scott@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Scott Hazen Mueller) (06/05/90)
Well, I'll be heading down to Anaheim next week to attend my first Usenix conference, and I'd like to get some info and impressions on what it's like. I'm interested in things like, how formal do people dress - I imagine that ties and jackets would be pretty rare, but is there any time that attendees do try to manage to be a little neater than others? Also, do most people wear nametags; I saw one from a couple of years back, with name, email address and FaceSaver picture - or, am I expected to download lots of FaceSaver images from uunet and study them? I'm also interested in just impressions, pointers, tips and observations that would make a first-time attendee's trip more pleasant. Thanks, -- Scott Hazen Mueller | scott@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG or (ames|pyramid|vsi1)!zorch!scott 10122 Amador Oak Ct.|(408) 253-6767 |Mail fusion-request@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG Cupertino, CA 95014|Love make, not more|for emailed sci.physics.fusion digests SF-Bay Public-Access Unix 408-996-7358/61/78/86 login newuser password public
mo@messy.bellcore.com (Michael O'Dell) (06/06/90)
At the risk of being biased, I'll take a quick shot at this. It's a gathering of the clan, the True Believers, the dispassionate, and often the Heretics; it's the village party; it's a place for serious chats and frank discussions (spirited arguments?) on complex technical matters, and it's lots of fun! Attire at USENIX can range anywhere from suits to shorts (it's WARM in Anaheim, and since I don't do sweat, so you can guess which end I'll be on!). Some people are actually more comfortable a bit more dressed-up, but they are in the minority. One thing for which you might want to bring a jacket, however, is that if you intend to visit any high-end restraunts, they often frown on unimproved jeans, etc. But it IS California, so full-dress white-tie eveningwear is generally unneeded. You will find the crowd decidedly eclectic, but aggressively casual is certainly the norm. We'd like for you to find the group friendly and helpful on lots of levels. Be aware that there are several functions organized specifically to help the newcomer find all the relavent knobs and get comfortable with things (consult your program for details.) They probably aren't perfect, but they seem to help - let us know how to improve them! I dunno whether we'll be wearing the "Ask Me" buttons again, but it's a good bet that anyone with a Blue Ribbon on their badge (particularly those which say Board Member or Staff or some such) is a good person to ask just about anything having to do with the meeting. If they don't know, they will either point you at someone who does, or they can lie convincingly enough that you think they know (just KIDDING!). Honestly, there are lots of friendly people around who want you to feel welcome and part of the community, so avail yourself of them. So, in short, I hope you find a Usenix meeting to be a place to "see the faces behind the user names", to eat like there's no tomorrow at the reception, "BOF 'til you drop," and to find a bunch of new friends and colleagues. Hope to see you in Anaheim! -Mike O'Dell PS - Oh yes, nomenclature: BOF is a "Birds-Of-a-Feather" meeting. An informal get together on almost any imaginable topic, organized by some industrious person and held in rooms at the meeting site. We take no credit or blame for them, we just provide a room and stand back - WAY BACK!
libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes) (06/06/90)
In article <23924@bellcore.bellcore.com> mo@messy.UUCP (Michael O'Dell) writes: >At the risk of being biased, I'll take a quick shot at this. You're biased, Mike. You left out some things I think are important. (What? You weren't thinking of me?!) It really is helpful to know how to "do USENIX". Here is how I do it: Go to as many technical talks as possible. Even though some appear irrelevant to your interests, they really are worthwhile (and often entertaining). (If they are really irrelevant to your interests, why are you there?) Many talks are quite complementary to what appears in the proceedings, so just reading a paper alone is half the story. If at all possible you should stay until the end of the conference, Friday afternoon. (No, I am not speaking Friday!) Friday's talks are just as good as Thursday's, but many people cut out early on Friday. I think that is a mistake. (Plus, they usually close out the conference with some good jokes.) So you'll get home a little late on Friday. Tough. (Hey, I live on the East coast!) Don't plan on attending any outside evening dinner/entertainment. I.e. forget Anaheim. (We're helped in this regard because there is nothing to see in Anaheim except perhaps Disneyland.) USENIX bofs are so much better. For example, the BSD bof is always exciting as they announce what is/isn't going to be in the next release. Even the standards bof tends to be hilarious (in a sick sort of way). Consider the Wednesday party your fancy dinner for the week. USENIX does a good job on these, and since it is the 15th anniversary there will probably be something special (though nothing will top NCC when one of the companies (Microsoft?) rented out Disneyland for the attendees). I've always been annoyed that the pre-conference program goes into lengthy detail about the tutorials but almost nothing on the technical talks. Because of that, you should read the Proceedings abstracts as soon as you can (before you go to bed the first evening you arrive) so you can decide which talks are of interest to you. Many of the talks are double-tracked, either by other talks, the misnamed "concurrent sessions", WiPs, etc. and you want to make choices in advance. Speaking of WiPs (Works-in-Progress), I think this can be really worthwhile, but it's dependent upon people submitting stuff, so you can't depend on it. Last year's Baltimore WiPs was a total zero, maybe due to lack of publicity, but I've heard some really great things at WiPs in the past. Hopefully, the WiPs chair will post a list of WiPs in advance of the actual session. (Right now would be a good time!) Plan in advance when you want to see the exhibits. I've deliberately left Tuesday free so I could see them. Of course, for you it is too late to juggle your schedule, and now you will probably have to skip several sessions to do so. (And don't forget to get your face saved.) For this very reason, you should come to the conference on Tuesday, even if you are not attending a tutorial. Also, the bofs start Tuesday evening. If you are not attending a tutorial, there is no reason to come on Monday, as nothing is open and there will be nothing for you to do. There is also a "conference orientation" Tuesday evening which may very well cover stuff like I'm mentioning here, but I've never been to one. If it comes down to choosing a talk that might be worthwhile, or seeing a product, go for the talk. This is a technical conference, after all! Most of us can see products any time. Plus a lot of vendors set up hospitality suites with their products in the evening. (I'll let someone else report on the hospitality suite scene.) The ever popular "jobs" bulletin board is something that you may want to check out. If this interests you, come prepared with resumes or job descriptions to post. The funnier the better (at least for my enjoyment). It is also helpful to come with an agenda, such as getting a number of questions answered. This is an excellent place to buttonhole technies whose companies otherwise never let them out of the basement. And after substantial quantities of alcohol have been consumed at a hospitality suite, answers come much more easily. And since dmr will be there, it is another opportunity to get a plaster cast of his anatomy, or you can bring books to be autographed, etc. Lastly, you can also take me out to lunch. Don Libes libes@cme.nist.gov ...!uunet!cme-durer!libes
brian@ucsd.Edu (Brian Kantor) (06/06/90)
Imagine a bunch of over-age graduate students standing around in shorts and t-shirts talking about their favourite computing toys while an ever-increasing number of suits hang around looking for the holy grail that someone told them Unix was going to be. It's fun, it's informal, and if you wear a tie you deserve what you get. I missed the last conference, but I'll be at this one and rating the hospitality suites and show toys as always. After all, who'd want to go work for a company that thinks that real programmers want to drink lite beer? Don't forget to bring your YoYos. - Brian
dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer) (06/06/90)
In article <1990Jun5.163222.3294@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> scott@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Scott Hazen Mueller) writes: >I'm interested in things like, how formal do people dress Buy a pair of Birkenstocks if you don't have a pair already... -- Steve Dyer dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer dyer@arktouros.mit.edu, dyer@hstbme.mit.edu
reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) (06/06/90)
In article <4496@muffin.cme.nist.gov> libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes) writes: >It really is helpful to know how to "do USENIX". Here is how I do it: [lots of good tips deleted] >If it comes down to choosing a talk that might be worthwhile, or >seeing a product, go for the talk. This is a technical conference, >after all! Most of us can see products any time. Plus a lot of >vendors set up hospitality suites with their products in the evening. Yes, but don't be bashful about leaving a talk if it is not turning out how you thought it would. You make better use of that time at other events and still get back in time for the next talk. >(I'll let someone else report on the hospitality suite scene.) It has been my impression that Sun throws the best one :-) George W. Leach AT&T Paradyne (uunet|att)!pdn!reggie Mail stop LG-133 Phone: 1-813-530-2376 P.O. Box 2826 FAX: 1-813-530-8224 Largo, FL 34649-2826 USA
smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin) (06/07/90)
In article <1990Jun5.163222.3294@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>, scott@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Scott Hazen Mueller) writes: > Well, I'll be heading down to Anaheim next week to attend my first Usenix > conference, and I'd like to get some info and impressions on what it's like. > I'm interested in things like, how formal do people dress - I imagine that > ties and jackets would be pretty rare, but is there any time that attendees > do try to manage to be a little neater than others? Also, do most people > wear nametags; I saw one from a couple of years back, with name, email address > and FaceSaver picture - or, am I expected to download lots of FaceSaver images > from uunet and study them? > > I'm also interested in just impressions, pointers, tips and observations that > would make a first-time attendee's trip more pleasant. Wearing a suit is a sure-fire way to get yourself classified as a marketing person or worse. Jeans or equivalent are the standard uniform for most of the technical attendees. (There are exceptions; I'm giving the preconception for those without a reputation.) I suppose I should qualify that a bit; some of the folks who give talks think they have to dress up a bit more on the day they're speaking. Others have learned better... Most folks do wear nametags, though on occasion there have been a remarkable number of people claiming to be Bill Joy or some other luminary. As for what to do -- my primary reason for attending Usenix conferences is to meet people. In many cases, it's to see old friends I haven't seen since the last conference we both attended, or to meet net.friends I've never seen. To that end, I make it a point to stay at the conference hotel if possible, and to be in the bar area if I don't have anything better to do in the evenings. Many of the folks I want to meet will be there; drinking is optional if you don't do that sort of thing. (It's also fun to watch stuffy hotel staff deal with people who look like relics of the 60's.) By the same token, don't misss the reception (aka the ``mandatory fun''). Most people will be there. And it's the people who make the conference; you can read the proceedings in a library if that's all you're interested in. That isn't to say you shouldn't scan the proceedings as soon as you get them; if you don't do that, you won't know which talks are worth going to. Since my travel time is very limited, I tend to arrive after dinner the night before the conference proper starts, and leave right after the last session on Friday. That gives me two full evenings at the conference; one is the reception, and I tried to find an interesting restaurant for the other night. I schedule the time around the BOFs. Your mileage may vary. And, after all that, I won't be there this time, nor for the next couple of years. Sigh... --Steve Bellovin
karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu (06/07/90)
smb@ulysses.att.com writes:
Wearing a suit is a sure-fire way to get yourself classified as a
marketing person or worse.
At January Usenix in DC, I was walking out of the IBM hospitality
suite at one point with a couple of friends, heading for a BOF, I
believe. As we headed out the door, the realization hit me of just
how many suits were standing around the room, and how out of place
they looked, especially since the room from which we'd just emerged
was wholly occupied by techie types in jeans. The realization was so
abrupt that I actually exclaimed (in a quiet sort of way, if that's
possible), "My gosh, look at all the suits!" which Denny Page had the
bad taste (:-) to immortalize in his .signature for
news.announce.conferences postings for a month or so.
Don't wear a suit. Not even once. IBM is coming along, but haven't
_quite_ yet figured out that you don't send marketroids to Usenix
conferences. Their "trinkets and trash" have improved remarkably (IBM
folks, repeat after me: "...yo-yos...yo-yos...yo-yos..." -- though
you'll be awarded Style Points if you can produce something as novel
[and dangerous! :-] as the scissors-in-a-pen-case again :-), but the
marketroids are still a problem.
As for what to do -- my primary reason for attending Usenix conferences
is to meet people. In many cases, it's to see old friends I haven't
seen since the last conference we both attended, or to meet net.friends
I've never seen.
Amen! Didja ever wonder what the guy/girl looks like whom you flamed
unmercifully in comp.something.or.other for being an abject bozo?
You'll be really amazed at how reasonable that person is after you can
attach a face to the name, and especially if you shop-talk in the bar
together a while. It also makes it easier to remember their email
address, I've found -- just try to explain that phenomenon to me...
To that end, I make it a point to stay at the
conference hotel if possible, and to be in the bar area if I don't
have anything better to do in the evenings. Many of the folks I want
to meet will be there; drinking is optional if you don't do that sort
of thing.
It should be a recognized fact that _all_ of the important technical
discussion takes place at or after the BOFs and in the bar, or
occasionally in the terminal room.
(*ahem* Yes, I'm kidding. Or sort of kidding. Maybe I'm not kidding.)
Confetiquette: Try not to spill any Coke on the terminal room hardware
-- it gets the room support people _really_ uptight. :-)
(It's also fun to watch stuffy hotel staff deal with people who
look like relics of the 60's.)
There is the dinstinct possibility that a hefty fraction of Usenix
attendees _are_ relics of the 60's, who just haven't noticed that it's
not the 60's any more.
have fun,
--karlemv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) (06/07/90)
In article <KARL.90Jun6160305@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu> karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu writes:
IBM is coming along, but haven't
_quite_ yet figured out that you don't send marketroids to Usenix
conferences. Their "trinkets and trash" have improved remarkably
My IBM /dev/scraper from the DC usenix didn't last the whole
Michigan winter -- the lucite thing cracked in the middle.
good idea tho.
--Ed
Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept <emv@math.lsa.umich.edu>brian@ucsd.Edu (Brian Kantor) (06/07/90)
karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: >There is the dinstinct possibility that a hefty fraction of Usenix >attendees _are_ relics of the 60's, who just haven't noticed that it's >not the 60's any more. I forget who said: "If you remember the 60's scene, you weren't in it." - Brian
mbrown@osf.org (Mark Brown) (06/07/90)
In article <KARL.90Jun6160305@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu>, karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: > smb@ulysses.att.com writes: > > At January Usenix in DC, I was walking out of the IBM hospitality > suite at one point with a couple of friends, heading for a BOF, I > believe. As we headed out the door, the realization hit me of just > how many suits were standing around the room, and how out of place > > Don't wear a suit. Not even once. IBM is coming along, but haven't > _quite_ yet figured out that you don't send marketroids to Usenix > conferences. Their "trinkets and trash" have improved remarkably (IBM We tech-types are *working* on the problem, surely we are...but sometimes it's like steering an aircraft carrier with a canoe paddle. :-) We might even have a *real* internet connection one-of-these-days.... DISCLAIMER: I don't speak for IBM. They don't make me wear ties. Mark Brown IBM AWD / OSF | Invisible airwaves crackle with life The Good mbrown@osf.org | Bright antennae bristle with the energy The Bad uunet!osf!mbrown| Emotional feedback, on a timeless wavelength The Ugly (617) 621-8981 | Bearing a gift beyond price - almost free.
smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin) (06/07/90)
In article <13068@ulysses.att.com>, smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin) writes: > And, after all that, I won't be there this time, nor for the next > couple of years. Sigh... Several people have emailed me to ask about this, and in particular about my management... It's not AT&T, it's not Bell Labs, it's not my management, it's strictly a personal decision, for personal reasons. --Steve Bellovin
woods@ncar.ucar.edu (Greg Woods) (06/08/90)
In article <1990Jun6.124826.26633@pdn.paradyne.com> reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) writes: >In article <4496@muffin.cme.nist.gov> libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes) writes: >>(I'll let someone else report on the hospitality suite scene.) > > It has been my impression that Sun throws the best one :-) What ever happened to Lachman? They always used to have the best hospitality suite. I remember last summer's conference (unfortunately I don't get to go this time; anyone going to Interop?). Sun had the best food with the six foot subs, but IBM had better beer (which was a surprise at the time; I still have the "We use AIX" beer can cooler they gave out; now *there* is a good marketing idea for USENIX types! :-) Also, Sun had their new Sparcstations and CD Rom players demoed; they were also displaying frequency analysis of the Pink Floyd they were playing. IBM had pictures of Ronald Raygun on their color PC's. Typical of the image of these two companies :-) --Greg
scs@iti.org (Steve Simmons) (06/08/90)
scott@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Scott Hazen Mueller) writes: >Well, I'll be heading down to Anaheim next week to attend my first Usenix >conference, and I'd like to get some info and impressions on what it's like. This is a test. Please attend usenix, and then answer the question: 1. Usenix is like: a. A science fiction convention, but different b. Because one of it's legs are both the same c. "What do you think I am, a radio?" d. Crazy people talking about interesting if sometimes incomprehensible stuff d. All of the above There are no typos in this test.
david@infopro.UUCP (David Fiedler) (06/08/90)
In article <KARL.90Jun6160305@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu>, karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: > > There is the dinstinct possibility that a hefty fraction of Usenix > attendees _are_ relics of the 60's, who just haven't noticed that it's > not the 60's any more. It's not??!?!?!?!?! Oh-oh. -- David Fiedler {bytepb,ditka,hoptoad,mrspoc,pyramid}!infopro!david USMail:InfoPro Systems, PO Box 220 Rescue CA 95672 Phone:916/677-5870 FAX:-5873 "Don't worry...we'll fix it in post." -- David Fiedler {bytepb,ditka,hoptoad,mrspoc,pyramid}!infopro!david USMail:InfoPro Systems, PO Box 220 Rescue CA 95672 Phone:916/677-5870 FAX:-5873 "Don't worry...we'll fix it in post."
honey@doom.ifs.umich.edu (Peter Honeyman) (06/08/90)
it's all those babies you've been knocking out in years past, right? doesn't stop me ... peter
amanda@mermaid.intercon.com (Amanda Walker) (06/09/90)
In article <KARL.90Jun6160305@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu>, karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: > There is the dinstinct possibility that a hefty fraction of Usenix > attendees _are_ relics of the 60's, who just haven't noticed that it's > not the 60's any more. Nah, this is just the 60's, revision 2... -- Amanda Walker, InterCon Systems Corporation -- "Y'know, you can't have, like, a light, without a dark to stick it in... You know what I'm sayin'?" --Arlo Guthrie