Welcome to the Fall 2009 Movement issue of the Pouch! I had hoped that the days of opening an issue with an apology for tardiness were long behind us… but alas, for the first time in a long time, that's how I have to begin! Your Editor has had a very busy summer, which has been great in many ways, but not so good when it comes to getting an issue out on time. Furthermore, I'm afraid it's a relatively small issue — it seems I'm not the only one who's been busy with other things. Many of our regular contributors have too, although I expect them to return for the next issue. In any case, this issue is out now, and I hope our readers will enjoy the articles in it. The next issue will be the Fall 2009 Retreat. In view of the delay in publishing this issue, I'll extend the formal submissions deadline for F2009R to October 8th. I'll still aim for the scheduled a publication date of Oct 31st, but I hope I'll be forgiven if I'm a bit late again (if it's necessary again, this time I'll try to cut it down to only one week :-P ). We have a lot of articles about conventions in this issue, so I think it's only fitting that I offer the Pouch's congratulations to the participants at WDC 09, particularly to newly-minted champion Andrew Goff. Since this marks the beginning of the school year, I also want to take a moment to welcome the new students who may have happened upon the Pouch for the first time. Welcome! Online Diplomacy is a wonderful hobby, and we hope that the Pouch will be a fun and useful resource for you in your games. As always, I'll conclude with my usual reminder: the content of the Pouch depends on the articles we get from YOU! With this fascinating game, there's always something worth writing about, and we count on you to do it. You can submit your articles to me at editor@diplom.org. Just about any format will do — it doesn't have to be in HTML. Microsoft Word documents or simple text are fine, as long as you send them! Enjoy the Pouch! Charles Roburn The Editor (editor@diplom.org) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.