About two weeks ago I attended the fourth GOR (German Online Research) conference in Göttingen, Germany. I'd like to give a brief summary of my impressions and ask for reactions, because an idea formed in my mind during the conference weekend. I remember conversation at and after AIoR about expanding our association, and preferably also organizing a meeting outside the US. I think it would be a great idea to strive for a joint meeting with GOR sometime in the (near) future. About 320 people attended this year's conference, approximately 50% of which were practitioners. To me that was very refreshing. The practitioners bring in applied ideas, different foci, and pointed questions. Most academicians at GOR seemed to have a psychology background, a general orientation that became clear also through the choice of keynote speakers, Katelyn McKenna and Tom Postmes. Most participants were German, but there were also Swiss, Greek, British, at least one Russian, and at least two or three who'd flown in from the States (besides Katelyn and me), and maybe some other nationalities that I didn't catch. The conference, filling two days, always offered four parallel panels lasting 90 minutes, each made up of three 30 minute presentations. Panel topics included Individual Differences Online, E-commerce, Market Research, Basic Research, Learning and Teaching, Web-based Experimentation, and CMC in Organizations. There were also poster sessions. Most sessions were held in German, but during each time slot, there was at least one English presentation. Each panel had a moderator who introduced presenters, encouraged questions, etc. My general impression of the conference was positive. Of course, I speak both German and English, so I probably got more out of the conference than some of the other international guests, but the mix of cultures, and the mix of practitioners and academicians lead to animated discussions, and stimulating ideas. For those who are interested I recommend to take a look at the website (available in both German and English) and the online proceedings at http://www.gor.de I believe both AIoR and GOR can profit from a joint conference. The conference language would probably have to be English, but I know that wouldn't be a problem for the majority of German GOR participants. AIoR and GOR overlap in their focus, which means we can learn from and inspire each other; we can define new problems (and maybe share ideas for solutions) through new perspectives; we can profit from research being done half a globe away and form international research teams. All it takes is willingness to act. I'd like to encourage reactions to my suggestion. I'm perfectly willing to give more details (including names and emails of this year's organizing team at GOR) about the conference, either on the list, or in private emails (ulla@ukans.edu). Is a joint conference with GOR desirable? Is it do-able? Yes and yes in my opinion. What do you think? Thanks, Ulla Bunz Jeremy Hunsinger far away from the office