Thanks Geoff- I'm with you

Conferences are expensive antiquated things especially when they are not 
affordable  for  ordinary people

The problem is worse when attendance is funded by institutions and companies 
or is a tax dodge

It is easy to see that each  person so funded to attend a conference 
diminishes the amount of archeology that
can be afforded.

This is even more terrible when everyone has access to FREE  electronic and 
telephone and video conferencing.

I have actually known  professional archeologists walking away from field 
work leaving volunteers working to go a 'conferencing.

What is the definition of obscene if it is not seen in this diversion of 
limited resources.

Just my opinion-kick it around what do you think? Please note I am making 
generalizations and  it does not apply  to everyone-note also though
That just because something feels good it does not necessarily follow that 
it is  good practice.

And I return to my point- taken together all expenses from applying to 
travel to food to conference top to bottom beginning to end combined with
the absence from day job and local work piling up and related 
inefficiencies- how many hours would that amount of money pay for a worker 
in the
field-that we keep hearing people complain that they have no money for?

Conrad

-----Original Message----- 
From: geoff carver
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Why YOU should come to SHA Quebec 2014

Legitimate questions. The IA in the UK has long been criticized for being
too expensive for most archaeologists to join. Not sure what the situation
is like now, with wages sinking even further, but I can't justify
maintaining membership just in the EAA, let alone try to attend their
conferences (unless my employer pays, which is rare: universities are the
only ones with funds these days, and even that depends on grants).
It's all about networking anyway, isn't it? lectures are not an efficient
means of communication.

-----Original Message-----


Is the conference route the cheapest way to communicate?
is it accessible to ordinary people of limited means?