Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site mtxinu.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!unisoft!mtxinu!scherrer From: scherrer@mtxinu.UUCP (Deborah Scherrer) Newsgroups: net.usenix Subject: USENIX conferences Message-ID: <308@mtxinu.UUCP> Date: Fri, 8-Mar-85 20:23:40 EST Article-I.D.: mtxinu.308 Posted: Fri Mar 8 20:23:40 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 11-Mar-85 07:18:53 EST Distribution: net Organization: mt Xinu, Berkeley, CA Lines: 115 Scheduling and Content of USENIX Meetings A Message to the USENIX Membership Alan Nemeth, USENIX President At the Summer '84 Salt Lake USENIX conference, we took a survey of atten- dees to get input on a number of topics related to the conferences. For exam- ple, most people felt that a printed conference proceedings available on-site was very useful. For this reason, the Dallas conference organizers worked very hard to produce a proceedings, and we intend to continue the practice. Among others, the following policy issues were covered in the survey: 1. Should USENIX hold one or two conferences per year? 2. Is it desirable to hold one USENIX conference jointly with /usr/group? A majority of those surveyed answered "yes" to both questions. However, both questions may have been tied together in many minds: it was assumed that if two conferences were held yearly, then one of them would be held jointly with the /usr/group UniForum show (which is held yearly each winter). In response to the survey and the general direction of the UniForum show, we developed the idea that UniForum would be a huge UNIX trade show/conference, and USENIX could have one of its technical meetings at the same place (thus minimizing travel time and expense for the many attendees who want both kinds of information). Our conference would be a bit shorter, so as to easily coex- ist with UniForum. The other (summer) USENIX conference would be longer, and would have its own vendor show. The vendor show would be smaller that Uni- Forum, with a different focus. In order to hold a joint conference, both organizations must agree to the following: 1. Registration procedures and policies. 2. Division of revenues and expenses. 3. Show/conference management procedures. 4. Promotion. 5. Allocation of hotel, conference, and exhibit space. As the two organizations have somewhat different goals and methods, it is not surprising that there is opportunity for controversy and dispute. In past years, there have indeed been a number of disputes. These disputes have been sharpened and intensified by internal debates within each organization about their respective rolls in the community. Both organizations have been adapt- ing to changing conditions and goals. Finally, meetings of any size (e.g. 1500 or more) must be planned and scheduled with long lead times. It is not easy to find good facilities. Hotel and convention facilities must be booked well in advance, with severe financial penalties for cancellation. (If we had decided to cancel the Dallas conference after the hotel contract had been signed, we would have been liable for on the order of $100,000 in damages.) In line with the survey results, the USENIX Association held its Dallas conference at the same time and in the same city as UniForum. It was not pos- sible to reach agreement with /usr/group to allow simple cross-registration in both conferences, although complementary registration to the trade show was arranged. There was also some geographic separation of sites (with shuttle bus service or a seven minute cab ride). Our conference seemed to go well. Although the USENIX conference and UniForum were separate events, our confer- ence was designed to be non-competitive, concentrating on the more technical aspects of UNIX systems. We also shortened the conference by one day. This reduced the overlap of sessions, thus making it more convenient for our members to also attend the UniForum show. As noted above, to have a fully-integrated joint conference, there must be good agreement on all major issues, and this agreement must be reached well in advance. We were not able to reach a suitable agreement with respect to the Winter '86 UniForum show in Anaheim. Again, we could not resolve all issues related to a full joint conference. We did explore repeating the Dal- las setup - separate conference, but in the same city at the same time. How- ever, all suitable hotel space was already booked by UniForum. A hotel would have to release /usr/group from its contract, and replace it with USENIX. /usr/group stated that the hotel space could not be released to USENIX. (It appears that the same may also hold true for 1987.) Therefore, we were faced with three alternatives: 1. Cancel the Winter '86 USENIX meeting. 2. Hold the meeting at the same time in the closest city with a suitable facility, in this case Los Angeles or San Diego (nothing closer is avail- able). Commuting times from USENIX to UniForum would then be at least one hour, and perhaps two hours. 3. Hold the meeting at some other time and place. We chose option 3. No option is entirely suitable. Our membership has stated a preference for two meetings a year. Option 2 seemed incredibly inconvenient for attendees of both meetings. Option 3 causes extra time and travel expense for persons desiring to attend both conferences. Many people find it hard to budget even one conference per year. A second conference can sometimes be slipped in as a trade show involving sales activity, but three conferences (one /usr/group, two USENIX) may be just too much. Since it is clear that not everyone will attend every conference, our solution is to provide a smaller, more specialized winter meeting, and a larger, more general summer meeting. Our current thinking is that the winter meeting will focus on specific topic areas, and may in fact consist mostly of workshops rather than general sessions. Accordingly, we have scheduled our next winter conference for January 15-17, 1986 in Denver, Colorado, thus separating it by three weeks from the UniForum show to be held February 3-7, 1986 in Anaheim, California. Our next summer conference is scheduled for June 11-14, 1985 in Portland, Oregon. Our members should note that, although /usr/group and USENIX will not be meeting jointly in Anaheim, relations between the two organizations have been steadily improving. The direction of each organization has been changing, and some of the conflicts of the past no longer apply. It is possible that joint conferences will be held in the future. We would appreciate continued com- ments from the membership on our conference directions.