[TYPES] Why are ACM conference registrations so expensive now?

[Gabriel Scherer]

I think that we could do the following, from the easiest to the
requires-more-work:

1. Ensure that an online attendance option remains available in the future
for cheap. ICFP'23 had free online attendance through Youtube, will this
option remain available in the future? Will it possible to follow the
POPL'24 talks remotely for free and ask questions? Will speakers be allowed
to talk remotely if necessary, at no cost?
  (This is important for our colleagues that cannot afford the plane in the
first place, and for people who wish to reduce travel.)

2. Decide on a budget limit for conference attendance (for example: $1200
for one week including registration, housing and food). In the future,
restrict conference locations to places where we predict that this budget
limit is within reach.

3. Ensure that it is easy to publish at PACMPL without presenting at the
conference. (Then one only has to keep publication costs in check.)

4. Stop assuming that everyone meets in super-events, and collectively
organize more of the smaller, more focused, cheaper events for
complementary scientific interactions.


On Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 2:58 PM Neel Krishnaswami <nk480 at cl.cam.ac.uk>
wrote:

> [ The Types Forum, http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list
> ]
>
> Hi,
>
> I just registered for POPL, and the total cost was over 2000 USD. This
> seems really high, and it seems something that has gotten a lot worse
> over the last year or two. For example, ICFP a few months ago was 1500
> USD, and POPL last year was 1375 USD.
>
> Does anyone know what factors have been driving up the cost of our
> conferences up so quickly? I'm worried we're making our events
> inaccessible to anyone but the best-funded researchers and institutions.
>
> Best,
> Neel
>
>