Had a discussion about conferences with our director. My argument is that the uselessness of 95% of conference talks that are dull/bland/boring massively outweighs the 5% that aren't a total trainwreck. Though if you're going for the networking, I think that's a different case
@halfmanhalfdonut I have volumes of proceedings, & similar publications, which certainly give the impression that there have been some good conferences over the years. And I’ve found Space Access, New Worlds, & the ISDC at least somewhat worthwhile.