Hi Rick:

Thanks for the reply. I understand you viewpoint, but in the three code camps I've been to, for the most part, the presentations I've attended were not "side-topic" or "fun". Most were specifice topics dealing with new features in ASP.net 2.0, like security, membership/role providers, writing custom data providers, using interfaces and why, custom controls in asp, asp control frameworks, etc.

I agree, that top notch speaking talent is a good thing, but top-notch doesn't necessarily mean expensive. I would consider Carl Franklin, Rob Howard, Brian Noyes, Scott Watermasyk, Miguel Castro, Kevin Goff, etc. as top notch speakers. They have been there and they presented professional, high quality content which cost me nothing but the effort to get there to hear them. The other added benefit is that I can question them and take part in a learning experience rather than be force fed. That's the beauty of the code camp that is lost in a full-blown conference.

I agree, both have their place, but for the mainstream working stiff who can't afford 1,000's of dollars or a company with endless pockets, it is difficult to get that kind of training. Code Camps are filling that void in the mainstream and are going to continue to grow because of it.

It would be a sad day if MS would force an abandonment of its support for its own products.

I will contact the organizers of the three events I've been to. I want to see how much was MS support and how much was support from other sources.


John




>John,


>
>Code Camps are cool but they are not meant to be full conferences. I've participated and spoken at several .NET Code Camps and while they are free they are meant to provide a much different experience than full blown conferences. For one the CodeCamp agenda is focused on 'fun' or 'off-topic' content rather than typical conference content which is more business and professional development oriented.
>
>Personally I don't think that this is necessarily a good thing either because SOMEBODY is paying for facilities, food, swag, organization and most of all time. Mostly Microsoft and you will get something for free as long as Microsoft decides it's in their interest to provide the funding for these events. In the meantime other conferences that are bringing top notch speakers from all over the world are getting hurt by this trend because it's pretty tough to compete with free.
>
>You can see this in Europe were most smaller .NET conferences are now dead because Microsoft provided so much free training (some of which was not of high quality nor balanced)...
>
>The Code Camp mentality will last as long as speakers decide they're willing to pay to speak at a conference - especially if it's not local to them. It's that same misplaced 'open source' concept commoditizes content and fails to recognize the value that goes into creating that content and knowledge.
>
>Having run many conferences in my day I can tell you that it's freaking expensive to put on a conference and most conferences are lucky if they are breaking even or turn a small profit, so those that put on conferences are certainly not doing it for making it big. Especially not in the Fox market...
>
>The Code Camps I've been to both attending and speaking are fun, but they are nothing like a full conference that I've ever been at. Totally different experience... both have their place.