RE: SSA steps on COMMON - might this be a broader trend for LUGs?

Thanks for jumping in, Jim. This is exactly what I've been saying for 
what, almost 10 years now? When the industry tracks were killed, a large 
core of attendees left with them. Out of one industry track alone, COMMON 
lost 60 paid attendees per year. And that was a small group.

This all ties back to when COMMON's board decided to stop being a user 
group and become "the premier provider of education", or whatever the heck 
the slogan was.

Sooner or later, the vendors in the Expo are gonna figure out that the 
decision makers aren't coming to the conferences, and they're gonna stop 
coming. I know of two already that have pulled out because of this reason.

I could go on and on, but I'm tired of wasting my breath. Two more 
conferences to go.