UniForum, etc.

[Norman Wilson]

Having also had the audacity to circle time-conflicting sessions,
I too have now had the honour of being rung up by a UniForum person
and informed that I'm not allowed to do so.  I spent some time
arguing with the (rather patient) person on the other end, and
was told the same shocking tales of tickets for specific sessions,
no walking between sessions in the middle, no standees, &c.  I
was also given the following address to which complaints should
allegedly be sent:

John Dobberton
Suite 205
2400 East Devon Ave.
Des Plaines, IL 60018

All but the name is the same as the address to which you're meant
to send your registration form.  Presumably Dobberton is the
appropriate managerial person in the Professional Exposition
Management Company of Chicago (PEMCO), who are, according to the
glossy brochure, the folks hired to manage the show.  It is interesting
that I was referred to him, not to anyone in either of the UNIX
organizations sponsoring the conference.

The way meeting rooms are being handled is clearly quite inappropriate
to a technical conference such as USENIX is meant to be; it seems
almost designed to stifle the off-line discussions and informality
which have made past conferences so useful!  If what I've seen so far
is a fair sample of PEMCO's intended management, I'm not sure
UniForum is worth the week (and the large chunk of my skimpy
academic travel budget) I'll have to invest.  Before giving up on
it entirely, though, I'd be interested to know if this is simply
the way PEMCO think they're meant to do all conferences (perhaps being
more accustomed to vacuum-cleaner sales conventions?).  Could it be
that a firm word from whoever in /usr/group and/or USENIX hired them
would alleviate some of the fascism?  I find it hard to believe that
either of the UNIX organizations intend to treat their members like
kindergarteners, or to destroy the informal atmosphere which has
been such an important part of all USENIX conferences (and DECUS
symposia) I've attended.

If appropriate officers of /usr/group or USENIX are out there,
have you any comments?

Norman Wilson
Caltech High Energy Physics group
{ucbvax|ihnp4|decvax}!cithep!norman