As a member of the AoIR exec for the past 4 years, I can confirm that we have debated at length the best ways of organising the kind of conference that, collectively, is best for AoIR given its budget, size etc and have considered all of the options. Personally, I am convinced that the hotel meeting space / room occupancy approach is the best and, indeed, am always struck by the relatively inexpensive registration costs of AoIR conferences... routinely I pay a lot more than that at other conferences I attend. I would also take this opportunity of thanking Steve for the work he's done on analysing and developing the AoIR conference approach - it's been a very large task which, as ever, he's undertaken quietly and effectively. Thanks mate :) (PS - spare a thought for us aussies who will shell out around $1500 USD even before we get out of O'Hare airport and head on down to the hotel; ditto for others from outside USA. *grin* ) Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Humanities Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen@curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) Vice-President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org