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Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)
I go because I know interesting people will be there. I take over a table in the hallway and hang out with old friends.
But then, I don't have to pay to do any of that. If it cost me anything, I wouldn't go.
Re:Who cares about the talks? (Score:1)
BTW: Who picks from the submitted topics ? Is the issue a lack of interesting submissions, or a preference for O'Reilly authors ? (not a knock, just wondering aloud...)
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Re: Who cares about the talks? (Score:1)
That would be me. I don't get to decide how many Perl talks the conference will have, but I rate them by preference. The talks you see there are the best of the lot. Best in the sense of interesting Perl developments, in the sense of well-written proposals (a good sign that the speaker can put together a reasonable session), and in presenting a good balance of subjects.
That s
Re: Who cares about the talks? (Score:1)
I've been to a couple of YAPCs, and I've even done a CeBIT (as an exhibitor).
But OSCON is probably the first time I've done a conference priced at that level (even though as a speaker I did not pay).
What I was really amazed about was that there were SO many conference workers that were just standing around doing nothing. I don't mean the O'Reilly people, who were just as busy as usual.
I mean the people on the doors. There was one or two at every room, and for the most part they
Re: Who cares about the talks? (Score:1)
The biggest expense is generally catering, followed by A/V (unless like us you do it all in house), followed by the cost of the space, and then finally the cost of the the people standing around. Assuming catering is about $20 per head for each meal, plus $10 per head for coffee/breaks, you can see that is an assload of money. Compare with $20/hr * 12hrs * 5 days * 40 people. Still an assload
Re: Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)
Mock's absolutely right about the order of the costs. I make it a point not to look at the conference budgets (I want to be focused on the program), but from the conversations I've had with the conferences staff the food and beverage budget is the biggest. To have an event in a big venue means you are forced to take the venue's caterer and their gouging rates. The Oregon Convention Center's rates are less gouging than a hotel's, but still well above what you'd expect to pay based on your shopping trips t
Re: Who cares about the talks? (Score:1)