25
Jan
I think we should make an active effort to avoid scheduling speakers from abroad to give talks in the last session, or perhaps even the one before that. I don’t know if this is entirely possible, but I feel bad when a fellow researcher, having flown all the way from half a globe away, has to give the last talk with a mostly empty room.
I know someone has to be in the last session. So yes, I will volunteer if we are to prevent this from happening again. My guess is that many of us in the community share this view too.
17:17 on January 25th, 2006
In general a good principle is to save some of the really “hot” talks for the last few sessions. Another strategy employed by some conferences (but which would not work for SODA) is to have a half-day on the last day, so people can attend talks and still leave after lunch.