Regarding 020113 MMDigest, conference costs.  As someone who both
attends and organizes a lot of conferences, I'd like to attest to the
fact that the annual AMICA and MBSI meetings are a remarkable bargain.

For your typical hotel-based 3-4 day meeting run by a not-for-profit
society (with no table favors, commemorative rolls, bus trips or
museum entrance fees--just a room with a slide projector, coffee,
donuts and a meal or two) registration fees these days run $400-600.

With commercially sponsored meetings, those fees double and are often
over $1000 with commercially sponsored meetings, which are further
subsidized by grants, corporate contributions, and commercial booths
that rent for thousands of dollars.  I think the folks who organize the
AMICA and MBSI meetings do an amazing job of delivering superb programs
at rock-bottom prices.

At the same time, I can sympathize with those who feel locked out by
the expense, having been there during my student years.  I'd encourage
the societies to be creative in offering reduced fees in exchange for
work on behalf of the organizations and perhaps "scholarships" to
enable and encourage younger and/or poorer participants.

In MBSI, anyway, I still seem to be at the young end of the age
distribution, 25 years after first joining.  This suggests to me that
the organization has a problem.

Cheers!

Roger Wiegand