Comment by wat10000
If attendees aren’t willing to pay the full cost then maybe the conference isn’t providing enough value and we’re better off without it.
If attendees aren’t willing to pay the full cost then maybe the conference isn’t providing enough value and we’re better off without it.
I have nothing to do with the medical establishment. I do know that the conferences I do attend are subsidized by companies in the tech space in various ways. You're welcome to bemoan that of course although I'm pretty sure neither of us are in a position to overturn decades-long (at least) practice.
People (and their companies in many cases) have limited budgets. I do pay out of my pocket for some conferences, and conference organizers and (previously) employers in other cases. You're probably not going to convince me that I'm better off sitting at a desk than getting out and collaborating with people at an event from time to time. For that matter, why should companies sponsor open source projects? If they're that valuable, individuals should just pay for them I guess.