Etiquette for discussing authorships, expectations, etc. with potential advisors
Think of your first meeting as a mutual interview. The adviser wants to know if you are worth spending time and money on. You need to ask questions to determine if the adviser is worth spending years of your life on.

Good topics for the first meeting are:


The adviser's expectations of you (including hours worked per week, number of papers to publish before graduating, etc.)
Your expectations of your adviser (Do you get vacation time? How long does it take your students to graduate? How much grant funding do you have? What earns me authorship on papers? etc.)
Your potential project (What are the long-term goals? What are the short-term objectives? Have other students worked on this project before?)
What preparations do you need to make? (Should you take a particular course? Should you read certain papers or books?)


You should also try to get candid answers to these questions from the students who already work for your potential adviser.