-- [ From: John P. Burke * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] -- I wasn't going to add my $.02, but since this thread won't die, I might as well comment from my slightly warped perspective. First of all, to Denys, the entire Conference Committee and Interex staff: Interex '95 was the fifth conference I have attended and was at least as good as any of the others. And definitely better than most in the one area that really matters: content. Congratulations on a job well done - a job that most of us would frankly not want to do. Can it be improved on? Of course. Is there any way to make everyone happy? Of course not. Several excellent suggestions have been put forward by previous writers and I hope they will be seriously considered by the next conference committee. The complaints voiced on this list about the conference seem to center on three main areas: - smoking in non-smoking areas; - the "sucky" party; and, - scheduling. My objective in attending these conferences is to accumulate as much information as I can (hands on and face-to-face when possible) about what is going on in the HP3000 world. Content is paramount. Keeping that in mind, this is what I think about the criticisms along with my suggestions on how the conference could be changed to help me better meet my objective: SMOKING. There is nothing Interex or the committee can do if some people are loutish enough to smoke in areas where it is prohibited. I dislike being exposed to smoking as much as anyone; however, policing No Smoking rules is the responsibility of convention center authorities, not the conference chairman. PARTY. As far as the "sucky" party is concerned, I suggest consideration be given to s*** canning the whole idea. Problem solved. What is the purpose of the party? Are our days so stressful that we need to unwind? Pleeeese. The conference day starts later and ends earlier than the days most of us are accustomed to working. Eliminating the party will also help with scheduling (see below). While I'm at it, Interex could also save time and money by eliminating another peripheral event: the "motivational speaker" keynote after the HP keynote. Fewer people left early this year than in previous years. Of course, where else can one go and what else can one do? I saw many people reading their Interex '95 Daily during this year's speech. And Tapscott was a better speaker then many previous outside keynoters. Finally, about parties, while the logistics of dealing with food and drink might prevent it, I would like to see the opening reception held in the exhibit area. This would facilitate the non-electronic form of networking - the reason for the reception in the first place. Also, at some previous conferences (Denver? San Francisco?), the facilities used for the opening reception were inadequate (size) for the number of attendees - reminded me of a singles bar on a Friday night. SCHEDULING. As we have seen, there are reasons, but I contend no valid excuses, for scheduling SIGImage opposite the MPE Technical Roundtable. People spend $1000s to attend Interex. Most hopefully attend for the content, not to go to parties, receptions, motivational talks or have a company-paid vacation. The SIGs should have exclusive time blocks. I would favor 4:30 to 5:30 and 5:30 to 6:30 on days 1-3 of the conference. Sessions should start no later than 8:00am each day. This leaves plenty of time for hospitality suites and ad hoc get-togethers later in the evening. If the Management Symposium and Tutorials must occur before the regular conference (and Denys seems to believe this is non-negotiable), then they should be moved back to Sunday (the way the Tutorials were for several years). As Stan and others have pointed out already, there are significant savings in airfare if you stay over a Saturday night. Having to stay extra days can wipe out those savings. I know some object to Sunday sessions on religious grounds; however, this seems to be a case of determining where the greatest good lies. Finally, on the subject of schedules, perhaps someone who has worked on the conference committee could enlighten us on how dates are chosen; specifically, August versus September. Having lived near both Toronto and Denver at various times in my life, I know that Toronto weather is generally nicer in September than in August and Denver weather is much more predictable in August than in September (one year we had over a foot of snow on September 15th). Interex '94 (Denver) should have been held in August and Interex '95 (Toronto) should have been held in September. Just one persons' opinion, John Burke [log in to unmask]