Hello Brad,
Two or whatever years ago, I was _lucky_ to get enough speakers to justify having the conference. I see no reason to expect that there will suddenly be a wealth of them such that proposed talks could be rejected. That'd be a wonderful place to be.
Tell someone they might not be good enough and sometime they will be even more willing to try.
Given the cost of attendance (airfare, lodging, etc), I'm reluctant to put additional barriers in place. But I wouldn't say no to the idea. I'll point out that last year some of the speakers who couldn't have otherwise attended were assisted flown in. What you're really saying is that there needs to be a budget. That doesn't imply cost to attend, though it would certainly help.
If $20 keeps someone out, they aren't that interested in the first place
I agree. I love panel discussions as they become actual discussions rather than presentations with Q/A sprinkled in or after.
Something over food would be really cool! Kinda like the dinner in the middle of that 1st conference but less spread out.
