On Sat, 25 Aug 2001, Tim May wrote:
First, $1500 per conference sounds way too high, even by today's inflated standards.
Just off the top of my head: O'Reilly P2P Conference, Standard Conference Fee: $1595 http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/p2pweb2001/pub/w/16/register.html RSA 2002 Conference: $995 to $1795, depending on when you register (Special $595 for "Academics", scholarships for students) Overheard at a conference business meeting: "What about special rates for attendees who are neither business nor academia?" "ARE there any such people?" <silence> Hey, at least DEF CON is still $50 ! although Black Hat is $1195 + $700 per training course.
some of the Big Luminaries: Esther Dyson, John Perry Barlow, Mitch Kapor, etc. They upgraded the venue, raised the rates, and sought corporate sponsorship. So the rates rose. (And the Luminaries are, to my
By the way, in case anyone knows Neal Stephenson, I know a science fiction conference which would love to invite him. (Yes, I've read his web page, yes, it's a lost cause, but writing of luminaries...)
CFP could have been a conference where tech types mingled with policy types. Alas, very few of the Cypherpunks meeting folks ever go to the CFPs, even when they're held locally to the Bay Area. Mostly lawyers and spooks.
There was that workshop on "Privacy by Design" at the 99 or 00 CFP, wasn't there? The one report I had from that was not favorable, but it's not a *bad* idea. This year, there's a workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies being held immediately prior to CFP in the same building. Maybe this will lead to more interaction. http://www.pet2002.org/ (Disclaimer: one of the co-chairs is a co-author of mine. So yeah, this is thinly disguised plugging for the workshop. No, I don't know how much it will cost.)
I'll probably attend the next CFP the way I attended the very first one...by sitting in the comfortable chairs in the lobby area.
Well, come a few days earlier and sit in comfy chairs for PET, while you're at it... -David