Food and beverages are for speakers only. (On shift Volts can find refreshment and snacks in the Ops Center.)

Speaker Ops Roamer You will be directed to go where needed. See other Speaker Ops roles for more information.

Setup / Load Out

Moving boxes and gear around the venue. Do what the Gear Staff tell ya. These shifts happen on the Monday before and the Thursday after BSidesLV

Some of your duties will include:

Attach badges to lanyards
Review table layout
Label tables with sponsor names and who needs a monitor (incld size)
Ensure received packages are placed at the appropriate
Swag bag fulfilment
Sort sponsor badge counts by company
Create a baggie for each sponsor with their company name on it (bluetape, sharpie)
Inside the baggie should be a notecard to write names of badge collectors
If a person comes to the table and someone has already collected all of their badges, still take the name of the person asking for a badge
Sponsors will try to sneak additional people in

Swag Bag Stuffing

You will help in putting the various pieces of swag into bags. Tips on bag stuffing

Pre-stacking is important
Stickers in envelope beforehand?
No single person should be working on a bag start to finish
One side of the table is stacking, one side of the table is throwing
If you see the line backing up slow down so we don’t bottle neck (yell “hold”)
Every 45 minutes everyone takes a 15 minutes break
It’s a marathon, not a race

Surviving Vegas

Make sure to replenish electrolytes in addition to water. This week tends to fall on monsoon season in Vegas, and as a Floridian, it’s the most miserable weather I’ve ever been in. Especially if you’re signed up for load-in or tear down and working outside.

In addition to comfy shoes bring spare pairs of socks, both for volunteering and the conference week in general. Blisters vs. no blisters.

The sun in Vegas is also no joke, especially because of the elevation. Use sunscreen and check the UV index to see if you need sunglasses. DO NOT use fashion sunglasses without UV protection.