"So, what makes an ideal conference? There's no single-purpose format that works for everybody -- what works for the Open Source Business Conference attendees is going to have nearly zero value for the audience that attends FOSDEM.
"Oddly enough, going pro doesn't mean a conference will be better. Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I've found that community organized conferences like SCALE, Ohio LinuxFest, Linux.conf.au, and so forth tend to be much more enjoyable and useful for attendees. In part, that’s because the shows are not organized with a profit motive in mind -- and thus, they don't cater as much to the sponsors. (Read: The speaking schedule is not "pay to play," so the keynotes, talks, and format are chosen to benefit the attendee rather than the sponsors.)"
