Hey Everybody!

Sorry I was absurdly absent yesterday, life got in the way!

First of all, we're up to $940! (There is one donation that PayPal is disputing, they seem to think that person did not contribute on purpose. If that person confirms, then we are up to $950)

So here are a few polls, I tried to put them in the body of the post, but no luck.

None of these are locked in stone, as you can see most of them are general answers, though I got more specific with the card signatures, cause there was more defined already for that. The favorites of these polls can still be discussed and differences voted upon.

I tried to consolidate most of the similar suggestions, especially if they didn't really get noticed. If anyone thinks I missed a good one or has a better idea, please mention it!

I was gonna put up a charity poll, but the majority seems to be for Equality Now. If anyone would like me to put up a poll I will. I had thought someone put a link up somewhere to a Eliza-related charity, but I can't find it.

When we decide on what the cake will be, we should discuss flavors (carrot seems to be popular )

Poll: What should the Dollhouse Thank You cake look like? 

View Results  of the cake poll

Note: Whatever is decided upon in the following poll will be properly spelled, I promise!
Poll: What should the Dollhouse Thank You Cake say? 

View Results  of the quote poll

It occurs to me I did not put an option for not having names. A simple printed list would not be difficult methinks, but if you think no names is the way to go, just say so here and ignore the vote.
Poll: How do we want the names on the card? 

View Results  of the card poll


Poll: Should the card have pictures? 

View Results  of the picture poll


Depending on the other choices, we may not be able to put this together for this week, if that's what people were thinking. The simpler it is, the quicker we can do it. Even if it's simple, we can wait and do it properly if we're not in a hurry.
Poll: When Should We Deliver? 

View Results  of the delivery poll

IF we do get crazy with personal messages, pictures, etc... which I ultimately do think would be a nice gesture, and appreciated, I had a thought.

"WHEDONesque is too big for a card!" on the front of a small binder. There could be hole-punched pages with names and quotes. Nothing fancy, just a list. Leave it out and the crew/cast can flip through it at their leisure.

However, what happens to the thing? Does someone take it home? Maybe, maybe not. If it does it goes to storage? Though the flash website might be a good compromise if someone wants to put that together?

Off to vote in the polls...

I think the binder is a GREAT idea - kinda like all the thank-yous and messages folks at Fans4Writers put together for striking writers at the Battlestar Galactica WGA strike lines. The writers reportedly LOVED it. I have samples, etc. if folks want to see.

If we do decide to do this - obviously we'd have to do this non-rush, and I suggest that Joss would likely keep it. IMO, It's not unlikely he would have copies produced for some of his stars, etc. if they wanted it.)

I'm happy to coordinate this effort - if you like, and if enough people 1) want to do it and 2) commit to contribute in a reasonably timely fashion.

Heya, nice polls, too. Just wanted to point out to everyone - obviously if polls come down on the side of real names and/or photos, no one need ever do that if uncomfortable. You can ALWAYS, IMO, choose to use your screen names and submit no or funny non-you photo.

I think the signature should just be "your fans" and not include specific names or photos. It's not really about us and I think trying to capture names would just complicate things unnecessarily.

I do think something digital where fans can leave notes about the show would be nice but I don't think the cake/card delivery idea should include that.

ETA: Also I don't like the tagline options. I really think it should just say "thank you." I like the idea of a Dollhouse theme decoration but I think the message should just be very simple to make them feel appreciated. That's all.

And what better way to show your appreciation then showing the cast and crew the faces and words of the people whose lives this show touched?

It's much better than a bland "Thanks - From people on the internet"

Right now, I come down on the side of a simple cake. Some sort of design reference would be fine, but if so keep it simple. The sleeping pods icon, maybe. Cakes shaped like chairs? No to much.

I still favor "thank you for being your best".

I still favor an all-encompassing card rather than some big production. Going with a general "thanks from your fans at whedonesque" or whatever allows for the inherent inclusion of people who didn't see the cake/card discussion in time (for example), and as referenced above keep the focus on *them* not on *us*.

I also worry about getting too bogged down in polls rather than a couple of decisions just being made and moving on. But I'll withhold that until and unless the polls actually do bog things down, which they might not.

Maybe a simple, all-inclusive, unsigned-save-for-"Whedonesque fans" no big production card now to go with cake, and then a binder with individual messages for those that want to, to get delivered to Joss, cast and crew just in time for their wrap? bobw1o, would that unnecessarily complicate your delivery work and be a hardship for you?

I, too, hope the polls will expedite & clarify. I expect they will.

Hey, sorry to double-post, but it since whyiwatch, who'd offered to do the card to accompany the cake, has pretty much got her hands full with the Dollhouse fan promo stuff she's doing, I offered to do the card design/production, which she's down with:



So, unless anyone has an objection, I'll take that on.

I'm really hoping we chose the least complicated option - I'll keep my eyes on this thread to see how that spins out, and then start a thread for input, if folks have strong opinions about it - though it prolly could just match the cake. (If not, I'll just make something, which should be no problem.)

Least complicated = most inclusive..

I just want to thank bob and QuoterGal for taking this on; cake, card, binder suggestion, and bob for delivering. It's wonderful. I am all for the card being simple and a binder of Screen/Real Names and a pithy quote or thought of some kind. I don't get the criticism that this is self-aggrandizing. Admirers of Joss' and actors/crews' work have always made themselves known, and while I'm sure the cast and crew of Dollhouse will appreciate the cake and a generic card, it's the personalization from a tight group of people who have supported Joss for a long time that will make it special. Just M.O.

Edit - One poll I didn't see is where extra money might be donated based on suggestions I've seen here and at W dot com. I'm all for Equality Now or any other humanitarian concern.