This is just a collection of thoughts and feelings about the technology industry and guidelines I feel should be upheld.
If a minimum wage employee cannot reasonably afford to attend an event (e.g. saving $300 for DEFCON is probably the upper limit), original research should NOT be presented at that event.
Presenting cutting-edge ideas to the wealthy only serves to insulate the fat cats from the disruptions of the poor. There are plenty of other researchers that hunger for career progression that will serve the whims and aims of the upper class that can afford to drop several thousand dollars on a technology conference.
If I'm going to present a new idea, technique, or model for analyzing existing systems, I'm going to present it in an environment where the barrier to entry is very low. Not only does this, in theory, empower the poor by giving them first-hand access to new research that the fat cats haven't yet realized, it opens the possibility to inspire someone to take the ideas, run with them, make them their own, and become something great.
If I present original research to a room full of people who are very financially well-off, well, they've already made it. They have an established and successful career. They're NOT on the top of the list of people I want to help.
This is a personal decision; and though the future could prevent me from following through with this choice 100% of the time, I'd like to stick true to this.
Therefore, anyone who wishes me to present original research at a conference: Is it free to attend? If not, can a minimum wage employee reasonably be expected to attend (especially without having to save up)? If not, you're getting a regurgitation of research I've already presented to a local community event that fits my criteria and you're going to like it, or I will decline.
👍