On 6/15/2011 1:46 PM, Kevin S. Clarke wrote: > > What is the problem we're trying to solve again? Do we think that the > recent conferences have cost too much for the attendees? That this > year's will cost too much? Are we worried about not finding places to > host in the future? Are we worried about needing the level of > sponsorship that we currently do? I guess I'm worried that conferences have become more expensive and more work to put on. This means: a) It's harder to find people to host, and harder for them to do it in a way that makes the community happy, and that doesn't destroy themselves. b) They need to find a lot more sponsorship, which is risky, and potentially means giving sponsors privileges that change the nature or feel of the conf. This thread began with a suggestion from current conf hosts that they need to find more things to give sponsors. Which reminded me of last year's sponsored banquet, which ended up not having a presentation from the vendor, but which was supposed to, which I would not have liked, having a sponsor deliver a presentation to a captive conf audience in return for sponsorship.