[TYPES] online conferences should be free

[Hendrik Boom]

On Sun, Jun 06, 2021 at 09:00:01PM -0300, Alejandro Díaz-Caro wrote:
> [ The Types Forum, http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list ]
> 
> I may add that it makes totally sense to me that a service such as Clowdr
> (and other similar platforms) charge for their usage. The price do not only
> covers the usage, but also there is somebody to assist you (giving
> tutorials, answering questions, etc). In any case the prices are quite fair
> and, as I mentioned before, there are still options to make the conference
> either free, or mostly free.

And a conference organiser presumaby has the ability to run the 
open-source Clowdr software on his own server, paying nothing to the 
company.

> The alternative would be to use some ad-hoc
> solution, which probably will not be perfectly adapted for a conference.
> And since conferences will be virtual yet for some time (at least), we
> should use the best available tools.
> 
> So, my point of view is that conferences should be free, as much as
> possible, and should not renounce to use the best available tools.
> 
> -- Alejandro
> 
> 
> El dom., 6 jun. 2021 20:33, Benjamin Pierce <bcpierce at cis.upenn.edu>
> escribió:
> 
> > On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 1:15 AM Stefan Monnier <monnier at iro.umontreal.ca>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> [ The Types Forum,
> >> http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list ]
> >>
> >> I think it would make sense for the ACM to host some of those services
> >> (and participate in their development).  IIUC this is partly what
> >> happen(s|ed) with clowdr.
> >>
> >
> > I can say a few words about what happened with Clowdr... :-)
> >
> > For those that don't know, Clowdr <http://Clowdr.org> is an open-source
> > virtual conference platform that's been under development for the past year.
> >
> > The first version of Clowdr in summer 2020 was supported by a small NSF
> > grant. Since the autumn, further development has been led by Clowdr CIC, a
> > UK Community Interest Company that was set up to maintain, develop, and
> > help conferences use Clowdr. The company has grown organically, funded by
> > service contracts with individual conferences under which Clowdr hosts the
> > platform and, in some cases, assists with conference organization and
> > logistics. Several of these have been ACM conferences, but the company has
> > never received funding or sponsorship directly from ACM.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> >     - Benjamin
> >
> > P.S. For full disclosure, I am one of the original Clowdr developers and
> > one of the founding directors of Clowdr CIC. To avoid conflicts of
> > interest, I resigned all my official positions within ACM and SIGPLAN when
> > the company was formed.
> >
> >
> >
> >