<div dir="ltr">On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 9:16 AM, Ian <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ilox11@gmail.com" target="_blank">ilox11@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr"><div class="im"><div><div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div><div>Getting back to the point of Robyn's initial posting... there has always been a behind-the-scenes availability to request a waiver or discount of costs for those that make application and can provide backup documentation to their request for support. Unfortunately this can be seen by the person with a disability or poor financial situation as requiring a begging letter and in some cases the divulging of sensitive information to a volunteer committee of people who may not have the training and background to properly assess the degree of support required.<br>
<br></div><div>Clear statements on the web pages would alleviate this to some extent and minimise the paper chase aspect for an already overwhelmed committee trying to put on a best practise conference.</div></div>
</blockquote></div><div><br></div><div>And I think we need to remember that LCA is a volunteer run conference, where a different team runs the conference each year, and one which is _extremely_ low-priced already. It would not be fair to assume:</div>
<div><br></div><div>1) All registration classes make a profit,</div><div>2) Any malice by LA towards any demographic group,</div><div>3) Any malice by current or previous LCA organisers towards any demographic group.</div>
<div><br></div><div>It's my belief that the number of complaints towards LCA is a reason why we only see limited bids to organise LCA in future years.</div><div><br></div><div>Note: Patches for Zookeepr welcome.<br>-- </div>
Michael Davies <a href="mailto:michael@the-davies.net" target="_blank">michael@the-davies.net</a><br><br></div></div>