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

[Adam Chlipala]

On 12/14/23 6:52 AM, Gabriel Scherer wrote:
> 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.)

I don't know if I'm the odd one out, but I just want to add a dissenting 
voice here: I think it's far from clear that "online attendance" is 
valuable enough to justify the cost of complex technical flows.  I'm 
used to telling my students that the point of the conference is the 
hallway track, not watching talks.  I'd suggest to people who can't make 
the conference to read papers (or prefixes thereof) instead of watching 
videos.  Videos produced by authors on their own time could also work a 
lot better than conflating the physical conference with the opportunity 
to record videos.

In other words, suggesting that people watch more online videos, in a 
world where online videos are already providing so much distraction from 
"real work" or just going for a walk outside, may make a net negative 
impact on the world, at the same as our conferences are applying 
significant financial cost and volunteer effort to provide what may 
actually be a net negative.  The cost-benefit analysis could work out if 
we really fine-tune the technical flow and don't spend (almost?) hours 
per conference delaying sessions to fix AV issues, but at least until we 
get there....